Grunter and shad action in KZN
Now here is something exciting for all anglers, surfers, divers, bodyboarders, conservationists and general beachgoers to note in their diaries.
The Africa Marine and Leisure Expo presented by Ugu South Coast Tourism will ensure that Scottburgh beach and other venues in the Umdoni area will be alive with action on 3 and 4 August.
Entrance to the expo will be completely free and it is open to everyone.
Highlights of the festival include the Scottburgh Powerplay Surf Pro Contest sanctioned by Surfing South Africa with a men’s and women’s division and a R50 000 prize purse. To enter visit www.surfingsouthafrcia.co.za The KZN Bodyboarding Championships will also be taking place over that weekend. To enter visit www.sixty40.co.za
The expo also includes two big angling events. On the Saturday anglers will launch from Pennington Beach to take part in the African Marine Expo Tag and Release Deep Sea Fishing Competition for a purse of R10 000 plus product prizes. Anyone interested should register on 2 August at the Pennington Beach Club House.
Sunday’s fishing will be handed over to the children with the Junior Tag and Release Shore Fishing Competition run by popular angler Dean Pretorius. Registration for this event will take place at 7am on the day and will cost R20.
The conservation aspect of the event will be highlighted by the guest speakers who will be present throughout the weekend and who will explore the issues facing the KZN coastline in more depth. These speakers include well known scientists, conservationists, divers and underwater photographers.
There will be a Leisure Expo on Scottburgh Beach, showcasing all kinds of products related to having fun on the ocean. In addition to this there will be jet-ski demonstrations and a bikini fashion show and plenty of children’s activities. All weekend, live bands and DJs will ensure that everyone is in the party mood. So there is heaps to look forward to.
To end here is a quick snippet from the Kingfisher crew for the Durban Bay - both the bank and boat anglers have been testing their skills in targeting grunter. There have been a few decent size fish in the 2–2.5 kg range, but most of the grunter have been juvenile fish. There seems to be a lot of shad around, unfortunately with many also not making the legal size.
Light N winds this morning swinging to NEs of up to 23 knots in Durban later with a maximum temperature of 23 degrees. There is a 30% chance of rain showers in Durban in the early morning with clear skies later on Monday.
(File Photo:Gallo Images)
- Olivia Symcox
Twitter - @OliviaSymcox and @SportswaveAndre