Category: South Africa

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No sardine report 29 June 2017

No sardine report 29 June 2017

Well it’s a no sardine report for today the 29 June 2017…things have gone quiet up and down. Sporadic appearances of shoals of Banana Beach and Umzumbe mean they are still about, just swimming down deep where it’s safer? Maybe it’s the excellent surf and calm conditions that are allowing them to take refuge like this.

Except of course Port St. Johns! Sardines everywhere out deep. Where ace operators – Offshore Africa – are right in on the action. Rob Nettleton and his team have been doing the sardine run experience for over a decade now, and really have their finger on the pulse. They are an integral part of The Sardine Report each year.

Together with the fabulously talented (and brave) Janine Marx, have been getting some of the most amazing and noteworthy footage.

THESE IMAGES WERE FROM TODAY!

Sardine report 29 June 2017 Imagery by Janine Marx
Sardine report 29 June 2017 Imagery by Janine Marx

These guys down in Port St. Johns are so serious about sardines, they even have a Gyrocopter scouting from the skies each day possible.

Sardine spotter "Tzulu"Dowsett will be piloting this awesome machine as he searches the seas for sardines and their predators
Sardine spotter “Tzulu”Dowsett will be piloting this awesome machine as he searches the seas for sardines and their predators

But aside from the sporadic but inspiring few nets thrown last week – it has gone sardine run characteristically quiet for now.

Don’t panic however. This happens. And now things can get really exciting as elusive shoals slip through the proverbial net, and surprise the crowd by popping up way further north than expected.

Our Natal Sharks Board spy Jay Steenkamp is also out and about – he even has an aeroplane at his disposal – and is most times the very first with the news, as he was in Scottburgh, last week. He patrols the entire coastline from Durban all the way to the Eastern Cape for sardines each year. He has been very quiet today.

Log back in soon or stay tuned to the horizon near you!

Sponsored by Pelagic Fishing Gear available at http://fishingsfinest.co.za

Special offer from Pelagic and Fishing's Finest
Special offer from Pelagic and Fishing’s Finest
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Video: Sardine Run 2017 – underwater whales and dolphins by Offshore Africa

Flying with Offshore Africa

Video: Sardine Run 2017 – underwater whales and dolphins by Offshore Africa

Video: Sardine Run 2017 – underwater whales and dolphins by Offshore Africa.

Check this daredevil underwater videography of cetaceans large and small, as they congregate for the annual sardine run.

The 2017 Sardine run has kicked off on schedule, with Offshore Africa bringing back and processing the world class video material shot by David Du Tigre – out at sea with Captain Rob Nettleton, just this week (early June 2017).

Offshore Africa have a few booking slots available for Sardine Run 2017. Going to sea with Rob and Debbie at this time of the year puts you in the game for all sorts of action. In amongst the patient whales and dolphins prowl the impatient sharks and gamefish. The bird flight is gathering force as they have been congregating in huge numbers – patrolling the coastline up and down, looking out for signs of sardines.

Read all about the action right here…

The Sardine Run – by Offshore Africa in Port St. Johns

and get in touch at this link…

Contact Offshore

Join and like Offshore Port St. Johns on Facebook…and get up-to-date posts as they happen…

https://www.facebook.com/offshoreafricaportstjohns/

Content by The Sardine News

Sardine Run 2017

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5 June 2017 Sardine Run report

2017 Sardine Report

2017 Sardine Run report: early June

Anthony Kobrowisky way down south on the Wild Coast, has been scoring epic underwater footage of the frontrunners in the great sardine run. all week. His underwater videographer skills are way up there with the best, and as you can see from the previous post, has been garnering Ant some serious attention. MSN here we come! Click here to read all about it!

So the sardines have definitely arrived down south.

Then we had an amazing unverified hearsay type report of somebody at his house, also quite near East London, saying that many shoals were coming past, and some were huge. These must be the same fish that Ant Kobrowisky is filming – he is also in that area (just north of East London).

