KZN shore fishing update

Kosi Bay - There are still high volumes of edible species off the surf and some very nice fish in the lakes as well. The size of the Kingfish has definitely increased over the last week or so, leaving anglers itching for more. Live baiting has been the more effective method of catching these bigger Kingies, but anglers using plugs have also managed a fish or two off the ledges. The Grunter in the lakes are feeding on all Prawn baits, Crab, Chokka and Sardine baits.

Cape Vidal - Although the bay is pretty sanded up, there are still good catches of Wave Garrick and small Grunter. The water has been relatively dirty which hasn't provided for great fishing. Hopefully within the next week or so of lighter winds we will start to see better water conditions.

Richards Bay - The Harbour has had some good catches of Snapper Salmon and Kob recently, all on Cracker or Sardine baits.  The Grunter have remained on the bite and have been feeding well on Cracker. On the surf side, Spinner Sharks and Brown Skates have been taken on Red Eye and Chokka baits. Big surf has had an effect on productivity over the last week but the conditions are predicted to settle.

Tugela - The rains have added some colour to the water but anglers fishing earlier on in the week managed to catch some nice Kob on McArthy Paddletails and some of their smaller cousins, the Snapper Salmon, on small baits.

Zinkwazi - Big seas and strong side wash has kept fishing to a minimum recently. Anglers braving the conditions managed to land and release some huge Shad and also some Kob on baits. Good Cave Bass have been seen in the area too.

Ballito - Ballito produced some good Blue Rays earlier on in the week, along with some bigger Grey Sharks. The bigger seas towards the end of the week caused fishing to slow down substantially.

Umhlanga - Choppy seas brought on the Brusher in the Umhlanga area, being caught mainly on Crab or Mussel baits. Remember that for fish like these with strong jaws, anglers should not compromise with the quality of tackle used. Siglon Fluorocarbon bite traces and Mustad Big Gun hooks are a must. Alternatively, a Mustad Kendal Round will do the job. In the evenings, many anglers hooked and landed Grey Sharks on Mackerel baits. Most of these fish were caught in the evenings.

Glenashley - From Glenashley through to about Blue Lagoon, many anglers have been catching Garrick on artificials. Plugs and McArthy drop shot has been working the best but the odd spoon has worked well too.

Durban - Although there have been terrible seas to compete with, anglers still made their way down to the beaches to try their luck.  Most anglers on the piers hooked into nothing but Shad, and as luck would have it, extremely large Shad in the banned season. The Ushaka stretch produced Grey Sharks and Blue Rays throughout the week, mainly in the evenings and early mornings. There have been a few bigger runs but anglers were cut off on either Moyos Pier or the nets. It is nice to know that there are bigger fish in the area.

Toti - Not too many reports of fish from the Toti stretch, as the big seas moved in and limited fishing. Some smaller Stumpies were landed along with a few Blacktail and Shad.

Umkomaas - A bit of colour in the water made fishing difficult, but the Kob seemed to hang around and take most baits that they stumbled across.

Scottburgh - Greys, big Shad and a few Skates for anglers eager enough to fish in the rough conditions. Later on in the week, Shad were the only fish in the area. Reports came through of two Brusher which took Crab off the point later in the week.

Trafalgar - Anglers have targeted Bronze Bream where possible in the Trafalgar area, fortunately to good effect. Some nice catches of around 2-3kgs were reported. Other species such as Stone Bream and Blacktail have been caught in between.

(File Photo: Gallo Images)

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