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Sardines lingering by Kevin in Qora and Underwater Report by The Bear

Sardines lingering 2pm 17 June 2024

Sardines lingering by Kevin in Qora and Underwater Report by The Bear

Sardines lingering by Kevin in Qora and Underwater Report by The Bear: this double-barreled report deals with many of the issues facing the sardine right now…

Kevin explains…

How’s it everyone? This is Kevin from Qora Mouth, just north of Mazepa Bay in southern Transkei. Well not much changed today, unfortunately. The water around Durban is still way over 22 degrees. And that’s a tiny drop from yesterday, but it’s hovering there. And yeah, I can say even in the Transkei down here, I’ve spoken to a ski boater and they were out yesterday and The water even here is way above 20 degrees.

And you know, closer in, it’s a little bit colder, but yeah, that’s a result of the current. The current is screaming right now down here. It’s running at about four to five kilometres an hour. So all that warm water from Durban is already showing up here on the Transkei coast. So there’s a lot of warm water filtering through.

And that obviously, as we discussed, affects the sardine activity up there. So let’s let’s hope things change. But here there was some cast netting going on in the shallows at Oslo beach today, right off the rocks, the guys on the beach. No netters went out, but the public were having a feast with their cast nets.

And Mdumbi. Coffee Bay. Hole in the Wall, there are some minor shoals lingering around a bit of bird activity, no dolphins present, lots of Brydes Whales, and other whales, Humpbacks in their migration, breaching, so beautiful to watch, it’s still you know, life is still very abundant on the wild coast, and Yeah, so yeah, that’s about it what we got today guys let’s just hope things change But it’s not looking good Unless some other shoals come through which I highly doubt as the migration happens once a year, and that is, you know, the, these cold plumes that come off the Agulhas Bank, the whole shoal of sardines moves on, en masse, up the west coast.

Sardines Lingering

So they do that once, and we’re not seeing any reports of sardines sitting off Mossel Bay or Knysna or Hermanus, which is where they kind of linger in that cold water until that cold water pushes north. So yeah, also another thing to bear in mind is that there is no south swell right now. I’m looking at the horizon and it’s flat as a pancake.

So, yeah, that’s what also moves these cold plumes up towards, the KZN areas. And there’s nothing evident right now. So yeah, we’re on hold. Just as always keep those beaches tidy guys clean up after yourselves even clean up after the other people Let’s conserve and protect. That’s all I got. Cheers

Report from Master Watermen

Then we go over to The Bear at lunchtime too…

Well peeps over the long weekend the sea has been ballistic. Welcome to another report by the bear. Quickly for the sardine news, um, yeah, east is up now but the sea was very good this morning. Some guys getting some snook, pretty sure some garrik came out. The east blows into the night, and then the sea is calm again in the morning.

Yeah, sea temperature’s up, um, from, uh, 19, 20 degrees to 23 and a half degrees. Very strong south north current. That’s obviously dropped off today now with the east. Anyways, not much on the sardine front, but as always dive safe and straight spears away from the bear.

Affiliated YouTube Channels

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

https://youtube.com/@thesardinenews – neva miss a single sardine

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

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

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

Affiliated websites

https://umzimkulu.co.za – self-catering right on the Umzimkulu 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
https://mydofishinglures.co.za – technical sport fishing

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Durban 7 AM Sardine Report 13 June 2024 by Adam Kamdar

Durban 7 AM Sardine Report 13 June 2024 by Adam Kamdar

Durban 7 AM Sardine Report 13 June 2024 by Adam Kamdar

Durban 7 AM Sardine Report 13 June 2024 by Adam Kamdar: Adam Kamdar of Township Hyper is right on the scene and kindly delivered us this early bird sardine report.

Over to Adam…

“Good morning, this is the Durban beachfront, just before sunrise on the 13th of June 2024. This time of the year that we start to look out at sea, looking for those dark patches, which indicates sardines. We look for the diving cormorants. I see nothing around today. There are a few dark patches, but they are just the swell that’s coming.

That’s coming through. Lovely conditions on the Durban Beachfront. Light offshore wind. Swell is getting a bit of shape. Great conditions for netting but, uh, no indications of the sardines just yet.

