News from our Jan, The Kingfisher in PMB: I guess we are now in “high summer”, so for the trout anglers, the weather is putting some interference into the state of play, from blistering hot to thunderstorms and hail.
As a result, water temperatures are up and the rivers are on and off, high and dirty. But if you aren’t out there, you will never know, so better to get out and at least be in with a chance if you have a line in the water!
The Midlands has had some proper rains of late, and with the heat, seen some steamy days recently. Apart from making a muddy mess, the falling water hasn’t provided much in the way of relief to the waters, and water temperatures are topping the 20 degrees Celsius mark. One report mentioned 21 degrees measured at five metres deep!
Anglers are reminded again that, if practising catch and release, to “tippet up” and get the fish up and away back home as quickly as possible.
Dirty dams are a product of the summer rains, and large(r) flies are a recommended tactic, so that fish can find them. A tandem rig is the way to go, and a good starting rig for this time of year is a bead head woolly bugger and a trailing damselfly pattern, the combination of weighted and unweighted patterns provide some action to the flies.
The rivers are up, and the middle to lower sections have been dirty for the past week or so, with water temp of 18°C. being reported. If planning a river session, best to go as high as possible, where there is little to no other activity and better chances of cleaner water. With the flows being on the high side, some good fish have been reported on weighted nymph rigs, fished close to the bank as the fish will take cover beneath undercuts and overhangs.
On the bass front, reports from Albert Falls Dam indicate that the fishing is turning on. A variety of lures are working at present including subsurface soft plastics and spinner / chatterbaits, as well as top water lures.
Breaking news is that the Sterkfontein Dam Parks Board Resort opened this week! Great news for many anglers as this provides access to the eastern shores of the dam.
The dam is currently very full, and water is crystal clean and expected to stay that way for the foreseeable while as there is no need to pump (dirty) water in from the Tugela River. Reports over the last couple of days tell that the dam is on fire, fish taking dries”.
Thanks so much Jan.
Carp fishing
The carp fishing has been productive at most of the KZN dams but Inanda has been the top of the pops, making it a great venue for the guys wanting to do both bass and carp.
So if you want to sit patiently and wait for your carp bite, your kids can keep busy catching bass.
Inanda and Albert’s have been producing good fish on the fruity flavours including banana, berries and garlic.
The conventional anglers have been ticking off a good number of fish with some of the bigger fish going double digit.
The specimen anglers have been fishing in Shongweni and Inanda mainly and have seen some very good fish. The bites have been a bit slow but the patience is worth it.
Offshore fishing
The offshore fishing has been phenomenal and it’s definitely the time to get on to the water.
The north coast has been the most productive section of KZN in terms of both species and number of fish being caught. The tuna have made up the bulk of the catches in terms of weight but there have been a lot of Dorado coming out.
Tight lines and screaming reels.
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