Category: Spearfishing

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Early Sardine Report 19 June 2024 by The Bear

Sardine Report by The Master Watermen 19 June 2024 at 7AM

Early Sardine Report 19 June 2024

Early Sardine Report 19 June 2024: we are having a phenomenal early sardine run this year. So much so that The Sardine News website broke! So we will share the posts between the many websites we run, in the future. Especially here at The Master Watermen.

I just got some inside information from netters who were successful yesterday late afternoon with a net real close to Hibberdene. Just a bit north.

And right now along the backline at Uvongo and St. Mikes shoals are milling about waiting for the tide to drop.

Enjoy the video…

Spearfishing

This a great time to be a spearfisherman. Clean water. Gamefish. Sardines. It’s like a magical imaginary wonder world down there. Check out this recent gallery of catches.

Fishing

During the sardine run, fish are much easier to shoot than to catch. Which is why we all went underwater in the first place. But some anglers are getting lucky and garrick are being hooked all up and down the KZN coastline. Aswell as those lekka big old kob. The 20kg models that sit right in the shore break to ambush shad and sardines as they swim by.

You have to be completely ‘doff’ not to be catching your daily quota of shad. Which is FOUR I might remind y’all!

Deep Sea

It’s a tough time being a ski-boater this time of the year. The fish are everywhere. Every beach. Every reef. Fish have migrated to here from all over the show. To get their share of the spoils. But they ain’t biting! They are after the fresh power-packed bite-sized sardines. That are freely available everywhere right now.

Today 19 June 2024

Those outsized shoals sighted yesterday on the lower south coast have got everyone on edge. Up early. Drinking coffee and waiting on The Sardine Report.

These big shoals could surprise us all and disappear completely again. The water in Durban is 22 degrees and that is way too warm.

Yesterday Kevin in Qora was reporting his water right down to 16 degrees. And that water is not the result of any incessant easts. None have been blowing hard enough to chill the water that much. So Kevin deduces that his cold patch down there in the deep Transkei, is yet another cut off section of cold being sandwiched against the shore line and being driven north by pressure.

Kevin’s understanding of the sardines and the ocean is unparalleled. And he has a grandstand seat. His verandah! Kevin runs Wild Coast Cottages. You can get ahold of him via The Sardine News website. Which is kinda broken at the moment but it is still serving the news luckily.

Affiliated YouTube Channels

https://youtube.com/@Brucifire – highly entertaining surf reporting

https://youtube.com/@thesardinenews – neva miss a single sardine

https://youtube.com/@mydotackletalk – highly technical sport fishing

https://youtube.com/@surflaunchingsouthernafrica – getting out there safely

https://youtube.com/@waterwoes – complain here

Affiliated websites

https://umzimkulu.co.za – self-catering right on the Umzimkulu River
https://umzimkuluadrenalin.co.za –  sardine run coming up
https://thesardine.co.za – never miss a single sardine
https://masterwatermen.co.za – news from deep down
https://brucifire.co.za – surf and conditions reporting
https://fishbazaruto.com – your dreams are out there
https://mydofishinglures.co.za – technical sport fishing

The post Early Sardine Report 19 June 2024 by The Bear appeared first on Master Watermen.

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Snoek Fever by Christal Botes

Christal Botes with Snoek Fever in Durban

Snoek Fever by Christal Botes

SNOEK FEVER: Durban KZN – After months of no spearfishing and having had to move back to JHB in 2022, I thought my diving days are finally over. Until November of 2023 when me and my hubby decided it’s time to catch a break. And we also had the Umhlanga Spearfishing Club End Year Function that was coming up so this would be the perfect time to go to Durban.

Arriving in Durban the weather caught us by surprise, it was raining almost every day. It wasn’t the rain that kept us from diving but the big swells that came through with the rain. I kept thinking to myself was I even going to get a chance to get in the water or was it all for nothing? So we decided to wait for the weather to clear and hopefully see if there were any diveable water around. And then one morning when the sun came out my hubby said to me it’s time to pack our dive gear and drive up coast to go look for diveable water hopefully the swell would’ve dropped too.

As we drove up coast all you could see was rivers that had popped and dirty water pouring into the ocean. We drove past Tinley Manor and the water started looking a lot better. We then went to this one isolated beach and my hubby said to me this is it. It’s now or never. As we were gearing up the tide started rising and you could see some clean water about 2 kilometers from the beach pushing in. We swam out past backline and the reefs were quiet, just the local small reef fishies hanging around. We then drifted with the current to this one ledge where the water colour changed to a blue 7m. This was as clean as it could get. We reef hooked on the ledge and waited.

