Category: Sardines

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This week underwater with Jason Heyne

This week underwater with Jason Heyne

Jason Heyne is right in the current when it comes to what’s cutting underwater, up and down the KZN Coast…

“Well below average diving conditions this week with the August winds kicking in gear. Tuesday and Wednesday morning were diveable with the garrick patrolling as the east picked up late morning. A south west wind will follow close on the heels of the north east today improving conditions and settling the sea. Saturday you might find some cleaner water far south coast. Light to variable winds Sunday with a 1m swell running should make it a cracker day. If you have the time Cape Vidal and Sodwana have been producing some good fish! Please be aware that there is a whale carcass in the Scottborough area which has been attracting some very large sharks and 2 divers were chased out the water at Brighton on the bluff this week by a 4m great white. As always dive safe and straight spears. “

Many thanks Jason!

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Some sardines to report

Some sardines to report

A patrol of the coastline between Durban and Port Shepstone yesterday made for some interesting news gathering.

The sardines have not left the building. In fact they were netted yesterday and the day before, and have been making surprise appearances up and down the coastline, even further north than Durban. The old south coast road is still buzzing with traffic from anglers, spotters and sardine crews laden with equipment and staring out sea.

Shad anglers are crowding it out everywhere. Although they certainly have slowed, they are getting bigger (maybe all the small ones are caught!).

But the biggest news is that of the natal snoek pitching up and even being caught off the side. Three so far. And many shot on the north coast. Many of the points we checked on yesterday were boiling with gamefish and the birds, although flying south for the most part, were acting very interested.

This lekka cold front about to hit (it’s gonna blast this one), is ideally timed to help the sardines get back into range, but the super warm water might say something else.

One thing is for sure, the sardines reappearance is not out of the question yet!

 

 

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No sardines to report: shark nets and lines back in…

No sardines to report: shark nets and lines back in…

It’s an ominous omen when this happens. The Natal Sharks Board have started putting their gear back in at all you favourite Blue Flag and other beaches. Blind for the sharks and other marine life the nets interfere with. Dolphins. Whales. Turtles…etc.

Humpbacks can still be spotted frolicking out deeper but the dolphins and birds have been absent. Maybe the sardines are way out deep, as they have been known to hide out there. And the humpbacks are eating them? 😉

In the meantime, it’s just shad, shad and more shad, everywhere you go.

An interesting chat to Darrell Hattingh this morning revealed that many, many garrick, were patrolling the points this past two weeks. Darrell has shot his fair share, and his catch report over this time included an 8kg Queen Mackerel / Natal Snoek. He saw quite a few more. Another was shot at Chakas (Morne I think).

A Snoek was caught off The Block on Sunday, and with a Yellowfin Tuna also caught from the side right there, has meant The Block has been yielding the most quality fish it has in years. Salmon / Kob are even being taken in the daytime, and the artificial gang across on the Sandspit also got a garrick on paddletail, in amongst their salmon.

Mike Stubbs went north of Scottburgh on the weekend to find all sorts on the bite, including one really beautiful parrotfish which was duly released, healthy and wiser.

sardines to report
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Where are the sardines 2015?

Where are the sardines 2015?

The word in the carpark, up and down the KZN coastlines is that we should not give up hope, for a second coming, of sardines this year.

Where are the sardines 2015?
Where are the sardines 2015? Jay Steenkamp took this shot of the first few nets being thrown successfully, in the beginning of the season.

In fact, today brought with it an entirely new ocean, with lovely polished swells coming out of the south, a stiff offshore breeze, and most excitingly, birds. Gannets and terns were buzzing the bay off Port Shepstone, some deep diving going on. It was too difficult to see what exactly had the birds so piqued, but they in turn, attracted no less than 7 boats, from the Shelley Beach ski-boat competition, being run out of there, this week. Looking for a big ‘couta, or live bait, to start with…it’s been many a moon since we saw so many boats on the backline. Looked like the couta seasons back when there still were some couta left around here (they have been spotted, in numbers, in the Meditaranean, in case you were getting worried).

Environmentally we have all the right conditions forecast, to bring the sea temperature down (howling easterlies predicted for this week), and then to come through with big seas, from the south – this is the front that brings us our strongest chance of netting a few more sards.

So, later in July and early August, and sometimes they even only come through in September!?

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Estuary kob fishing and other news…

Brown water in KZN - good or bad?

Estuary kob fishing and other news…

 

And it's Chris Lepan again with another Umzimkulu Estuary kob.
And it’s Chris Lepan again with another Umzimkulu Estuary kob fishng prize catch. Chris releases all his fish back into the river to swim again. Nice Chris.

Chris Lepan and crew on Happy Daze have mastered this estuary kob fishing on artificials. You can see them every chance they get spinning and slow trolling all sorts behind the boat up and down the channels of the Umzimkulu River.

Meanwhile down at the mouth, which has re-opened, it’s mad with shad and garrick anglers throwing spoons, baits and plugs all over the waters around The Block. And fish. Mainly shad, a few garrick in between, and at night time, kob.

It’s pretty much the same story up and down the coast, at all the good fishing spots.

Sardine news is scant these days, it looks like that first flurry might be all we get?! But not necessarily as the south winds set in and churn the weekends serene ocean into a rough mess. Exactly what the sardines are waiting for. This wind also drops the oceans temperature towards the magical 19 degrees we know the sardines like. Stay posted!

 

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