This is a rundown through a list the game fish species we are lucky enough to encounter – during the annual sardine run. Here in KZN, South Africa.
Shad
It starts with the shad. These guys smash into those poor little sardines like piranhas. And a shad smaller than a sard will still eat a sardine. Those teeth!
Shad readily jump on a spoon or any artificial, when it’s like this.
This video featuring the Fishing Pro Shop‘s Johan Wessels – shows exactly how surf fishing for shad is very easily done…
Sardines and shad in the shorebreak! Shop safely online at The Fishing Pro Shop.
Kob
The kob have actually already been here quite some time now. Many covert catches are made under the cover of darkness. And in the uncomfortable cold of the chilly winter offshore winds.
Check this mosnter tagged and released a little later in the season,last year! By Gerrard Powell and ably assisted by his mates who carefully put that huge fish back in the water. With a tag well-insertedby Mr. AntNel.
Garrick
Our endemic and highly threatened Garrick population is also going to be here shortly. They are here to breed and in this vulnerable state, can be easily overfished.
Bag limit is two per man. For a reason.
This is an old video, that captures the surf fishing vibe down on the Sandspit on National Garrick Day…
Check out the MYDO range of spoons for surf fishing
But get a live mullet or shad swimming in the channel between the mid-break and the shore break, and you will get your Garrick.
Throw a big old ice cream plug over the same channel 200 or 300 times you also could be in the game. Also for…
Let ’em go!
Kingfish
The GTs are here! Already a few have shown their ugly faces around the social shark nets recently in amongst the sardine action. There are many species to choose from including the also release-worthy blacktip, greenspot and blue models.
Some people actually want to catch sharks! But mainly anglers hook them by mistake. Luckily they all are let go these days. The shark nets have done the shark population more than enough damage already.
It’s true, we hardly ever get sharks around the backline anymore. Luckily in sardine season, ALL the remaining ones come to visit. And we can see these beautiful and majestic animals swimming by in the wild.
Sharks in the Shorebreak…
Sharks in the Shorebreak!
Umzimkulu Adrenalin
We are ready to take you out there! Stationed down on the Umzimkulu River in Port Shepstone. With direct access to the ocean, Umzimkulu Adrenalin will put you right in amongst it all.
We have accommodation at the Umzimkulu Marina. Spillers House too. And we have an Egyptian Halaal restaurant downstairs. With a tented dining area right on the edge of the water. The MYDO Factory shop is in here too!
A thrilling start to KZN South Coast billfish bite: there are many billfish hunting along the colour line on the KZN South Coast right now!
KZN South Coast billfish bite. Fish released.
Arriving dead on time, same as the dorado, the billfish are here! Sightings, encounters and hookups aplenty.
See the movie – of Phillip’s first sailfish – at the bottom end of this post.
The colour line/halocline has also seen some very early season couta coming out aswell! It’s looking good for the summer gamefish and billfish season down here on the south coast.
Spearos
The spearos, as usual, were the first to report the incoming billfish. A shoal of striped marlin on the shoal. They got one or two – this was even about a month back. Check out https://masterwatermen.co.za for up-to-date intel on what’s going on in the ocean around here.
The Colour Line
The seam/colour line is the halocline representing where the Mozambique blue water meets the runoff rainwater of the KZN wet season. We have a few functioning estuaries left. The Umkomaas pumps out a beautiful plume. As does the Umzimkulu – the last free-flowing river of significance in the whole of Africa. Likened in ecological importance to the Okavango delta, this river still experiences the full effect of the flood pulse. There are attempts underway to impede this vitally important and functional flood pulse by building a weir 9kms upriver. This would impede both the flood pulse and the tidal pulse.
So right now, the flood pulse pulsed, and we have a beautiful halocline line to work. This is an amazing piece of structure that gives rise to a load of fish action.
Everybody comes to this party.
Baitfish
Concentrations of mackerel, shad, mozzies and even red-eye sardines hang in the shallows to feed. And to hide from the monsters. Who patrol up and down the line, looking to ambush anything that moves. So it’s simply a matter of getting a live bait or two, and slow-trolling them along the line.
Big baits for billfish
Dorado can’t really that easily gulp down a big shad. Or bonito. Or mackerel. Anything else just gets swallowed whole. So to get a billfish out of this melee, chuck out really big live bait.
And don’t mess around with the trace either. Use heavy leader (300 to 400lb) and a big old circle hook. And make the trace looooong (4m at least – so you can grab that leader and take control at the boat). The big mommas are also here. We saw at least one over 600 on the day this accompanying sailfish video was shot.
It goes without saying that you really need line capacity (1000 metres), a strong drag (12 to 15kgs) and good knots (bimini or any double line to clip swivel works fine – make a long double line too – 5 metres if you can)!
Phillip’s 1st Sailfish on video
Yip!
