Surfing on Tuesday 17 Sep 2024 in Durban by Adam Kamdar of Township Hyper
Surfing on Tuesday 17 Sep 2024 in Durban by Adam Kamdar of Township Hyper: Adam opens the day with more of a surf report from the Durban Golden Mile as the ocean reveals herself playful and fun. In fact, the sea temperature is warmer than the air temperature at the moment.
Durban 7am
Great for surfing and diving but not so great for shad anglers. Thank you for the update Adam Kamdar in Durban.
Looking forward to hearing from The Bear and the divers who must be out there already taking advantage of the settled sea conditions today.
Check back for more information as the day unfolds.
Port Shepstone 9am
Alan checks in from The Block in Port Shepstone on a beautiful surfing, fishing and diving day in KZN #surfing #fishing #diving #conditions #report
Our second report for the day comes from Alan in Port Shepstone as he gives us the low down on the lekka conditions the ocean has delivered today. The waves are smallish but fun-looking. And launching boats should not present too many problems. The water is clean too. The rivers have not been affected by the local rainfall.
There is a bit of a system developing over the middle of the country today. Unbelievably it’s spill off from what is causing Europe to flood so badly right now. And even more unbelievably this could very easily be blamed on that huge volcano erupting last year. Which caused an extra 10% of moisture to infiltrate the atmosphere. Meaning that floods this year, will be able to be 10% more powerful!
News from Mozambique
Includes this cute little HoneyComb Rockod which you can learn about right here in FishBazaruto’s latest video from the FishBazaruto Diggin’ the Jiggin’ series.
You can visit the FishBazaruto Channel and Like and Subscribe by clicking HERE.
The big fish season has started up on Bazaruto with Duarte tagging and releasing an 800-pounder yesterday. Between the marlin and the summer gamefish, Bazaruto and surrounds is definitely the place to be right now.
Get in touch with me Sean on +27793269671 or preferably on umzimkulu@gmail.com.
Dive Report by The Bear
Noah Whittle has been on FIRE!
Big thanks to The Bear for keeping us up-to-date and dialled right in!
Sardine n Sighting Maps
It has been a fantastic sardine run this memorable 2024. And all the action has been logged right here on The Sardine News. This year’s map has been viewed 180,000 times and keeps growing.
Which led us to decide to keep the map live. And keep adding unique marine animal sightings and events. That occurs non-stop all year round. This year we started to log more whale and dolphin sightings. And we even had a shipwreck! And a freaking tornado!
These events will from now on be included in the Sardine News Sightings Map for 2024. And on the 1 January 2025, we shall start all over again.
Here are the links to existing and past Sardine Sighting Maps. Great for chilly day like today to research. With instructions to install The Sardine News right on your phone or desktop.
Howzit everyone, this is Kevin at Qora Mouth. Just north of Mazepa Bay in the Southern Transkei. Well, we’ve heard of two lovely nets that have come in at Pennington. Big, big nets. I’ve seen some of the footage. I mean, these are proper nets, guys. So, these sides are starting to move closer into shore. And they have to be fairly close for the netters to actually be able to reach them.
But we’re hearing reports of plenty, plenty shoals. A little bit too far offshore still. But stretching from Amanzimtoti right down to the wild coast. So, yeah. Lots more coming behind these chaps. And you know, the sea’s been very flat over the last couple of days, but I can report from me here that there’s a lovely South swell on the way up to Durban.
The waves are pumping down here, probably got a two to three meter swell on its way. And that’s definitely going to assist these sardines because what happens with the swell is that as that swell comes up the coast because of the friction with the shallower water The swell picks up and the sardines know that they move much closer into shore because the closer they get in, the more they can use that wave energy to move up the coast.
Because that south swell is a south to north movement and we know the current is a north to south. So they use those swells to actually ride on the surface and that helps them to move in their migratory path. So yeah. Good news. In the next couple of days, we should see a major movement of these sardines because the water in Durban is still sitting around the 20 degree mark, which is perfect for these sardines.
Yeah. But anyway, let me also take this opportunity to just correct myself on something that I said yesterday in a report that you know, we know that these humpback whales at this time of year, they move out of the Antarctic. and then move up to the Mozambique channel where they breed and then and also give birth because the gestation period for a humpback whale is between 9 and 16 months.
So they’re breeding and they’re giving birth, all happens up in the warmer waters, which gives the calves a much better survival rate. And I found this out today because I was researching it because a lot of people pointed out to me. because of my last report, that these humpback whales do actually eat sardines.
And we know that they are actually plankton feeders and that’s their primary diet. That’s, they live off Antarctic and very nutrient rich waters, but yeah, they actually do eat sardines. And that’s awesome news because that just proves to me one more thing that you know, nature is just amazing guys.
