Fishin’s Cool Fishing School is BACK on the Umzimkulu!
Fishin’s Cool Fishing School is BACK on the Umzimkulu! Get rid of your kids for a whole day! A week. Or even just a few hours. Fishin’s School Fishing School is back, and we are ready for the fun and the tangles all over again!
Where and When
At the mouth of the Umzimkulu Estuary, every day of the holidays. And by appointment in between. The area is safe, and we fish on the lagoon side. And upriver by road – wherever the fishing takes us.
What’s included
We braai every day, and include endless hot dogs and water for everyone. Parents are encouraged to join if they feel like some beach fun too.
The session starts at 8am, and the day rounds off at 3pm. There is a surcharge per hour thereafter. The fee at current is R250 per kid per day. After 3pm it is R150 per hour per kid.
Every kid needs their own fishing rod and reel. But we do the traces for them. Handle the fish. Coach. As your kid progresses, you could buy him/her a MYDO Estuary Pack of lures and traces to take ’em up a few levels.
Every now and then, we arrange a boat for an outing, and a surcharge applies in these instances.
Nature and Conservation
We teach the kids about nature and conservation. We do the odd beach or riverbank cleanup. We also do the catch n cook thing, teaching and involving the kids as we go. It is a very wholesome experience, and yes, parents and adults are welcome too!
You could also set up your own braai and become a fishing school parent spectator! Yelling and all!
Use the big old green WhatsApp button floating about on your screen to message us in real-time. Or here are contact details;
Hooks out and young kingfish taught good lesson and sent back to schoolYoung Nathan Boddly from Paddock spent a weekend at Fishin’s Cool Fishing School, learning to tie knots, untangle overwinds and pose with other guys fish!Perch on a lure in the Umzimkulu by Bulelani Saunders Feb 2023Teach a kid to fish…we can also arrange deep sea fishing trips for kids over ten years oldBig Eye Kingfish, Wasala Wobbler 55mm Topwater colour RedPepperJarrod Gallagher Giant Kingfish
Sardines and Sighting Maps
Here are the links to existing and past Sardine Sighting Maps. With instructions on how to install The Sardine News right on your phone, tablet, or even desktop.
Umzimkulu Turtle Trap featuring HUGO Fishing #ugu #anc #municipality #bridge #umzimkulu: HUGO Fishing has been documenting the plight of a turtle stuck in the inadvertently built fish trap in the Umzimkulu Mouth right now…
good early morning welcome back I wonder if you caught the breakfast show even earlier than this this morning we’re gonna try and keep that up but okay luckily every now and then we meet someone who’s very considerate and careful and caring about nature and this guy Hugo certainly is he discovered something a bit disturbing and we’re only here to report we’re not here to give opinions or anything like that but there is quite simply a fact here that there’s turtles stuck in that what you gonna call it I don’t know what you gonna call it looks like a fish trap to me this is a genuine look at the shape and match the two up here that’s a fish trap you know they made a fish trap now these turtles are getting stuck inside there anyway I’m just gonna let Hugo play out these two videos hey Hugo thank you ever so much I’m gonna send this to Ori we’re gonna try and find out what we can possibly do to stop the poor okes getting stuck in there we’re gonna put a sign up for the turtles that say go to the other mouth now because we’re busy here you know we’re gonna be busy here for the whole time and now you can’t come through your own river alright thank you very much hugo this is the pylon that they want to fix this one here you can see how it’s actually sagged so this is the one that they want to fix now what is the ocean doing what is the sea doing they’ve blocked it off here and it looks like if it’s a continual thing oh here’s a big turtle look at this turtle guys I just hopefully it’s on video but just came out now I think what he wants to do is to come up in the river but now he can’t let’s see if he’s gonna come up again hmm if I only had a breath hold like that alright so now um they are still closing this here so the the vehicles are crossing onto the sea from this side now they are crossing so now they are creating a a retainer cause now the sea is coming to take away all of the sand again so they’re creating a retainer so the sand must stay here there’s a turtle turtles right there right there so this is what it is looking at these guys are driving it’s a proper wall here and they going to open up uh pylon 1 2 they can open up 3 try and open up 3 pylons for the sea to go for for for the estuary to go out but see there on that side the parking area is already flooded all the parking area there is already flooded yeah so that’s it for today it’s a like a long one there up and down oh I feel so sorry for him anyways he’s gonna come up now yeah he comes up there he is there there he is there sorry my boy Ei he’s stuck in this little supposed to go back into the river hey thank you Hugo for going to all that effort and going back down there again this morning to find the same guy in that in that thing whatever you wanna call it but yeah thank you Hugo we gonna all support Hugo’s channel Hugo Fishing on YouTube there gonna go there and push this subscribe button and say thank you very much for for these videos here and please keep it up Hugo and anybody else who got some cool stuff like this where we can help get in touch with authorities and try and and make a bit of a difference wherever we can just send us the information yeah just like Hugo did this is gonna go straight to Orion whoever else I can find to to sort this out okay lekka like and subscribe Ciao ciao
Sardines and Sighting Maps
Here are the links to existing and past Sardine Sighting Maps. With instructions on how to install The Sardine News right on your phone, tablet, or even desktop.
