ROCK & SURF
Brusher and even some early summer flatfish in the form of small sand sharks and a few brown skates have been accounted for during the past week. Brusher are mainly being caught along the Twini ledge and at Isipingo where some good size specimens were landed recently. The Durban beachfront piers are producing the odd stumpie. Garrick are still being caught all along the coast line but amongst the garrick anglers have also landed some good size kob as well as the odd big grunter.
Strong winds have been a big factor in the little fishing that has been done in the Port Edward area, according to Tackle Net’s Terry Nel. On many days last week, the rocks have been deserted and normally sheltered spots also difficult to fish. Few fish are around and even shad were scarce just before the season closes
I can remember that over the years this seems to be a normal thing at this time of the year although, we should have had a lot more rain by now I'll bet that as soon as conditions settle shad will come on the bite but too late because the closed season has come. A remarkable thing though, for two months they change species and are not called shad any more. In the line of our economy, I don't think any of us can waste money on stiff fines and 'burrowing' bream and crayfish are off the keep list now. It's not to long to wait for Mother Nature to catch up and besides, the weather at this time of the year will help to calm the urge. There are so many other types of fishing to do and if you haven’t done them, broaden your horizons give some a try.

NEWS FOR TACKLE BOX
News from Mark at Tackle Box in Shelly Beach is that garrick are still coming out at the Sanspits with some nice sized kob in between however the biggest problem is not hooking the fish but getting the live-bait. Martin from Awesome charters reported boating some nice tuna with PJ Botha fishing on his boat Watt 4, landing two good sized tuna and two dorado. Whether this is a good sign for the dorado season, or these two fish were lost, we will have to wait and see.

JOZINI DAM

Trevor van Wyk who broke the lodge record last week with a brilliant 6.5kg tiger.

Ryan from Shayamoya Game Lodge sent in this report about Jozini Dam. “What a great month we are having! Some absolutely awesome fishing has been had and it’s not over yet. The water is very clear over most of the dam. The river section near the bridge is a little off colour from the recent rain, but it can’t really be called dirty. The water temperature has warmed up faster than in previous years due to a few days where the temperature got up to around 35 degrees. The cold front last weekend, however, has dropped the water temperature a little. Virtually all the traditional tiger fishing methods are working. Most fishing is being done in the river section, but we’ve got many of the big tigers closer to the main dam.

BAIT: Some great tigers so far on bait. Sardine has probably been the most productive, although there have been some big tigers on live bait and chicken. The largest tigers have been around 5 to 5.5kg, and there have been a good number of them. I have had some recent success using maasbankers as drift bait. SPINNING: Spinning has been great fun, and if you get into the right areas next to the weed beds there are some big tigers on offer too! We boated a 4kg, a 3.5kg and a good handful of 2 to 2.5kg tigers. All caught on silver spoons. It’s not difficult to catch 20 to 30 tigers or more in a single morning. FLY: The tigers are smashing flies in a big way. I have done a limited amount of fly fishing this month, but there have been strikes on nearly every cast. Most colours and patterns seem to be working. Once again it’s quite possible to catch 20 or more in a morning. TROLLING: This is working extremely well, with many large tigers being landed. Trevor van Wyk broke the lodge record last week with a brilliant 6.5kg tiger (see photo). It absolutely smashed the lure and crushed the hooks; it took just over 5 minutes to net. We also boated a 4.5kg, a few 4kilo and several 3.5 to 2.5 kilo tigers. All were caught within the last week. Once again they are responding to most of the lure colours and types.” The Strike Pro, Magic Minnow is a very productive trolling lures , they come in sizes 8.5cm and 12.5cm and in a great selection of colours.

SKI BOATS & FISHING SKI'S
Fishing ski anglers are now probably in the most frustrating time of the year as there are not many game fish around except for the odd snoek and a few garrick. High winds and rapidly changing conditions make for some unpleasant fishing. However November is around the corner and anglers can expect the first dorado and the odd couta to make an appearance.
Ski boats are still experiencing a great season as far as bottom fishing goes. Daga and geelbek are feeding freely on both North and South Coasts. General bottom fishing for ‘reds’ and rock cod is also yielding some very good results. The first dorado’s have come out on the deep marlin grounds off Durban and if this is an indicator to go by it should not take long for these fish to move closer inshore.

KINGFISHER'S BIGGEST SHAD COMPETITION
Well, The Kingfisher’s “Biggest Shad Competition” is now over. The heaviest shad will receive a 14’ Kingfisher Poseidon 5pc Graphite Rod, valued at R1,585.00, the second heaviest shad will receive a Daiwa SL 50SHK Reel, valued at R998.00 and third heaviest shad will receive a Daiwa Opus Plus 6000 Reel valued a t R448.00. A couple of massive shad have been weighed in for the month of September. Ashneel Ramkissoon landed one of 4.06kg’s at Mapalane, Anand Naidoo weighed in a shad on Tuesday morning of 4.216kg’s that he caught at Isipingo and Siva Govender landed a shad of 4.796kg’s at Scottborough and also on Tuesday, Vasie Naicker caught a beauty of 4.832kg’s at Isipingo.

ESA
Here’s what you can expect from ESA this week. In ESA Bass we join Xavier and Alan Lubbe at Maguga Dam, then we see what happened at the final round of the ESBA Pro Series in Gauteng where the top ten anglers over the year from both the Team and Pro nomination go through to the Final.
In ESA Saltwater we join the team, Ray, Abel and Lloyd as they get dropped of with a helicopter at prime angling destinations along the Transkei Coastline. In DSSA we join Raymond and Abel for in Caprivi as this adventure comes to a close. In OSSA Mark and Garth heads out at night with the team from Rodman to target daga and geelbek.

KINGFISHER FISHING CLINICS
The Kingfisher hosts free fishing clinics on their premises, 53 Hunter Street, Durban once a month. They will be running a spear fishing clinic on the 8th November, this clinic will be run by Shane from Freedivers and will cover all aspects of spear fishing, book early for this clinic as it should be a good one. The Kingfisher also host a Paddle Ski Fishing clinic by Markham Pollard, a Rock and Surf clinic run by Ivan Stopforth and a Drop Shot clinic by Lloyd Pereira. These Clinics are very informative and covers all the basics, including equipment, knots, bait presentation, and tactics. These free clinics are there to help beginners and experienced anglers to see what the sport is all about and how to target certain species of fish. It also shows anglers what equipment to use and also elaborates on safety. These are very popular so book early to avoid disappointment. To book for one of these free clinics phone the Kingfisher on 031- 3683903.