FISHING REPORT 06TH FEBRUARY 2010

Angling
Guys, you had better have a look at this. From Saturday the 6th check out The Kingfisher website www.kingfisher.co.za  under the latest fishing report, there will be two items posted, one is “Prohibition of the fishing method “vertical jigging” from and the possession of “vertical jigs” on vessels within iSimangaliso”Signed by Andrew Phillip Zaloumis the Chief Executive Officer: iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority and the other is a notice from the Department of Environmental Affairs about the proposed new license fees for fishing, diving etc.

Shad for what it’s worth are nearly a non entity as anglers who actively target this specie are finding it very difficult to even locate them. The only areas that seem to be doing relatively well is the Durban area and during the early morning and at the Umkomaas pier. The fish that are coming out at these venues are mostly small and only a few really make the legal size limit.

The inedible species however are keeping anglers busy as there are good reports of fish on both North and South coasts.Mostly brown and honeycomb rays are being caught but sand sharks are still proving to be elusive as there are only few reports of these fish coming through. The Transkei is still fishing well with favourable reports coming in from the Port St Johns and Hole in The Wall areas. Mostly hammerheadand grey sharks are coming out but there have been some good size spinner shark activity as well. Anglers fishing these venues at night are getting some small kob and grunter.

This info sent to us by Sunil Piyarlall: The Saltiga/Staffie combination is really working well.  I caught this 195Kg Bronze Whaler at Strandfontein on Sunday, 31 Jan 2010. Some of the Western Province Anglers were there and could not believe the backbone on that rod. One of the guys had a smaller fish on and fought it for over 2.5 hours. I landed this fish in 1 hour 45 minutes !! The rod appears light, but shows off its true colours when you hook into a monster.
One of the guys went to the local angling shop (I think it was Sub
Urban Tackle) and bought a Staffie with a Saltist the next morning. I fished with him on
Monday evening.

Details:
Specie: Bronze Whaler or Copper Shark
Size: 238cm Pre Caudal length (ORI Estimate 195Kgs)
Bait: Whole Sarda Sarda
Venue: Strandfontein, False Bay, Cape Town
Date: 31 January 2009.
Fight Duration: 1Hr 45mins
Tackle: Reel - Saliga 50, Rod - Poseidon HMG Extra Heavy (Staffie)
Conditions: Light South Easter, Full Spring Tide, Water Temp - approx
16 Degrees

KZNCAU
With January already behind us the KZNCAU had a particularly busy month in that they fished a Common Venue and Postal round in the first month of the year and some good results came with it. Weather obviously played a big part in the Postal round as strong winds and heavy seas made for some daring decisions from team Captains.

The better weights came from the Transkei and lower south coast where conditions were far from ideal but never the less Benders managed a credible first position with a very good weight of 195.5 wt points, they were followed by NCAA, 179.0 wt points, 3rd Umkomaas 173.7 wt points, 4th Hibiscus 140.0 wt points and 5th spot went to Umzimkulu 106.6 wt points.

The Common venue round was fished in better conditions and a greater variety of fish was landed although inedible fish, mainly skates and sharks made up the bulk of the catch. The Top three teams in the  North Zone were NCAA 273.4 wt points, 2nd Big Hook 166.4 wt points, 3rd Old Boys 135.3 wt points.

The Central Zone found the going tough with Garrick winning the zone with 49.3 wt points followed by HLHAAC 14.1 wt points and 3RD spot Hot Shots 10.9 wt points. The tough South section was won by Leviathan 139.4 wt points, closely followed by Benders 137.2 wt points and 3rd spot went to Warnadoone 126.0 wt points. The full results for Common Venue Round 1 are now available on the Union’s Web Site. www.kzncau.co.za,

The Marlin Club of South Africa
The Marlin Club of South Africa’s tournament was held on the 28th to the 30th January and in spite of inclement weather with the first of three days cancelled, the 22 tournament boats participating put in hours and manage some fine fish. First place went to Team Reactor, second place to Team Charlie Brown and third place went to Team Dohazari. The list of billfish tagged and released are, 3 x sailfish, 1 x striped marlin, 1 x shortbill spearfish and 6 x black marlin. The biggest dorado was 14kg’s, the biggest wahoo was 19.5kg’s and the biggest tuna was 10.7kg’s. Well done to Bobby Graham, the tournament organizer and chairman.

Ski Boats
Ski Boats at the moment are having the best of both worlds as there are plenty of game fish and some good bottom fish around. Boats off Durban are still getting a lot of dorado and the odd yellowfin tuna off the deeper reefs. Closer inshore the couta season has not really materialized yet but a few good fish have been caught in the Umdloti and Ballito areas.

