Tag: fish

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East is gonna BLOW in KZN Today by Adam Kamdar in Durban

East is gonna BLOW in KZN Today by Adam Kamdar in Durban

East is gonna BLOW in KZN Today by Adam Kamdar in Durban

East is gonna BLOW in KZN Today by Adam Kamdar in Durban: Although these big east winds might wreck the ocean completely, they do make for really lekker summer weather. KZN is gonna bask in typical Natal summer conditions all day today. With a welcome sea breeze as the day heats up.

Over to Adam, on the spot in Durban…

Thank you Adam! Check out Township Hyper’s Black November promotions right HERE on their Facebook page.

Surfing

Unless you want to go surfing of course. The waves completely break down when this wind blows. Durban in particular gets shut down fast with it’s north facing beaches. The south and north coasts are much the same although there are some places you can find a nook or cranny to hide away in. And catch some unruly waves leftover from the last few days big ocean.

Fishing

Same story…we are right at the end of the winter gamefish season. Garrick, kob, brusher and snoek still hanging around and enjoying the somewhat stable conditions we are in right now.

22 Days until Shad Season opens!

Township Hyper are running their Black November promotions on their Facebook Page which is available at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064584376009.

Diving

Nothing to report at the moment but The Bear will be checking in with his Friday weekend dive and conditions report later this afternoon.

Synoptic

Aside from an ominous-looking low pressure sneaking across the landmass from the west, we seem to be ok for weather and wind for the weekend. That low is hemmed in on both sides by 1024 grade high-pressures indicating some stability to rely on.

The next cold front will hit Cape Town tomorrow and over the weekend. So we look to be clear of moisture-rich air until that front reaches us next week. It looks to be quite a serious front with a long reach right up to the continent this time. And should arrive Wednesday or so. The little South West puff we are gonna get on Saturday afternoon is a result of the little low-pressure hanging about. This is gonna make for a magnificent Sunday.

And of course – Monday!

Sardines and 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 191,000 times and just 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! And recently a capsized KZNSB boat! We have been updating the map with recent catches too…

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 a windy day like today to research. With instructions to install The Sardine News right on your phone or desktop.

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

Water Woes – complain about your municipality here

Websites

umzimkulu.co.za – self-catering right on the Umzimkulu River
umzimkuluadrenalin.co.za –  will get you right out and onto the edge
thesardine.co.za – never miss a single sardine
masterwatermen.co.za – news from deep down
fishbazaruto.com – your dreams are out there

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Geelbek Salmon at night

Geelbek Salmon at night: with umzimkulu.co.za

A great evening out on the Niteshift, with John van Reenen and Elvis Olimpio as crew…

“Winter time is Geelbek time, and although the ‘Bek do feed during the day time, night time, is the right time.

So when conditions do play along, and the surf is small…and the tides are right, and the Umzimkulu Mouth acts like a harbour…and it lets us out for a 3 or 4 hour window.
The night previous had produced nothing but an Englishman, and we had a lot of trouble with the anchor at Boboyi…there must be so many anchor ropes and chains down there, after all these years!
But the current did turn out to be be very slack…so this last night we used the conditions to buzz around all the spots we could, sounding around…and dropping baits, to see where these Geelbek have been hiding.
There was heaps of bioluminescence in the water, and fishing on the seaward side of the boat, John Fever and I both clearly saw a white mushroom cloud burst up silently into the total blackness, some distance in front of us?! All sorts of thoughts. And then the sound…it was a whale exhaling, the cloud of air illuminated with bioluminescence. The things you see at sea at night?!
But no fish at this stage. Nothing. So after scouring the Port Shepstone reefs, the Old Man, on a hunch, took us 4 miles south through whale infested water…to one of his very first Geelbek stomping grounds.
The new Garmin CHIRP system on the Niteshift, is so powerful, it picks out our baits! So when we we got our first showing of red, the anchor went straight down.
And spot on. Dad goes away immediately. We found them!
I got one next, but on my next down something huge took my middle bait, and after a huge tug-of-war, my trace broke on the snootie?!
Then Elvis starting making weird noises as the biggest Geelbek of the night tried to pull him overboard.
By this time my Dad had his quote of two, so he helped Fever catch two more. I had more trouble, this time with a shark, and that’s how I ended up. Then just before our safe window of conditions were up, Elvis’ rod doubled over…but he made short work of the fish this time…which turned out to be half a fish. Tax.
Then the huge shape appeared around the anchor rope…milky white in the ultra clean and flourescent, phosperous water. It might have been a great white for it’s size, and it leered up at us circling underneath…breaking the water with it’s tail a few times, in some sort of defiant  gesture.
The whales had also been barking at us some more, we were surrounded on a few occasions, so we pulled anchor and hightailed it into the outgoing tide at the Umzimkulu River.
Total fish – 7.5!
A hard days night!”

For more information on the Umzimkulu Marina…click here.

Or check out their current promotion…

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Check out the catch and cook series on thesardine.co.za for how to best savour the flavours of Geelbek Salmon…

And a gallery of photos…

Fish braai!

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First stone laid for new Maputo fish market

First stone laid for new Maputo fish market

by John Hughes (AIM)

Maputo, 3 Jul (AIM) – Mozambique’s Minister of Fisheries, Victor Borges, on Thursday laid the first stone for the construction of the new Maputo fish market.

The market will have a hundred fish stalls with refrigerated storage to conserve the produce and a restaurant area.

The project is budgeted at 11.3 million US dollars, of which 8.6 million will be provided by the Japanese government through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The Maputo Municipal Council will provide 1.4 million dollars, with the remaining funds coming from the Mozambican government.

Speaking during the ceremony, the minister said that artisanal fishing in Mozambique makes up over 85 per cent of the fishing sector, with the rest being composed of aquiculture and industrial fishing. Borges added that the artisanal sub-sector produced 196,000 tonnes of fish last year out of a total production of 220,000 tonnes.

The minister said the quality and safety of the fish will be checked in the laboratory of the National Institute of Fish Inspection (INIP).

Borges stated that the country currently only has one internationally accredited laboratory, situated in Maputo. However, two laboratories, in the central cities of Beira and Quelimane, are in the process of being accredited, with a third laboratory planned for the northern city of Nacala.

Maputo’s mayor David Simango pointed out that the fish market is the capital city’s third major public construction project currently underway. Work is already taking place on the Maputo Ring Road and the capital’s coastal defences.

(AIM)

dac/jhu (259)

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Tofo in season again…

Fish, surf, cycle, snorkel, scuba, swim, suntan, shop, eat and party. Everything for everyone here in Tofo as the nicest season gets underway.
Families and foreign tourists line the beaches and in the market you can hear the buzz as seafood harvesters negotiate with vendors who negotiate with tourists and so on.
Yes, Tofo in March is special…and sets the tone for the next few months of idyllic weather and ocean conditions.
Fortunately it gets quite full here in March, but not overcrowded. A welcome change from the absolute quiet of February and it’s sweltering heat.
Check out the advertising columns on thesardine.co.za for many options on acommodation, restaurants and fun activities.

The following pics were shot yesterday morning on Tofo Beach…

Joao Magulu is the best Natal Stumpnose hunter I have ever encountered. These fish he gets on handline in the shallow troughs down at Bamboozi and beyond.

Bicycles are great for cruising the beaches and streets of Tofo. At low tide you can ride to Barra and back with ease.

Sunbathing out front of Fatima’s Nest, a favourite for backpacker tourists.

You never what you might find on the ride to Barra!

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