getting HOOKED
WINNER, winner, fish and chips for dinner! The fishing has been extremely productive over the last week. The offshore guys are having an absolute blast with the summer game fish. There have also been plenty of edible fish for the rock and surf guys along with a few giants.
OFFSHORE
The offshore fishing has been phenomenal over the past week. There have been so many catches that Facebook and other social media platforms have been inundated with photos and videos of fish and screaming reels. Dorado, tuna and couta have been the main catches, and there have been some giants of all three species finding their way on to the hook and in to the hatch. North – A lucky angler managed to land his first ever couta off the ski this past week. He was fishing off of Westbrook and while catching bait, pinned a live shad and hooked a monster couta. This fished weighed in at a mere 33kgs...not a bad first couta off the ski. There have been plenty of big tuna and dorado on the catch reports from both the ski boat and fishing ski guys. Remember, with the dorado you need to keep one word in mind, STRUCTURE. Any type of debris or structure floating on the surface will attract the smaller fish which will in turn bring the dorries. With the recent storm, it will not be too tricky to find a dorado hotspot. Fishing the colour line on the edge of the brown and clear water is also a sure fire way of finding the game fish, be it dorado, sailfish, tuna or couta. Central – The central section of KZN has been very busy. The charter boats have been fully booked for all their fishing trips. The recreational fishermen have been taking full advantage of the summer weather and the abundant game fish. There have been a few more baitfish around in the past week and this has helped a few anglers get stuck into some proper couta and tuna. The dorado have calmed down a bit, but they have certainly not gone away. The bigger tuna have made a significant appearance this past week and a few fish were caught around the magical 40kg mark. These are giant fish for the KZN scene and need to be celebrated when caught. Lures or live bait are the way to go, so choose your preferred method and stick to it, you will come right. South – Finding the fish has been the issue down south. One day they are feeding shallow and the next day they are feeding in the deep. This can be a daunting thought when it comes to planning the day’s fishing. Remember the basics and target the fish where they should be, but do not get sucked into the notion that they were there yesterday and therefore will be there today. The ocean is a dynamic environment and the fish move about depending on their needs. Look for areas of change such as temperature change or current lines and focus your energy on fishing these areas. The first step is almost always to troll two or more lures through a likely area to see if the fish are in a feeding mood. Troll a deep and shallow diver. As soon as one gets picked up, change to using two of the same lures to maximise your time in the strike zone. If lures aren’t your thing, the same will apply to baits. Down rig your baits with different weights. For example, in the early morning, put one bait on the surface, one down rigged with a 3oz sinker and one with a 5oz (depending on depth). Then the same will apply as above, as soon as you get a bite, change your weights to fish at the same depth. Go to www.facebook.com/thekingfisherdaiwa and “Like” us on Facebook to catch reviews, videos, and fishing reports. Please send any info about fishing to mike. pereira@kingfisher.co.za