Tag: rock n surf

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A long KZN south coast fishing weekend at the Umzimkulu Marina

Spinning sticks at the ready as Gizmo patrols for anything that moves

A long KZN south coast fishing weekend at the Umzimkulu Marina

These long weekends are just great and this one was filled with enthusiastic anglers from all over the globe. It started on Friday early morning with a 5kg kob taken off The Block on a paddletail. This set the tone for the long fishing weekend to come, and soon the Sandspit was lined with anglers. Who stayed all weekend!

Back up the river, at the Umzimkulu Estuary, Steve from England was over the moon with his pair of sharp-toothed catfish and a perch. Mark and crew were stoked with their perch, grunter and a kingfish.

But the bottom fishing team on the Niteshift had most of the fun with a big musselcracker, a bunch of bright orange cardinal snapper, and tales of huge yellowtail busting them up time after time. Took and entire day though, as the mid morning low tide kept them out there.

Matt Wainwright brought his highly maneuvrable little RIB down for the weekend, and in two sessions had to deal with some serious easterly surf, a feisty hammerhead shark and a couple of yellowfin tuna!

Captain Matt Wainwright scanning for tuna off Port Shepstone over the weekend
Captain Matt Wainwright scanning for tuna off Port Shepstone over the weekend

Overall the ocean seems to be coming alive all over the place after all the rain and brown water.

The only thing out of place, was the lack of mackerel in the usual spots, but we did find a few red eye sardines finally.

Spinning sticks at the ready as Gizmo patrols for anything that moves

Check out http://umzimkulu.co.za for some great KZN south coast fishing options.

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Diamond skate caught and released at The Block in Port Shepstone

Diamond skate caught and released at The Block in Port Shepstone

Diamond skate caught and released at The Block in Port Shepstone

The Block in Port Shepstone was wild this morning with a powerful and very fast moving SE swell hammering through. But the high tide meant that the the anglers fishing from The Block had their baits in the juicy water just behind the powerful breakers.

Next thing one of the trio’s rod bent double as a powerful sea creature headed for Umtentweni with his bait and hooks firmly inside his mouth. The angler held on tight with his reasonably heavy looking tackle and proceeded to do battle. Which lasted a good 20 exciting minutes – until the stalemate that The Block can present, came to be.

The wall that used be the harbour entrance has long since toppled leaving a formiddable barrier encased in sharpness that your line has to avoid at all costs. But the fish had found his spot, just behind the last standing, huge concrete brick. And there it stayed, any efforts to pull him back to the shallows where it was safer to land and release a fish. But no ways was this guy gonna move so when it surfaced identifying itself as a flat fish, pulling hard with a wave was his only chance.

A chance the guy took and the skate flipped over into the wild water gulleys between The Block and the old wall. Waves wash in here with dangerous force and the terrain is sharp and unrelenting. Old building material and rubble.

Which proved to be the skates undoing as a proper set pulled through and washed the flat fish right up into the bricks where his unusual form factor had him wedged in and in reach.

A great fight.

The fish measured 95cm and was caught by Franz Brand, somehow fishing for Toyota!?

Diamond skate caught and released at The Block in Port Shepstone
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Fishing Umkomaas with Mannies and Mydos

The MYDO Luck Shot Mini #1 rigged with a Blue/Purple/Black/Mauve/Silver Fork Tail from MacCarthy - Great for fishing Umkomaas

Fishing Umkomaas with Mannies and Mydos

Umkomaas is a real fun little town with diveys and dive operations up and down the main drag. Jumping in and blowing bubbles at sharks seems all the rage.

But it’s the fishing that built the quaint village back in the days. Many legendary names have cruised the streets of the closest town to the Aliwal Shoal, one of a long family of spectacular reefs that skirt the East African coastline. Aliwal benefits from some protection and the results are there to see for anyone, above or below the water. Great fishing for pelagic game fish is to be had.

A great little spoon in three sizes
A great little spoon in three sizes

And anything you may need to know about fishing The Aliwal Shoal, the Umkomaas River, or the beaches and points up and down – you can find out at Mannie’s, right in the centre of Umkomaas.

 

Manny and Tracy hold a wealth of experience and local knowledge so pop in to dial in and tackle up!

And Mannies has recently started stocking The Mydo range of lures. Spoons, dropshots and the like – perfect for shadding around the gulleys out front or hunting the big kob off the beach at night time.

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Why fishermen should stay humble – by Brandon Parsons

Why fishermen should stay humble – by Brandon Parsons

“After landing your first few really big sharks and fish in your life – your confidence builds and builds – until that day…” – Brandon Parsons

Feeling strong enough to handle whatever the ocean throws your way, out goes the bait – the perfect bait, perfect trace – and perfect tackle…and see what happens…in these two Ground Zero videos shot in the heat of the action…deep in the Southern Cape, near Mossel Bay…

The Saratoga featured in this clip can go 20kg’s or more – that’s enough drag to fight a 1000lb marlin with!? With the braid technology these days meaning you can fill your reel to the max – hundreds of metres – you can normally turn anything with power like this. But this fish got other ideas – eventually the pressure was too much for the gorilla hook – straightened!

This is a serious hook that has been annihilated by the combination of the Saratoga drag and the huge fish on the other end. Brandon Parsons
This is a serious hook that has been annihilated by the combination of the Saratoga drag and the huge fish on the other end.

And the next instalment…same place…Brandon Parsons in deep in the Southern Cape…

And the Torium in this clip can pump up to more than 15kg’s – these are two monster fish being tangled with here!

To experience this type of action for yourself – call Brandon 0n 079 058 8722 or email umzimkulu@gmail.com

We can arrange your fishing adventures and guides, accommodation, transport, bait and tackle…to this amazing and shark infested fishing area. We release all our fish (except dinner) and target mainly oversize sharks, huge kob and steenbras.

More on our Pro Fishing Guides HERE

 

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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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