And these marine ecosystems and the marine environment is so synchronized and you have these symbiotic relationships between different species. So this sardine run coincides at exactly the same time as the humpback whale migration. So obviously these sods are also a food source for them as they’re heading up into the warmer water, which is just freaking amazing.
So yeah, I’m sorry for the misinformation, but I hope yeah, I’ve also learned something. The only thing I do know is that. The more I think I know, the more I realize how little I do know. So anyway, thanks for the correction guys. And yeah, it’s wonderful news that these sardines are also being fed on by the, by the humpbacks as they migrate.
Anyway, that’s all I got for today. Let’s keep it real guys. As we always say, conserve and protect, keep those beaches tidy. And you know, if the public are going down just to watch the sardine action, if you see trash on the beach, just pick it up. Pick it up and go put it in a trash can, even if it’s not yours, because it definitely helps.
And that’s what we just need to do as human beings. Look after it. Cool guys. We will chat tomorrow. We’ll update you as things happen. Cheers.
Fishing News March 2024 featuring Mattski vs Blacktip Kingfish plus #Vilankulos #Northcoast #SouthCoast
Fishing News March 2024 featuring Mattski vs Blacktip Kingfish : Matt Wainright pushed his custom estuary killing machine out off the jetty and started drifting away as he prepared for a gamefish session in the Umzimkulu. He hadn’t even turned his camera on and the kingfish just came up all around him. Right in front of the guests staying at the Umzimkulu Marina lodge. His first two got away, but for the third, he was ready – Insta 360 camera and all.
First cast
Once Matt had upped his leader and tied on another plastic prawn, with the camera rolling, his very first cast produced the BANG he was ready for this time. Alas, it was a small fish, and after dodging the net once or twice, and clearly jumping right of the net once too, Matt brought it aboard for a lecture. And set it free.
3kgs
The next fish, was slightly upriver from the jetty, and once again, in full view of the growing crowd. Matt had cheerleaders!
But this fish was proper. And it took a full 10 minutes to be finally sent to detention for a minute or two. Get given it’s lecture about taking things with hooks on, and set free to avoid lures from now on.
Although we sped up up some sections, it was a long fight. And so, we decided to read the news during the epic battle. Vilankulos. Natal North Coast. Port Edward. Port Shepstone where we are at the moment…
Enjoy the picture show…and the Fishing News…Ides of March 2024…
Please Like and Subscribe or Share and Upvote or whatever it is you can do these days!
Sharks on my Sonar!: we head out to the Noosa River in Australia for this story…where we get to see how Humminbird have perfected their sonar picture underwater.
It is true genius. The machine doesn’t lie. The sharks on the screen are no doubt sharks! As a bunch of Zambezis aka Bull Sharks, are attracted by splashing in the water of this wild river.
And this is all recorded for us ALL to see…that sonar can undoubtedly detect a shark. Especially in calm waters like the Noosa River.
Enjoy the display…
Sharks on my Sonar!
Sharks on my Sonar!
Here is another great article referencing the same fact.
I first approached the sharks board, back in the ‘2000s’, about replacing their defunct killing methods, with sonar detection. It’s the most straightforward solution under the sun. Sheldon Dudley of the sharks board vehemently opposed my suggestion back in the 2000’s. With him was Graham Charter. The other guys just did nothing. Said nothing. Many meetings went nowhere. It was not their idea, and so was not going to be deployed.
The main excuse offered by the team back then, was that sharks have no swim bladders, and so could not be detected with sonar?!
I never wanted anything except some involvement. However, as it turned out – it was not the right channel to go down, to try to effect change.
My Motivation
I had back then recently come across an entire pod of dead dolphins. On the back of a shark’s board bakkie. I was furious. And I still am. Those dolphins died (suffocated to death), in the shark nets of Umtentweni. Whilst there were zero beach users at Umtentweni. It was a Monday morning. None of us were even surfing. Nobody was using the ocean at Umtentweni that fateful day.
During the week there might be a few surfers. And on weekends the weekend warriors. Some families come down on weekends to enjoy the granny pool or the shore break.
Are these enough people, this risk so big, that a whole family of dolphins…must die a horrid death in gill nets?
Sonar alternatives
The Australians also kill bull sharks and the like, willy nilly, with shark nets. Archaic gill nets. That kill everything. They kill whales over there in the nets as successfully as our guys. They also use drum lines to actually catch the sharks, and then drag them away from their homes. Forced relocation. This does not work since bull sharks always hang around their own river mouths.
