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So you wanna see a bait ball?

An amazing shot by Captain Duarte Rato (c) of a baitball off Bazaruto Island, Southern Mozambique

So you wanna see a bait ball?

So, you wanna see a bait ball?

Check this one out!

When Captain Duarte Rato gets excited, so do I! He has been frothing over these amazing pics he lucked into whilst on a charter off Bazaruto two days ago. This one is a shark based bait ball, but many others were instituted by sailfish the same day. The bait balls are everywhere, even down here in Barra and Tofo.

And they are having the desired effect on the fishing.

The fishing off Bazaruto has been epic this last couple of weeks. Huge yellowfin, by inshore standards are being encountered. The ones that are coming out have been 40kg’s! The ones that have been getting away and there have been plenty, have been estimated at over 50!

Wahoo and couta have also been going mad, as they do, this time of the year, every year.

Sailfish are a bycatch of fishing for tuna, couta and wahoo really, and are almost as plentiful. There have been plenty sailfish all over lately. Targeting just sailies yields big numbers. Sometimes 5 or 10 a day. All released of course.

It’s just the big mommas, that are taking their time to appear. A few encounters with 800s, and a bunch of smaller fish, “rats”, as Duarte calls them, but a little quiter than last year.

Duarte is at sea right now…so stay tuned for more Bazaruto torture!

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No sardine report 25 July 2016

No sardine report 25 July 2016

Jay Steenkamp patrolling down south to Port Edward and beyond reports that the surfing has been fantastico and they have all been getting shacked. Roosta in Umzumbe reports the same clean powerful swells gracing their underground. But no mention of sardines. Scattered baitballs of other types of smallies up and down, but no sardines.

He also reports that the hard rains that have been falling, have flushed out all the smaller rivers and that the ocean is now a mess. The featured image was shot by Jay at St. Michaels a few minutes ago.

No sardine report 25 July 2016
No surfing, fishing or diving today. No sardine report 25 July 2016

Check out Jason Heyne’s comprehensive weekly spearfishing reports to really learn what is going on under the water off our coastline. He reports in every Friday and we usually have it on thesardine.co.za by Saturday morning, depending on the Friday night :-).

Debbie Smith reports in from out on the edge off Port St. Johns, that their sardine run is still running and that they were encountering baitballs and predators on almost every launch. But the weather has brought the team at Offshore Africa a well deserved chance to regroup and recover from their high adrenalin activities.
More about Offshore Africa, and Diving With Sharks.

And below is Debbie Smith’s Instagram feed portraying the lekker life they are all living right now in and around Port St. Johns as the sardine shoals get them and their guests right into the thick of it.

http://divingwithsharks.co.za/dwsblog/instagram-feed/

Keep checking back on thesardine.co.za and sign up to our mailing list to get a free compilation of the weeks news, right in your mail box. The form is up top of the right on thesardine.co.za website.

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The Sardine Coast photographic roundup

The Sardine Coast photographic roundup

The Sardine Coast photographic roundup is a spread of shots from up and down the south coast – well, the south coast of KZN Natal, South Africa. These pics were taken over the past weekend and reveal exactly the paradise of the area. From the southern Cape, through the Transkei and Natal, the coast is buzzing with waves, fish, sardines, whales, dolphins…and people, chasing all of them shore to horizon.

Although lots of sardine baitball and predator activity is being experienced down in the Transkei, the shoals have yet to make an appearance in Natal waters.

Thanks to Robbie van Wijk, Jay Steenkamp and guest photographer KC Coetzer!

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Sardine update 11 July 2016

Sardine Report 8 July 2016 The Coast Guard on patrol for foreign poachers off Mdumbi in the deep Transkei

Sardine update 11 July 2016

It’s been a slow start to the 2016 Sardine run but the reports have started trickling through voluntarily now.

Both our Mdumbi and Port St. Johns sardine spotting posts have reported bait balls and predators right in close.Robbie van Wijk in Mdumbi reports serious sardine action in the back line at Mdumbi.Rob Nettleton had his boat full of lucky guests on top of two sardine bait balls over the weekend. They even had a Bryde’s Whale swallowing huge mouthfuls at a time right in front of them.The water has been averaging about 22 degrees and this next cold front looks promising. It is still early days, but the sardines could be close now!

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Sardine Report 8 July 2016

Sardine Report 8 July 2016

The Sardine News Sardine Report 8 July 2016 is compiled from the following sources:

Robbie van Wijk in Mdumbi – “sardines moving past in shoals far out to sea, shad on everyone’s plate, garrick and kob catches regular. Coast Guard is on patrol for foreign poachers”

Sardine Report 8 July 2016 The Coast Guard on patrol for foreign poachers off Mdumbi in the deep Transkei
The Coast Guard on patrol for foreign poachers off Mdumbi, way down deep in the Transkei, this very morning. Thank you Robbie can Wijk for the picture.

Debbie Smith in Port St. Johns – “Rob (Nettleton of Offshore Africa) had a great day yesterday chasing small pockets of sardines up and down the coast. A Brydes Whale gulped half a shoal down right in front of the boat. The water has warmed with the great sea conditions today”

Jay Steenkamp in Margate area – “the surf is small with offshore winds, and very good viz. Rather go surfing shorebreaks on hight tide than look for sardines today – nothing to report, except for great catches of shad and garrick all over” (featured photo by Jay – tx man!)

Darren Joubert is also down in Port St. Johns, fishing the estuary for gamefish like this garrick. Mainly practising catch n release – this fresh and tasty fish will be dinner tonight!

Darren Joubert and his lightie showing off a beaut garrick taken in the Umzimvubu
Darren Joubert and his lightie showing off a beaut garrick taken in the Umzimvubu this very morning!
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