Night-time is the Right-time for KZN Estuary Fishing
Night-time is the Right-time for KZN Estuary Fishing: especially when the high tide is late in the arvo, or early evening. Regular estuary anglers with me, John and Barry, set up camp here on the edge of the Umzimkulu this week. Launched their little Tug 10, and nabbed 5 species in their first two sessions!
Perch
The first fish was on the first evening, just fishing in the moonlight, tied up to the jetty. John had a new cast net and was producing perfect little mullet, and the odd glassy. After some banter, Barry ended up with a glassy out there, instead of a mullet. And true to form, that little glassy (nearly as big as Barry’s circle hook) produced a screaming reel.
Barry enjoyed his argument under the moon, with a proper perch. The only fish, on the trip, that was kept and eaten. All the rest that these guys caught went back…
Kingfish, Tarpon, Rock Salmon, Kob
The next day, they went out on the Tug and upriver to the deep holes. There are a series of these 10m plus holes all along the edge of the cliff, starting from underneath the ghost house. It was in this deep water, which happens also to the narrowest part of the estuary, that the guys had their success.
Note: John and Barry hold the record for the most kob caught over a long weekend, ever. They totalled in the hundreds, and let every single fish go healthy and better off. Using circle hooks for easy release and a 100% hook-up ratio, they also gave the koblets a good lecture with each release. Doing wonders for the future of kob.
The next day…
Was a little slower, mainly kob and things again.
Python!
Then, in idyllic conditions, Emilio joined us on the big boat. We anchored up against the cliff to be able to fish down in the deep. We never got a bite. Until the miggies came. Then all of a sudden, the fish were there. And as it got dark, we got multiple strikes.
But it wasn’t until the next evening, when we swapped Emilio for Alan, that we got another nice kob which Alan took home to share with his wife.
A marked moment on this trip was seeing a huge turtle pop up. And then a huge snake, with a very squared off head – black in the twilight, swimming purposefully across the river. I first paid it no heed, thinking it an otter. Of which there are plenty in this section of the river. Until I saw Alan staring at the thing intently.
It was definitely not an otter as it silently approached the bank, only a tiny ten metres away from us. Now fully at attention, the boat went silent. And the huge snake slipped into the jungle without a sound.
On both of these evening sessions, the kingfish were mercilessly hammering the little mullet and things on the surface. All around us – at least 20 bust-ups. We had a few goes at them and I had a good chase down, but they were too engrossed in their abundance to pay us any attention. Suspected Greenspots, although some could have been GTs the attacks were so big and mean.
Next timey!
Contact me to setup your own estuary dream trip, use the big old WhatsApp Button floating around somewhere on this website or on https://umzimkuluadrenalin.co.za.
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