ROCK & SURF

Willem Strijdom with his 3.2 kg tiger caught while trolling at Sunset Bend, Jozini

With summer rains now settling in most rivers have burst their banks and have created most anglers dreams, ‘ginger beer’ coloured water which puts most fish on the bite, especially summer flatfish. Sand sharks and skates are now coming out all along the coast with some bigger sand sharks being reported from the Zululand beaches. Down south it is once again the Umkomaas and Mnini area that is producing quite a variety of both edible and inedible fish. Closer to the mouth anglers are getting stuck into shoal size kob as well as numerous grunter. The Mnini stretch has over the past week produced good numbers of brown skates as well as the odd big sandie. Queen fish and yellowtail kingfish are still coming out but not in as many numbers as before. At night, anglers who persevere have has some good results with bigger kob.

NEWS FROM THE TERRY NEL
News from Port Edward’s Terry Nel. As last week drew to a close, the weather has improved and they are having some hotter days now. Gale force winds have died down and the surf conditions are good with small swells and the cleaner water moving in. A local Port Edward angler reported catching two fish that he could not identify later and unfortunately had no camera once releasing them. Terry has found that a camera is part of his tackle list for an outing and it encourages the releasing of fish. With the shad season only two weeks away, a good season is expected and finding some of the latest technology on the tackle dealer's shelves, more passionate anglers will find themselves in 7th heaven. It's the using of such equipment that has been imported and rods that have been designed for our likes by intense local research. After all, boys deserve their toys hey.

NEWS FROM SHAYAMOYA GAME LODGE
The SHAYAMOYA GAME LODGE FISHING REPORT sent in by Ryan Tippett
WATER CLARITY: The river section and some of the shallower parts of the dam are muddy. The recent water release has created muddy shorelines around the entire dam, and when the wind blows the mud gets stirred up around the shores. Deeper water is still clean however.
The water release dropped the water level by 10% and it’s now sitting at around 70% full. This drop in level definitely took its toll on the fishing and October was far less productive than September was. Never the less, we still had some good fishing. Now that we’ve been having a bit of rain the river has started pushing dirty water, but the positive thing is that the wind normally eases up after the first rains.
BAIT: Good numbers of tigers are still coming out on bait; it’s just the average sizes are down on last month. Sardine, live bait and chicken are all working. Getting a good hook up is frustrating at times as the tigers are not always running well. When this happens Ryan likes to use smaller hooks and smaller bait, this way they seem to hold on a little longer. Ryan is still using maasbankers instead of sardines at times and they do definitely work. They also seem to last longer on the hook.
SPINNING: This always gets you a lot of fish if you’re at the right spots. As usual, spinning close to structure produces the best results. There are some decent fish along the weeds opposite the campsite and between the campsite and the pump station. The river section has very little structure at the moment due to the drop in level. Red & white and gold lures are working best. Similarly coloured spinners are getting results too. Ryan is using a lot of spoons as they cast well in the windy conditions they are suffering from at the moment. The fish don’t seem to mind them either.
FLY: This has also been quite productive, and usually gets one a lot of bites. The flies that create a bit of a disturbance in the water are working best at this time. In off coloured water Ryan has had recent success with a sparsely tied Dahlberg’s Diver fished on sinking line. Let the fly settle on the water and then use a fast strip retrieve. Once this fly dives it has a decent action under water. Most hits occur on the dive. Ryan has also just started using polar fiber baitfish on tigers and has had a lot of success. It is important not to retrieve this fly too fast as it easily falls over on the retrieve. The usual clousers, copper tiggers and deceivers are working, as they always have done.
TROLLING: Ryan usually trolls on his way to the fishing spots and when the other methods are not working. They are still finding this one of the more effective methods and it often gets fish when other techniques aren’t working. Shallow running lures like the Strike Pro Hunchback Floating (dive depth less than 2m) are essential because of the lower water levels. Red & white, gold, and bright blue & yellow seem to be working best. Ryan normally starts off at a slow speed and move on to a faster troll if that does not work.

