Big kob landed at Blue Lagoon
Blue Lagoon had a gem of a kob of 27kg landed. These fish have been in the area for a good few weeks now and have also been caught on paddletail at night on both the north and south banks. Shad seem to be back on the bite at Blue Lagoon, feeding mainly in the mornings.
Along the Durban Beachfront fish have been full to the brim, with shad coming out off the piers, off the beaches, in the basin and off South Pier too. Grey sharks, blue skates and grunter have seen the hooks of many anglers.
Toti saw a fair amount of gamefish in the mornings and afternoons, Natal snoek and garrick being top contenders in this category. Once again, spinning has produced the goods. All of the popular shad spots have also seen good numbers of shad, as well as the odd garrick. Stumpies have been a popular target species in this area too - weighing in at between 3 and 6kg. There has been no shortage of size and numbers.
Scottburgh saw good sized shad at night, grey sharks in the evenings and a few garrick and snoek in the mornings. For the anglers targeting inedibles, blue skates and grey sharks were on the menu. A lovely prodigal son of 15kg was landed off the point too.
Some lovely garrick have been landed on spoon and plug at Port Shepstone. Kob have been slow over the last week, but have been taken on the right tides on fresh shad.
Terry Nel from Port Edward reports that many fishermen have become outlandish poachers and are pulling shad out the sea like there is no tomorrow. The laws regarding size and quantities are totally being ignored and many questions are being asked about the lack of control over all this by law enforcement. Please stick to your limits on size and quantity. The reason that laws are passed limiting the taking of fish out of the sea are for conservation reasons, meaning that efforts are made to preserve fish stocks for the future. Over the years much research has been put into this and, unquestionably has had an impact on preserving the fish stocks in our water.
Port St John's had better numbers of kob to show, however their size lacked. Bronze bream made up for the size loss, with quite a few specimens over 3kg. Garrick were also plentiful in these areas. South of Port St John's shad were found in massive numbers and were caught by many. Kob were also larger in these areas and were caught on paddletail and live shad. Two very good fish of over 20kg were caught on live mullet.
On 1 August The Kingfisher started their annual Biggest Shad Competition. This year it will be run over a two-month period, August and September, with three prizes each month. The heaviest shad for each month will receive a Daiwa SL 50SHK Reel, valued at R1625, the second heaviest shad will receive a 13’6” Kingfisher Coastline Medium, three-piece, 4-6oz Graphite Rod, valued at R1145 and third heaviest shad will receive a Daiwa AG 6000 Reel valued at R598. Please note that all shad (fresh) must be weighed at either, The Kingfisher, 53 Hunter Street or Tackle Centre, Old Fort Road or The Fishing Tackle Shop, Warner Beach during trading hours.
Please remember there is a bag limit of four and the minimum size is 30cm and that the season closes 30 September and re-opens 1 December 2015.
(File Photo: Gallo Images)
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