Anglers
The windy season associated with spring has certainly kept up with tradition as howling winds from the North and South are now nearly a daily occurrence. However angling at this time of the year can be very rewarding as we still have the winter fish here and the first of the summer fish start arriving from now on mostly in the form of flatfish and sand sharks.
The Transkei which is fishing very well now also starts producing some very big sharks off most of the deep water points, but for the moment the focus down there is still garrick and kob. The main areas are the traditional Port St Johns and surrounding points and the Hole In The Wall areas. Quite a few big fish over the 20 kg mark have been reported recently. Anglers targeting kob in these areas at night with Strike Pro type lures are also having a good measure of success with some big fish. Terry Nel from Tacklenet in Port Edward reports that fishing down there in Port Edward is great and many shad are coming out especially at the waterfront. Some game fish such as garrick are around. Nice catches of bronze bream have been reported down there. This week the shad season closes so remember that your bag limit is 0 until December the 1st. So target another species instead.
Further north, the North Coast and Zululand beaches are also providing anglers with fair catches of garrick and kob. Anglers targeting bigger fish in the form of some early season sand sharks have also had some good returns particularly in the Port Durnford area. Locally there are still some garrick around with the odd kob coming out at night but anglers who are now targeting busher and pompano have had the odd fish in the Doonside and Twini areas. Shad for all it’s worth seem to have disappeared and catches of traditional venues are very sketchy. The only place where reasonable catches are being reports are from the Durban beachfront piers, the Umgeni stretch and the lower South Coast.
Ski boats
Ski boats are still having a great season as far as bottom fishing is concerned as there are plenty of daga and geelbek salmon coming out on both North and South Coasts. Black muscle cracker, rock cod and good size’ reds’ generally make up ski boaters bags. Fishing Ski’s have also had to change, as the rather dismal couta season has seen most ski anglers chasing snoek in the backline and for what it’s worth the snoek have really come to the party this year and some good numbers and above average size fish have been caught on both North and South Coasts, but at this time of the year weather conditions really don’t favor the fishing ski fraternity. There is still however some good bottom fishing to be had and recently anglers have had some fine catches of big daga salmon in the vicinity of the Barge at Umhlanga and at the close reefs off Toti. Dorado is the next fish to target on the ski boats and fishing ski anglers and the first fish should be around within the next few weeks.
Fly fishing competition
The Matatiele Mountain Lake is hosting their fly fishing competition on 31st October and the 1st November 2009. First prize for a tagged fish is R10, 000.00, 2nd R5, 000.00, 3rd R2, 500.00, 4th R1, 500.00 and 5th R1, 00.00. There are many more prizes to be won. Entry fee is R350.00 and this includes your entry, Saturday dinner and Sunday breakfast. There is a cash bar and camping facilities with ablution blocks available. For registration and bookings please contact either Shane on 083 299 4996, Lionel on 039 7373170 or Dale on 082 331 7262. This is always a very well run competition and is certainly worth while making the trip up the hill. Some info supplied by Dale that will hopefully wet your appetite. “With all that out of the way, we hope to see you fishing here this year. The fishing has been the best that I have ever seen, we had a 5.3kg brown trout caught 3 months ago and personally I caught a 4kg rainbow last week-end, with the average catch of fish ranging between 2.5 to 3kgs. We have also just recently stocked with browns and rainbows. The lake is clean and cold and an absolute pleasure to fishin at the moment.”
Free Fishing Ski Clinic
The Kingfisher at 53, Hunter Street, Durban hosts a free Fishing Ski Clinic on their premises once a month by Markham Pollard. These monthly 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. 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.














