Ian and Keegan Logie sent in these pics of two notable catches. One soon to be identified and the other the first twin spot snapper in the Umzimkulu.
The twin spot snapper are common further north and into the tropics. Nice catch and release.
The second fish I was sure was a razor belly, until I noticed the rooster fish like dorsal. Any guesses anyone?
Thanks Ian and Keegan for the news… Anglers keen to fish these waters can email me on umzimkulu@gmail.com
Brandon Parsons headed down the KZN South Coast this weekend, taking a break from the usual monster shark fishing he partakes in, when fishing the Cape, as he usually does. There are sharks here, especially Zambezi’s (Bull Sharks), and the Umzimkulu River is full of them, never mind The Sandspit and the mouth area, but we were after gamefish on lure or live-bait…this time round.
When the Umzimkulu River opens and closes intermittently as it does at this time of the year, it has a marked effect on the fishing in the immediate surrounds. When it first closes, the river seems to undergo a change in character – an occasion marked by an increase in fish activity. Mullet jumping like crazy. Then they go quiet a few days, as the game fish trapped inside make a mockery of their huge advantages and smash the poor mullet and other baitfish and juveniles like there is no tomorrow. We had a bait ball of mullet out front of the lodge, in full view of all our guests, hang around for three days! They have nowhere to run and hide and the gamefish become quite complacent about things – showing themselves and even getting caught sometimes!
But it ain’t easy, and many a big thinking punter has left scratching his head.
However, if it works out that you get a good crew, who are committed, and know the ropes and work as hard as required, we average one really nice fish, every four man hours, in the Umzimkulu. That’s not quite National Garrick Day, but really, a garrick or kob or kingfish in the estuary is just so much more fun! And there is more to offer fishing these inter tidal waters. Lets not forget the Oxe-Eye Tarpon, the Kob, the Grunter, the Kingfish, the Rays, the Perch, huge Vundus and Palings (paaaaarlings), prehistoric monster crabs, prawns of all shapes and armourments, baitfish…and some surprises! We even hooked a turtle on a lure back a few weekends!
So this is one of those moments that every four man hours of serious fishing this estuary, is proven to produce:
Game fishing in the protection of the estuary and the Umzimkulu Conservancy’s sheer cliff of natural forest on the north bank up from the golf course, sure beats standing on the beach in a howling onshore. This was the wind situation on this day, but as you can see, Brandon and I enjoyed pristine conditions, catching Kingfish, three kilometres up the river!
Thats not all we have at The Umzimkulu Marina, the deep-sea fishing is also fantastico, with Protea Reef being a short 20 minute ride out. Unfortunately, the river launch really though, is difficult at best. So, to get around this, we have put together an arrangement that allows us to utilise one of the Shelley Beach fleet of boats, when necessary.
Check back soon for details of these customizable fishing holiday packages to the KZN South Coast of South Africa, put together by The Sardine.
The Umzimkulu Perch that we have been catching can range from little guys of like 10cm. And then up to like 4kg’s or more. They are aggressive and ferocious fighters too. Although the fish featured here took a fillet of sardine on a tiny hook – Umzimkulu Perch like to jump on a lure for sure. Sometimes we even get double strikes on the troll.
We troll all sorts but the best performer overall is definitely the range of soft baits on offer. Those loud clangy wheel bearing laden hard plastic baits are so completely unnatural. If we stick a nice split tail or paddel tail on a decent dropshot head, we can troll that up and down the channels and catch perch all day long (when they are biting ha ha).
If you stick the softbait on a MYDO LuckShot, you will get some real swimming action and the benefits of a softbait during the strike. Fish hold on to soft baits since they are so naturally textured. And the single hook almost always hooks in the top or corner of the mouth. Making for real healthy and successful releases. Compared to the double treble configuration (or singles), which almost always inflict damage on the fish.
Using double hook configuration for anything is always going to work against the chances of any fish surviving a release. Or for use as live bait. Double marlin konas are dangerous and inflict a lot of harm during the fight.
And as for bait fishing – use a circle hook! The difference is calculable right from your very first fish. Perfectly healthy releases!
Mike and Gina Mapson treated their family to this weekend down on the Umzimkulu River – and the first time they threw in a line, Mike jnr nailed this awesome perch. The perch ate a bread bait and was gently released by Dad.
The fishing has really hotted up in the Umzimkulu…more posts to follow…and fishing enquiries to umzimkulu@gmail.com or call 079 326 9671.
The Umzimkulu Marina is offering packaged fishing adventure trips (guided fishing, boats and accomodation for deep sea, rock n surf and estuary fishing) for the upcoming super- exciting fishing season.
Here is a quick YouTube video of our latest big perch, this one was caught two weeks ago (January 2020).
You can also stay in touch via our Facebook page at http://facebook.com/thesardine.co.za
If you or you kids want to come target perch for a weekend or a session, contact me Sean on umzimkulu@gmail.com or WhatsApp +27793269671
The Umzimkulu was out yesterday with some of the original river pirates enjoying some river cruising – John Collinson and Lawrence Wurznip…brought a fishing rod along to test out some new lures…and a cooler box for the fish…?
Although we did try really hard in the crystal clear incoming tide, throwing dropshots and flash lures – we never got a hit. John says it’s far too clean in the river for fishing and Lawrence agreed, both speculating also that the mouth will most likely close in the next week or two. It’s bad news for the skiboaters, but for the estuarine anglers, its fantastic news. The fish generally get more and more active, the longer the mouth is close. And the garrick run usually starts at about the same time the mouth starts closing. We will start targeting garrick shortly…book your spot here.
There is a rumour circulating Port Shepstone, of a 30 kg kob taken off the wall just on the inside of the river mouth…last week?! Our investigative instincts have kicked in and we will surely have some more about this phantom fish shortly. We have a name.
In the meantime, it’s the weekend so you can catch us down on the river, at Spiller’s Wharf…river cruising from lunch time ’til dark…
In keeping with this weekend’s theme, Bela’s Restaurant at Spiller’s Wharf are hosting a Portuguese party with Portuguese food, drinks and attractions, including… boat rides, fishing lessons, music…
River cruises start at 11am and sail each hour on the hour, R50 a ticket. Kids under 10 go FREE! With an adult of course!
Bela will be cooking up her blend of Portuguese and Mozambican flavours – espetadas, squid heads, fresh fish (maybe even grilled sardines!) peri-peri chicken and other flamed delights…
Call Bela to book a table, stage a party or cook up a storm on +27 78 538 9913
