Tag: king mackerel

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Nathan Warlosz 52kgs King Mackerel 15 kg line

Nathan Warlosz 52kgs King Mackerel 15 kg line

Nathan Warlosz 52kgs King Mackerel 15 kg line

Nathan Warlosz 52kgs King Mackerel 15 kg line: this fish might be 25 years old! Or more! Imagine what it has seen and learned during all that time in the ocean.

But it certainly ain’t gonna get bigger any more. Taken on a light spinning stick, this is as big as a king mackerel can get. A few weights are being bandied about the place like 58, 54 – backed up by photos but not official registered scale weights.

You can see more of the fish on Facebook…

South Africa

It is way into big fish season here in South Africa. Most of the big fish as usual are coming from the north. Where there are no river mouths to foul the water like there are here down south. The weather also always seems to play along a lot more friendlier the further north you fish.

Sodwana Bay and Cape Vidal are two perfect escapes from the depressing water and weather we have prevailing down south. Ocean is a mess and has been for weeks. But the beautiful west wind blowing right now, is said to stick around for a week or so. We gonna get big waves. But after the tantrum has been thrown, this should depict the beginning of the good weather.

Winter weather

We just got to get through April, and we are in the pound seats again. Finally. After the last two years were complete washouts. Floods, and more floods. The spearfishing department still has not recovered fully. But thankfully the future is looking bright.

El Nino is also on our side. Meant to bode well for fishing and spearfishing as the dry conditions allow the water to clean up. With less river flow, the prevailing Agulhas Current will more easily be able to approach the beach and bring us those purple conditions we all have been dreaming of for the last few years.

Big fish gallery

These are all the best pics of all the biggest king mackerel (these are all Scomberomerous Commersoni – the Americas get a slightly smaller version – Scomberomerous Scevalla) I have been able to collect since we re-started the Sardine News.

Couta Growth RatesDalleen_44kg_Couta_MYDO52kg couta MapelaneHuge couta on light tackleThe photo does not do the fish of this size any justice at all. Although it does look like Roger could stick his entire head into that fish's mouth! It went 52kgs GUTTED!Louis Posthumous and team have been using Mydos for decadesa Huge couta by Marc Lange - 35kg's, one of three over 30kg's Marc got this super fishing day

As soon as the weather starts to play ball, the boats will be out along the Southern Kwazulu Natal backline. Hunting specidically for these huge fish. The further south you look, the bigger they seem to get. That reef south of Port Edward, and that spot just north of Tweni, are magnets for big couta.

MYDO “First Couta” Prize

The first decent couta (as judged by us here at The Sardine News) of the season, will receive a FREE MYDO Couta Spread. Worth a grand and packed full of lethal traces and kit. The allowed zone is from Aliwal southwards – otherwise, Guy Bishop gets it every time.

Send your pics to me Sean via WhatsApp +27793269671 or umzimkulu@gmail.com.

Affiliated websites

https://umzimkulu.co.za – self-catering right on the river
https://umzimkuluadrenalin.co.za – sardine run coming up
https://thesardine.co.za – never miss a single sardine
https://masterwatermen.co.za – news from deep down
https://brucifire.co.za – surf and conditions reporting
https://fishbazaruto.com – your dreams are out there

Affiliated YouTube Channels

https://youtube.com/@mydotackletalk – highly technical sport fishing

https://youtube.com/@thesardinenews – neva miss out

https://youtube.com/@waterwoes – complain here

https://youtube.com/@Brucifire – entertaining surf reporting

https://youtube.com/@surflaunchingsouthernafrica – getting out there

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SKZN Fishing Report 22 May 2022

SKZN Fishing Report 22 May 2022

SKZN Fishing Report 22 May 2022

SKZN Fishing Report 22 May 2022: the sea finally returned back to a normal state down here in Southern KwaZulu Natal. Only after weeks and weeks of that ugly poison soup brown water being hemmed in close to the shore – did the current return last week.

With vengeance.

The water shot back up to 23.8 Celsius (from 19) and was full-up with ‘couta lights (bio-luminescent plankton that signifies the presence of hunting couta). When this current kicks, it really kicks. At about 4 knots offshore, makes things tricky for navigation and fuel consumption. But this is the gamefish water. Purple ink.

Unfortunately, more mud is on its way so we can just hope that the current is strong enough. Mhloti is out of bounds BTW. More flood destruction as another little cut off low hit Durban last night. Out of the blue!

Croc couta at Hibberdene

But a croc’ ‘couta came out this past week! Featured image. By local kayak angler Shaun Simpson. Off Hibberdene. Really nice fish looks like 25kgs or so, maybe more?

Hibberdene does clean up faster than most places down here since there are not any major river mouths north of the place. And those pinnacles and backline rock formations are exactly the turf that the couta like to hunt in. Many, many outsized couta have come from these reefs.

Including these two monsters, taken along while back, in June, 2007. When the sardines had just arrived that season. From the rocks!!!

You can read all about that incredible day right here…

A brace of couta at Hibberdene by the Posthumous brothers

Back to the present…

Sardines

There are NO sardines yet. Don’t believe anything you read in the mainstream media. And watch out for false sardine news on the social shark nets too. It’s unbelievable how stories grow and get completely out of control as the Dunning -Krueger effect kicks in.

As The Sardine News (marketing for Umzimkulu Adrenalin), we have sardine spies stationed up and down the entire coastline. Make sure to be a part of this community to never miss a single sardine this year and every year to come. Since 1987, we have been doing this. Back then we were a printed tabloid!

Anyway, sardines don’t do brown water so we are gonna have to wait until the current takes it all away.

