Sharks bugging anglers off Durban
Tuna anglers off Durban have been taxed heavily by sharks over the past week.
North
Sodwana Bay is still producing the odd decent sized kingfish. A live bonito is the best bait, or a big open face popper like the Wilddog or the Halco range. Big drop-offs and big pinnacles are always a good place to target these fish. The wahoo have also started to come on the bite far up north and charter boats have managed to hook into some lovely specimens. Zululand is still producing the odd Natal snoek. These fish tend to hang around the backline and 200m past backline. It’s always a good idea to use lighter tackle when targeting these fish as it will increase your strike rate and it's a lot more fun catching them seeing that they are rarely bigger than 12kg. These fish very rarely get taxed by sharks and in the Zululand area. Dolphins are more of an issue to anglers, commonly known to take snoek while anglers are busy with the fight.
Central
Tinley Manor to Durban has produced a few yellowfin tuna on the bait spots using live bait, and also a few snoek around the Virginia and Blue Lagoon area. There have been plenty fish eaten by sharks, so try not fight the tuna for too long. There have also been good catches of daga salmon along this stretch of coast, most of the fish being in about 50m of water. Live bait is always best when targeting these fish, but fresh sardine, mackerel or even a flapper sand soldier makes a great bait for these fish.
South
The Cutting to Baizley has produced good catches of Cape yellowtail. These fish fight hard so always use heavy tackle when targeting them. We feel that 1m leader and 1.2mm trace should be sufficient. Port Shepstone to Port Edward is still producing good catches of geelbek. These fish are very popular to target as they are fine table fish and are also extremely hard fighters for their size.
(File Photo: FreeSpool)
Twitter - @SportswaveAndre @kingfisherdaiwa
Sodwana Bay is still producing the odd decent sized kingfish. A live bonito is the best bait, or a big open face popper like the Wilddog or the Halco range. Big drop-offs and big pinnacles are always a good place to target these fish. The wahoo have also started to come on the bite far up north and charter boats have managed to hook into some lovely specimens. Zululand is still producing the odd Natal snoek. These fish tend to hang around the backline and 200m past backline. It’s always a good idea to use lighter tackle when targeting these fish as it will increase your strike rate and it's a lot more fun catching them seeing that they are rarely bigger than 12kg. These fish very rarely get taxed by sharks and in the Zululand area. Dolphins are more of an issue to anglers, commonly known to take snoek while anglers are busy with the fight.
Central
Tinley Manor to Durban has produced a few yellowfin tuna on the bait spots using live bait, and also a few snoek around the Virginia and Blue Lagoon area. There have been plenty fish eaten by sharks, so try not fight the tuna for too long. There have also been good catches of daga salmon along this stretch of coast, most of the fish being in about 50m of water. Live bait is always best when targeting these fish, but fresh sardine, mackerel or even a flapper sand soldier makes a great bait for these fish.
South
The Cutting to Baizley has produced good catches of Cape yellowtail. These fish fight hard so always use heavy tackle when targeting them. We feel that 1m leader and 1.2mm trace should be sufficient. Port Shepstone to Port Edward is still producing good catches of geelbek. These fish are very popular to target as they are fine table fish and are also extremely hard fighters for their size.
(File Photo: FreeSpool)
Twitter - @SportswaveAndre @kingfisherdaiwa