Tuna and bonito action off Durban
We have been told of good tuna fishing off Durban this past week. The same area has also generated reports of some big bonito action. Maphelane has produced excellent Natal snoek fishing this week.
Starting off at Sodwana, there were a few gaps over the past week that the anglers could fish, but bad weather put a lot of them off. Those who decided to take the risk and launch in the heavy surf experienced very uncomfortable fishing, but were rewarded with some good fish, most of which were dorado, wahoo and tuna. Most of the dorado and tuna are being caught on live bait, and when the seas have been slightly flatter, a fast trawling lure has been the name of the game for the wahoo.
Maphelane has produced some excellent catches of Natal snoek over the past week on small trawling lures such as the Strike Pro Magic Minnow and Halco Sorcerer. There have also been one or two dorado cruising around that anglers have been hooking into.
The bottom fishing along the Zinkwazi stretch has been good with a wide variety of fish being landed, anglers opting for bottom fishing over this stretch due to the rough seas and rain, making it difficult to trawl lures for gamefish. For those anglers who are waiting for the snoek, there is a lot of colour in the water at the moment and there have already been reports coming out about snoek in the Tinley Manor area. So it’s time to get the snoek rods ready and stock up on your favourite colour Strike Pro. Tinley Manor all the way down to Blue Lagoon should really start producing good snoek fishing soon. There has already been good snoek action off of Blue Lagoon over the last week.
Off of Durban there has been lots of action off the bait marks with plenty of decent size tuna coming out and some huge bonito. John Williamson managed a fantastic sailfish of 55kg over the past week. This fish was landed on his Daiwa Saltist 6500 H, proving this reel can stand up to any surprise. When fishing for sailfish with live bait such as a mackerel or maasbanker, it is a good idea to let the fish run for a bit before you set the hook. The sailfish will knock the bait around a bit with its bill before eating. This will ensure that the bait is dead. A lot of anglers strike after the first knock and end up losing their fish that way.
Down off the south coast there have been plenty of boats launching without much luck for the gamefish, but there has been reports of a few tuna and dorado in the Aliwal Shoal area. Most of the anglers down the coast are still bottom fishing, but unfortunately this too has been very quiet with only a few decent fish coming out. Anglers seem to be opting to wait the bad weather out rather than brave the seas. Hopefully this next week opens up with a few gaps.
Maphelane has produced some excellent catches of Natal snoek over the past week on small trawling lures such as the Strike Pro Magic Minnow and Halco Sorcerer. There have also been one or two dorado cruising around that anglers have been hooking into.
The bottom fishing along the Zinkwazi stretch has been good with a wide variety of fish being landed, anglers opting for bottom fishing over this stretch due to the rough seas and rain, making it difficult to trawl lures for gamefish. For those anglers who are waiting for the snoek, there is a lot of colour in the water at the moment and there have already been reports coming out about snoek in the Tinley Manor area. So it’s time to get the snoek rods ready and stock up on your favourite colour Strike Pro. Tinley Manor all the way down to Blue Lagoon should really start producing good snoek fishing soon. There has already been good snoek action off of Blue Lagoon over the last week.
Off of Durban there has been lots of action off the bait marks with plenty of decent size tuna coming out and some huge bonito. John Williamson managed a fantastic sailfish of 55kg over the past week. This fish was landed on his Daiwa Saltist 6500 H, proving this reel can stand up to any surprise. When fishing for sailfish with live bait such as a mackerel or maasbanker, it is a good idea to let the fish run for a bit before you set the hook. The sailfish will knock the bait around a bit with its bill before eating. This will ensure that the bait is dead. A lot of anglers strike after the first knock and end up losing their fish that way.
Down off the south coast there have been plenty of boats launching without much luck for the gamefish, but there has been reports of a few tuna and dorado in the Aliwal Shoal area. Most of the anglers down the coast are still bottom fishing, but unfortunately this too has been very quiet with only a few decent fish coming out. Anglers seem to be opting to wait the bad weather out rather than brave the seas. Hopefully this next week opens up with a few gaps.
(File Photo: Caroll Hermann)
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