Shad

The shad have most definitely arrived. But we have only been catching them out deep. Away from the poison soup. Some magnificent chases out there along the backline reefs too. Things are getting back to normal. And the shad will come in close with the effect of the current’s long overdue return.

Rock Salmon

Ian Logie cracked the first decent fish of the Umzimkulu Estuary winter season. The water clears up and these fish are available on artificial. Or live bait. As what felled this guy, down in the mouth area.

Fishing report 20 May 2022 featuring Ian Logie again!
Ian Logie strikes again! 4.5kgs.

There has been a big Zambezi Shark terrorising everybody at night time here. ALso spotted during daylight hours, this aggressive fish has been making huge splashing noises as he chases the plentiful perch, mullet and whatever other fish, that have come back him into the estuary recently.

The other estuaries that still function, like Mpenjati and Mtamvuna, are also going to be hot as the dry season sets in.

Get in touch if you would like some of this action!

Sean on +27793269671 or umzimkulu@gmail.com to arrange some fishing. Or check the menu above.

More fun apps/websites:

Umzimkulu Marina – self-catering in Port Shepstone

Spillers House – BnB and Backpackers right on the Umzimkulu River

The Sardine News – never miss a single sardine

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Video: Croc couta caught off Southport – KZN Lower South Coast

Deep-sea Port Shepstone: Sean Lange 25kg couta on the Niteshift

Video: Croc couta caught off Southport – KZN Lower South Coast

Croc couta caught off Southport – KZN Lower South Coast. See the video after the story below…

It was a lekker early launch with little comparable drama as the Niteshift plowed her way over the sandbar, bashed a few waves, and got us out the back. Captain Brian Lange (my Dad) has done this before!

Soon we found ourselves sounding around for bait – there were very many other boats out there this Sunday 24 March 2018. Louis Posthumous, his son Shawn and Noel Allchin already had bait they were so early. And were slow trolling comfortably in position. Boats were up and down this normally quiet piece of water.

But the bait eluded us and for a while, and we wandered around the usual mackerel hangouts but got only little useless orange fishies and a few cigar shaped maasbankers, or karapauw if you are up north. But then our lady crew on board, Ansie van Biljon (she was meant to bring the luck too), had her rod buckled over as a whole shoal of mackerel jumped onto her hooks. A full and tangled line later the mackerel were swimming lekker in their new home. Our live bait hatch. Ansie went down again and straight away got into it on the way down. She pulled and pulled and next thing three tiny little bonito come flying through the air. Bang! This was our ticket.

We pinned the first one onto a Mydo #1 with two solid 5X trebles and a new trace, and as Dad dropped the anchor to hold us where the baitfish were, I let the bait out the back. The current was winding and I set the Mydo at 10 metres deep, and turned to work on the other two bonnies. But as soon as I started, the TLD 25 screamed blue murder and we sprang into action.

Ansie cleared the lines and tidied the boat. Good crew that she is. And my Dad fired up and jammed the boat into reverse to pop the anchor. It all worked for a change (most times when we try this, the anchor holds stubbornly) and next thing we were loose!

But the fish had taken a steam train run first off and the backing was in sight. And next thing, as we get into the backing – a crossed line! I just backed right off as my Dad got us going, let all the line go, to the spool, and then started again properly. I got all the line back on the first chase, but when the fish saw us, he bolted again. All the line off the reel, even though we were motoring after him. But we got the line back again. We had drifted about 3 kms so far, the current was so strong.

The second run tired the couta out and we closed the deal with little fuss, and the gaff went in!

 

Ansie caught some nice reds and a few barbel, and then the second bait screamed. Not quite as fast, but fast enough to get all excited again, pull the anchor a second time, and give chase. What a fight! It was too strong to be a couta, we realised after 10 minutes. It might be anything the way it darted around and ran so fast.

Then all of sudden there was a blacktip shark. Or spinner shark, as they spin their way into the sky in amazing leaps. We got away with a clean release,

Then a hammerhead took our third bait…and it was time to get back in the mouth before the tide dropped too low.

Ansie was clearing the reef of Julius'King mackerel off Southport, Natal Lower South CoastSouthport has some cool little patches of reef scattered about the place. Perfect for coutaWith a bonito behaving beautifully on a Mydo #1 Baitswimmer, we knew we had a chance or three

If you want to get in on this type of action, get in touch with The Umzimkulu Marina at the link below.

Read about the Umzimkulu Marina at http://umzimkulu.co.za

Catch us on Facebook at http://facebook.com/thesardine.co.za/

More about the Mydo at https://thesardine.co.za/mydo/

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IGFA reports new world record King Mackerel

IGFA reports new world record King Mackerel (Scomberomerous Scevalla)

Well it ain’t the ‘couta  we get, according to science, but it sure looks like an outsized but slightly skinny Scomberomberous Commersoni – the version of King Mackerel we catch in Southern African waters.

Unfortunately, although our species has a strong will to survive and has been increasing in mean average size caught lately, this does not mean they are a healthy stock of fish.

In fact, when a species mean size average is on the up, it generally means the species is on the way down. ie…the last lion or elephant in a region is the wiliest strongest and meanest!

Rodrigues’ king mackerel
Brazilian angler Guilherme Rodrigues was trolling off Brazil’s Itzcolomi Islands on January 9th, when the Rapala he was trolling on a light tackle outfit got crushed by something much larger than he was expecting. One hour and 10 minutes after hooking up, Rodrigues landed an impressive king mackerel (Scomberomorus cavalla) that tipped the scales at 33.96 kg (74 lb 13 oz) – heavy enough to qualify for the potential new men’s 8 kg (16 lb) line class record, which currently stands at 32.31 kg (71 lb 4 oz).

New IGFA pending world record King Mackeral (the American version) on 8kg line…by IGFA

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