Getting HOOKED

THE North Coast has had splashes of fishing success over the past week. The weather has not played fair and the sea conditions have meant that fishing has been tough.

The odd days of good weather have seen stumpies, pompano and scratching species coming out, while the inedible fishermen have been left holding pole.

Fresh mackerel has been the bait of choice and the only bait to produce any inedible bites, while the edible guys have favoured chokka for its versatility.

If you are fishing at night, make sure to add some glow foam or a glow bead on to your trace as this drastically increases the fish-attracting ability of the rig.

The central region continues to fish steadily, but slow.

The shad that are plaguing the piers and beaches are 90% undersize and strip any bait off the hook in seconds.

The other edibles coming out have been falling for prawn and cracker shrimp.

These have been stumpies, pompano, blacktail and snapper kob. These are all light-tackle fish and you will enjoy the fishing much more if you target them using your light spinning gear.

For those who enjoy fishing at night, the Kingfisher now stocks the clip-on glow sticks that make night-time bite detection a breeze.

The south has been a scratching fisherman’s dream.

With the sea conditions being unfavourable for fishing big, the rocky ledges and gullies have been the only place to be able to hold a bait and fish successfully.

The bronze bream have been full up and Ray’s tip of the week above will stand you in good position to get your bream season to a running start.

Remember to get your Mustad Chinu hooks and the small orange floats to increase your chances of fighting these strong rock fish.

There have also been some good cracker landed by the guys fishing with “muscleman” crabs.

These are very strong fish and demand a solid hook.

The Mustad Hoodlum is the hook of choice for most anglers with a few cracker to their name.

There have also been stumpies and kob for the guys fishing into the night.

The Kingfisher Biggest Shad Competition has kicked off. It will be run over this month and next.

Winners with the heaviest shad for each month will receive a Daiwa BG 5000 Reel filled with Daiwa 8 weave 30lb J Braid, valued at about R3 000; for the second heaviest – a 13’6” Kingfisher Coastline 5-piece (L M & H tip) graphite rod valued at R2 000; and third heaviest – a Daiwa Laguna 5000 spinning reel valued at about R1 000.

All shad (fresh) must be weighed at The Kingfisher, in Hunter Street or Ballito, The Fishing Tackle Shop in Warner Beach or Tackle Centre in Old Fort Road, during trading hours.

There is a bag limit of four shad and the minimum size is 30cm.

The season closes on September 30 and reopens on December 1.