WEEKLY FISHING REPORT 15TH AUGUST August 15, 2012 by The Kingfisher With a Bumper Shad season a number of lovely fish have been caught and the current standings in the Kingfisher Competition are: 1st Rajan Govender with a Shad of 0.790kgs, 2nd Collin Geithire 0.694kgs and 3rd Frikkie Morris with a 0.664kgs Shad. Marlon De Waal caught a beautiful 4.120kg Shad in the Tinley Manor area and unfortunately as the fish was frozen it could not be entered into the competition. The August Competition will close on the last business day of normal trading for the Kingfisher. There is still plenty of time, so make sure to bring your Shad to The Kingfisher for an official weigh-in. With the sea somewhat dirty in areas and the strong westerly over the weekend, hopefully we can look forward to some better fishing for next week. Rock and Surf The results for Common Venue Round 5 have been posted on the Unions Website. www.kzncau.co.za Kosi Bay A number of Shad seem to sum up this area during the last week, the weather did not play ball over the weekend and this area should really spring to life in the next month or two. Cape Vidal Shad are out of control along this stretch of beach. The recent Ballies and Boys Competition, saw a large amount of Shad caught and released and a few kept for the pot. Feedback received is that the Dads and Sons had an absolute ball. Most of the fish were caught on Kingfisher Shad traces with traditional Sardine baits, however the more trendy Anglers put the ever popular S-bend Spoon to good use. Few good size Garrick were also landed here on live bait. Mapelane With clean water and good water temperature, Shad were prolific with many a novice being able to catch their quota on all facets, be it Dropshot, bait and artificial lures. A few Kob have also been caught in the late afternoon. Richards Bay The Casuarina area has seen some activity in the last week. A number of Kob in the +/- 5 kilo range as well as Rubber-lips were landed in the late afternoon and into the evenings. For the early morning get-up and go guys there have been some Shad about. Tugela With the recent rains filling the rivers the water here has been somewhat dirty and a lot of weed has made fishing virtually impossible. Salt Rock A lonely Garrick of 11 kilos was all that was heard from this area this nice fish was caught on a live-Shad thrown off the front of the swimming pool. Umhloti With discoloured water the best hope is to try and target a Kob either on a Paddle-tail or Chokka bait as these fish are quite happy to swim around in off-coloured water. Umhlanga Some Shad are being caught on the right hand side of the Lighthouse in the early mornings. A few Grey Sharks off of the front points have also been landed with Sand Mackeral head or cutlet baits. With spring around the corner this area should provide a lot more fish. Durban Piers a few juvenile Grunter and some Shad have been the main species. And an occasional large Blacktail has treated a lucky Angler in the early morning. Possibly many more fish could be caught from this vantage point, if the Pier received a little more respect and a bit of effort was put into a clean-up. Beachfront Like the rest of the coast, this area has seen a prolific amount of Shad being caught – sometimes even throughout the day. The water temperature is slightly colder than normal and this protected area seems to still have good visibility. Bluff The dirty water due to the canal emptying into the sea after the rain meant that this area was somewhat un-fished early in the week. The water seems to have cleared up and a few Shad and a rare Kob in the late evenings have been rumoured for this area. Toti Due to the two rivers in close proximity to this area – the water was also discoloured. Although there were a few Shad and 4 Garrick reported for the last week, the water should be a lot clearer so the weekend warriors can definitely have a go. Winkel The Garrick still seem to be in this area and the Shad are definitely being chased. Both live and dead Shad are readily grabbed by the Garrick, even with the large number of people present. Umkomaas The Umkomaas River came down in spate and turned the sea to chocolate not much fishing was done and only some small Snapper Salmon were heard of. Scottburgh Likewise with a river right next door to the main fishing rocks only a few Blue Skates were caught off the front rocks and an occasional Shad along the colour line. Trafalgar Prior to the dirty water this area was somewhat busy with Bronze Bream, Cave Bass and a few Cat-faced Rock Cod dressing the dinner table. The dirtier water should clear shortly and fishing can resume. Margate This area has really been the pick of the litter for Shad. Most days have seen these species being caught throughout the day. The larger specimens seem to be more prolific on bait and the medium to small fish on Artificials and Spoons. Transkei The Port St Johns area water resembled a double thick chocolate milkshake very few fish were caught in this discoloured water. South of the dirty water – Kob, Bronze Bream, big Shad and a few Garrick in the 10 12 kilo range have been reported. Ski-boat Due to the wind Gods playing their normal tricks and lots of dirty water many Skippers feel they are surely cursed. There were however a few boats which launched with mixed reports and mixed successes. Cape Vidal/Richards Bay The winter species i.e. Garrick have been regularly targeted with live-Shad and Pinkies. A few Snoek still seem to be lurking although not many have been boated. A few reports of some Geelbek and Daga being caught on night-rated boats have also