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The Umzimkulu River comes alive

The Umzimkulu River comes alive

Pictures and stories are hammering in as the fish around the Port Shepstone area have really come on the bite. The weekend started with guests Mike and Brian (straight out of the movie ‘Gone Fishin”) opening their account with a beautiful kob on the Friday evening, taken from the jetty at The Umzimkulu Marina. The next day Rory Lawlor on “Happy Daze” reported a brace of big-eye kingfish caught on small little rappies trolled slowly up and down the channels.

Chris fishing with Rory and Gavin on Happy Daze in the Umzimkulu yesterday.
Chris Lepan fishing with Rory Lawlor, Greg Milward and Gavin Nellors on Happy Daze in the Umzimkulu yesterday.

A little later during the Saturday, as the tide started to move back in, bringing blue clean water with it, Brian was surprised by a solid bite and a huge run as his biggest big-eye kingfish made for freedom. But Brian held on and soon had the awesome fish in control. It was well hooked and after a short while we had the trace clear and the fish swam off very well educated.

That night the Mike and Brian team caught another kob, and three perch, to round off their very successful fishing trip. But the next day told the best story as Rory and crew launched into the incoming tide on Sunday. They had a fabulous time catching (all on lures) a rock salmon, three big eye kingfish and a kob! All in one trip!

Fantastic times here on the river and this whole week offers incoming tides every afternoon and fishing into the evening will promise you a fish or five!

Other fishy stories from the Umzimkulu…

Zambezi Shark on lure

Ox-eye Tarpon on lure

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Jean-Pierre Jordaan with a 34kg beast of a couta

Jean-Pierre Jordaan with a 34kg beast of a couta

Jean-Pierre Jordaan with a 34kg beast of a couta speared at the Patingo, a few clicks out of Richards Bay. Jean-Pierre is the son of legendary Koos Jordaan so those big north coast cruisers better watch out!

34kg couta JP Jordaan
Jean-Pierre Jordaan with a 34kg beast of a couta speared at the Patingo, a few clicks out of Richards Bay. Check the other one lying on the hatch! Nice day out!

It certainly is big ‘couta time now, and reports of great catches like this one, keep filtering in. I don’t think anyone will ever better the 46 kg (gutted) monster by Roger Davison on live bonnie. He was fishing on the backline off Hibberdene when the huge fish struck. And reportedly it fought like hell! And then imagine having a 50kg + ‘couta on your ski with you?!

A few 20kg class fish were caught on the Niteshift recently, in the Port Shepstone area. But there is just so much bait in the water all up and down the coast, that it’s very hard to entice a strike. Catch 22?

Shaun Govender was fishing Orange Rocks this week when some really big tuna (for the south coast) were clearing the water as they blasted through the panicky bait. Red eye sardines and mackerel have invaded the maasbankers territories and while they are not thick thick or boiling, they are spread out over large patches of ocean.

No bonnies around though, although we caught a sarda sarda and put it out live, it was mangled after a shallow turn over a reef, maybe by a rockcod? The rockcod have made some surprising appearances on the end of surf anglers fishing the Block. A spate of catface, some beeeg ones, were pulled out.

Spearfishing hasn’t been that great through the International event on the KZN south coast. Lots of rats and mice were pulverised, some guys missed a few gamefish (wahoo and snoek) , but nothing really fantastic or anything happened at all.

Well back to low tide mornings, so it’s surfing now…there is no moon left and the tides are getting bigger and bigger.

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Supertubes is cooking

The Brucifire Surf Report officeCoffee and peanut butter

Supertubes is cooking

Bruce Gold reports in with a clip of Supers barrelling it’s way down that point – all the way into the bay.

 

And don’t forget to buy your Masterton’s coffee down at your local Spar, and have a hand in stopping those stupid rhino poacher perverts.

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Natal Snoek feast & a great day with the Fish Therapy gang!!!

Natal snoek or sailfish? You can choose on the islands pal!Duarte Rato

Natal Snoek feast & a great day with the Fish Therapy gang!!!

This last week we have been enjoying a real feast of light tackle spinning for the natal snoek (Queen mackerel) that have been feasting in tiny sardine day in and day out off the flats and channels between the Islands. Being just a short run away we been going for early morning & late afternoon feasts, which have provided unbelievable fun for our guests!

 

Then Sunday, the 10th May we went out with Pieter, Eugene and Christiaan, the fish therapy gang and enjoyed a awesome day in flat calm weather – which as been the norm lately!

 

We started popping on the reef but after 2 drifts had only had three kingfisg chases so decided to go and chase the birds that were on top of a mayhem of shoals of greenspot kingfish and queen mackerel. As usual it was great fun and we caught and released a few before two Zambezi sharks appeared on the scene and started to take the hooked fish.

 

We decided to go offshore and within minutes of starting Pieter was into a fierce fish that turned out to be a 23 kg cuda. We then had a sailfish pack attack with a fish on the teaser and three on each bait we had out there. Both fish that took the lure/bait combination did not hook-up, but the one that took the swim ballyhoo on a circle hook on a spinning setup hookup properly after a short drop-back and Christiaan released his first ever sailfish.

Happy days and the beers were flowing as we made a early run home…

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Kiting on Bazaruto

Kiting on Bazaruto

Not sure who exactly took this photo of Duarte Rato kiting on Bazaruto, but it looks like he came in right over that dhow?!

The North-Easterleys of the east African seaboard can drive you nuts unless you know some way of harnessing all that evil wind. Kiting is a great way to stay out of trouble, or get into trouble? And these said NE’asters can blow for days, consistent and unrelenting – ideal conditions.

Duarte has been a main contributor to thesardine.co.za over the years and his many posts can read here.

 

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Kiting on Bazaruto. Duarte Rato making the most of the evil easterly winds that were pumping on Bazaruto waters last week.
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