getting HOOKED

THE seas calmed down nicely after the icy cold SouthWesterly pumped non-stop for a few days, providing respite for anglers itching to get their lines in the water.

Here’s what was caught over the past week:

ROCK AND SURF:

Conditions weren’t ideal at Kosi Bay which resulted in a few fish being caught. They were nabbed mainly on dropshot and spoons

Richards Bay was more productive with some big kingfish coming out. They picked up live baits meant for sharks and other flatfish. The harbour produced quite a few sea pike and some big sand garnards.

Some nice-size grey sharks were caught at Ballito. Most of these were landed off the deep water points. Sand sharks were also caught here. Kob were caught on paddle tails off the rocks.

Fishing off Durban beaches has been a little quiet with just a few fish to report. Shad have been a bit scarce of late and anglers trying for garrick have started to slide out live mullet instead.

There were reports of a few kob being caught near the Blue Lagoon river mouth. Live karranteen and mullet were used to catch them. Small stumpies, blacktails and sand gurnards were caught off the reef with sealice and chokka baits.

A long sand bank hampered angling at eManzimtoti. However, some small honeycomb rays and sand sharks did manage to come over the bank. Quite a few small kob were also caught on dropshot and chokka baits.

Scottburgh was the place to be on the South Coast. Lots of grey sharks were caught off the deep water points. Some of the bigger shark species were snapping lines with ease.

The stretch between Port Shepstone and Port Edward has been unusually quiet with only a few edibles coming out. Small garrick and kob were caught on paddle tails. Chokka and prawn baits also worked well for the rock dwellers.

DEEP SEA:

Sodwana has been one of the more productive areas, with paddle skis and ski boats reeling in loads of fish. Lots of couta, quite a few snoek and the odd garrick were caught here.

St Lucia also fished well for couta and snoek. The snoek were caught on bullet spoons. The couta were caught just past the backline.

The tuna and couta caught at Richards Bay were much bigger than the ones caught further north. Most of the tuna were caught on live baits and poppers. The couta were taking live bonnito and big mackerel baits. Shad were also picked up just behind the backline.

The stretch between Tugela and Zinkwazi fished well for dagga salmon. Shad, karanteen and mullet were the live baits that attracted these salmon.

Boats launched at uMhlanga returned with their hulls filled with tuna and snoek. A few garrick were also caught with shad live baits near the backline.

The waters off Durban have been a bit quiet with a few tuna coming out on trawled lures as well as live baits. There were also reports of stumpies being caught at the backline on chokka baits.

Boats launching at Scottburgh and Umkomaas came back with a few wahoo and couta. A few garrick were also caught on live baits near the backline. They were caught in the early morning and late afternoons.

Garrick was the main species caught between Port Shepstone and Shelly Beach. they took live baits, dropshots and plugs near the backline. A lot of smaller reef species were also caught at the backline.

DURBAN HARBOUR:

Winter species have flooded the harbour with reports of small garrick and kob coming out. Although there are still grunter in the harbour, it is becoming much harder to catch them due to the colder water. The trick to catching grunter is to be as quiet as possible and use a light line and small hook.

It’s best to target kob in deeper water and towards the evenings, while the garrick are being caught from dusk to dawn as they rarely feed in the evenings.

FRESH WATER:

Inanda Dam produced some small bass and some nice-size carp on pop-ups. Hazelmere Dam also produced many fish which were under 1kg.

There were some good reports of trout in the Nottingham Road area.

Bass fishing has slowed down quiet a bit due to the colder water. The trick to catching bass is to throw out a large bait with a slow retrieve.

The water in Jozini Dam is starting to clear up and this looks promising for tiger fish in the days to come. It’s best to use brightly coloured lures with targeting tigers.

Send any info about fishing, fish caught or competitions in your area to mike.pereira@ kingfisher.co.za

Until next week ... TIGHTLINES!