Jason Heyne is our man on the underwater scene – he has been patrolling the waters of the KZN coastline for decades now and knows all the nooks and crannies, kooks and nannies and everyone in on the dive scene. Thanks Jason!
Awesome sea conditions this week with the best viz on the south coast up to 25m! Garrick are still hunting the points and shoals of Queen mackerel are patrolling a bit deeper. The daga salmon have been around with some trophy fish being shot. Well done to AJ on getting his first daga salmon weighing in at a respectable 35 kg! The weather and sea conditions are looking great for Saturday with a 1.2m swell running and light variable winds. Sunday the swell picks up to 1.4m with a light south Wester blowing. The second and final day of the Natal Shorediving champs is being held on Saturday with the weigh in at PWC (DUC)16H00. Good luck!
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.
Natal Shore Dive Champs, easterlies and big swells
Natal Shore Dive Champs, easterlies and big swells: and in the meantime, this huge jobfish/kakaap…
The sea conditions have not been great this week with very few fish coming out. Big swell and variable wind direction has turned the sea into a washing machine. The forecast for Saturday is not good with a 15 knt plus northeast blowing and up to 2m swell. Swell and wind drop Sunday morning with a south Wester picking up in the afternoon. The natal shore dive champs got off to a good start on Saturday and a little birdie told me that after the first day there’s not much points difference between positions 1 through to 4. The second dive day has been moved to next weekend due to the sea conditions not being favourable this weekend.
Jason Heyne has been diving the waters up and down from his base in Durban, for decades. So when Jason says he has never seen action like he had over the last few days, then it’s very serious. And to back up this claim, check out the attached gallery of amazing spearfishing action.
Thank you Jason…
“I have never seen so much action on the natal coast. Sardines north and south coast. We are having a bumper garrick run (Lichia amia). If you sit on any point on the south coast you are bound to see at least one shoal. I saw a shoal this week of 100 plus fish all over 8kg! Snoek are around if the water is warm. ..I got schooled by three huge Snoek this week. The North East is set to blow tomorrow which is bad for viz but good for the sardines. On the whole diving conditions have been good this week with the best conditions on the south coast. Sunday is looking better for a dive but if you can get in early tomorrow you should beat the east. Well done to Matthew on bagging a beaut of a yellow tail on a shore dive in oz! “
Well, in a cowrie shell…don’t go to work! The fishing is better than it’s been in years.
A few minutes ago my Dad on the Niteshift saw P.J. Botha and son boat a nice big ‘couta off the Umzimkulu River.
Last night Mike Stubbs got his kob. A big fish that went 32.5kg’s. (Photo coming soon). He was enjoying these amazing conditions fishing off the Sandspit in Port Shepstone, while just across the way, rock and surf anglers fishing from The Block, caught: yellowbelly and catface rockcod, a scotchman?!?!, during the day a bunch of garrick…
Darrell Hattingh has been having high adventures under water spearfishing the Hibberdene and Ifafa points. A Great White was spotted at Ifafa, a baby of about 3 metres.
And in the next pics, my other brother Darrell, I mean Marc, with Koos and Andre Viviers and a bunch of nice fish, mostly caught, but the grunter shot off Chakas right up from the Sandspit.
Then down at Mdumbi, I gave a few local subsistence anglers my new lure to try out, the Mydo Luck Shot #1, and check the pictures…
Check out the Mydo Luck Shot Mini #1 right in the shads mouth. News from the area is that Blue Shad are full up in amongst kob and garrick and all sorts.Yes well I do also notice that there is one more shad in this picture than what is allowed, but heck, maybe there were two anglers? Either way, fresh fried shad is the order of breakfast everywhere in the good old Transkei. Many thanks to my good friend Thulani, for keeping us in the news and for fishing and catching with my lures…
Another fine specimen, of a Blue Shad. Fact: Blue Shad are just normal Shad, but as the fish go through their growth cycle, they turn blue in bigger sizes. But this is not across the population, some big shad are distinctively grey.
So, get to a tackle shop, tackle up, and GO FISHING!
(As for the rest of us working, I am in Pretoria right now distributing lures, we will keep the economy going while you guys all go fishing!)