But the Ozzies have developed something clever called Clever Buoy. I am not sure why they don’t use off-the-shelf available sonar equipment. To mitigate development and deployment expenses. But they are definitely on the right track.
Municipalities and you pay for the shark nets
Yip, you are the ultimate payer of the death nets strewn along the coastline of Kwazulu Natal in South Africa. Along with your municipality.
The shark’s board costs hundreds of millions per year. With this money, they kill (annual average):
Sharks Board kill rate average per annum. That is 320 odd sharks per year. Almost one per day.
Harmless Catches
And these they call…”HARMLESS CATCHES”?!?!
Note the lack of whales in this chart. I have interviews, photographs and video to prove otherwise…
Please see the following irrefutable proof that the shark nets have been killing baby whales…here in South Africa. And in Australia.
So all these animals must die…and nobody is swimming anywhere. The water is chock full of ecoli and other nasties right now too. Nobody should be near the ocean. And nobody should be killing sharks in these wayward flood conditions. Brown water to the horizon.
These conditions prevail for months at a time. The nets should be OUT!
More alternatives
Yes, there are more ways to stay safe…
Exclusion nets: deployed perfectly at Fish Hoek (Cape Town) recently, these are proven winners. And these were deployed successfully long before there was even a sharks board. At Umtentweni Beach, and most other popular tourist spots along KZN, still have remnants of the infrastructure used. Concrete pillars with poles set into them. And tennis court netting stretched across them. Stopping any access for sharks. All the while allowing nature to continue along around them unimpeded
Shark shields: for a tiny fraction of the cost of running the entire sharks board, they could equip all ocean users with shark shield devices. They are proven to work and are really cheap nowadays. Get it from the lifeguards and return it after swimming. They could even be rented out.
Tracking devices: many great whites have already been tagged with devices that track their activity in real-time. Right now you can go to the Ocearch Project, and see where the whites are congregating. Let’s just tag the tigers and Zambezis too? I notice some Tiger Sharks, and even whale sharks have been tagged and can now be tracked too on that website. Go check it out, incredible technology applied so well. Some data is old. But new pings are popping all the time.
I have given up on trying to convince the sharks board to stop their heinous acts. We need to get rid of them ourselves somehow. Working with municipalities directly or something.
Please get in touch with Sean on +27793269671 or umzimkulu@gmail.com to discuss any of this further. Especially if you work at a municipality and want to save the people’s money from being used to kill marine life. The backbone of our tourism industry here in KZN.
Catching Kob: Our fish – the kob – could be a more relevant national fish than the galjoen. We get kob right the way from Mozambique to Namibia.
And everybody loves to catch a kob!
Since kob can be found out deeper, where ski-boats have been targeting them in waters between 10 and 40 metres, and in the surf zone, and in our estuaries – we have divided this Catching Kob how-to into three seperate parts.
Deep-sea
Rock and surf.
And Estuary
But first, a quick kob gallery…
Kob Gallery
Sean Calitz 25kg Kob at Port St. Johns with MYDO and BruBaitsJust shoot them if you can!Gerrard-Powell-his-two-daughters-and-a-100lb-KobKoblet by Josh Herrison near Port St JohnsA fun little kobbie about to be released down on the Sandspit in Port ShepstoneThe TWO wise men -according to Bruce! You only need to catch one of these magnificent fish – in your whole life!And it’s Chris Lepan again with another Umzimkulu Estuary kob.Jos Jantjies with a tasty kob caught down at Kabeljauw’s, down the point, in Jeffreys Bay (c) artsurfer.nlSimon fish and his first cast MYDO caught kob in The Transkei
Deep-sea
Kob feed at odd times. And sometimes they don’t feed at all, even when you can see them clearly to be there. I have seen kob underwater – huge kob, lined up in tight formation, wallowing behind the surf zone. Baits all around them. And they won’t touch anything! And then other times, the kob could bite so hard, commercial boats of old would literally sink themselves loading too much fish. Luckily this heinous practise of hauling out fish for profit, is not really practised any more. And the stocks of kob have stabilised, albeit at a fraction of the numbers of before. Hopefully, the more stringent regulations governing the selling of kob might ease the population back to strength. Unfortunately, it’s up to the current political controls in charge of DAFF. Which does not paint a pretty picture at all.
Back to catching kob…launch anywhere up and down the South African coastline, and kob could be on your target list. They really are literally everywhere.
Live Bait
Some spots are blessed with a constant supply of liveys. Mackerel are by far the favourite. Although a little live shad is close behind. Really serious anglers are keeping live bait alive, in cages and tanks in the harbour. So that when they go fishing, no time is spent gambling on catching live bait. Not sure how legal this is, but it’s really effective. Especially for night fishing, since time is always limited.