Then it came in that the navy have been doing their job for a change, and that very few foreign or suspicious vessels have been spotted this year. And then let’s hope more of the sardines have taken the Port Elizabeth fleet by surprise, or dodged them completely this time round.

Further north The Sardine’s Mdumbi sardine spies reported huge gatherings of birds and dolphins earlier in the week – lining the coast in anticipation. But a general lack of fish. Which is normal before the sardines hit. Starving themselves for the up coming feast!

And if they come anywhere near Port St. Johns, their eye in the sky will report in immediately! Offshore Port St Johns are going to be at sea out there every possible launch day, and will keep us informed.

Sardine spotter "Tzulu"Dowsett will be piloting this awesome machine as he searches the seas for sardines and their predators
Sardine spotter “Tzulu”Dowsett will be piloting this awesome machine as he searches the seas for sardines and their predators is also what happens before the sardines arrive. The fish seem to be starving themselves for the feast coming up.

 

So, definitely many sardines to report, as they start hitting the coastline down in the Southern Cape a little early this year, and begin running the long gauntlet up into KZN Natal. The mentionable cold front coming into Cape Town right now is par for the weather this time of year, and these behemoth systems charging up the coast into the current, is what confuses then sardines and sends them into shore. The more of these cold fronts that comes through, the more chances of sardines, it seems.

We have a new advertiser on board The Sardine News – and so we welcome PELAGIC Gear…distributed by Fishing’s Finest in Pretoria.

Click on over to their website here http://fishingsfinest.co.za

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Pelagic Battle Gloves - Fishing's Finest
Pelagic Battle Gloves – available at Fishing’s Finest
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King Mackeral dominating underwater – KZN Spearfishing

King Mackeral dominating underwater - KZN Spearfishing

King Mackeral dominating underwater – KZN Spearfishing

” Jason Heyne reporting that king mackeral are still around and dominating everyones lives…” Xona

The diving conditions this week have been epic. Garrick have arrived, snoek are around in numbers and shoal cuda are thick. Saturday the wind blows offshore in the morning switching to a light to moderate north east in the afternoon with the swell picking up from 1m in the morning to 1.5m in the afternoon. Sunday morning the wind blows offshore switching to a moderate south West in the afternoon and the swell runs at 1.3m throughout the day. Viz was reported north and south coast today. So Saturday and Sunday morning look great for a dive. Well done to Duran Richardson for getting fish of the week a cuda of 19kg on a shore dive!  As always dive safe and straight spears.

King Mackeral dominating underwater - KZN Spearfishing
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Catching blacktail

Captain Blacktail

Catching blacktail

Trolling gulleys and walking beaches, light scratching stick in hand, a few sardines…blacktail fishing!

It’s called scratching for a reason – angling for blacktail is a great escape for when things are all quiet on the big baits. And they make a great live bait too.

All you need is a christmas tree trace decorated with two or three or four tiny little hooks, a little bit of sardine and squid, with which to make up juicy little mixed grills, and a little sinker to hold it down. Chuck the rig into the white water and do your best to keep from tangling with the rocks.

Blacktail bite hard and are easy to hook. They put on a great show, and a big one like the one featured will make you think you have a big shad. They swim and hunt with the shad and the angry little fish have even been caught jumping on lures meant for shad. They also happen out deeper, but mainly, sticking right in the shallows puts you in the game.

You can find black tail all over the place, up and down our eastern seaboard. The Transkei Wild Coast and surrounds would literally be a blacktail guarantee. Staying with us down at The Umzimkulu Marina puts you in with a shout, only a short distance north or south. The KZN lower south coast has many, literally endless, rocky headlands strewn with gulleys and boulders and all sorts of features that the ‘tail love.

Jonny van Biljon hoists his outsized blacktail, caught recently, on his honeymoon!
Jonny van Biljon hoists his outsized blacktail, caught recently, on his honeymoon!

Get in touch on umzimkulu@gmail.com for any of your south coast fishing requirements.

Click here for more about The Umzimkulu Marina…http://umzimkulu.co.za

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