The Aliwal shoal and Protea banks have really lived up to their reputations recently as a large variety of fish have been caught at these venues for the past few weeks. Mostly average size yellowfin keep anglers busy but dorado, wahoo, couta and even a few rainbow runner have made up bags here.

Fishing ski’s
Fishing ski’s are also in on the action and reports coming from the Toti and Scottburgh areas suggest that fishing has definitively picked up. Dorado and snoek make up most of the catches but a few good size couta have also come out.

Inanda BETT tournament
The guys had a tough day at the Inanda BETT tournament on the 30th January. The day started out overcast and little bit of rain here and there and the water surface temperature averaged around 26 deg. C. In the morning there was very little wind but later on a SW wind picked up and the sun showed it face and made for a really hot day. The dam was completely flooded and the water level considerably higher after the rains.

RESULTS
1. 1 Team Cannon, Roy Cannon /  Michael Cannon.
2. 73 Lucky Strike 2, Eugene Potgieter / Gareth Potgieter.
3. 57 Sphere Fred Walker Rupert.
4. 3 Bamba Bass, Harry Adamson / Carlo Talanda.
5. 18 Team Hot Doggy, Gerhard Nortje /  Kieron Sampkin.
6. 34 Team Snake Eyes, Brian Blignaut / Marc Meyer.
7. 10 Team Beginners Luck, Pieter Slabber / Muller Smit.
8. 61 Team Hobbo, Giep Joubert Pieter.
9. 9 Team Manns Furuno, Wayne Tarr  / Casper Knoetze.
10. 69 Z Potgieter / M Potgieter .

The Wartburg Angling Club is hosting their annual babel competition on the 20TH March 2010 at the Albert Falls Dam. There are lots of prizes up for grabs which include  Men’s, Ladies and Juniors with a first prize being R10,000 for the biggest fish (ladies are eligible for this prize over and above their first prize of R 1000). The junior section also has a first prize of R1200. For more information anglers can contact Gary 079 692 1478 or Edwin 082 971 2003.

The Kwazulu Natal fly Fishing Association
The Kwazulu Natal fly Fishing Association has its new website up and running. The calendar of events and league dates for Provincial trials is on there along with registration details and fees. Any anglers interested in participating in this fun league can find more information on  www.kznffa.org . Registration is now online for Senior Men, Ladies & Juniors. New interested anglers are welcome to try out at the first stillwater event of 2 sessions to be held on Sun 31st January. Watch the website for more details on times and venue or contact Linda Gorlei via the website or on 083 631 5301.

Two major fishing competitions for Fishing Ski and Jet Ski anglers.
There are two major fishing competitions coming up for Fishing Ski and Jet Ski anglers. The first one is the Umhlanga Challenge which takes place on the 20th and 21st March 2010. This is quite a unique competition in that anglers fish ’open boundaries’ and can launch anywhere between Zinkwazi in the North and Port Shepstone in the South. The weigh in will take place at the Umhalanga Ski Boat Club on both days. The second one is the Annual Paindane Species Competition which is held at the Paindane Resort in Mozambique. This competition runs from the 3rd May to the7th May. For more on both of these competitions anglers can log on to info@stealthkyakfishing.co.za.

ESA fishing shows
Don’t forget to watch the action packed ESA fishing shows on TV. These shows feature both saltwater and bass fishing and are aired on Super sport 1. The ESA Saltwater show will be broadcasted weekly on Thursdays between 19h30 and 20h30, and the ESA Bass show will air weekly on Tuesdays between 19h00 and 19h30.

The Kingfisher hosts free Fishing Clinic’s
The Kingfisher hosts free Fishing Clinic’s on their premises once a month, booking is essential. These 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.

Diving clinic
Shane from Freedivers is hosting a diving clinic on the 27th February at The Kingfisher, 53 Hunter Street, Durban. This will be a great clinic, especially as the crayfish season opens on the 1st March. To find out more about these clinics and to book a seat please phone The Kingfishers sales staff on 031 368 3903.

The Kingfisher’s trading hours are Monday, Wednesday to Friday 8:00am to 5:00pm, Tuesday 8:30am to 5:00pm and Saturday 8:00am to 1:00pm.

Please note that The Kingfisher will be closed on Monday the 1st March and
Tuesday the 2nd March for stock taking, we apologise for any inconvenience
this might cause you.

For the latest KZN fishing news presented by OJ, tune into East Coast Radio At 5.40am Monday – Friday. If you miss that then phone the Kingfisher’s KZN Angling Hotline on 082-234 6362, this report is updated 7am daily.

Photo of Sunil and his personal best, a bronze whaler of 195kg’s landed with his Kingfisher Poseidon “Staffie”rod and his Daiwa Saltiga 50 reel.

Fees payable in respect of application and the issuing of rights, permits and licences

Isimangaliso Wetland Park Internal Rule