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Port St. Johns Zambezi

Captain Rob Nettleton measures up Gavin Naude's Umzimvubu Zambezi Shark, before it got a tag and went free again

Port St. Johns Zambezi

It’s not just grunter, kob, shad, garrick and rock salmon to catch in the Umzimvubu down in Port St. Johns – Zambezi Sharks can also lighten up your day. Chuck any sort of live-bait out into that orange water and you don’t have to wait long for a voracious Zambezi pup to come in on the attack. They fight great and are beautiful in their innocent child like form, luckily they head out to sea when they grow up, or do they?

Gavin Naude, fishing on the south bank near the main road bridge, a good few kilometres up the river, threw out a livie a few weeks back – and caught this cute little Zambi before too long. He hollered for a tag and Rob Nettleton did the honours – it weighed in at 65cm fork length, and was released with a nice little yellow tag to remember Gavin by.

 

But then the next day, nearer the river mouth, someone got a 2m guy! It was a proper mean 2m shark and was also safely returned to the river. Evidently, it’s not just big momma’s coming into the river to give birth, but her teenage kids aswell?!

You can fish for sharks year round in the Port St. Johns river mouth area, specialised trips are offered by Offshore Africa Port St. Johns.  Speak to Rob Nettleton, if you feel like hunting down Zambezi’s and sticking tags in them. Rob works closely with ORItag and has tagged many fish for them, over the years. Fishing with live-bait in the Umzimvubu obviously also puts you in line for big fish, like kob. Gavin also recently called Rob over to tag an estimated 60kg kob, photo below…

60kg kob
Fishing with livebait for sharks at Port St. Johns also outs you in the running for one of these trophy kob. This one went about 60kg’s and was also tagged and released.

 

 

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Offshore Africa Port St. Johns

 Offshore Africa Port St. Johns

Offshore Africa Port St. Johns is run by Rob Nettleton and Debbie Smith whose combined experience will ensure your sardine run experience will be unforgettable. The team still have a few slots open for the 2015 run, but the bookings are filling up fast – click here to get in touch and onto the list!

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Offshore Africa Port St. Johns invite you on an experience of a lifetime. You are welcome to share this image…please do!
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Walking St. Hermes

Walking St. Hermes

Steve’s Restaurant on the left at the end of town (next door to The Outspan Inn), is a great place to drink a coffee, catch up on FB (free wi-fi), and prepare for the 2km stroll up to the cape Hermes lighthouse. Leave you car at Steve’s where it will be safe and in a shady and convenient spot for when you return to a well-deserved refreshment.

Amble towards the point past the ancient police station and soak in the views. Just don’t go swimming anywhere along here. Stop at the information board and soak up some cool information on the area.

Meander inland a bit and on the left into the jungle goes a road flanked by two ancient pillars, which may have held a gate at some point in history. Snake (mmm…) your way up the road and break the law a tad by skirting the gate into Portnet property (they don’t mind, it’s for the tourists and they love it).

Up you go and the place unfolds before you. The ancient Cape St. Hermes comes into full view and you can hear the sounds of Port St. Johns in it’s heydeys of hedonism and hippi-ism. Who else may have wondered this track back then?

The lighthouse is steeped in history, made of hewn rock and downright beautiful. It stands sentinel over a group of lethal rock hazards and to the north, the entrance to Port St. Johns. There is security, a tap, and a lighthouse a keeper, who is glad to roll out some historical facts and stories about Cape St. Hermes.

 

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See Common Dolphins in the 2015 sardine run

See Common Dolphins in the 2015 sardine run

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Common dolphins close up with Rob Nettleton and Debbie Smith. Share away!

Common Dolphins are major players on the sardine run stage as they strategise and deploy organised attacks on the millions of sardines making their way north each year. Sharks and birds try cause havoc with these maneuvers but the agility and brains of the dolphins always wins out as tonnes and tonnes of sardines are literally devoured.

Fortunately for divers, the sharks are completely mesmerised by the free lunch and getting in among the action is much safer than it seems.

Offshore Africa Port St. Johns and divingwithsharks.co.za offer packages that get you right in amongst the action. Launching out from Port St. Johns puts you right in the sardine shoals’ course as they migrate north closely followed by anything and everything that can swim or fly, humans included.

 

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Preparing for the Sardine Run 2015

Preparing for the Sardine Run 2015

Up and down the coast preparations are being made and bookings filling up as the eternal flame of hope for a good sardine run burns bright in the souls of the millions of die-hard sardine freaks. The Sardine Run 2015 is almost upon us!

This imagery by Rob Nettleton reminds us exactly of why we yearn and yearn, year after year, beer after beer…for the sardines. The chaos of it all. The sharks. The dolphins. The birds. The whales. The fish. The action!

A common dolphin parading through the battle ground full of raw sardine energy (c) Rob Nettleton
A common dolphin parading through the battle ground full of raw sardine energy. Please share!

Contact Offshore Africa in Port St. Johns here…http://www.offshoreportstjohns.com/ to reserve your place in the water for 2015.

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