Natal snoek action at Salt Rock

Kosi Bay - Conditions on the north coast have been pleasant, with winds moderate and water colour close to perfection. There has been no shortage of reports from the Kosi Bay, Sodwana and Banga Nek areas, mostly regarding flatfish or sharks. The few edible species which have been caught have been mainly bonefish, kingfish, springer and pompano. The edibles at this time of year are targeted mainly on chokka and red-eye baits or chokka and prawn mix. However, if you are able to get your hands on octopus tentacle or mussel, your species count will increase, which also increases the chance of catching more fish. The slightly off-colour water along the KZN coast has done wonders for shark angling and there have been a variety of species landed from Zambezi sharks to milk sharks. The amount of blackfin sharks has been phenomenal, on slide and throw baits. Some anglers have had multiple hook-ups in one session, but due to the athletic nature of this species, less than half of the fish hooked have been landed. The Zambezi sharks seem to have headed in the same direction. However, this was due to the beastly size of the fish being hooked. Anglers had 250lb nylon coated wire bitten through like nylon, which serves as a reminder to always carry a spare extremely heavy trace or two in your kit. Bait size is also extremely important when there are large sharks in the area. Larger species of sharks will be more willing to feed on a large bait, as it lets off more smell as well as coming across as a more substantial meal.

Richards Bay - This spot fished well too, seeing plenty of diamond rays and honeycombs in the evenings. Spinner sharks and milkies have been on the loose again, which isn't good news for the anglers fishing for edibles. Mtunzini continued to impress, with excellent catches of sand sharks, brown skates, diamonds and honeycombs. Again, anglers fishing for edibles had a ton of milk sharks all over their bait, but the odd edible was landed.

Zinkwazi - This is another spot which stood out over the last week, and surprisingly enough, had very few anglers on its shores. After a combination of the perfect winds and low swell, the diamond rays were gale force and were being caught on everything and anything, including shad traces. With the diamonds there have been honeycombs, sand sharks and brown rays. Shad have been present, and although quite small, have still made excellent baits.

Salt Rock - This area saw a few of the spinning enthusiasts on the rocks, who managed to land some lovely fish, including Natal snoek and a variety of kingfish species. The new range of Maria Blues Code Slim baits have been put to the test and have been hugely successful.

Umhlanga/Blue Lagoon - Umhlanga and surroundings areas saw plenty of grey shark action in the evenings, with some anglers catching as many as ten in a session. Mackerel head and larger chokka baits have done very well. Stumpies have been landed off Virginia and Glenashley on the weekend by anglers using sea lice as bait. Blue Lagoon had some kingfish action earlier on in the week, with anglers using 4" McArthy Jerk Minnows on light spinning outfits. Wave garrick have also been caught, along with a few undersized shad on bait and spoon.

Durban - The beachfront has also produced the goods for many anglers fishing for edibles and inedibles. Grey sharks, honeycombs, sand sharks and brown rays have been plentiful, with stumpies, grunter and kingfish also present. Smaller baits have been catching a wider variety of species.

Bluff - Reports here of Natal snoek very shallow, that were spotted by spearfishermen during the week. These fish are not out of reach, however very light braid on an 11' rod like the Excelers, will get the distance to hook into a fish or two. Remember a fast retrieve is required.

(File Photo: Gallo Images)

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