KZN rock and surf fishing news

Zululand - Anglers have hit the jackpot over the last week, having reported some lovely fish along the coast. The main areas in question have been Maphelane, Cape Vidal and also further down in the Richards Bay area. With the seas being a bit rough in these areas, the majority of anglers have been targeting edibles and have been highly successful in doing so. A handful of good sized stumpies in the 5kg region were taken on chokka and prawn baits, along with a few good sized cave bass and even a number of speckled snapper. In most of these areas, the shad have been relatively quiet and only reports from Cape Vidal were received. For those who managed to catch shad, fresh shad cutlet or shad head was used to catch diamond rays and some small sandsharks. The ever so present wave garrick made for excellent GT baits in the St Lucia and Sodwana areas. These have been slid out on heavy tackle or swum out if they are too big for the slide. Most areas between Richards Bay and Zinkwazi have fished well for smaller kingies, flatfish, stumpies and a fair amount of grey sharks. grey shark swim baits have been effective in the Umtunzini area, being responsible for some good catches of Zambezi sharks and big blackfins.

Umhlanga Rocks - This area saw plenty of action with smaller edible fish in the rocks and gullies, most of which have been blacktail or smaller stumpnose. During the evenings there have been a few grey sharks around, which have been feeding on any bait in the water. A few lucky anglers have found small shoals of shad and managed to capitalise on the opportunity. Umhlanga fishing off the beaches has been pleasant, with slightly large seas being the only thing getting in the way of a good time. Some fantastic catches of stumpnose and grunter have been reported, being landed mainly on lighter spinning setups. For most of these fish that are strong fighters but have no rocks to cut the angler off on, anything as low as a 10ft Exceler will do. The Exceler range of rods can handle a fair amount of weight for a decent size scratching bait and sinker, and also has more than enough power to stop a stronger fish from returning to its hole,  and more than enough action to detect a bite.

Blue Lagoon - Fishing here has been up and down, having fished well a few days of the week. The mouth is closed and with the rough seas, waves have been crashing over into the river. The water is a magnificent colour and looks to have plenty of potential. Shad have been the main haul in this area.

Durban - This area is still producing the goods, however it has been on a much lesser scale than the last few weeks. The amount of flatfish has definitely decreased in the last week, but luckily the edibles are in full force and many anglers using chokka and red prawn baits have had excellent results. The amount of stumpies on the area is phenomenal, and the quality of these stumpies is something to admire.

Amanzimtoti - Toti has been inconsistent, but the fishable days did produce good numbers of shad, stumpies and grunter on certain tides. Most fish were taken on either sea lice or cracker baits.  

Warner Beach - This stretch has had very tough conditions, but most anglers have had at least some luck with either brown skates, shad or a small grey shark or two. Heavier rods are advised, due to the need of larger sinkers to stay put in the bigger seas.

Umkomaas - The river is still open and flowing strong, however the sea has become horribly rough near the mouth and has put most anglers off.

Scottburgh - Point is fishing well for the anglers brave enough to fish, and is producing a variety of species from small edibles to larger sharks and flatfish. With the sea on a steady increase, anglers are urged to be cautious on the rocks.

Port St John's - This area has been on top form and is one of the better performing areas on the south coast. Good catches of bronze bream and other rock species have been caught daily. Kob and garrick are still present but have slowed down. Reports of brusher have come in, with fish between 3-8kg. After being taught a lesson or two by these brusher, anglers have learnt from their mistakes and have started using decent line such as Giant Abrasion, Maxima leader material as well as decent hooks like the Mustad Big gun range.

(File Photo: Gallo Images)

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