Unbelievably, the remains of what could have been a 6 foot long barbel, washed up next door to the Umzimkulu Marina, just last week. The mouth was closed, but the action in the river certainly wasn’t. The guys fishing at Spillers down the way, reported hearing, but not seeing, huge attacks out off the wharf. We have been seeing a free jumping Zambezi up and down the river for months now. And many bust ups have been reported.
Judging by the size and shape of the bite marks, and the incisions made by shark teeth, this was a hefty shark. Zambezi for sure. It’s not the acrobatic jumping Zambezi we have been seeing around. He is only about two metres. This one looks huge.
There have been so many shark sightings and encounters in the Umzimkulu, since the sand miners pumped out all the sand. Right from the deep corner under the Fish Eagles roost, all the way up past the bridge and further, is deeeeeep water! Some places 8 metres or so. The average depth has also increased and the Umzimkiulu offers more draft in the channels than the Umzimvubu (Port St Johns) nowadays.
It’s not only the sharks that have taken advantage of this recently restored river, a brace of outsized garrick were spotted terrorising mullet recently at the slipway at the Umzimkulu Marina. Many lovely kob have been coming out, in the deep channels, on live mullet. Weight your bait and bang! Some of the rock salmon we have hooked lately have been merciless. Straight into the rocks.
But the story of the season definitely goes to the unknown angler who pulled in this beast. He weighed in with the biggest kob recorded in the Kulu ever. A whopping 42 kgs’s. He promises to release the next one. But this one he got on 6kg line and a light stick, which tired the big fish out.
IA 42kg Daga Salmon, or Kob. Taken in the Umzimkulu!
To come fishing in The Umzimkulu, get in touch on umzimkulu@gmail.com and we can put a package together for you.
Fishing with Captain Derek Flaxman, from out of Cashew Bay Lodge in Inhassoro, Barry Viviers got his first ever black marlin Sunday last week!
After a real slow start at the south tip of 25 mile, where we were beaten by a nice couta and a GT that were herding some fusiliers, it was high time for some konas and a good spread out the back. We were only on our third rod when the real close kona started to really go. I did see a flash in the white water behind the magnificent Super Cat 38 we were on, but the fish never jumped until it got a food few hundred metres of line off us. By that time the other lines were cleared and Barry climbed into the chair. A few adjustments and we had Barry going back at the jumpy little black marlin.
At that size they really can perform, and this little guy was never gonna let us down. Luckily his antics seem to tire him quite quick, and soon Barry produced a leader! It took about twenty minutes on the nicely matched 30, and was oh so much fun!
The fish swam away with a new attitude to konas, and we had our spread back in order. Sitting atop the tower, I heard a shout from below as somebody spotted a sickle. Then we all saw it, I had such a cool view, as this fish, a much bigger and more fussy marlin came charging in but turning away at the last moment. This went on for a good few minutes when eventually she over took us in haste. It was a great encounter, but eish that was a big fish, and we already had one so it was back to gamefish a while.
Some angry skipjack gave us some serious revs. The couta were chowing the lures. We hit and missed on many frothing bait balls of scad and small bonnies, we wanted one for bait so bad!
Then I hooked a nice one and as I was passing the rod over, a shark came flying in. The bonnie got off. But the shark went straight for my beautiful halfbeak so nicely rigged on a #4 Mydo. It was a good fight and we got most of the trace back.
Fishing with Derek and his able crew is such a treat. And the huge Supercat 38, named Comforter, is just that. An absolute pleasure to fish from. Stay tuned, but the weather has been terrible. The after-effects of the cut off low that wrecked parts of Durban, is huge pressure differences, and so bad weather. And it’s been bad! Stuck on land!
Cashew Bay Lodge in Inhassoro is really cool and right on the beach
To come marlin fishing with The Sardine team, click here.
JP Bartholomew and his GT on fly is written by JP, after an incredible encounter up on the north coast of KZN, South Africa, a while back. Enjoy the well written and entertaining account below…made me want to got fishing straight away!
“My day started like no other day on the North Coast, it was Saturday 5th of September I started my morning on the Tongaat River Mouth / Zimbali stretch also known as Long Beach, plugging for Garrick. The sea was choppy, the tide was going out and there was a slight SW blowing, perfect for targeting garrick; which unfortunately bought my morning session to a close with no garrick attacking the plug. I left for home where myself and the family were staying. I thought to myself ‘this afternoon I’ll park at Salmon Bay and walk the Zimbali stretch from north to south but this time with my fly rod catching the pushing in tide’ with the hope of catching a garrick before the day was up.