Then suddenly my eyes caught a flash coming in from the side, at first I thought it was my hubby’s fins or something and then I saw it. A big shoal of Natal Snoek (Queen Mackerel) came cruising past me. I dove down and was amazed to see such a healthy shoal of fish, lined up my gun as best as I could and took a shot. As I surfaced I thought I had missed and then my reel went crazy, adrenaline kicked in and I knew I had Snoek Fever.

I slowly pulled the line giving the fish enough slack to tire itself out. It quickly got tired and was easy to pull in towards me. When I grabbed him by the gills and was so stoked to have finally shot my first Natal Snoek. I then euthanized it and put it on the stringer. We drifted for a couple more hours and another shoal passed, at this point I was already exhausted and ready to get out.

My hubby also got a snoek and he could see that I was getting tired so we decided to swim back to the beach. I could feel that I was unfit from not being able to dive in such a long time but it was all worth it in the end, this fish had been on my bucketlist for so long and I was overly grateful for it. As we got to our guesthouse I immediately filleted my fish and put it in the freezer.

When we got back home in JHB I knew that my kids were going to be so happy to have some fresh fish for dinner, so I prepared some battered fish for them and they ate all of it. I can’t wait to get back in Durban again.

by Christal Botes

Sometimes we also catch ;em!
Natal Snoek
MYDO Queen Mackerel aka Natal Snoek
MYDO Queen Mackerel
Natal Snoek
Looks like queen mackeral!

“Whoohooo Christal what a lekka article! Plus you can read it to your kids every night as their best bedtime story too!” – Xona

Site and SEO by The Sardine News.

The post ‘Snoek Fever‘ appeared first on The Diving Divas SA.

Affiliated YouTube Channels

https://youtube.com/@thesardinenews
https://youtube.com/@mydotackletalk
https://youtube.com/@waterwoes
https://youtube.com/@Brucifire

Websites

https://brucifire.co.za
https://thesardine.co.za
https://masterwatermen.co.za
https://umzimkuluadrenalin.co.za
https://divingdivassa.co.za

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Welcome to Diving Divas South Africa!

Diving Divas. Dorado

Welcome to Diving Divas South Africa!

By Christal Botes

Diving Diva Christal Botes and a delectable KZN garrick
Diving Diva Christal Botes and a delectable KZN garrick

The first-ever female spearfishing initiative in South Africa. Yes! Spearfishing was once seen as a man’s sport but more and more women have become interested in it and are excelling at it. Diving Divas SA was established by Christal Botes in 2016 and is a proud social initiative including experienced female spearfishing athletes from all over South Africa.

Our aim is to grow the presence of women in the sport of spearfishing and our focus is to upskill more women by offering support and training in diving capabilities, diving equipment, gear knowledge and safety aspects of diving.

Training and courses

We also offer one-on-one Freediving Training Sessions and we’ll soon be running Freediving Courses too! Freediving is the foundation of spearfishing which is why we recommend courses to all our divas! It gives them much more confidence in the water and they enter the water feeling relaxed and calm. We share knowledge and tips on underwater hunting techniques for different species of fish including where they can be found and suitable methods for spearing them, spearfishing fitness & readiness, boat diving and blue water spearfishing, shore diving and surf entry, reading the weather conditions correctly and we show ladies how to handle the fish when it has been shot, how to clean and gut the fish and how to prepare a delicious meal from it.

Safety

Spearfishing is a dangerous sport and we take safety to the next level so we make sure all our divas understand and is fully aware of all the dangers of spearfishing. It is the duty of every diver to dive responsibly and to be alert to what is happening around them, they should also know how to act in a case of emergency. Shallow water blackouts usually occur on the surface and happen completely unexpectedly and without warning, many spearos have died this way. It can be avoided by knowing how to react in such situations. We also educate our divas on the Regulations and Protective measures of spearfishing, with SA having a remarkably high number of marine species we need to know how to care for the environment and to leave it in a better state than we found it so that the next generation of spearos can also be able to benefit from sustainable food harvesting.

Diving Divas. Huge yellowfin

If you would like to join the Diving Divas contact Christal on 073 390 9374 today.

Sponsored by:

https://thesardine.co.za – never miss a single sardine

https://masterwatermen.co.za – by The Bear

https://portcaptain.co.za – Egyptian food in Port Shepstone

https://umzimkuluadrenalin.co.za – get out there!

The post Welcome to Diving Divas South Africa! appeared first on The Diving Divas SA website.

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20kg Garrick story by The Bear

Jason Heyne of the Master Watermen and his Margate shot Garrick with the kids

20kg Garrick story by The Bear

Main question I got asked on the busy beach after the dive “How long did it take to shoot this fish?”.

Followed by ”how deep/far out?” which is the usual question besides “what about Sharks!”.

