Grunter and sole off Durban piers
Kosi Bay - Very few reports have been coming through from this area due to the size of the seas over the last week. There was no shortage of anglers in the area. However, the only species that stood out was bonefish. The water seems to be heating up a bit, so anglers should take a look at targeting the summer species which should be through any time from now.
Cape Vidal - Garrick have been landed on live blacktail and pinkies. There have also been large quantities of wave garrick that were caught on any smaller bait thrown into the shallows and around the sand banks. These catches have been anything up to 2kg so the fun factor is always there. A perfect combination for this sort of angling would be the new Daiwa Laguna 11ft rod paired with either with the trusty Daiwa BG20 coffee grinder or the new Laguna 4000 spinning reel, which handles braided line like a dream.
Richards Bay - North Pier seemed to be the only fishable spot throughout the week with the sea being unpleasant. In this area there were quite a number of milk sharks and spinner sharks which were all caught on small baits whilst targeting blue rays and grey sharks. Fleshy baits on foam dressed Mustad Big Gun size 5/0 up to 8/0 have worked best.
Ballito - The only areas to produce fish were the main points in Ballito. Mostly grey sharks and small blue rays with plenty of shad, teasing anglers who are forced to return all catches to the water in this closed season for shad.
Umhlanga – Lighthouse area has been cleaned out by the large seas experienced recently. Many anglers in the area had more luck targeting smaller blacktails and stumpnose in the bricks. Red prawn on Chinu size 4 hooks cast into the gullies has produced more bites than anything else. It is important to use light gauge hooks such as the Mustad Chinu in order to give the bait as much movement in the water. This will ensure more bites and bigger fish more regularly.
Blue Lagoon - Only the odd stumpie and grunter to be seen here recently. Shad anglers have been out of sight since the start of closed season and any shad caught accidentally have been returned to the water without hesitation, which is a lovely sight along our coast line.
Durban - The piers along Durban have fished very well over the last week, producing many good sized grunter and sole too. Cracker and chokka baits have worked best. The sea has been big so anglers using spinning set-ups have been doing better with less drag in the water. The earlier parts of the week produced a fair number of flatfish in the calmer sections of the protected areas such as uShaka and Addington. Blue rays and small browns have been caught with cutlet baits on long casts into deeper water.
Bluff - Plenty of karanteen as well as blacktail have been caught by the youngsters using light set-ups in the gullies. Small Mustad Big Gun hooks or stamp hooks baited with prawn or chokka have produced hours of fun for the kids, while parents fish for the bigger species such as kingies and kob, both of which have been caught fairly regularly off the Bluff.
(File Photo:Gallo Images)
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