FISHING REPORT 12TH SEPTEMBER 2009

Sardines
Eventually the sardines finally made an appearance on our coastline but from a tourist and marketing perspective it had little impact as the ‘run’ basically lasted two days. All the netting took place between Umkomaas and the Warner beach areas and crowds normally associated with these fish were no-where to be found.  Anglers however found some fish amongst the shoals but the action was restricted to the Umkomaas and Umgababa areas where some good catches of garrick and yellowtail kingfish were made.

Anglers
According to Port Edwards Terry Nel is that fishing is very much the same down there and shad and garrick are 'fish of the day' almost every day. Bronze bream over 2kg's in weight are being caught at Trafalgar and a nice baardman was taken at Spiro's Port Edward.
Estuaries are still a problem and water levels are preventing access to some of the recreational spots and they are looking polluted and undesirable.

It would take a very brave person to predict if any further nettings or beaching would take place although there are still some big shoals out at sea.  With the presence of sardines angling in general has picked up but for whatever reason, shad have become scarce and places that normally produce good catches at this time of the year are performing badly except for the Durban piers and Umgeni mouth areas where some good catches are being reported. Fishing on the south and north coasts have recently produced some good catches of garrick and kob. On the north coast in particular the Zululand beaches have over the last few weeks produced numerous good size garrick and kob. The Amatikulu and Port Durnford areas from reports seem the places to be. The same can be said for the Richards Bay to St Lucia areas. The Transkei is still fishing extremely well from both shore and rivers. The main target here is garrick and kob and these fish are being caught mainly at the Lighthouse and Poenskop in the Port St Johns area. Anglers fishing at the Lighthouse at night with spoons etc, have had some good success at night as far as kob are concerned. The Port St Johns River is also fishing extremely well and good reports of big grunter and shoal size kob have been received recently. The odd garrick is also being caught here.

Ski Boat
Ski Boat fishing remains stable with boats mainly targeting bottom fish in the form of daga and geelbek salmon. General bottom fishing has produced some good catches of rock cod and reds along with the odd big copper steenbras.

Fishing ski’s
Fishing ski’s are entering a somewhat unproductive period as they can now basically target snoek and the odd daga salmon and are going to have wait the windy season out before the dorado start making an appearance in early November.

The Kingfisher’s “Biggest Shad Competition”
The Kingfisher’s “Biggest Shad Competition” is in full swing. The heaviest  shad  for the month of September will receive a 14’ Kingfisher Poseidon 5pc Graphite Rod, valued at R1, 925.00, the second heaviest shad will receive a Daiwa SL 50SHK Reel, valued at R1,189.00 and third heaviest shad will receive a Daiwa Opus Plus 6000 Reel valued at R567.00. Please note that all shad (fresh) must be weighed at The Kingfisher, 53 Hunter Street, Durban during trading hours and please remember there is a bag limit of four and the minimum size is 30cm.

ESA
Catch the ESA team doing battle on ESA Saltwater at 7:30pm on Thursday and don’t miss the bass show at 7:00pm every Tuesday on Super sport 1 (unless mentioned otherwise – check your DSTV guide for details). The latest ESA magazine is out and on sale at The Kingfisher for R19.95. This issue it is jammed packed with great features.

For the guys who are going north to Jozini Dam (also known as Pongolapoort Dam) to do a bit of tiger fishing, here is a bit of info for you supplied by Ryan Tippett, from Shayamoya Game Lodge as well as Mike from Nikao Fishing Adventures.
It’s what we’ve all been waiting for, the fishing season has eventually returned and it’s expected to be a good one. The water is still a bit cold, sitting at about 19 degrees. The temperature will continue to increase as the days get hotter. Visibility in the water is brilliant. In still weather, one can often see the fish cruising in the shallows. The days have begun to get pretty hot. Mornings are definitely the best for fishing as they tend to be nice and calm. The afternoons are now normally rather windy.

TROLLING: This is by far the best time of year for trolling. Fishing this method hasn’t provided Ryan with a huge amount of bites but the bites you do get are mostly from big fish. Trolling now is most effective in the river below the bridge. Shallow running lures like the Arc Minnow, Fluttering Plug and the Hunchback by Strike Pro are preferable as the dam level is lower than at this time last year. (By the way the Hunchback is the famous “ Rufus” that caught all the massive tigers in the Zambezi River and the Barotse Flood Plains.

“Hier Gaan Ons Alweer”
The “Hier Gaan Ons Alweer” team (Afrikaans Fishing programme on Kyknet) went fishing to Barotse Tiger Camp in the beginning of May 2009 and  caught more than 25 fish over 10lbs in 4 days!  (5 guys fishing)  That does not include fish below 10lbs. As far as colours go fire-tiger, orange, red and white and yellow and orange are always safe bets. Ryan and his team have landed a few tigers in to region of 3 to 4kg and lost a few of around 5kg mark.

SPINNING: There has been a lot of action while spinning. The tigers are getting back to their aggressive best and all manner of spinners, spoons and lures are getting chased in anger. A lot of fun can be had spinning and many fish should be caught. However trolling and bait fishing are more reliable methods for the bigger fish.

BAIT:  The usual methods of sardine, chicken and live-bait are all working well. The live-bait is very effective when fished near the deeper drop-offs. The strong smell of sardines makes it the best bet for fishing on the bottom as a drift-bait. Ryan love’s using chicken in the early morning or late afternoon when the tigers hunt in the shallow water. The durability of chicken allows it to be cast and retrieved. This can lead to some very aggressive strikes.

FLY: You can’t go wrong casting a fly now as the tigers are very willing to bite the fly. The usual patterns still prevail. Lefty’s Deceivers, Clouser Minnows, Copper Tigers and flashy profile patterns always seem to get the results. The area opposite the campsite is proving to be a most reliable spot for the fly fisherman. During the early morning and late afternoons one can find some pretty large tigers hunting around the beds of hydrilla weed.

Mike took two clients from USA out for a day of tiger fishing. The weather was superb, the water temperature was warm and the water was slightly stained. They decided to target the tiger fish on a new method of artificial lures using soft plastics and jig heads. (Like they do in saltwater dropshot). The best colours for the tiger fish seemed to be greens and yellows. In the end they landed nine fish all between 2Kg and 3.5Kg, so the new dropshot method proved itself to be a worthy way to target the tiger fish. The 4” minnows, with a ¼ ounce jig head and a 2/0 hook was responsible for most of the catch. The Mc Arthy range of plastics work very well for the tigers, especially the Chartreuse / Pearl, Orca and the Olive / Pearl colours. Mike has two more trips up there in the next month or so, and will definitely be using this method again.
We hope this information has wet the appetite for the guys that will be fishing the Tiger Tournament at the end of September and wish you the best of luck.

3rd annual bass classic
On the bass side, Mnini dam, located within 15 kms of Amanzimtoti is hosting it's 3rd annual bass classic over the weekend of 3rd and 4th October 2009.
Thousands of rands are available for the biggest bass and the heaviest bags of 5 bass on both days. Lucky draw prizes will also be handed out on the presentation day, the 4th October. Entry fee is R150 per angler and covers both days. For more info contact Ron on 0833007528.

Kingfisher’s trading hour
The Kingfisher’s trading hours are Monday, Wednesday to Friday 8:00 to 17:00, Tuesday 8:30 to 17:00 and Saturday 8:00 to 13:00.
Shane from Freedivers is holding a clinic on diving (spear fishing and cray fishing) at The Kingfisher, 53 Hunter Street Durban on the 25 October 2009. This clinic is free and like all of the clinics, booking is a must.