I’d say keep your eyes peeled. Definitely by Father’s Day we’ll have some Beachfront. Back to you, Sean”

Thank you Adam for today’s AM Sardine Report from the mesmerisingly beautiful Durban Beachfront.

Affiliated YouTube Channels

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

https://youtube.com/@thesardinenews – neva miss a single sardine

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

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

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

Affiliated websites

https://umzimkulu.co.za – self-catering right on the Umzimkulu 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
https://mydofishinglures.co.za – technical sport fishing

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Sardines in Durban Tomorrow?

Sardines in Durban Tomorrow Possible

Sardines in Durban Tomorrow?

Sardines in Durban Tomorrow? The blitz that the sardines are on this year has been impressive. They came out of the starting gates on time and in sync. But then something happened that had them accelerate and cover the entire Transkei south to north, in less than a week to a few days.

This happened during the tornado-inducing cut-off low-pressure storm we had last week. The sardines must have slipped out to sea. Found favourable swell and water conditions out there. And put pedal to the metal.

Over to Kevin Tuohy in Qora…

Scottburgh

From early, Scottburgh Beach has been buzzing with sardine activity. Nets went in and sardines were for sale on the main drag before 8 AM!

Umgababa

This hot spot continued to deliver today. This morning nets went in and came out full up.

Freeland Park

This is lovely long beach that is perfectly suited to sardines and catching them. Nets were going in at around 1 PM. 
There are sure to be many more nets going in this afternoon. Some sardines have made it to Brighton and Ansteys Beach already. They are far out but tomorrow is a great bet for Durban Beach Front.

In from of the Cutty Sark, the sharks were putting on a spectacular show again.

Brighton Beach

Better known as Cave Rock, out off the tidal pool at 2 PM or so today, thousands of feeding gannets were busy annihilating these first few pilot shoals swimming past. The way that these pilot shoals got all the way to The Bluff so quickly and efficiently certainly will go down in history as some sort of record.

Durban Tomorrow

There is little doubt that the sardines will be on the Durban beachfront tomorrow morning. They might even be there this afternoon!

Watch this space!

Affiliated YouTube Channels

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

https://youtube.com/@thesardinenews – neva miss a single sardine

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

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

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

Affiliated websites

https://umzimkulu.co.za – self-catering right on the Umzimkulu 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
https://mydofishinglures.co.za – technical sport fishing

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Sardines at Scottburgh and How They Got Here by Kevin in Qora

Sardines at Scottburgh and How They Got Here by Kevin in Qora

Sardines at Scottburgh and How They Got Here by Kevin in Qora

Sardines at Scottburgh and How They Got Here by Kevin in Qora: big thank you to Kevin for today’s early report. More to follow this afternoon.

Over to Kevin…

Morning everyone. This is Kevin at Qora Mouth, just north of Mazepa Bay in the southern Transkei. Well it’s morning here and I think, you know, with the amount of people that are chasing the sardines, obviously not the netters, the netters are right on point, they know exactly where they’re going to be based on the progress that they’re making up the coast.

But I think there’s a lot of the general public that would love to just Experience the sardine run and we’re getting a lot of requests asking where they’re going to be and how fast are they moving. So we’re just going to quickly do a quick little summary this morning just to show you guys the movement and we can from our schematic.

You can see that. Generally from the 7th of June the Sardines arrived in the, on the KZN coast and it’s now the 12th of June and we have confirmed a net is coming out at Scottborough today. So yeah, guys no need to drive around aimlessly and get very frustrated and disappointed. You can definitely head down towards the Scottborough area.

Even a little bit south of that, there’s still going to be lingering shoals down there. What happens on the south coast of KZN is that most of your predators are going to be sharks, and those sharks are having a feast. And what they do is the sharks come in from deeper water, and they start attacking the shoal from the seaside.

And so that drives that shoal closer and closer into the shore. So like when we had at Sezela. The sardines actually were right on the beach, right on the shore break. And that’s gonna happen now the whole way up through KZN, cause major predatory activity. So yeah guys go and, go and have a look. Go and see what’s going on.

