Shad and snappers are out in full force
a mood. Once the pressure stabilises, we should start to see some great fishing again.
The guys that have been successful have had to put in some long hours for the bites. Baiting the area you are fishing properly is vitally important, as the carp will not stick around if there is nothing to eat.
The flavours and dips are always a hot topic. Banana, garlic and aniseed are flavours that every box should have.
The river and stream fishing has been fantastic this past week. The trout have been feisty and put up a good scrap.
When it comes to stream fishing it is easy to pack too much. In these smaller waters, fishing the right area properly is more important than fishing the “right fly”.
A small selection of dry flies and nymphs is all you need, so keep the giant box at home and just put the essentials in your vest. A selection of nymphs focussed around Zacks, guns and GRHEs will be perfect and for the dry flies, DDDs and elk hair caddis imitations are all you need.
The scalies have kept on feeding well and are a species that are fantastic fun on the fly rod. Nymph imitations and caddis larvae are the way to go.
Fish the pockets and keep your eyes on your line while it swings. Scalies can be subtle takers, so set the hook if it looks suspicious.
Nic Maitland from Mtunzini sent in this report. “It was so hot here this morning, an otter was chasing a crab and they were both walking.
“The lagoon is fishing very well even though there have been big swings in the water temperature and it is still full of surprises i.e. one minute you are catching kob then the next your reel goes screaming off with a diamond ray.
“It is time to consider using a bit of wire on your bite trace, especially when fishing with bigger baits and artificials…the pick handle barracuda are back.
“In the surf, the shad and snappers are out in full force, mind you so are the baby sharks - please treat these little guys with care.
“We just had fun in the shop playing ‘we going on a summers holiday’ when a customer phoned in and said ‘pack a tackle box, we’re going on holiday with two boys’. This got us into the mood for the upcoming holidays and the said tackle box is ready for collection, always nice to do that.
“Here is a tip: please note the casting weight of your rod. The bigger the sinker does not equate to the further you can cast, but how quick you can snap your rod. Your rod usually snaps before the third last guide or in that area, meaning we cannot repair it. If you want to lob big sinkers buy a rod that can handle it.
“Flat fish are here to stay and we hear stories about a few nice bust ups, one sounds like a good specimen of a black tip shark.
Ski boat, well, well, at last a tuna was boated by Janie on his jet ski
- it weighed in at just over 10kg (10.159637kg).
“For the guys who went out on Monday and Tuesday they were not disappointed with their efforts. On Monday the catches were mainly kob with the odd snapper kob, however Tuesday it was different, more snapper sob than anything else and three nice rockcod.
“There was no bird activity on Monday and Tuesday so no game fish were seen or caught. From the shop, with everyone on the road please take it easy and don’t rush. We will wait for you if you need bait when you arrive or we will open later if need be, so you can hit the water at first light. I would rather you spend money in my shop than save it while you’re in hospital because you took that one chance.
“No seriously, take it easy, don’t rush, make the trip an important part of your holiday, like stopping for a Wimpy…….” Thanks Nic.