Brian Lange and Morne Uys celebrated Brian’s birthday night fishing!
Nice fish Pop!
Tag: umzimkulu
Barbel Frenzy
A nice fish taken by Frenzy pictured here with guest at the Umzimkulu Marina, Jacques. Jacques also caught two Paling (eel) a bit later in the evening… Summer time in the river is characterised by these muddy fish…winter time is when we encounter the kingfish, rock salmon, grunter and even Garrick (leervis). The perch (up to 3 or4 kilos but averaging about 1kg) are year round and don’t mind the brown floody waters of summer.
And then another the next evening…this one took only a few minutes to jump on The Frenzy’s hook…
The Real Deal
Subsistence fishermen have been working the Umzimkulu River for decades. As the condition of the river has deteriorated their lot has been reduced year after year. But there is something very noble about their ignoble existence. Targeting barbel chiefly…they also catch rock salmon (mangrove jack), grunter, perch, salmon and even gamefish like kingfish and garrick. Sometimes shad move into the river and the bounty makes for celebrating.
But mainly…it is hard going.
Pollution.
Brown water.
Cold.
Wind.
Hours with no bites…
Yet what else could they do? Their lifestyle is all they have. Their fishing is all they have. The Umzimkulu is all they have.
Respect to the subsistence fishermen of the mighty Umzimkulu…
Noel Allchin’s 32kg Birthday ‘Couta
As we were packing to go home from the story before this one (Protea Reef 16 Feb 2013), we were treated to seeing one of the biggest king mackerel / couta caught on Protea Reef in a while!
With Noel were none other than 3 of the Posthumous clan – Louis, Dawdie and Sean. This fish never stood a chance! The ‘couta weighed 32kg’s and was presumably taken on a livebait (that kind of info very hard to extract from these fellas). Nice fish!
Protea Reef 16 Feb 2013
After the usual hectic river mouth launch out of the mighty Umzimkulu (Port Shepstone), we headed out on a bumpy sea, to Protea Reef a few miles out, to take on the yellowfin tuna that frequent it’s pinnacles. The first two drifts at 3.5knots yielded nothing, but on our third attempt, things hotted up fast.
Guest on the Niteshift – Randy Stevens, was the first to have his arms stretched – by a nice yellowfin of 9kg’s. That fish started the rush and soon we were going 3 sticks away. The yellowfin
got bigger and bigger and our last fish – caught by Frenzy, weighed in at 14kgs. She pulled it right out of a shark’s mouth – check the bite mark in the picture!
A huge school of bottlenose dolphin came by – one with a white dorsal fin and white patches all over his body – spectacular. We captured him on video, along with some of the fishing action – see video below…
The Umzimkulu Marina on the south bank of the Umzimkulu River in Port Shepstone is completely rigged for the family fishing holiday. The Niteshift – a Supercat hull with a walkaround cabin and powered by twin 4 stroke Yamahas takes on the launch with aplomb and confidence. Protea Reef is the main attraction and the Hibberdene area (famous for huge king mackerel / couta) is a quick 30 minute race north.
The Umzimkulu – a 25ft cruiser with a roof and seating and licensed for 17 is ideal for parties / events / functions / fishing on the Umzimkulu River. Estuary fishing for Grunter and Rock Salmon (Mangrove Jack) at night is another great distraction. There are also ski’s and a paddle boat available.
Email umzimkulu@hotmail.com or call +27732711694.