And here it is…the 32.7kg kob / daga salmon, that literally stripped Mike Stubbs down to his reel knot. Fortunately the highly experienced Shaun Posthumous was on the scene. He ran up and down getting water to splash on the reel as it heated up?!
A long tussle ensued with Mike emerging victorious, and the huge fish was eventually dragged up the Sandspit beach.
On light tackle this is real big fish. Imagine a largemouth bass this size! Rory Lawlor and crew have been targeting kob in the Umzimkulu, on artificials, and seem to have perfected the art. Along the way they been catching, and releasing, big-eye kingfish, rock salmon, perch and yellowfin kingfish.
The mouth of the Umzimkulu has just been opened by the authorities, and the big spring tide has pushed straight back into the river with force. It all looks very lively and traditionally, when the mouth is re-opened, the river comes alive.
It’s all about timing in the river. The moon, the tides, the nag apies…
There are plenty options in the shop, to join us fishing the Umzimkulu River, or for more information you can pop an email to Sean on umzimkulu@gmail.com.
It’s been a great year for fledgling daga salmon up and down our entire coastline. I have seen them at this size (featured photograph) being taken in Maputo Bay and all the down into the Cape.
Kob fishing is the saltwater bass fishing it seems as they readily jump on a plastic bait, if well presented, and fished at the right time. They even look a bit like bass, fight like bass…but taste a lot better than bass!
These fish were caught on bait but there is a shot coming in later of another kob on a Mydo Luck Shot.
Stay posted!
We finally caught a queen mackerel at the Block after the divers from last weeks competition reported seeing a few around Hibberdene. It was chock full of red eye sardines aswell – I am surprised he even took notice of the tiny Strike Pro lure but he did, putting on a helluva show on the estuary tackle. When the fish are so shy like this, fishing ultra light is a good way to increase your fun quotient.
And a few shots of the pre launch and post launch moments…
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!
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.