The KingFisher Shad Competition Is On — This Is How To Win
The KingFisher Shad Competition Is On — This Is How To Win: The biggest shad showdown in decades has officially kicked off — The KingFisher Shad Competition is live across KZN, with R75,000 in cash and a mountain of tackle prizes up for grabs. From Durban’s piers to the South Coast’s wild gullies, anglers are locked in, and the bite is heating up.
The shad bite has been slow due to the increased sardine activity, but now that the sards are evidently scattering and dispersing, the shad will move in shallow. Just like they did this week at Coffee Bay and Port St Johns where the shad fishing is back to normal there] now that the sardines have swim right past.
Enjoy the gallery of recent shad catches and what we can all be looking forward to…
Renske Massing shad fishing…Shad fishing Anerley…Another huge Shad Lane shad.
But when the bait’s scarce or the bite goes quiet, it’s not just about luck — it’s about movement. That’s where your bait strategy becomes the game-changer.
Moving Baits: The Secret Sauce for Big Shad
The MYDO Baitswimmer Silver Bullet Number Two rigged with a strip bait and pulled with a faster retrieve WILL put you in the game to win the KINGFISHER Shad competition this year.
When shad are shy or scattered, you need to troll your bait like it’s alive. This is how you can also cover ground and locate the shoals. And then capitalise on the highly effective moving bait strategy (image at left shows a MYDO Baitswimmer Silver Bullet 2 Ounce being pulled at a natural swimming speed).
Big shad are aggressive and will take a moving bait over anything that just lies in the water. The traditional style of shad fishing is outdated and has not evolved with technology. These days, we have super-light rods and reels, spooled with casting braid that makes shad fishing an absolute delight. For the whole family. And you won’t look like those old guys striking and striking in vain all day long! Using up so much bait!
Here’s how to build and fish a finger bait rig that mimics real baitfish motion and triggers more strikes:
Bait Construction
Start at the single hook, extend to the back treble.
Use sardine fillet, flavoured with cracker shrimp, with a squid core for shape and longevity.
Cotton the sardine fillet with the juice facing outwards — scent trail is everything.
Mixed bait = mixed signals = more bites.
Sardine bait up with the MYDO Shad Trace
The double hook rigs are meant for bigger baits (whole sardine). They are, however, adjustable to take a half-sardine bait too.
The most important thing is to have that sharp little treble right in the back of the bait. Hook points slightly proud of the bait too.
Here is the adjustable double-dropper trace meant for a bigger bait…
MYDO Telescopic Shad Trace Number One for half or whole sardine baits. The back hook slides up and down for the ultimate fit.
These rigs are not for targeting shad only. We have caught blacktail and kob fishing like this…
Koblet on MYDO Silver Bullet Baitswimmer w Sardine Fillet
Reading the Water
On beaches or easy rocks, visualize the scene in front of you in 3D: find the gutter, pop the baited MYDO onto the sand, and work it down into the strike zone.
Maintain a steady pace, adjusting speed periodically to mimic different prey.
No need to strike hard — the back treble hooks the fish itself. Switch to a single if the bite gets wild.
Cast, Walk, Cover Ground
On longer beaches like the Sandspit or Ifafa (both hotspots for big shad), you will need to spend some time on your own determining where the fish are feeding.
Walk with the prevailing current, gather intel, and fish dynamically.
You’re not just casting — you’re trolling from the shore.
When the Bite Is On — Go Big
If the shad are smashing baitballs and you need to out-throw the crowd:
Load up the 2-ounce MYDO, add a whole sardine, and cast with 3 ounces of power.
Use a top bung to keep the bait off the rocks and keep the bait intact.
This rig flies over the horizon and lands right on the other side of the traffic.
Wind, Distance & Reef Tactics
Middle-sized MYDOs are perfect for light onshore wind or when you need extra reach.
Small MYDOs can get blown off course — use them when conditions are calm.
In gulleys and shallow reefs, rig a top bung at the swivel to troll over the rocks, not into them.
