Getting HOOKED

FROM the North to the South Coast, anglers have been kept busy by the various species of fish, especially shad, that have been on a feeding frenzy recently. Here’s what was pulled out by rock and surf anglers in the past week.

Richards Bay: Good catches of kob and garrick have been recorded as well as a number of different species of flatfish. The bay has yielded many grunter for anglers fishing from boats or from the side, which is a good indicator that fishing in these waters in summer will be hugely rewarding.

Zinkwazi/Blythedale: Numerous fish have been caught, coming out in twos and threes, and nicely-sized ones. Shad and garrick have been caught in the mornings along this stretch.

Ballito: Has generally seen smaller-sized shad being bagged, with a few being exceptionally well-sized. With many peckers around, bait has not lasted too long in the water.

Virginia and Blue Lagoon: There have been extremely good catches of shad on Japanese mackerel and sardine in the mornings and early evenings, but the fish landed were not as big as those caught in previous weeks. The presence of shad in these waters has created easy pickings for the garrick – anglers need to keep an eye out for larger shad and garrick in this area. There have been a few kob caught off the north bank in the mornings and evenings on McArthy paddle tails and shad bait.

Durban: Some nicely-sized shad have been caught along the Addington stretch at night. Smaller grunter and stumpnose have been landed closer to North Pier on cracker and sardine baits.

Bluff: Anglers in this area have experienced a quiet spell, in spite the large number of karanteen and shad present in the locality.

Splash Rock and Lucky Dip: With the sea and weather conditions less than favourable, fishing has been exceptional.

Plenty of shad have been coming out at most spots, with Splash Rock and Lucky Dip producing some fine specimens around the 3kg mark. Kob and garrick have also been landed.

Trafalgar: Four nice kob were caught in the reef at Trafalgar during the weekend. The gullies and bays have produced lots of bronze bream and some large blacktail.

Durban Harbour: This produced a great week’s fishing for many anglers. Many reported quality grunter catches, and with windy and rainy conditions predicted for the coming week, many more anglers will find themselves on the water targeting this species of fish.

The largest grunter reported over the past week came from the deeper water close to the coaling wharf, and weighed over 7kgs.

E-mail any information about fishing, fish caught or competitions in your area to: mike.pereira@kingfisher.co.za Until next week … TIGHTLINES!