Good couta action off the Bluff
We have heard of good couta fishing off the Bluff over the past week.
North
Sodwana Bay through to Cape Vidal is fishing very well at the moment, and with a few days’ worth of flat seas and pleasant fishing conditions, it is only expected that so many fish have been landed. Most of the fish which have been landed are couta, dorado, tuna or wahoo. Kingfish have also been plentiful and are not shy on size! Sailfish have been on the cards for most anglers fishing in the deeper water, with marlin unfortunately being a bit scarce. The water has been extremely clean in these areas so the use of fluorocarbon is absolutely crucial, so remember that your live bait requires a thinner fluorocarbon to avoid line detection. Zinkwazi has produced a few couta in the 18-25kg mark and have been reported taking live baits over the wrecks and pinnacles. Ballito is still producing healthy numbers of tuna on Rattlers, along with some very nice dorado which have been taken off the Ballito wreck on live baits. This area has probably been the most productive stretch along our entire coastline and will continue to fire for the next few weeks. Salmon Bay had many anglers bending with couta, which weighed in at an average of 10kg.
Central
Umdloti down to Blue Lagoon has slowed down slightly, but has continued to produce decent Natal snoek for the die-hard anglers. Durban has been fishing well recently as well, with catches of dorado and wahoo around the cargo ships as well as along the colour lines. The Bluff is fishing well for gamefish as well as bottom fish and has produced some very nice sized couta during the week. Deeper along the 50m mark, quite a few dorado have been landed in the warmer water on Konas and live baits. Andre Bloem caught a 9kg Natal snoek off Umhlanga last Friday. It took a spoon cast into a bait-ball.
South
Toti and Umkomaas have both managed to produce good catches of Natal snoek, which the paddle-skiers have taken advantage of over the last week. Most of these fish have fed in off-coloured water and have not been spotted in the clean water at all. Over the last two weeks, the colour line has been within 1km from shore, making this entire area a deadly spot for gamefish. Pulling along through this colour line will get tuna, dorado, wahoo and even sailfish. Pulling Rattlers a bit slower than average through this colour line should get a bite from a wide variety of species including couta and wahoo. Normal speed for trawling these colour lines is around 8-10km/h.
(File Photo: Gallo Images)
Twitter - @SportswaveAndre @ECRSportswave @kingfisherdaiwa
Sodwana Bay through to Cape Vidal is fishing very well at the moment, and with a few days’ worth of flat seas and pleasant fishing conditions, it is only expected that so many fish have been landed. Most of the fish which have been landed are couta, dorado, tuna or wahoo. Kingfish have also been plentiful and are not shy on size! Sailfish have been on the cards for most anglers fishing in the deeper water, with marlin unfortunately being a bit scarce. The water has been extremely clean in these areas so the use of fluorocarbon is absolutely crucial, so remember that your live bait requires a thinner fluorocarbon to avoid line detection. Zinkwazi has produced a few couta in the 18-25kg mark and have been reported taking live baits over the wrecks and pinnacles. Ballito is still producing healthy numbers of tuna on Rattlers, along with some very nice dorado which have been taken off the Ballito wreck on live baits. This area has probably been the most productive stretch along our entire coastline and will continue to fire for the next few weeks. Salmon Bay had many anglers bending with couta, which weighed in at an average of 10kg.
Central
Umdloti down to Blue Lagoon has slowed down slightly, but has continued to produce decent Natal snoek for the die-hard anglers. Durban has been fishing well recently as well, with catches of dorado and wahoo around the cargo ships as well as along the colour lines. The Bluff is fishing well for gamefish as well as bottom fish and has produced some very nice sized couta during the week. Deeper along the 50m mark, quite a few dorado have been landed in the warmer water on Konas and live baits. Andre Bloem caught a 9kg Natal snoek off Umhlanga last Friday. It took a spoon cast into a bait-ball.
South
Toti and Umkomaas have both managed to produce good catches of Natal snoek, which the paddle-skiers have taken advantage of over the last week. Most of these fish have fed in off-coloured water and have not been spotted in the clean water at all. Over the last two weeks, the colour line has been within 1km from shore, making this entire area a deadly spot for gamefish. Pulling along through this colour line will get tuna, dorado, wahoo and even sailfish. Pulling Rattlers a bit slower than average through this colour line should get a bite from a wide variety of species including couta and wahoo. Normal speed for trawling these colour lines is around 8-10km/h.
(File Photo: Gallo Images)
Twitter - @SportswaveAndre @ECRSportswave @kingfisherdaiwa