How to WIN the KINGFISHER SHAD Competition featuring MYDO Silver Bullet Baitswimmers #shad #fishing okay welcome back to MYDO Tackle Talk we talking about the SHAD fishing competition put on by KingFisher this year what fun eh biggest competition for decades it turns out and 75,000 bucks is up for grabs for first prize plus a whole mountain of fishing tackle as you would expect from people like Kingfisher right it’s province wide all over the place and we’re gonna talk about catching these big shad my first advice would be to join the SARDINE NEWS HOTLINE it does cost 59 bucks a month but you get to be in the thick of it and that kind of news we don’t dispel out to the public until way after the fact but to the HOTLINE members that’s where the news comes in HOT alright um I’m gonna talk to you about catching Big Shad because Big Shad likes to go mad after a moving bait you can put your big sardine out there and let it sit there on the reef and wait and wait you can it washes around and then something will might bite it but as soon as you move that bait like when you winding in or or like on the camera here look at this see that the shad are just milling about that bait they’re not even looking at it but the minute it moves they just go wild like this it’s crazy and the bigger shad being more aggressive more voracious and and more everything are the most aggressive so they’re all gonna get if you want to catch a big shed use a moving bait it’s quite simple the shad bigger shad take a spoon you know it’s like they’re more aggressive they go faster and they want a moving bait now I’m gonna tell you how to make a finger or pencil bait but I call it a finger bait’cause it’s about the size of your finger that goes on a smaller MYDO Bait Swimmer silver bullets shad trace that is what you cast when it’s really good weather and the offshore’s blowing it was all very nice and the sea’s quite flat but you’re trying to find the shad you start with this little thing and you just have to throw it out and let it go into the water column as you’ve imagined in 3D what the gutter looks like and then get it down the gutter and patrol the whole water column until you find some bites you’re normally just gonna hook up with this lure because that treble at the back and that’s a moving bait you don’t miss you just don’t miss and by the way these things catch all kinds of fish they don’t just catch shad I caught a kob and a blacktail and ugh we’ve been having so much fun with these things anyway so the bait fits on here and off you go put the wrong way around the bait fits on there and off you go with the front hook you just put a nice fillet on here the nicest fillet that you can cut wrap it from the very beginning of the hook all the way over here and uh make sure the back hook is just sticking out a little bit all these things are proud and then off you go um this is how you cover ground you just keep walking and throwing with the current and if you got a nice Long Beach like Mtwalume or Ifafa or Sandspit or whatever and you want to find out where the fish are cause they move up and down I promise that’s how it works but you as you walk you’ll pick up clues and you’ll start seeing they could be here they could be here excuse me alright so if however the sea gets a bit inclement and the onshore comes up you’re going to have to go up and notch to a 1 ounce luckily there is a half ounce a 1 ounce and even a 2 ounce now the 2 ounce is a monster it’s a real cool thing it’s for when the crowd is on your back and there’s a casting and the roads are cracking and all that stuff and you need to get a away from the from the traffic away from the marine traffic put this thing on here tie a big sardine on tie it on nicely and launch it over the horizon at 2 ounces plus a sardine you’re nearly on 3 ounces you gotta give it all the 3 ounces of power that you can and you’re gonna get over the back line and past the past the let’s just say the riff raff um alright I think that’s about it there’s the three different things the three different sizes in the in the shad pack you get two big ones and two small ones ready um don’t forget to subscribe the hotline is open like I told you earlier you can uh sign up but you’re a like and a subscribe is all we really need to keep this show going thank you very much for watching and we’ll catch you in the next segment Ciao Ciao
5 EPIC Fishing Battles From This Past Week: enjoy the picture show…! (Oh Brother, Where Art Thou)
good morning welcome back sardine news okay we’re gonna try something different here today we’ve got a lot of fish around a lot of fish and we’re gonna get to see five fights here mainly at the Block in Port Shepstone and also one in Christmas Bay up in Sheffield on Ballito side but what fun to watch these guys some of them get away most of them get caught let’s dive right in and join Alan at the block another guy on here also we think it’s a Garrick it’s the third one now in about half an hour so let’s pull up with Garrick here at the mo still on still playing it I think you had bait what you had bait on there or what sardine spoon okay picked him up on spoon still playing it it’s a big guy there playing nice nice why we that side why we right so not coming here right come around with him Drei link Außen ja Bitte hey vaai for ot sharp here he’s hooked on the gill vaai sharp its hooked on the gill go quickly gaff him gaff him gaff him gaff him whoa