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Sardine Report 19 May 2021: it’s all about game fish

Game fish season: Marc-Lange-couta-on-a-4-MYDO-Baitswimmer-May-2021

Sardine Report 19 May 2021: it’s all about game fish

This Sardine Report for today 19 May 2021 is all about the waiting game fish. The ‘couta are here! Just about any KZN backline will be firing at the moment!

Luckily the sardine season is not only about sardines! And there have been ZERO sightings or reports from ANY of our spies, ANYWHERE! Since the few shoals that were spotted last week in the East London and into the Transkei area, NADA.

However…it’s all about the waiting game fish this May 2021!

Spearos

Good catches of ‘couta are being recorded by spearos right up and down the entire length of the Kwazulu Natal seaboard. The following pics are fresh in from our local and very reliable spearfishermen crew, at The Master Watermen website. Easily accessed at https://masterwatermen.co.za.

Deep-sea

Well it’s mainly the not-so-deep sea waters that will be holding all the ski-boaters attention around here. And some really good game fish are coming out. On this day, yesterday in fact, the ous on Half-jack had another crazy good day’s fishing out off Umtentweni. They got a bunch of species including a crocodile ‘couta, an out-sized cobia (prodigal son in South Africa) and a snoek (Queen Mackerel)!

It is also still billfish time and plenty encounters have been reported. The Rosebowl marlin tag and release event was a huge success. Thanks to Len Mathews for the superfragalisticespialodocious video clip of he and his wife and crew a releasing a 500lb black marlin. It is epic to watch and to listen to the super-stoked crew.

Rock ‘n Surf

Shad are all over and with the absolute absence of any officials in most places, undersized fish are the norm again. It’s really bad that not one angler gets checked EVER, in some places?!

And somebody did catch a garrick, and a few more have been speared.

The Transkei is having a good run of koblets. Great for tag and release…

Estuaries

With the clean water, back come the fast swimming gamefish (when it’s so dirty like it gets these guys would surely crash non-stop). Greenspot kingfish and little GTs have already been chasing lures and photos in some places. And with the bumper season of rock salmon catches by the spearos, we are sure to encounter some of those red monsters too (the bus rock salmon in the gallery below by Master Waterman Jeremy Williams was NOT shot in an estuary – it is just there for perspective and to wonder at how to stop a rockie that size in an estuary).

In the Umzimkulu, with a guest just last week, we got absolutely obliterated by one of them. It looked really like a yellowfin tuna had taken the Dirty Prawn bucktail! The angler was an expert who had had his teeth cut on goliath tigers already, did everything right. But when the fish actually realised he was hooked, and screamed down river and towards the mangroves pulling maximum drag, nothing was gonna stop him. Not even 5kgs of drag. Luckily the hook pulled just before he got into the trees. And we both learned our lessons. I have tackled right up to a Stella packed with something heavy-pound braid that normally fishes for yellowfin tuna.

For real!

Conclusion

But ok, that’s it for today the 19 May 2021. A very early sardine report that characteristically for this time of the year, features no sardines.

The aloes have all turned orange and are starting to flower. But nature’s indicator says we need to be patient a few more weeks.

But if anything, get out there and be fishing!

If you are not subscribed to either The Sardine News or the channel on YouTube, best you do so so that you will NEVER MISS OUT again on any sardine action, this May 2021.

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