That was a fun fish to catch! In the howling South Westerly as we waited for the tide. The saily just swam right by us and gulped down the live maasbanker. Literally in front of our eyes. The solid hookup caused the fish to throw its stomach. This is a defence mechanism that these and other billfish resort to when something gets stuck in their throats. Successful release but I never got the tag in this time. And all recorded on video. The video is structured in a way that you can use it to learn how to handle your first sailfish when it happens.
In the meantime, come fishing with us here at Umzimkulu Adrenalin, in Port Shepstone. Where the sailfish featured was caught.
In the following gallery, is guest star Phillip’s first dorado too. All he needs now is a couta and he the South Coast Slam done and dusted.
But ok, The Sardine News is powered by TLC for your business. Where you can have a website built for yourself or for your business! All frills included.
Busting the Spotted Grunter on camera in the Umzimkulu Estuary
Busting the Spotted Grunter on camera in the Umzimkulu Estuary: after a couple of years of using these GoFish underwater cameras now, we are still learning how to get the best results…
Spotted Grunter busted!
But this past Friday saw a revelation, as we finally busted those wily spotted grunter hunting along the first bank on the incoming tide in the Umzimkulu Estuary. It took a lucky cast to land the camera (simply attached to my line) in the crystal clear water, just as the shoal of hunting fish idled past. In full attack formation.
It’s all about learning
Seeing these fish in their natural environment also makes it clear why you are not getting any bites. These fish are in position, completely focused, waiting to ambush the prawns and fry that come rushing in out-of-control, with the tide.
The water is moving so fast here in the shallows of the estuary mouth – you can see quite clearly what you need to be doing, to get these fish to take an interest, and strike.
And about conservation
In fact, as an alternative to fishing with bait or lures, I quite truthfully, enjoy this more. It’s an absolutely thrilling feeling when, after scrubbing hours of video, a gamefish comes into plain view. In its completely natural habitat. Free-swimming!
And I get to watch it over and over again!
It is much better than catching and killing the fish, to me personally. And I do think this is really going to take off and revolutionise sport-fishing as we know it today.
Slow start
The uptake on fishing cameras has been slow. I only know one other guy in this whole country (South Africa) who has one! Captain Digby Smith has been sending his camera down to the depths off Port Shepstone and has a load of video saved up for me to scrub!
However, the cameras on offer today are so smart and capable and produce such amazing pictures, that soon most guys will be sporting a cam in their box.
GoFish Cameras
The camera used in this video was my GoFish camera, which I have been using for a couple of years now. I have caught so many fish with it! Couta, marlin, tuna…actually everything by now. These clips are the foundations for most of my YouTube channels.
I use them for everything! Their size and relative toughness, make them really adaptable to any situation.
And! You can get them right here on The Sardine News. Using the link below…
100lb kob tagged and released by Gerrard Powell in Port Edward
100lb kob tagged and released by Gerrard Powell in Port Edward this very morning (6 November 2021): Imagine this. You wake up nice and early. Get your two little daughters in the car with you. Down to the rocks in the idyllic Port Edward, KZN, South Africa – to meet Mr. Ant Nel, fellow angler. And who was your teacher at the very school you went to, just a minute walk down the beach.
You set out to get a few casts in between watching out for the girls, and next thing, after a HUGE episode, you are in the water, disbelievingly setting free your kob of a lifetime.
All 100lbs of it!
With a tag in it! Stuck in by no other than Mr. Ant Nel.
Now that’s teachin’!
Chances of Survival
As we all know very well, these fish are our breeding stock. And this guy or gal had a great chance of surviving. He or she was well-rested. Well handled mostly (hand in gills can be debatable but in this case looks ok – horizontal dragging, no real gravity pulling, slippery rocks).
And one thing is for sure, it sure has far more chance of survival in the water, than out.
Plus…
I don’t think any self-respecting sport angler would be seen dead in a photo – with a fish like this – dead.
The chances for survival for this fish are real. I am sure hoping that it’s swimming around with its mates right again. Telling them not to go near anything that looks like a paddletail!
Tagging
The tag might tell…
And that’s the point. If you (un)luck into one of these breeding fish, you just need to treat it so well and get it back in the water asap, as these guys did. Luckily Ant Nel was there and he keeps his tagging kit in his back pocket. Which really saved the day. Letting a fish go without a tag in it, doesn’t make too much sense to most. The tag really validates the release.
Kudos Mr. Nel! Still teachin’!
Rightio, this post has a sponsor…
Fish on the River – Web App (PWA)
This post was sponsored by the fabulous Fish on the River seafood restaurant, in Port Shepstone – you can try their really cool brand-new PWA (Progressive Web App) that installs on your phone but is actually only a website. So, hardly any space is required at all!
Click right here – > here and allow the install and notifications to go ahead. If you are not prompted, just use the browser menu and ‘Add to Homescreen’. It even has limited offline functionality so you can read the news whilst in the queues.
And when you connect again, the app will check for latest events, specials or menu items – and let you know with notification to your phone!
If you would like your own PWA. For your own business, get in touch with Sean on umzimkulu@gmail.com and let’s get you installed.
