Shongweni Dam fishing well

Bass - After some pretty serious winds in the Pietermaritzburg area, there was a limited amount of fishing being done over the last week. However, a fair amount of fish were caught at Inanda, Albert Falls and Shongweni Dam. As the wind picks up, the light penetration in the dams drops drastically and baits such as spinner baits, crank baits and rattle traps need to be utilised more. The constant tension on the line during the retrieval will also assist in bite detection, instead of having the lines bowing on the surface with the wind.

Carp - With the water heating up nicely and with good water levels, Shongweni has fished well and should remain doing so for the remainder of summer. There have been reports of good fish being landed with the largest being one of 11.6kg, which was caught towards the opposite banks off the reed lines. Inanda has had some exciting fishing recently and has produced some monster carp up to 16.2kg! This fish was caught on a whole Brazil Nut soaked in hemp seed oil and FX flavouring. Albert Falls has fished surprisingly well considering the fast dropping water levels. Dozens of fish ranging between 1-3kg have been landed off the Ntuli camp sites towards Pelican Bay and off the day visitors' site as well.

Fly Fishing - Carp on fly is something we all need to try at some stage. Targeting carp on fly can be very exciting, day or night, and with care taken not to spook the fish, hook-ups are almost guaranteed on small dry fly patterns such as DDDs etc. Carp feed on the scum lines on the surface of our dams throughout the day and if the angler is able to sneak up on the feeding fish and present a fly on a very light tippet, hold on tight and settle in for a fight to be remembered. A 4/5 or 5/6 wt. rod such as the Poseidon Fly matched with a suitable floating line and reel, using 4-8lb Siglon tippet material will work wonders. Cast your fly into the scum line around the feeding fish and wait patiently for a bite.

A reminder also that Durban Ski Boat Club is hosting Durban’s first Jetski Fishing Bonanza this weekend. Prizes worth R290 000 are up for grabs and the main prize is a Yamaha VX1100 Jetski. I will be fishing on the opening day and have been told of tuna, couta and dorado caught over the past few days. I sure hope to have a photo or two to share with you next week.

(File Photo: Wikipedia)

Twitter - @SportswaveAndre @kingfisherdaiwa