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Shad bait up by Craig Sinclair

Shad bait up by Craig Sinclair

Craig Sinclair aka Baconovich, takes us through a simple yet effective shad bait on a single hook trace. A double hook trace also features in this instructional fishing video.

Shad, or elf, or taylor, or bluefish – come thick and fast this time of the year – just before the supposed arrival of the supposed sardines. They provide great entertainment and thousands of anglers hit the bays and points up and down the KZN South Coast, also known as the Hibiscus Coast (luckily not the “sardine coast”).

Bigger gamefish like garrick / leervis, salmon / kob, Queen Mackeral  /  Natal Snoek, Brusher / White Musselcracker…have also been known to gulp down a shad bait on the drift, presented like Craig’s bait in the video. 3/0 or 4/0 hooks mean you stand a chance again these chance encountered trophy fish.

Enjoy the video…

 

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Welcome to Mike Stubbs – new Sardine correspondent and photographer

Welcome to Mike Stubbs: Sardine Correspondent and Photographer

Yellowtail...
Yellowtail…Mike spends time in both salt and fresh water…

As of this month, Mike Stubbs is joining us a writer and photographer, covering various aspects of the fishing world, as he travels around the South African tournament calendar.

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Stubbs catches freshwater and saltwater fish the same…and on all sorts of tackle – this tiger fish on a fly!

 

Rosy Jobfish...
Rosy Jobfish…out in the deep…

Aswell as being dialled in an in the know, Mike is handy with a GoPro camera, as can be seen by this video of a tiger shark being subdued and released…

 

Meet all of our correspondents and contributors here…

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Searching for Sardines with The Sardine Airborne Unit

Searching for Sardines with The Sardine Airborne Unit

Taking to the skies in search of the sardines down Transkei way, thesardine.co.za team shot this rad video, of the trip from Margate Airport, to Port St. Johns and then around Mgazana and back home. Captain John Marshall provided the kite and the thrills – the landing strip experience at Port St. Johns features on the clip – overtaking a renegade VW Golf after negotiating a 200m cliff face, a troup of cows and the usual potholes we encounter in the Transkei.

What I am sure will impress surfing viewers, is the endless stream of right hand point breaks. Wave after wave, all turned on and cranking in the solid 3m ground swell. In fact, on the way back, in the middle of nowhere, a tow surf team was operating?! Wonders…a good 20kms into the Kei!

We flew over a number of whales, travelling in all directions, in groups of two or three, the odd solitary soul too.

Then the shoal of sardines appeared. Tightly packed and being marauded from all sides by dolphins and other predators. A tourist boat, presumably out of Port St. Johns, was close by, cameras rolling. There were many birds active at this spot, Lupitana, but as we went further south, the many birds were just sitting on the water, as if to be waiting. It did seem as though there must have been some sardine action in this area in the last day or so.

Enjoy…

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A quick visit to the Wedge Surfboard factory…

A quick visit to the Wedge Surfboard factory in Umzumbe, by Craig Sinclair, with a load of surfboards in for repair, after the carnage left by the swell over the last spring tide.

Craig Sinclair sets up his Little Pony for a ding repai at the Wedge Surfboard factory....
Craig Sinclair sets up his Little Pony for a ding repair at the Wedge Surfboard factory….

One broken, 2 with fins out and a smash into the “My Little Pony”.

Robin Beatty ordered this super fast 5 fin fang it model...
Robin Beatty ordered this super fast  Disco Biscuit5 fin Fang=it model…best he come fetch it soon!

Gary and Justin Maisch (and company) are busy with all sorts of projects in and around producing quality and deadly surfboards every day. Ding repairs can be requested and slotted into the hectic production schedule though.

John van Reenen displays a design by surf artist Caroline Wood...
John van Reenen displays a radical piece of art by surf artist Caroline Wood…
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The Sanctuary of love…!

The Sanctuary of Love…

…in Banana Beach on the KZN lower south coast, hosted a spectacular afternoon of live rock and folk music, stalls, markets and entertainment.

The Hinds Brothers and the Hairy Legged Lentil Eaters headlined while Dave Marx neatly filled in the remaining bars.

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