Answer to the first question if you ignore the long drive and various stops to check for right conditions and you start the dive from when I entered the water from the beach…I would say about 5 minutes to 8 minutes tops! The fight and landing (hands on the fish and the usual barb/knife to the brain) there of another 10 to 15 minutes!

But..big BUT!!

I have been looking for a Garrick/Leervis (Lichia amia) of
over 20kg since I started diving in KZN waters for just over 26 and a half years! (give or take a couple of days and hours!) So 26 and a half years and 5 minutes is the correct answer!

Lost a beast in 14m two years back North coast and missed one close to this weight 2 years before at the same spot but backline, waited too long to take the shot being greedy and checking the shoal of 20 odd fish for a bigger one first!

The swim out was quick in the rip current on the south side of the point and I had just got positioned in the 2knt SN current (4m depth to sand on my left and 3m to the slope of point bricks/structure on my right on the southern end Garrick still being on the up run so facing south). I always put Camera with head strap on first before deploying my flasher so looked down quickly to my waist to get the camera out my shuttle crayfish bag and in doing so caught sight of the single Garrick just in line with me coming past me already to my left on the sand just in visibility (6m).

Quick instinct duck dive with the fish head down and moving fast it was just out of range so two fast kicks and a grunt got him to turn slightly and pause just long enough to plant a decent long-range shot just behind the dorsal fin mid-body…shot was good but that noise (DOOF) on impact told me that the spear had not passed through (hit the spine and the spear ran up it towards the swim bladder area). So I let the fish run with the float line rig and float. The fish then decided that the horizon out to sea looked good and subbed my float and so began the fastest 300m swim of my life!

Eventually, I caught up with my float which had now returned to the surface grabbed the stringer and put the camera on whilst being towed a bit. Viz was better out deeper and when I had the spear running line in my hands I could see the spear was pulling but luckily I dive with two guns with the second gun a 130 reel gun on my belt reel and managed to plant the second shot seen in the picture.

Jason Heyne of the Master Watermen and his Margate shot 20kg Garrick
Jason Heyne of the Master Watermen and his Margate shot 20kg Garrick

My dive mate Paul Roxburgh thought I was seriously deviating from the dive plan at first but then saw that I was doing full on Freestyle and thought maybe I had shot a big Cape yellowtail or Daga Salmon but obviously could not keep up and was 100 odd meters behind me inshore! Excellent camera work Paul…thank you!

20kg Garrick are spear destroyers of note…the brand new 7.5mm spear from Rob Allen is still exactly that…brand new no bend whatsoever! Top kit and master engineering!. Aweh!

At just over 20kg I am super stoked and the epic run and fight made it awesome to say the least…will drop a link to the footage when I edit and upload to Master Watermen YouTube channel!

As always dive safe and straight spears…

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South African freediving champion films KZN South Coast’s Sardine Run

