ROCK & SURF
With weather starting to settle down somewhat, anglers who are targeting species other than the abundance of shad that still seem to be around are finding there are quite a few early summer fish around. Greg Dry while fishing at Beechwood on Tuesday landed a diamond skate of 40kg’s. On the subject of shad, authorities must be exhausted chasing ‘subsistence’ anglers who are still disregarding the law and taking vast numbers of these fish home. On the other hand one can hardly blame them as the shad ban that has been in effect for a few decades seems to have done a wonderful job. Ski boat anglers are now catching them, even as far out as the 40 fathom marks but it is inshore and on the shark nets where hordes of shad are congregating and obliterating any jig that is intended for alternative live bait such as mackerel and red eye sardines. Never the less shad as well as beach driving and other pleasures we get out of ocean related sports will always remain a point of contention but we have to respect the laws that higher authorities in their wisdom have set out for us.

Details of the new safety regulations regarding Kayak Fishing

There was confusion that to fish off a Kayak you had to have a skipper’s ticket and launch from approved launch sites which is incorrect. These details were confirmed by SAMSA in a meeting with Keith Hockly and Mick Clarke.

SAMSA MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

Kayak must be over 3 metres in length to go to sea (beyond the backline).
Kayak must have minimum 30% buoyancy
You must wear an approved PFD (personal flotation device) (SABS / CE / ISO)
Carry a 10 m rope. (Tow rope)
Pencil flares (not out of date)
Bailing device (bucket or collapsible bucket)
You must have 750ml drinking water.
You must not exceed 1km from land (1000m)
Also ……Don't forget your fishing licence and vessel licence (both on the same licence)
Obey any Parks board or municipality launch site rules and pay fees if applicable.

For more info on the SAMSA letter to Keith Click here.
Click here to view the PDF format of the Small Craft Safety List

Information taken from www.kayakfishingsa.com

ROCK & SURF - North Coast
The North Coast is still producing some goods catches of garrick at known spots such as Tongaat Long Beach, Tinley Manor and the Tugella mouth and surrounding areas. Anglers fishing the Umgeni stretch have had some good returns of stumpie, grunter and even the odd pompano. Small brown skates and sand sharks have also made their appearance in this area

ROCK & SURF - South Coast
The South Coast seems to have gone off the boil a little as far as garrick goes. There are not too reports of these fish coming in from known spots but the Umkomaas north bank and Umgubaba stretches are now producing a wide variety of fish. Queenfish have moved in and although some are still on the small side a few bigger specimens in the 6 kg mark have been landed. Yellowtail kingfish also seem to be feeding here as there are reports of a good few being landed along the Umkomaas stretch as well as a nice one landed by Richard Harrison at Umzumbe using his new Daiwa Exceler Oceano spinning reel and a spoon. Anglers fishing here at night have landed some good size kob. The Twini ledge and Isipingo are still producing some good numbers of good size brusher.

ROCK & SURF - Transkei
The Transkei, with the Port St Johns area in particular is still giving anglers hours of fun during the day and at night. Garrick are well entrenched here for anglers fishing the daylight hours and for the more adventurous hardcore angler, there are now quite a few big kob around but it requires a lot of perseverance to stand on rocks at night casting lures.

FISHING COMPETITIONS
Herewith are the results of the Common Venue Annual Meet fished over the weekend 18-19 October 2008, supplied by Dave Nisbet, the secretary of Kwa Zulu Natal Coast Anglers Union. Dave would like to say well done to all the winners in the various categories and thanks to those who assisted him over the weekend. Most anglers enjoyed the weekend, the weather was good, sea was good but the same can’t be said for the fish, rather scarce.

