Description
CJs Fins and Tides
CJs Fins and Tides: professionals, beginners, weekend warriors, kids and families wanting to fish the beaches and estuaries of Southern KwaZulu-Natal – Callum is your man! And with so many beautiful beaches and estuaries in this area, your prospects for catching your trophy fish here are higher.
CJ’s Fins and Tides is based in the centre of all the gamefishing action – Port Shepstone – we fish around here mostly, but we love to travel and show our guests how beautiful the southern KZN is.Â
Beaches
These are a few of our favourite beaches…all within a half hour or so of Port Shepstone.
Sandspit
Port Shepstone is host to the Sandspit. A world-renowned surf fishing beach that has produced many more fish than anywhere around here. And is positively easy to fish. Night and day.Â
Anerly
The ‘Honey Hole’ as it has become known, consistently pulls fish of all sorts. The main rocks get you right out past the backline with any decent spinning outfit and couta, yellowtail, snoek have all been taken from that perch before.
On the inside (both sides) you can target bronze bream, blacktail and brusher. And in between all of this are the kob. Sometimes a shoal of huge kob will move in at the top of the south gulley – I’ve seen them there before!
Pumula/Umzumbe
This long stretch of beach is flanked to the north by Stebel Rocks (Sharks Bay) and to the south by Pumula. Both excellent fishing spots and the long beach between them connects the dots. There are scattered patches of reef up and down this beach. It is another very easy and safe place to fish.
Orange Rocks
This famous spot is lovely to fish off and also gets you right out past the backline easily. Many game fish have fallen foul of this fishing vantage point.
Margate Pier
The fabled Margate Pier has some crazy catches to it’s name. Including…drumroll…dorado! And marlin! For real! And it wasn’t just one marlin, it was two in the same owrk. Granted, they were not very big and there were many juveniles around at that time, it is still something to definitely write home about!
Estuaries
And our favourite estuaries…
Umzimkulu
The Umzimkulu is the mainstay of estuary gamefishing in this area. It is intensely deep in some places, up to 12m! And in these depths, lies the clear blue water of the ocean. Saltwater is heavier than fresh water, and so it sinks to the bottom. The line that separates the two bodies of water in known as the halocline. And this is where it all happens! Ox Eye Tarpon, Kob, Blue-tailed Mullet, Greenspots Kingfish, GTs, Big Eye Kingfish, Blacktip Kingfish, Perch, Springer, Rock Salmon, Flagtail, Shad, Grunter and Garrick are our main targets. They all hunt along the halocline as it moves in and out with the tides. We also catch smaller species for live bait like pinkies, blacktail and karanteen.
Southbroom
A semi-closed estuary that holds some serious fish. Mainly in the upper reaches, where rock salmon enjoy copious amounts of cover in the form of sunken trees and serious rocks. The scenery down there is Disneyland for big fish. But you got to fish heavy in this place.
Mpenjati
This estuary holds many fish and is also an extremely pleasant to be. There is a park-like camping area right up against the water, and there are many spots to choose from up and down both banks.
Mzamba
The location of the epic TV drama – Survivor recently, this is true Transkei Wild Coast – but it’s right here. A couple clicks past the casino and you will find yourself in warp drive to ancient past. The place is totally untouched and unspoilt. And is perfect estuary gamefish territory. The beach here also fishes very well.
Hibberdene
Another secret gem with an absolutely beautiful ecosystem that winds for kilometres.
There are many more estuaries to fish. Southbroom is HOT. And there are others in the area that we would rather not reveal the name or location thereof.
Rates and Contact
The price quoted is per session (3 to 4 hours), per person. Families and groups qualify for a discount.Â
Bring your own tackle. We can arrange well-priced spinning outfits for estuary and scratching. We can also kit you out with a MYDO Estuary Spread and/or MYDO Shad Spread to ensure you have the right gear.
We provide bait (and we net livebait when possible).Â
Get in touch with Sean at umzimkulu@gmail.com or +27793269671 to make a plan!
Sardines and Sighting Maps
Check out our annual Sardine Run Map! 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…
2024Â Sardine Map
2023Â 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
Water Woes – complain about your municipality
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