well done well done well done what’s your name Naren right Naren Naren thanks Naren well done hey shot Allen for always being on the spot like that and Naren that’s a beautiful fish well done not to be outdone here comes Deez next this is gonna be quite a long session over here there’s two fish coming up which one gets away now there’s a guy onto a nice fish here fishing in the front Ous are saying a Garrick but he wasn’t using a lure is it Dees it looks like Dees huh hey what you got there Dees Dees what you got what you got Garrick what is it Garrick nice fish hey that rock in front there that’s a gotta get it past that what bait you using Dees sardine 4/09 still on here that’s a tricky part this is a tricky part get it over that rock there we go he’s got it past guys got a problem this side if it goes over that rock trying to get it away from that rock huh going over that rock AIBO…came off cut him off over the rock unlucky he’s still on here now the trick is to get it over that rock and before this goes beyond this rock here you’ll see he’s coming starting to bring it in out here that rock that’s probably why they are swinging around that hes kind of got it past that rock Deez Nice Garrick Hey so coming this way coming back coming back coming this way hey nice work Dee’s that’s a great funny now you can see in the background behind Dee’s that’s his wife watch that lady now there’s another fish came out on a on a spoon here very good very nice fishing that morning not sure how many came out all together but then we’re going to check on Dee’s wife and see what she caught the other morning other evening I think it was yes yes yes hey what fun hey well done Zahira that’s a beautiful fish right now we’re going to Christmas Bay to visit Henry our latest contributor to the Sardine Hotline and check what he caught muck big kingie or something come on oh it’s just sitting okay still on yet oh gosh I don’t know what it is solid son oh oh hey what a fish Henry Sheesis man thank you and it’s so very nice to have you as our North Coast correspondent for the Sardine News right we’ve got one more fish to go you might have seen this one before if Evert at Margate Pier about a week ago don’t forget to like and subscribe and if you join this channel you would have seen all these videos long time ago Ciao
The Sardine News and Windy.com: Good morning and thank you for checking in with us. Ok, conditions first – the conditions analysis goes out nice and early each day. Published on The Sardine News website. And into that will go the news as the day unfolds.
Starting with today! And Adam’s
On a scale of one to ten, today is an 11 plus. The ocean is big and glassy, painted smooth by a brisk and crisp offshore wind. That will blow right through this low tide and into mid-morning. Where it might hang about or swing gently onshore, as is predicted. High tide after lunch.
Talking of predictions, we have struck a deal with Windy.com that allows us to use their fantastic visualisations for our reports! Head on over to https://windy.com if you are ever uncertain of the weather. Hit the play button at the bottom left and watch as your future is revealed. Better than a crystal ball!
From the Windy.com animation, you can see the two cold fronts that we are in the middle of. That next one is only due mid-next week.
Surf
The SSW swell at 14 seconds will be fantastic at certain spots up and down the coast. Durban town looks a bit flat today. The Tweni 2’s surfing contest at Umtentweni is staged for tomorrow down the south coast, and the surf is going to be perfect down there!
A rising barometer at 1030 means east conditions on their way. Afternoon onshores are an everyday thing now. Luckily, the ocean recovers from the chop overnight.
Fish
Except for the lack of shad in KZN, the fishing is excellent. Luckily, this recent cold front might excite them shad all into the same sardine fever that has gotten hold of us.
Garrick and kingfish have been grabbing the headlines, along with medium to small sized koblets. Out at sea, couta is the name of the game. The recent UKFC kayak on the north coast of KZN event had phenomenal catches with a dozen fish around or over 20 kgs. Get your MYDOs in the Sardine News tackle store online.
Currents
And finally the Agulhas current…is screaming and we can clearly see how the counter current carrying the sardines has crept so far up into the Transkei. And is literally cut off now. We can see the Natal Pulse dynamic in full swing as the continental shelf diverts the Agulhas into a literal whirlpool.
Sardines and Sightings
Join the Sardine News HOTLINE
Join the Sardine News HOTLINE for 2025 and Neva Miss a Single Sardine! We first upload to YouTube, and then progressively up to the rest of the social platforms (Facey, X, etc) as the bandwidth allows.
CLICK HERE TO JOIN as a Member on YouTube, and receive all these perks too…
Member of WhatsApp Sardine News HOTLINE, access to restricted content on thesardine.co.za, LIVE Broadcasts from the Beach during the sardine run. And direct contact with the Sardine Spy network team.
You can also get around the season in a real fun way by checking out our annual Sardine Run Maps. This is a real groovy way to follow the progress of the sardines each year.
You can even download our app to your phone or device, accept notifications, and you will never miss a single sardine.
Here are the links to existing and past Sardine Sighting Maps…
