Tips to get around the dirty water

WITH all the dirt and debris plaguing our waters recently, the fishing has not been fantastic. That being said, there have been a few great catches. Top tip: Water colour and lures.

Firstly, lure action and profile is more important than colour. If the water is coloured you need to fish with something with a solid silhouette. Colours for this include purple and black. These stronger colours provide a fantastic silhouette for the game fish to zone in on.

Other great choices for lures include noise and vibration.

These are key when the water gets very dirty. Look for lures that vibrate on their retrieve and/or have rattles inside. The offshore fishing has been slow but those putting the time in have managed to get fish to the boat. The baitfish are still scarce so don’t put too much time into it.

The North Coast has seen most of the bigger couta action, specifically around Mtunzini, Tinley and Umdloti. Most of these bigger fish have been caught on bait but some have found the allure of a wiggling lure too exciting to pass up. These bigger fish have gotten to their size mostly by being clever so take your time in presenting your bait properly and ensuring it swims straight.

The snoek have been around the Umdloti area with some days seeing them throw all caution to the wind. Small spoons and fillet baits are the way to go.

The Durban coast has seen a bit of bottom fishing and game fish action this past week. The water has been quite cold so the fishing has not been easy. The geelbek have been patchy and often sitting off the structure, either up or down current.

Scan the area properly before moving it on. Sardines have been the most successful bait reported. The snoek have been feeding at the Umgeni mouth. Guys have reported fillet baits trolled behind the backline as the best method.

The bigger swells have been around so be careful while fishing on the backline and have someone on a lookout for the bigger waves. The South Coast has been fairly quiet. There have been snoek and couta in the shallower waters while the deep has seen tuna and a few late season dorado. Trolling lures has been the most successful method in the deep.

Colour of lure has been a personal choice as no distinct pattern has emerged. Darker colours generally put out a good silhouette and draw the fish’s attention.

The rock and surf fishing has switched from inedibles to edibles. There has been plenty of debris in the water but the clearer areas are holding some decent fish.

The north still has some of the inedibles. The sandies, honeys and diamonds have been the main targets with the odd grey shark thrown in the mix.

The stumpies and kob have been around on most of the beaches open enough to fish. Chokka is the bait of choice as we move further into the winter months. Chokka is a versatile bait that can be adapted to fish for everything from gully fish to sharks. The central coast has seen a lot of debris on the beaches. The colour in the water has made fishing very good for the kob.

The Blue Lagoon area has been the pick of the venues for the central coast as the new wider mouth has made for a great fishing spot. We shall see if the mouth remains as wide as it is now and deep.

The South Coast has seen some good kob and stumpies. The beaches in the Umkomaas area have been the key spots. Prawn and chokka have been the two best baits with sardine the pick for the smaller fish. The deep water points have been rather quiet. All we can do is wait for the garrick to arrive.

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Send info about fishing or fish caught to mike.pereira@kingfisher. co.za

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