Night-time is the Right-time for KZN Estuary Fishing

Night-time is the Right-time for KZN Estuary Fishing

Night-time is the Right-time for KZN Estuary Fishing: especially when the high tide is late in the arvo, or early evening. Regular estuary anglers with me, John and Barry, set up camp here on the edge of the Umzimkulu this week. Launched their little Tug 10, and nabbed 5 species in their first two sessions!

Here is the news from today…

Perch

The first fish was on the first evening, just fishing in the moonlight, tied up to the jetty. John had a new cast net and was producing perfect little mullet, and the odd glassy. After some banter, Barry ended up with a glassy out there, instead of a mullet. And true to form, that little glassy (nearly as big as Barry’s circle hook) produced a screaming reel.

Barry enjoyed his argument under the moon, with a proper perch. The only fish, on the trip, that was kept and eaten. All the rest that these guys caught went back…

Kingfish, Tarpon, Rock Salmon, Kob

The next day, they went out on the Tug and upriver to the deep holes. There are a series of these 10m plus holes all along the edge of the cliff, starting from underneath the ghost house. It was in this deep water, which happens also to the narrowest part of the estuary, that the guys had their success.

Note: John and Barry hold the record for the most kob caught over a long weekend, ever. They totalled in the hundreds, and let every single fish go healthy and better off. Using circle hooks for easy release and a 100% hook-up ratio, they also gave the koblets a good lecture with each release. Doing wonders for the future of kob.

The next day…

Was a little slower, mainly kob and things again.

Python!

Then, in idyllic conditions, Emilio joined us on the big boat. We anchored up against the cliff to be able to fish down in the deep. We never got a bite. Until the miggies came. Then all of a sudden, the fish were there. And as it got dark, we got multiple strikes.

But it wasn’t until the next evening, when we swapped Emilio for Alan, that we got another nice kob which Alan took home to share with his wife.

A marked moment on this trip was seeing a huge turtle pop up. And then a huge snake, with a very squared off head – black in the twilight, swimming purposefully across the river. I first paid it no heed, thinking it an otter. Of which there are plenty in this section of the river. Until I saw Alan staring at the thing intently.

It was definitely not an otter as it silently approached the bank, only a tiny ten metres away from us. Now fully at attention, the boat went silent. And the huge snake slipped into the jungle without a sound.

On both of these evening sessions, the kingfish were mercilessly hammering the little mullet and things on the surface. All around us – at least 20 bust-ups. We had a few goes at them and I had a good chase down, but they were too engrossed in their abundance to pay us any attention. Suspected Greenspots, although some could have been GTs the attacks were so big and mean.

Next timey!

Contact me to setup your own estuary dream trip, use the big old WhatsApp Button floating around somewhere on this website or on https://umzimkuluadrenalin.co.za.

Sardines and Sightings

Join the Sardine News HOTLINE for 2025 and Neva Miss a Single Sardine! We first upload to YouTube, and then progressively up to the rest of the social platforms (Facey, X, etc) as the bandwidth allows.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN as a Member on YouTube to always get The Sardine News first – and then receive all these perks too…

Member of WhatsApp Sardine News HOTLINE, access to restricted content on thesardine.co.za, LIVE Broadcasts from the Beach during the sardine run. And direct contact with the Sardine Spy network team.

You can also get around the season in a real fun way by checking out our annual Sardine Run Maps. This is a real groovy way to follow the progress of the sardines each year.

You can even download our app to your phone or device, accept notifications, and you will never miss a single sardine.

Here are the links to existing and past  Sardine Sighting Maps…

2025 Sardine Map

2024 Sardine Map

2023 Sardine Map

2022 Sardine Map

2021 Sardine Map

Channels

Brucifire Surf Retorts – highly entertaining  surf reporting

Master Watermen – news from way down deep

The Sardine News – neva miss a single  sardine

FishBazaruto – 1000 pounds plus

MYDO Tackle Talk – highly technical  sport fishing

Surf Launching Southern Africa – getting out there safely