FISHING COMPETITIONS
The ESA LBSA Pro Series Final 2008 was fished at Mazeppa Bay on the 14th and 15th November 19, 2008. Anglers from different area zones including Kwa Zulu Natal North, Kwa Zulu Natal Central and Western Cape have worked very hard throughout this year to compete in the ESA Pro Series final. Terms and Conditions to qualify for the LBSA Pro Series final were strict and many anglers missed the opportunity by not fishing the required seven tournaments throughout 2008.
It was decided that Mazeppa Bay on the Transkei Coast line would be the chosen venue for the final as it is a versatile region which has much to offer regardless of sea or weather conditions. The first day of the final was split into two sessions, a morning session starting at 6am to 10am and an afternoon session starting at 2pm to 6pm. An eight hour day in total, making the finalists work very hard for the cash prizes that were up for grabs. Early morning mist over the water was a sign that water temperatures had dropped and the rivers having come down overnight due to the intermittent rain making the sea dirty - a great sign for those hoping to target big fish of the toothed variety but not so good for the edible anglers. The morning session produced some size fish, a raggie of 2, 0 m landed by Derrick Snyman and an awesome bronze whaler of 1, 96 m landed by Simon Peacock. Other notable fish were raggies landed by Michael Pearce, Johan van der Westhuisen and Wilhelm Bouwer and a Spearnose skate by Werner Lubbinge. Many good fish were lost during this particular session. The afternoon session offered a few more good fish, two more bronzy, two by Simon Peacock with a variety of smaller edibles caught by some anglers making an appearance due to the warming effects of the south westerly wind which blew most of the day. At 3.30 pm a buster west came through sending most of the anglers for cover and to scratch for some edibles. The guys who stayed on the point and carried on plucking away regardless of almost being blown off the rocks were rewarded with some more good non-edible points. The second days fishing was set from 6am to 2pm. The buster west had died off and a light west was blowing which cleaned the water slightly and started the warming effects. A few more small edibles made an appearance but the non-edibles were once again the order of the day. First fish on the bricks was a small hammer by Michael Pearce, a handful of flatfish, namely blue rays, eagle rays and one or two diamonds made an appearance with the odd raggie and hammer keeping the boys busy. Simon Peacock had a run with bronze whalers and managed to land two more for the session. Two more notable bronzies of 1, 96 m were landed by Sunil Piyarlall and by Derrick Snyman. Chad Engelbrecht from the Central zone made a late charge landing a decent raggie and a hammerhead with only an hour and a half of the day left pushing him up into the top ten. The day ended on a fantastic note. A huge thank you to the Mazeppa Bay Hotel for keeping us well fed and watered. Congratulations and well done to the anglers who participated, not forgetting the spectators, which was a rather large group considering the venue being off the beaten track. Congratulations to the top three anglers, third place going to Werner Lubbinge, who concentrated on catching the various flatfish, second place to Micky Thurgood who caught some good edibles and to Simon Peacock in first place who had five very exhausting battles with Bronze Whalers. A huge thank you to the sponsors for this event, The Kingfisher, Daiwa and EMT. Due to the continued support of our sponsors, the LBSA Pro Series for 2008 was both enjoyable and memorable for all those who participated. Thanks to Raymond de Bruyn for this report.

Telkom Angling Club is hosting a social angling tournament in aid of the ECR Toy Story Initiative. We urge all to participate. The entry fee for males is R30.00 per angler. The entry fee for females is R20.00 per angler. Alternatively, Female anglers can donate a toy as their entry fee. Kids under 12 can pay R20.00 or donate a toy as part of the entry fee. For Telkom Angling Club members, Telkom Angling Club will pay your R30.00 entry fee. We will try and have our club shirts and caps ready for the tournament. All funds raised as part of the tournament will be donated to ECR Toy Story. Please encourage your friends and relatives to participate. Collectively, we can make a difference in the lives of some children. Details: Venue: Warner Beach. Date: 2008-12-06. Time: From 07H00 to 13H00 (Registration starts at 06H30) Prizes sponsored by Telkom Angling Club.1st Prize: Daiwa SL50SH Multiplier Reel. 2nd Prize: Stimulator Light Graphite Rod. 3rd Prize: Daiwa Megaforce Drop Shot Rod.

SKI BOATS & FISHING SKI'S
Ski Boats are now starting to find that the first of the couta run has started materializing as there have been some fish coming out in the Umdloti and Blythdale areas in the north and boats that are fishing the Aliwal and Scottburgh areas in the south have had some good catches of yellowfin tunny and couta. Numerous sailfish have been spotted here but to date none have been hooked or landed.
Fishing skis have also got amongst the early couta action as there are reports of one’s and two’s coming out in the Westbrook and Undloti areas. In the south it is only really the Scottburgh area that has yielded any real couta catches but here skis have had the fortunate luck that there is a variety of game fish around. Some tunny as well as dorado have been landed at this venue. It would seem a worthwhile trip to make if the water stays clear for the week end as all the rivers in the immediate area have come down and dirtied the inshore zone.

ESA
This week in ESA BASS, Xavier and Richard Watson are at Clanwilliam in the Western Cape fishing for the sporty small mouth bass.
This week in ESA Saltwater, Ray & Dean in LBSA show us what it’s all about when targeting hammerheads sharks in PE.
The DSSA team target cape gurnard on the West Coast.
The OSSA team continue their epic adventure on a Riviera Sport fisher 37ft.

KINGFISHER'S MASSIVE ANNUAL SALE
Watch out for next week’s ads for The Kingfisher, they will be having their massive annual sale. The items on sale include samples, seconds, demo items as well as a number of great specials. Don’t miss out on this one.
The trading hours of The Kingfisher over the festive season are as follows:
Mon – Fri. 8:00am – 5:00pm
Sat. 8:00 – 1:00pm
Plus:
Every Sunday in December including the 30th November and the
16th December from 9:00 –1:00pm.

KINGFISHER FISHING CLINICS
The Kingfisher hosts a free Fishing Ski Clinic on their premises once a month by Markham Pollard. These monthly clinics (except for the month of December) 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. Over and above this they also hold Rock and Surf clinics 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. To book for one of these free clinics phone the Kingfisher on 031- 368 3903.