South Pier kingfish action
In Durban harbour we are still getting a lot of reports of big brown rays harassing the light tackle anglers who are fishing for grunter. These brown rays love bloody sardine baits, but will also take cracker shrimp.
These fish are good fun on light tackle outfits such as 6ft rods, 2000 size reels and 8-10lb braid. Fishing like this can be very invigorating to the angler as it can be a true test of skill and angling ability when there is a big brown giving your tackle a real workout.
There are a few grunter coming out around the sandbanks. Many anglers have reported these fish coming on the bite on an incoming tide.
There are lots of the smaller kingfish coming out on artificial lures. A good way to target these fish is to kit yourself out with a 6/7ft light rod, 2500 size reel and braid between 8 and 15lbs. Good lures to attract and hook these fish would have to be the Strike Pro range. This range is of high quality without the high prices. The Sprat Stick 45 in particular works incredibly well for this sort of fishing, with this lure being lipless and a sinking lure, you will be able to cater the movement to what the smaller gamefish in the area will be after.
South Pier is producing plenty of kingfish and plenty of pickhandle barracuda up to a metre long. These fish, commonly known as spikes, are incredibly aggressive and will hit anything. Their sharp teeth make it easy for them to bite your lure off, but normally you are able to land them.
Twitter - @kingfisherdaiwa @SportswaveAndre