Late January saltwater fishing forecast for the South Coast of KZN
January is a fantastic time for gamefishing along the KZN South Coast. The ‘couta will have started moving down to us again – hopefully we will catch even a portion of the huge fish taken on ski-boats last year – most notably down south of Port Edward, in the Transkei. The beginning of the season is normally characterised by shoal ‘couta, or “darts”. These fish used to come through in huge shoals, but last year, there were literally no “darts” caught anywhere. Most of the fish were huge! This can be a worry as it seems that over the past few decades, the “darts” have petered right off. It could be that we have missed a few generations due to over fishing elsewhere in the Indian Ocean, but either way, we have to watch our ‘couta fishery very carefully, or it will dissappear.
Natal Snoek (Queen Mackeral) also favour this time of the year on the KZN South Coast – they can actually be caught year round in our waters – but from now until winter, we can hope to encounter them in shoals and on the feed. Queen mackeral generally enjoy the same conditions as ‘couta. They are easily caught on small feathers and spoons, and when they are on, they are on!