Beth Neal freediving in Sardine Run 2020
South African freediving champion films KZN South Coast’s Sardine RunBeth Neale, the four-time South African Freediving Champion, the African Continental Record Holder for no-fins freediving, renowned ocean conservationist and filmmaker, headed to the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) South Coast where she has taken to the water to experience, first-hand #thegreatestshoalonearth. Beth has captured some never-before-seen footage of the Sardine Run which will soon be released (a taste of which can be seen on the ‘South Coast Tourism’ Facebook page.)“This year’s Sardine Run has been described as one of the biggest in over a decade,” said CEO of Ugu South Coast Tourism (USCT), Phelisa Mangcu. “As well as providing food security for so many of our local fishermen and communities, the Sardine Run is a phenomenal experience to witness from both the beachside and within the ocean. We are so excited to have freediving champion, Beth Neale, on our shores, sharing footage of this incredible oceanic migration which has become synonymous with the KZN South Coast.”Originally from Johannesburg, ‘mermaid’ Beth is currently living on the KZN South Coast, having only just broken her own ‘no fins’ freediving record by diving to 50m in Bermuda last year while raising over $20,000USD (more than R340 000) to teach children ocean conservation and freediving. An avid ocean lover, adventure-seeker and passionate conservationist, Beth couldn’t miss the opportunity to experience the planet’s greatest biomass migration – the annual Sardine Run. Using a Gopro camera, drone, and Insta360 360-degree camera, Beth and her team were able to capture a completely unique all-round view of the Sardine Run which will give viewers the chance to experience it from the comfort of home.“What an incredible feeling to freedive into millions of sardines!” she said of the recent diving adventure. “I feel so fortunate, as most people only get to see the sardines as they are hauled onshore in nets, sold in crates on the roadside, or even in a can. Underwater, you get to see these fish in their true glory, shimmering with iridescence as they move, mesmerisingly, together as if one massive organism. Once you penetrate the top layer, they realign above you, blocking out the sun so everything goes dark. It’s quite intimidating!”Beth dived near Scottburgh on the KZN South Coast where she described one of the shoals as being 12 metres deep and the length of a rugby field: “I was shocked when I saw the drone footage, as I had no idea how big the shoal was. I thought it was small and I was managing to keep up with it for an hour as I swam against the current!”She said that, alongside the masses of sardines, she got to experience swimming with some of the apex predators taking advantage of the wealth of food on offer: “There were hundreds of sharks swimming through the shoal, feeding, and they nearly bump into you as they fly by. Luckily, they only have one thing on their minds – sardine snacks!”The annual Sardine Run attracts local and international attention, having featured on wildlife documentaries across the globe. Beth described it as ‘a bucket list item for international travellers and film crews – and for locals too!’.“My hope is that, through my content, others will be inspired to travel to our coasts and experience the beauty of our oceans,” she continued. “As a filmmaker, my mission since lockdown has been to document the impact of the pandemic on coastal communities and inspire others to get back to nature as lockdown restrictions lift.”Beth will also be shooting footage of the Marine Protected Area and world renowned KZN South Coast diving site, Aliwal Shoal, hoping to capture more shots of indigenous shark species and their activities.USCT is keeping everyone connected to the Sardine Run digitally during lockdown by uploading videos, images and up-to-date information. Check out the ‘South Coast Tourism’ Facebook page and @infosouthcoast on Twitter for breath-taking images, including aerial and underwater footage, such as supplied by Beth Neale. For more information about the KZN South Coast and USCT, visit www.visitkznsouthcoast.co.za or download the free ‘Explore KZN South Coast’ app to find a local supplier.To follow Beth Neale’s incredible adventures, follow @onebreathbeth on Instagram or visit www.aquasouls.com./ENDSHigh resolution images are available upon request.IMAGE CREDIT: Dr Ryan DalyCAPTION: South African ‘Mermaid’ freediving champion Beth Neale has captured unique footage of this year’s bumper sardine run on the KZN South Coast. Ugu South Coast Tourism (USCT) is keeping everyone connected to the Sardine Run digitally during lockdown by uploading videos, images and up-to-date information. Check out the ‘South Coast Tourism’ Facebook page and @infosouthcoast on Twitter for breath-taking images, including aerial and underwater footage, such as supplied by Beth Neale. For more information about the KZN South Coast and USCT, visit www.visitkznsouthcoast.co.za or download the free ‘Explore KZN South Coast’ app to find a local supplier.54622835c1acd71410b0329093eebf3f.jpeg383ad187b049bcae9e957cbfc8eeaa65.jpegcd001e0e33cb04f87e83e1a78570e911.jpegAbout Ugu South Coast Tourism Ugu South Coast Tourism (USCT) is the official destination management organisation of the Ugu District Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa. The Ugu District comprises four local municipalities that include Umdoni, Umzumbe, Umuziwabantu and Ray Nkonyeni. USCT’s mandate is to grow tourism within the KZN South Coast. This involves implementing marketing and development initiatives that are aimed at showcasing the diverse offerings and experiences of the South Coast as tourist destination. A board of directors oversees USCT, headed by CEO, Phelisa Mangcu.About KZN South Coast Known as the ‘Paradise of the Zulu Kingdom’, the KZN South Coast stretches 120 kilometres from Scottburgh to Port Edward and inland to Harding. Here, the spirit of adventure can be discovered among the many cultural experiences, as well as the 35 nature trails and 58 beaches, ideal for activities like river rafting, abseiling, suspension bridges, paintball, surfing, SUP, canoeing, beach horse rides, shark cage diving and free diving. Nicknamed ‘The Golf Coast’, there are 11 golf courses on the KZN South Coast ranging in difficulty, with endless hiking, mountain biking and 4×4 trails for more rugged excursions. Promoting sustainability, the KZN South Coast has a growing agri-tourism sector that offers world-class produce and hosts tours and excursions. The region boasts a number of permanently managed Blue Flag beaches, and is home to some of the world’s top diving sites, Aliwal Shoal and Protea Banks. The originality continues with the annual Sardine Run, coined the #GreatestShoalonEarth, which is the largest biomass migration on earth and a marvel to witness. The region’s many nature reserves are inhabited by indigenous bird and wildlife, and it holds the title for ‘smallest desert on earth’, The Red Desert in Port Edward. The KZN South Coast is a fast-emerging MICE destination which also plays host to a number of high-profile events including the The Bike Fest, Uvukile Gospel Festival, Ugu Jazz, Ugu Film Festival and the South Coast Fever MTB & Trail Run Series.
Issued on behalf of:Ugu South Coast Tourism (USCT)Disseminated by: Olivia Jones CommunicationsFor more information please contact: Olivia Jones Communications Cell: 083 653 1720 Email: media
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