IGFA allows two single hooks on a trace. Which is a tad risky when fishing with live bait, since a tangle might be in the offing. So, a nice metre length of soft leader, a good 9/0 hook, two swivels and a sinker – is all you need. Drop that rig rigged with a live mackerel onto a showing and hold on tight. Normally at a bit of depth, and the running trace on the sinker snoot, the fish hook themselves when fished with a live bait.
Frozen Bait
Fishing with frozen sardines or mackerel also works. But only when the fish are hungry. This is when advantage can be taken of the IGFA suggestion of two hooks per trace. But. Be aware you may end up with two big kob hanging onto your line!
Lures
Turns out that kob love a plastic bait. A paddletail. Colour not so important. But weight is. You will need a solid 2 or 3 ounces to get down there. Bounce it around on the bottom and hold on tight!
Rock n Surf
Circle hooks have really changed things for the better. The trace used is simple. A single 8/0 to 12/0 circle hook on a metre of soft leader. You can throw out a grapnel sinker and slide your bait if the conditions allow. You need a bit of height above the water for that. Or just tie it all up and throw into the channel between the shorebreak and the middle break. Kob hunt in the absolute shallows in the surf zone. You do not have to cast very far at all.
Live Bait
A live mullet or shad puts you square in the game to catch your trophy kob. Although, if you could get any other live baits, like mackerel, pinkies or mozzies, you would be in the same game.
If your live bait is going to be battling a current, you will need to rig him from the nose or top of the head. Two hooks can help but a single – preferably a circle hook, with the bait nicely fastened on, is the outright winner for successful hookups. Keeping a big needle and a roll of wax thread is a very good habit for live bait fishing. The fish last so much longer when carefully tied to the circle hook. About a centimetre away from the bait. Much like marlin fishing. If the water is calm and the sea is flat, with no current, then put the hook in at the tail area, so the bait can swim away from you.
Once again, sewing the hook on with wax thread is so much better all around for everything. And it is a good feeling to let your hard-working live bait go without injury, at the end of a slow session.
Frozen bait
Well you can fish a frozen bait much like a live bait. A whole sardine is the go-to bait and has caught shoals and shoals of kob.
Belly bait
A decent belly, freshly cut from a shad or mackerel, is a deadly kob bait. You might want to master the art of the pencil bait. Highy recommended.
Lures
Kob have been an enigma to many, for a very long time. What would they be thinking, taking a hard plastic clangy lure, in the middle of the night, cast out there from the beach? Sure, I understand the soft and silent paddle tail, relying on its tail vibrations to get the message out there – but those noisy lures – Eish, they work too!
Kob also take a spoon. A very slow spoon. Literally dragged along the bottom. The Sheppy Bomber spoon, an infamous design from down south, has been revered far and wide for catching kob. Similair S-Bend spoons with half bronze and half silver have been reliable over the years.
Estuary
Catching kob in our estuaries here in South Africa is over-the-top fun. Challenging for sure. But catching koblets (kob of up to about 5kgs or so) on light tackle and lures is insanely entertaining.
Check this video of my Dad catching 3 at the same time!
Flicking and trolling lures
Tie up a little tiny paddletail, and off you go. The smaller the better. The lighter the better.
Live bait
These little koblets love a live mullet. Its got to be small though, like 3 or 4 inches maximum. To make them perform properly, I thread my live baits under the skin with a needle. And then tie my circle hook to the thread. And then when the day is over, you can let that little soldier go without having done him harm to his vital bits like his mouth and nostrils.
Fresh bait
You need to master the construction of a pencil bait, to get these fish to take a hook inside. Pencil baits are designed especially for shy feeders. Like these little kob. And the spotted grunter that are found with them.
Use a MYDO Silver Bullet fillet trace made up with nylon to make a really interesting pencil bait. You could use a MYDO Shad Trace made with wire too. Especially if those teethy shad come into the scene. A good compromise would be to use wire between the hooks, adding some rigidity to your pencil bait. And then a nylon leader.
The fish approach the juicy long pencil bait, and start to feed from the sides. They don’t get much and soon enough they get greedy and move down to the end of the bait. Which is easily sucked in giving you chance to set the tiny hook hidden in the end of the bait.
Kob lures by MYDO
These are recommendations from MYDO lures for catching kob off the boat, the beach, or in the estuary…
If you stay with us here at the Umzimkulu Marina in Port Shepstone, you will be right in the middle of all the kob action. We have many secret rock and surf fishing spots in really close proximity. And the estuary right our front for all day fun and fishing. Kids love it here!
Also check out Umzimkulu Adrenalin, for lots of things to do in the Port Sheptone area.