So Saturday afternoon I parked at Salmon Bay with my gear which consisted of my Shimano tackle back pack together with my 8/9wt Explore rod fitted with My 8/9wt reel with intermediate line using a 22 kilo leader fitted with a Black and Grey Lead Ass Mullet fly with a 5/0 Mustard Hook. I started my assault along the Zimbali / Long Beach, heading south this time towards the Tongaat River mouth. The stretch I was doing had a lot of structure with some nice deep drop off’s which, with a pushing in tide, made it that much more exciting and challenging with a nice SW slightly blowing.
I wasn’t even 200 meters when I saw some action just off a rocky ledge which formed into a nice covered bay where I always saw mullet and karratine shoals hiding away from those predatoryal game fish like GT’s, Garrick etc… I started stripping line from my Explorer 12 Wt fitted with a Lead Ass Mullet fly with a 5/0 Mustard Hook and started my descent on the area of water where I saw the mullet jumping. Was it garrick feeding or some other species? Never the less I started casting my fly towards the rocks where all the action was happening. I slowly built up my casting distance to where I wanted my fly to land in the strike zone, hoping to pick up whatever was terrorising the mullet. I was into my 9th cast slowly retrieving the fly towards me, changing to an erratic fast action to try and catch the attention of the fish that was scattering the mullet.
Not much longer into my retrieve I felt a bump. Not sure if it was the hunter or the hunted bumping my fly. I continually cast straight into the strike zone again, happy with my cast, I retrieved quickly from the start… Bang bang I was picked up with such force I nearly had the rod pulled out of my hands. I actually didn’t realise what had just happened it was so quick. I knew straight away I was into a buster of a kingfish, which species I could not say at that point in time, as I hung on for dear life as not wanting to lose this fish that had attacked my fly so ferociously on my retrieve. This boykie was not letting up! He was pulling my line quickly, before I knew it I could see my 150m of backing starting to disappear in front of me.
Not being equipped with a heavier set up which would have been my 12 Wt, I knew it would be a do or die situation. Deep breaths and patience was going to be my strategy and I was hoping my equipment would hold up to the pressure this beast was applying on both myself and my rod and reel. I was slowly having some say in this fight, managing to retrieve some of my backing and slowly getting some of my line. My hands and back were starting to feel the pressure and I just kept thinking ‘no pain no gain’. This could be the fish of a lifetime for me, I just bit the bullet and kept at it.
Just as I was starting to get more and more line back what I was not hoping for happened; my 9wt Explorer locked on me, it seized, which meant I could no longer retrieve anymore line! What do I do? My equipment has failed, which was fully understandable as it was totally out of its depth with the size of whatever was on the other side of the line. Two options came to mind very quickly, give up which I wasn’t going to do or brace the moment and pull this boykie out by hand.
I quickly grabbed my line and wrapped it around my hand, thank goodness I had my Stealth hand gloves on. I started pulling slowly, moving backwards and at the same time retrieving my line wrapping it around my hand not wanting to pull too hard and risk the chance of losing this boykie, I had come too far for that. I slowly started to retrieve more and more moving up and down the beach, having a good work out at the same time. Finally the beast surfaced; it was a huge GT! My adrenaline picked up when I knew what it was and if I did land this beautiful specimen of an Ignobilis GT, it would be my best catch on fly, I was on cloud nine. Not on cloud nine yet I quickly got back into action wanting to get this boykie onto the beach as soon as possible as I was tired and I could see he was getting tired too but he still had a lot more kick in him. I just had to pick up my pace and keep up with him. I kept pulling at him slowly and wrapping more line around my hand and walking up and down the beach stretch; I had carved out a path with the continuous up and down while pulling him in and retrieving more line each time.
I finally started seeing more and more of the ignobilis which was a good sign that I was slowly getting closer to beaching him. Finally I was at a stage where I could feel myself starting to lose grip of the line and it was as if the man above looked down and threw me a lifeline; a wave appeared out of nowhere and helped bring this buster of an Ignobilis a little closer. I saw my son, who was with me, run into the retreating water and grab it with both hands, with the help of some of the bystanders. Finally seeing my trophy ignobilis safe on the beach, I fell backwards tired, shacking and with one very sore right hand. I just looked up and said thank you…..!! Trying to catch my breath and the bystanders shaking my hand and congratulating me, my son said “You did it, Dad, a whopper!”, as I laughed at him and thanked him for his contribution in helping me. Finally landing it safely 57min later, according to my son is how long I struggled and battled with this exceptional GT that gave me my best fight yet.
