Getting HOOKED

The North Coast is fishing well with snoek coming out on the backlines from far south to Maphelane.

The most successful tactics have been throwing spoons in to the backline while trolling lures and strip baits. This is light tackle country and fishing with light spinning sticks will give the most joy.

For the other fish, like tuna and ‘couta, step up the gear to get the fish before Ocean SARS takes its share. Go up a line class and get a good stout stick to pull the fish up and away from the sharks.

Tuna and the ‘couta have been falling for live bait almost exclusively.

The central zone has seen a good number of ‘couta coming out. This is more than likely due to the pre-fishing and fishing of the recent Durban Ski Boat Club competition. ‘Couta have been falling for well-presented dead baits and frisky live baits. If you can get your hands on a live bonito, pin it and hold on.

Tuna have been coming out at all of the bait spots and have been snacking on live mozzies and poppers like they haven’t eaten in weeks. There were some big fish caught in the Port Edward Ski Boat competition this past weekend. The winning fish was a ‘couta of 35kg.

Closer to home, fishing has been focused around the shoals of bait. These bait balls have been made up of anchovies and the fish have been feeding very well around these mobile food stops.

Throwing small spoons in to the medley of fish and sharks is the best way to get a pull, but make sure to get your fish out quickly before the sharks eat them.

Heave to as far away from the shoals as you can cast.

Ray’s tip: Bottom fishing is not for the faint-hearted (or the weak-tackled). Bottom fishing generally involves either anchoring or drifting over a spot ranging in depth from shallow backline reefs to colossally deep trenches.

This type of fishing is normally straight down and puts a large amount of strain on the gear of a reel (if not used properly). It is for this reason that mainly people favour the raw power of the 1:1 gear ratio of a KP or Scarborough fishing reel. With a KP, there are no gears (only tears). This means that you do not have to worry about pump and wind, just forward and reverse. KPs are also very easy to service and due to the lack of parts, are virtually indestructible.

Rod-wise, there are three main options to suit the different applications. For the backline fishermen, there is the Poseidon Offshore-series Kingfish rod. This paired with an 8” KP will do the business. For the general-purpose angler, there is the Poseidon Offshore-series Geelbek rod. Paired with a 9” KP there is not much you cannot stop.

Now, for the boys looking for the denizens in the very deep, best look at our Poseidon Offshore-series Yellowtail rod. This beast of a pole paired with a 10-11½ inch KP will make fast work of winding up from the depths.

The rock and surf scene has seen a mixture of fishing in the last week. The water is still warm along the coast and this had made for some poor inedible fishing. The grey sharks are feeding, but are rather small. On the plus side, the edible fishing has been phenomenal and our own Dean Reddy showed us how it is done by having a great trip up north, landing some beautiful fish in the bricks (including a large Moray eel and some fat little zambies and a tiger shark).