Bucktails vs The Law: “Sean, Sean, please man, we need your assistance. We’ve been arrested for jigging with bucktails! Fishing down here in PSJ!”, came the call.
DAFF
And so I sprang into action. Called up my dear DAFF contact Bongani, and asked him about it all. Bongani pulled out of the Mtata traffic he was in at that moment, and we discussed the situation. Over the following piece of legislation.
The law!
While there is literally zero chance of misinterpreting the intent of section (c) – its application to real-life normal fishing methods and styles is alarmingly loose.
Back to the victims
And so I called up the two dudes with the R2500 fines in their back pockets. And asked them how hard they were jigging. The response was kind of really vague as he started comparing his “medium” jigging style, to the guys on the boats out at sea. Who jig like crazy, he claimed.
Blame mentality for justification
But ok, I’ve been picking up on a new environmentally destructive mentality all over recently. It goes like this…
“But the trawlers take everything…”. Or, “Have you seen those netters in the Cape…”. Or. “The deep-sea ous catch it all anyway…”. “The spearos shoot them”. And so on…
All kinds of blame is used to justify catching 10 shad, or 5 brushers. And with The Parks Board, nee Ezimvelo, gone and stripped of its guts and morals by corruption under Zuma. And DAFF totally untrained and unready to take on the sophisticated networks of poachers that exist now – it’s a literal free-for-all as the ocean gets looted every day. And people just look on and say nothing. And do nothing. And worse still, use one of the claims above, to become an ocean looter too.
Back to Jigging with Bucktails
Yes well if you gonna jerk up hard with apparent or seeming intent at jigging something in the body, you gonna get busted. This is the price it seems we have to pay, to have the law enforceable. I am sorry for the seemingly innocent dudes who got busted. But maybe in the future, legislation allowing certain lures to be jigged hard across estuary channels teeming with breeding fish will be passed.
But for now, it’s definitely possibly maybe illegal.
I was an illegal jigger
True confession. I was an illegal jigger! Yip. For absolute real. This is the story…
Brucifire and I were staying at Jungle Monkey. This was a long time ago. 2015 to be exact. I was in PSJ with Bruce making a movie about surfing 2nd beach. Which we did, made our point, and got out. But man did we get in trouble for that.
But ok, I woke up at that beautiful backpackers, joined Bruce for a coffee in the lookout. And watched the sun climb through the clouds. The tide was gonna turn soon and it was an idyllic morning.
Something weird was abuzz too. Something in the air, the atmosphere. It was all electric.
“Bruce, I’m just gonna go catch a fish quick, ok?”. Bruce grumbled something encouraging through his coffee-stained morning beard. And I trundled down to the beach. As I pulled up, there was quite a scene going on. I jumped out and looked out over the water towards Agate, and there I saw them.
“Zambies!”, I exclaimed.
“Nay Bru, kob!”, he corrected me in the local PSJ tongue.
I nearly had a heart attack. I’ve never seen it since. Those huge fish were lolling and rolling over each other, as they spawned. In front of my innocently bleeding eyes. I went into that mental state of flow, but it never worked at all. I first put on the wrong spoon. Then clambered back up and changed to a 2 Oz MYDO LuckShot Jighead and a 7 inch plastic jerktail. Pink?! Crashed back down the bank and started at a spot where I was kind of on my own. I saw a guy in the distance lose an honest 20kg garrick right at the bricks. Split ring broke right at the gaff! Fish were everywhere this crazy memorable day. Adrenalin pulsing.
And then it was me. A solid thump. Something really big. And I was vas. For the very first time in all the years, I have tried to get a big fish from the shore, finally, I was in the game. And an hour and a half later, the gaff went in. And the hook fell out.
I had hooked the fish under the chin. Not in the mouth.
I had illegally jigged the fish.
But it was totally by accident I tell ya!
Luckily, the 20lb light tackle had served its purpose and the hook stayed in without its barb helping once, for the entire 90 minutes. That fish was my first, and most certainly will be my last big kob.
The TWO wise men -according to Brucifire! Visiting priests from Ethiopia to PSJ were mightily impressed. And took a photo op! You only need to catch ONE of these magnificent fish – in your whole life!
But ok, this all I had to process, before being able to resolve in my head, the fact…that jigging up hard and with seeming or apparent intent, is illegal.
No matter what lure you have tied on.
Epilogue
The two victims that initiated this story, took legal advice. Which was to contact the public prosecutor before the court date, and try to explain the situation.
However, the fines were totally invalid.
They had a court place that doesn’t even exist. There was no public prosecutor to contact. No information on the fines. The actual fining was invalid too. On video taken during the incident, many requests were made for the identities of the arresting officers. One of whom gave a first name, the other flatly denied. It was a $%^$% show and would never have held up in court. Even if there was one.
All the while, the real jiggers, were hiding in the bush laughing their heads off.
And the minute the DAFF dudes left, they were back at it.
Advice
Watch this video for some alternate ways of working estuary lures. Bucktails included. Pay special attention to the extremely gentle nature of any rod tip actions during fishing with these lures.