But no need to drive around aimlessly. Follow our schematic daily and we’ll keep you up to date where they are. Have some fun, but like we’ve said before, please, please, please give the netters space to do what they’re doing. As we’ve seen with the tragic accident that happened this week, what they’re doing is not only vital for their own livelihood and for the fishing and, uh, food industry, which is where these sardines are absorbed into.

It’s also extremely dangerous what they’re doing. Even those nets on the beach, they contain sharks. The net itself is extremely dangerous because it’s still in the shore break and you don’t want to get your leg or part of you trapped by that net. So just stay away, observe from a distance and good luck.

Hope you guys find the sards and get to experience sardine fever. Okay, that’s all I got for now. We’ll chat later on today. Cheers chaps.

Affiliated YouTube Channels

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

https://youtube.com/@thesardinenews – neva miss a single sardine

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

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

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

Affiliated websites

https://umzimkulu.co.za – self-catering right on the Umzimkulu 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
https://mydofishinglures.co.za – technical sport fishing

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Sardine Results – what now? 3 June 2024 Report by Kevin in Qora

Sardine Results - What Now - 2 June 2024

Sardine Results – what now? 3 June 2024 Report by Kevin in Qora

Sardine Results – what now? 3 June 2024 Report by Kevin in Qora: Kevin in Qora lays out our prospects of sardine run action for this week, the first week of June 2024.

Over to Kevin…

“Morning chaps, this is Kevin reporting from Qora Mouth, just north of Mazepa Bay on Southern Transkei. Well, that was certainly an interesting couple of days as this front moved through and was dominated by a cut off low which kept it sitting right over the coast. Very unseasonable rain, but we got about 120 millimeters down here at the coast, which we’re very thankful for because as far as the sardines and how this is going to affect them I think we have to look at a couple of factors.

The first one obviously being dirty water. The River, which is our river, has a very limited catchment area. It only stretches about 70 to 80 kilometers inland. So that water comes through to the estuaries extremely fast, and normally within one or two tide cycles it’s flushed out already, and it dissipates in the southerly current.

But we do have two major rivers in the Transkei, the southern Transkei. Which are the Kei River and the Mbashi River. Both of those have extremely large catchment areas. The Mbashi River starts somewhere way up in Lesotho near Tifindels and the Kei River goes equally far inland. So it’s going to take a couple days for those catchment areas to filter into the river and then for that water to actually reach the coast.

So I’m going to give it let’s say 72 hours. And then we’ll have a much better idea of what the water quality is going to be like in the inshore region. Second factor that’s definitely affects the movement of the sardines is the swell and the swell direction. We’ve had a sustained wind of 18 meters a second, which translates to about 70 kilometers an hour.

And it was a straight southeaster. Which means it came straight in off the ocean. And that’s evident today in about a 46 meter swell breaking. It’s breaking about a kilometer out to sea. And it’s definitely overridden the predominant south swell that was running. And so we’re going to have to wait for this to dissipate a little bit.

But just being a localized swell it will dissipate extremely fast and the south swell will dominate again over the next 24 to 48 hours. So that that will help the sardines to get moving again. The other factor is, that’s very important right now, is that the southeasterly swell has caused a huge upwelling of ice cold water.

There was a mist on the water this morning and I went and tested it. And it’s running at just below 14 degrees. So lovely temperature water for the sods to get moving in. So I’m going to say over the next 48 to 72 hours we should see major movement of the sardines depending on what the water color looks like once the larger catchment areas kind of send their water to the coast.

So anyway, Let’s keep our fingers crossed that the big shoals that were moving through prior to this front get up and go again. Cool, that’s all I got for now. I’ll keep you updated as things change. Cheers.”

Thank you Kevin, we are all on the edge of our seats about these damn sardines! And the ruddy weather! When’s it gonna stop?!

Affiliated YouTube Channels

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

https://youtube.com/@thesardinenews – neva miss a single sardine

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

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

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

Affiliated websites

https://umzimkulu.co.za – self-catering right on the Umzimkulu 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
https://mydofishinglures.co.za – technical sport fishing