been made. Umhlanga Until the rains caused the rivers to flow, the fishing had been fairly good with some Snoek, the odd Couta and lots of Garrick being targeted. The river-mouth areas – produced more Garrick, especially on the ever abundant Shad and Mackeral. With the water clearing rapidly Skippers can lift the curse and go back to their favourite fishing spots. Durban When things arent broken dont try and fix them. The tried and tested Kingfisher double-hook Daga/Geelbek trace is definitely being put to good use. The Geelbek in about the 10 kilo range as well as some nice Daga have kept Skippers smiling. A few Kingfish of various species were also targeted on Buck-tail jigs. Warner Beach/Toti/Winkel Bait fish seem more plentiful in this area in the form of Mackeral, Red-eye, a few Maasbunker and some Natal Sardines mixed in for good measure. Live Shad have been trolled, cast and drifted to catch the Garrick aka the Gentleman of the sea. Umkomaas/Scottburgh Like most areas, experienced dirty water and not much fishing was done. Garrick and small amounts of bait fish were that was heard of. Pennington Some Geelbek have been boated and an occasional Wahoo has kept reels screaming. This area should improve as the water clears up. Paddle-ski At the mercy of the elements, the Paddlers have suffered a similar fate due to dirty water and with their limited range, this can prove somewhat troublesome. North Coast An occasional Snoek and lots of Garrick were caught in this area, prior to the dirty water. The early risers often caught their quota and were still at work on time. Bait has been plentiful and one down with the Sabiki could even get your 4 Shad in seconds. Central Durban and Umhlanga still producing Kob in and around the wrecks and where large amounts of bait fish have occurred. The Snoek seem all but gone for the moment and a lucky Angler might see a Croc Couta. The Shad are still a pest to the strip-bait Anglers although a small Sardine Fillet for a nice size Shad seems a pretty good trade-off. South Coast Garrick from left to right and in between. This species seems most prolific and with lots of bait being available has become an easy target. Reports received of a lonely Wahoo near the Umkomaas area is the only deviant to the Garrick trend. Durban Bay Lots of smaller sized Shad, some Sand Soldiers and smaller Grunter have made up this weeks catches. The water was quite clean with only a small amount of debris after the recent rains. The Bay could probably be a better bet until the sea has returned to its normal colour. With the windy months now upon us, the Bay offers great protection and an ideal place to fish from the side or off of a water craft. Freshwater Fly-Fishing The Rivers are producing some Scalys and it seems it is on the rise. The up country run off filled the rivers for a short period and increased the flow rates, with these subsiding; we can expect even more fish to be caught. The dams are producing a few fish although very cold conditions and a warm bed are a tight toss-up. Bass Fishing has been fairly difficult due to the windy conditions. Inanda Dam is currently closed due to spawning and Albert Falls Dam will be closed for the month of September. The other Dams have not produced many fish. With spring around the corner and better conditions, the trend should improve. Carp Albert Falls being the only Dam of significance. Fortune favoured the brave as these fish were all in the 2 4 kilo range, caught mainly during the night and early morning up until about 5am. Tiger Fishing The river entrance to the Jozini Dam has constantly produced some nice fish. The Kingfisher Tiger live-bait trace is working really well. The most popular being the nylon coated with the Mustad 4.0 Kendall hook. Fish landed have been between 800g and 1.2 kilos. Fishy-Facts The Geelbek (family to the Kob and the Baardman) although not Green listed by SASSI is a popular commercial and recreational fish and hence has a 2 per Angler limit with a minimum size limit of 60cm. This is an excellent table fish and should only be enjoyed on special occasions. For the latest KZN fishing news presented by O.J., tune into East Coast Radio at 5.40am Monday – Friday. There are some great fishing TV shows that are back after a break for the Olympics, these are being aired on DSTV. 1) ASFN premiers on Mondays on Super Sport 6, channel 206, 19:30 to 20:00. 2) Free Spool Angling premiers on Thursdays on Super Sport 6, Channel 206, 19:00 to 19:30. On the 1St August, The Kingfisher started their Biggest Shad Competition. This year it will be run over a two month period, August and September, with three prizes each month. The heaviest shad for each month will receive a 14 Kingfisher Poseidon Cold Class 5pc Graphite Surf Rod, valued at R1, 875.00, the second heaviest shad will receive a Daiwa SL 50SHK Reel, valued at R1, 075.00 and third heaviest shad will receive a Daiwa Opus Plus 6000 Spinning Reel valued at R567.00. Please note that all shad (fresh) must be weighed at The Kingfisher, 53 Hunter Street, Durban, during trading hours and please remember there is a bag limit of four and the minimum size is 30cm. Any info about fishing, fish caught or competitions in your area please send to mike.pereira@kingfisher.co.za or fax 031- 368 4007. Check out the new Kingfisher web site: www.kingfisher.co.za. They have updated the tide tables for 2012 and come with a few new added bits of information, like tidal movement, sunrise, sunset ETC. The trading hours of The Kingfisher are as follows: Mon Fri. 8:00am 5:00pm Sat. 8:00am 1:00pm The Kingfisher wishes all Anglers Tight Lines.