Getting my breath back I knew this boykie would be exhausted too. I had to get him back into the water as quickly as possible and revive him so he could return to the sea healthy, but first I wanted to tag him before returning him. I got my son to get my kit from my bag while I dragged him closer to the waters edge so that I could get the sea water to pass over his gills reviving him back slowly. I measured him quickly, measuring at a 106cm and then tagging him. My son and I got him into an upright position and carried him into deeper water holding him up so the water could pass through his gills even faster. 10min into reviving him I could feel him getting stronger, eventually his tail was starting to get movement back and in no time he was on his way back into the blue.
When we got back from our weekend up at Salt Rock that afternoon and finished unpacking and cleaning up, I sat down with my Length- to- Weight & Identification Guide to Southern African Angling Species Booklet by Chris De Vries, I went straight to the Ignobilis page to check out the size of the trophy GT I had caught Saturday afternoon. Running down the weight chart I finally got to see the size of the Ignobilis GT I had caught, which had seized my reel and gave me the fight of my life.There it was 106 cm and the weight was my best yet sitting at 23.2 kilos of solid muscle. Wow I was amazed, I had finally conquered my most sacred fish. Knowing deep down inside I had just conquered a piece of the Holy Grail and knowing that out there there are Ignobilis’s of up to 50 kilos and heavier waiting to fight and challenge any angler that crosses his path; the fighting passion that a Kingfish of that size can give a person is so pleasurable if set free to fight another day. So remember always let the big boys go to secure our breeding stocks for the younger generations to come and enjoy the moments that you so treasure, the memories of that big GT buster that didn’t get away on that special day where you got the privilege to earn a little piece of that sought after species of the Holy Grail.
JP Bartholomew and his GT on fly
Tigh Lines and let your fish roam free….
Cheers JP.”
Once again JP, many thanks for putting a huge smile on my face, as I read about you releasing such an amazing catch. And you caught it on fly? Kudos!
Paradise conditions being experienced down on the KZN South Coast. Its that beautiful time of our year again. The wind calms down. The sun comes up earlier. The water stays clean.
And the Garrick are here!
As noted by Darrell Hattingh who never misses out. Living smack bang in the middle of the action on the KZN south coast, Darrell has been biding his time this year, waiting for that bus Garrick to swim around the corner.
KZN South Coast: Darrell Hattingh gets his handful of garrick each year. Spends many hours in the water on the hunt for them, you got put in the hard yards to get a fish like this bomber.
And here it is! Not sure of the exact weight but it sure looks 20 to me. The season has been characteristic of bigger Garrick. Some absolute beauts have been coming out on rod and reel too.
Its almost National Garrick Day, but we got to take care of the Garrick at this their most vulnerable time. Just don’t allow anyone around you to take the piss and take too many. Even though the bag limit allows two Garrick, one is more than enough.
There are now more photos doing the round’s on Facebook, of the senseless slaughter that goes on in the Transkei. This time two idiots were photographed posing with a whole shoal of baby Garrick.
Once again, get in touch with Daff, and report any of this activity.
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Things are swinging again at Jungle Monkey in PSJ!
After a devastating fire that literally ate the Monkey whole last year, the new Jungle Monkey is born. Many buckets of effort and lots of thought have produced an airy new vibe with views near to 360. Glass and local material have been blended atrium style. With different levels and chilling zones spread out all over  – it’s also gonna be the ultimate party venue all over again.
Take a hike out the back off Port St. Johns to find a bit of real African magic.
Port St. Johns (PSJ as it’s affectionately called by locals), is a very interesting place. Steeped in old timer stories, this was and still is, the wild west of Africa. Planted at the base of a magnificent chasm of rock on a huge African river mouth, tales of shipwrecks, tribal factions and war, political unrest and social turmoil are behind every rock. It’s wild! Wild enough to be graced as the epi-centre of the Transkei “Wild Coast”.
And it’s out here on the edge, that real rewards are to be found. Indelible sunrises. Trippy cloud formations. Views that put you in an aeroplane. Hikes that will make you lost in a real good way. Much of the surrounds of PSJ are still completely untouched. Almost impossible to access. This is where Jungle Monkey can hook you up with the very best local tour operators.
Going into the wild accompanied by a local guide – just ask at reception. It’s real affordable and so much fun when you have a connection to the community through the guide. Do not ever go alone! Local knowledge is crucial anywhere in Africa.
