Angling Report – 6 February 2015

I had a word with a couple of surfski anglers on Friday morning and it turned out that they had quite a productive time. Amongst their catch I saw four nice yellow fin tuna of around ten to fifteen kilos, a nice yellowtail kingfish of about seven kilos and a pretty nice bull dorado. I asked about the water because it looked a bit green, but they said that on deep stud rock, the water was nice and clean and it was along this line of clean and green water that they had caught the fish. Apparently they didn’t have a pull from a couta that day but one of them had hooked a couta the day before in the same area. Unfortunately the fish was eaten by a shark but the head alone weighed around 12kg so the couta must have been a pretty decent size.
Another surf ski angler in the La Mercy area landed a couta of about six kilos on Thursday so maybe the shoal fish have now moved into local waters. I was also told last week that a couple of nice wahoo have been caught in the Durban area, but the guys said that fishing time was limited because of the weather and sea conditions. The dorado have also given Durban anglers some excellent sport last week and the guys fishing the backline have found a few snoek at times but anglers are losing a lot of fish to sharks which is not good news.
Shore anglers are finding the summer flatfish almost everywhere now and some big rays and sandies have been landed along the sandy beaches. One can almost be guaranteed a pull from a flatfish when you put a bait at present. A friend was fishing for stumpies with light tackle in the Umhlanga area last Friday morning and he was duly picked up by a big sandie that stripped all the line from his reel. Apparently a few anglers were catching small snapper salmon in the Durban area but there was no word of any other edible fish being caught along the Durban north beaches.
The good rainfall inland last week should increase the chances of the rivers flooding a bit. The fresh water mixing with the sea water may not be a bad thing for anglers looking for decent edible fish. The water will become dirty, but species such as kingfish do not mind the dirty water and could be enticed to move into the surf line in search of food. There are plenty of kingies around just off the surf line at present and although they are mainly around six to nine kilos in weight, they will give anglers excellent sport. The stumpies also do not mind the dirty water as do the shad which are a bit scarce now.
Sealice

Fishing competition
The Ambassadors for Christ Baptist Church is hosting their annual shore angling competition on February 21 at Blythedale Beach. Prizes include a Diawa Sealine SL30 reel, a drop shot rod and a branded fisherman’s bucket. Registration starts at 4.30am and the competition closes at 1pm. There will be lots of activities to keep the whole family entertained and plenty to eat and drink. Entry is R60 per fisherman and you can contact Len Puckree at 071 818 5600 for any more information.