14th OPEN TACKLE COMMON VENUE ANNUAL MEET 2008

TEAM TROPHIES

AROO NAICKER CUP. SANDPIPERS 64.3 wt. pts
Champion club at Annual Meet - ALL CLUBS (weight points)
RAS FASTENERS CUP. BENDERS “A” 61.2 wt. pts
Runners up at Annual Meet - ALL CLUBS (weight points)
CROSSMOOR CARRIERS CUP. TONGAAT “B” 18 fish
Winner of Most No. of Fish at Annual Meet - ALL CLUBS
TOOL TRADE CUP. BENDERS “A” 61.2 points
Winners of Zone Rank Points League Final (Zone finalists only)
T.SOOBENS CUP. N.C.A.A. 40.4 points
Runners-up of Zone Rank Points League Final (Zone finalists only)
COMBINED TRADING CUP. BENERS “A” 61.2 wt. pts
Winner of Zone Weight Points League Final (Zone finalists only)
ROYAL CARTAGE CUP. TONGAAT “B” 18 fish
Winner of Zone No. of Fish League Final (Zone finalists only)
GREAT WESTERN COOLER TROPHY. BENDERS “A” 34.8 wt. pts
Winner of Saturday "Odd rounds" Knock-out
A.R.RAMMITHS MEMORIAL CUP. BENDERS “A” 26.6 wt. pts
Winner of Sunday "Even rounds" Knock-out
KINGFISHER PRIZES (SATURDAY) TONGAAT “B” 14 fish
Most No. of Fish on Saturday at Annual Meet - ALL CLUBS
KINGFISHER PRIZES (SUNDAY) UMGENI 8 fish
Most No. of Fish on Sunday at Annual Meet - ALL CLUBS

INDIVIDUAL TROPHIES

Y. SYED CUP. SAGIE NAIDOO N.C.A.A. 30.0 wt. pts
Individual Top weight points at Annual Meet
KAY SINGH CUP. ROWAN BIRTHARTHEE TONGAAT “A” 6 fish
Individual most no. of fish at Annual Meet
CHINAPPA NAICKER CUP. MERVIN PILLAY McWILLAW
Individual with largest Inedible at Annual Meet BLUE SKATE 19.2 kg
FEROZ FAMILY CUP. CHARLIE ROSEVEAR LEVIATHAN “B
Individual with largest Edible at Annual Meet Prodigal Son 7.6 kg
SIAB FAMILY CUP. THALIP SHEIK HIBISCUS 484.45 points
Individual Champion - Top rank points over 6 rounds and Annual Meet
REGAL SPARES CUP. CHRIS KNOESON WARNADOONE
Heaviest Edible during C.V. rounds King Mackerel 14.7 kg
ELLERY LOGA CUP. GRANT ST CLAIR MULLEY SANDPIPERS
Heaviest Inedible during C.V. rounds Giant Guitarfish 80.9 kg.
Congratulations to Benders Angling Club, they are celebrating their centenary with a Dinner on the 25th October at Lords and Legends in Toti. For more info get hold of Greg Booth on 083 661 3583.

SKI BOATS & FISHING SKI'S
Ski boat angling is now at a turning point as some of the first summer game fish have made their appearance. Dorado has been caught off Durban and there are reports that they have also been caught in the Shelly Beach area. It is the Aliwal Shoal that seems to have made an early start to the season as the first yellow fin tunny has been caught there as well as the Scottbrugh areas. Some good size wahoo and a few shoal size couta have also been reported. The odd sailfish has been seen by spear fishermen but to date no confirmed catches have been reported. Keith Salton took his stepson, Luke, who is 10yrs old, on their boat “Fraulein” on Saturday afternoon for a couple of hours. In 40 fathoms of water, he caught a few soldiers/slingers and a mussel cracker weighing 18kg’s! He was using a small old fixed spool reel (coffee grinder), with 15lb Kingfisher line, a light graphite rod, a no 2 circle hook, with a 30lb trace. The fish took about 40mins before he got it to the surface, well done Luke on this great fish. Also fishing from a ski boat, young Jared Edmond landed two very good daga, one of 18kg’s and the other 16kg’s on the boat “Umgodoyi”. Jared was using his new Daiwa Opus Bull Spinning Reel and his Daiwa Saltiga Rod. Great to see the youngsters out there fishing.

ESA
Ray and Dean from ESA have been fishing in the Eastern Cape and amongst some good fish landed, Ray, while fishing at St Frances with the new Poseidon HMG XH and Daiwa Saltiga 50HK reel, landed a raggie of 2.4m, 237kg’s. Great fish, can’t wait to this on the ESA TV show.

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 22nd November ( this as been changed from the 8th, so please make a note of the new date), 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.
Any info about fishing, fish caught or competitions in your area e-mail Mike at kingfish@iafrica.com or fax 031- 368 4137.