Out to sea in the annual sardine run to swim with sharks and all sorts? Click on over to Offshore Port St. Johns (http://offshoreportstjohns.com). These guys have been in PSJ for ages, and have a wealth of experience in these waters, and vested in the activities they do. Completely safe, well, errr – “Keep your arms tucked in!” is one of my favourites! But it is the biggest shoal on earth and David Attenborough loved the spectacle. Bryde’s Whale is another favourite sighting – but I’m sure that’s the one got Jonah by mistake! Dolphins are the most plentiful, and all the animals in the water with you, are far too focused on the sardines to be a real threat. The sharks are just gorging themselves and the whole lot of them actually work together. Even the birds! Gannets become underwater fighter planes as they zap down from the sky using all their momentum to get as deep as they can, and then start swimming around between the sharks and dophins nailing plenty sardines in one sortie.
SeaCandyMedia by Anthony Kobrowisky
Then when that store of adrenalin runs out after the season in August, Offshore can be seen bobbing up and down the wild Umzimvubu on Bobalong – on their huge party boat. It’s so big it even has a bathroom at the back. Music. Chairs and tables?! Ask at Jungle Monkey reception to hook you up with a sunset booze cruise or a champagne breakfast. It’s also the time when some of the Offshore team head out to other waters to swim with sharks. If you are this crazy then Diving with Sharks can get you in with tigers, zambezis, hammers – even a white if you ask nicely! http://divingwithsharks.co.za is where you get your toes properly wet.
And now we can finally mention the fishing. Jungle Monkey is 200 metres from the favourite kob and garrick spinning spot – under the cliff as the river pours in from the sea at the incoming high tide, and fills the deep basin a cast away. It would be called catching if we caught every time. And would become down right boring. But if you really want to raise your chances of encountering your trophy fish, come to PSJ. We practise catch and release. But if you get a nice shad on your spoon, bring it home! Licenses and restrictions apply, if you’re new to the game!
You only need to catch one of these magnificent fish – in your whole life! This fish caught just out front of Jungle Monkey – the Rasta Priests from Ethiopia staying here at the time, were eveer so slightly impressed!
The most fun is to have a medium spinning stick with casting braid, and a Mydo Luck Shot or SS Spoon. Weighing in from 0.7 Ounces up to 3, choose your weapon that works best with your rod. Then work out your retrieve to mimic whatever baitfish are around (usually mullet or sardine), and cast to the horizon. Nothing will prepare you for when that garrick, or two or three of them charge in at your lure, turning away at the very last moment. Metres from where you are standing. This can go on over and over – you got to change your retrieve, change the tempo – until bang! Eish these garrick are much bigger in this area too. Real dogfighters as they jam you left and right and up and down the rocks.
And that’s just the garrick! Wait til you spot a shoal of huge daga salmon, or kob as they are known further south. Spawning in the estuary. 30kgs plus. So many of them. But they will not bite whilst so preoccupied with the job at hand. In full view they loll and flop around eachother in a cloud of white. A miracle to see. Then straight after, they belt it back out to sea, and this is when they are so vulnerable. To replace spent energy they must feed, and feed fast. Stories of absolute slaughter are recorded each year. You can do your bit by returning your fish. And reporting anyone who takes more than their allowed two. DAFF details can be clicked here.
Unfortunately swimming and surfing is a big no-no anywhere around PSJ. This is where you come to encounter sharks, Â prepared for them and under the protection of your team – and on some of your terms at least. Not flailing about or paddling and splashing right where every Zambezi in the local ecology has to swim past to get into the river. They go up far to drop pups. Little zambezis that become huge zambezis. And they all live in the area. The real locals. The great news for swimmers is that there are whispers that the long overdue tidal pool at 2nd beach (between Shark Point and Shark Point), is gonna be built soonish. Africa time. Surfers just go somewhere else rather or come with a Shark Shield at least. Jet ski or boat another requirement. Coffee Bay a little further on has a mild reputation for safe surfing and periodic good waves.
Jungle Monkey puts you right in the middle of all this action. It’s well serviced and has cheerful staff always ready with a huge smile. There are many accommodation options. Singles, doubles, dorms, chalets…the place is actually huge. And a fantastic kitchen producing a delicious menu. African fusion? Veg meals too.
There you have it. Sitting atop a little hill. Overlooking the ocean out front, and up the mountains out back. Enjoying a meal from the excellent new kitchen (fire-proof). A golden coldie. And…
