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6 July 2024, 7 am Sardine Conditions Report by Adam in Durban

6 July 2024 at 7am with Adam Kamdar KZN Sardine Conditions Report

6 July 2024, 7 am #Sardine Conditions Report by Adam in #Durban #KZN #South #Africa

6 July 2024, 7 am #Sardine Conditions Report by Adam in #Durban #KZN #South #Africa

Good morning, Durban. It’s just after 7 am on Saturday, the 6th of July 2024. We experienced a spring high tide at 4 am, and the next spring low tide will be at 10 am. The forecast from Windguru indicates fresh offshore winds throughout the day, high swells, with temperatures around 21 degrees Celsius. How has Windguru been performing for you?

Do you find it accurate? Please leave your feedback in the comments below. This is the tides update for fishing. The wind is blowing at 13 kilometers per hour from the west, with a chilly temperature of 12 degrees Celsius in Durban this morning. Wave net indicates the water temperature is still dropping, yet remains too warm for sardines at around 22 degrees Celsius.

We need it to drop to 19 degrees Celsius. The atmospheric pressure in Durban is 1020 hPa and rising. The most recent sardine sightings were near Warner Beach, but only birds were spotted, with little to no sign of shoals. Thus, the trail has gone cold for the sardines due to Durban’s warm waters.

Next, we’ll present the sunrise view.

This is today’s sunrise. As visible by the flags, there’s a light offshore wind smoothing the sea near the shore. However, the sea conditions are rough with high swells offshore. Consequently, many boats have altered their deep-sea fishing plans, opting to fish closer to shore, backline, near the stadium, Virginia, targeting snoek, among others.

Here, one of the boats is seen fishing, and numerous canoes are out for morning exercise. The conditions are beautifully calm at Point Beach, Ushaka area.

And this view is towards Blue Lagoon.

Have a spectacular day and stay updated with thesardine.co.za.

“Thank you Adam!”

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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Whales eat Sardines?

Whales eat Sardines 25 June 2024 by Kevin in Qora

Whales eat Sardines?

Whales eat Sardines? Explained by Kevin in Qora.

Whales eat Sardines 25 June 2024 by Kevin in Qora

Howzit everyone, this is Kevin at Qora Mouth. Just north of Mazepa Bay in the Southern Transkei. Well, we’ve heard of two lovely nets that have come in at Pennington. Big, big nets. I’ve seen some of the footage. I mean, these are proper nets, guys. So, these sides are starting to move closer into shore. And they have to be fairly close for the netters to actually be able to reach them.

But we’re hearing reports of plenty, plenty shoals. A little bit too far offshore still. But stretching from Amanzimtoti right down to the wild coast. So, yeah. Lots more coming behind these chaps. And you know, the sea’s been very flat over the last couple of days, but I can report from me here that there’s a lovely South swell on the way up to Durban.

The waves are pumping down here, probably got a two to three meter swell on its way. And that’s definitely going to assist these sardines because what happens with the swell is that as that swell comes up the coast because of the friction with the shallower water The swell picks up and the sardines know that they move much closer into shore because the closer they get in, the more they can use that wave energy to move up the coast.

Because that south swell is a south to north movement and we know the current is a north to south. So they use those swells to actually ride on the surface and that helps them to move in their migratory path. So yeah. Good news. In the next couple of days, we should see a major movement of these sardines because the water in Durban is still sitting around the 20 degree mark, which is perfect for these sardines.

Yeah. But anyway, let me also take this opportunity to just correct myself on something that I said yesterday in a report that you know, we know that these humpback whales at this time of year, they move out of the Antarctic. and then move up to the Mozambique channel where they breed and then and also give birth because the gestation period for a humpback whale is between 9 and 16 months.

So they’re breeding and they’re giving birth, all happens up in the warmer waters, which gives the calves a much better survival rate. And I found this out today because I was researching it because a lot of people pointed out to me. because of my last report, that these humpback whales do actually eat sardines.

And we know that they are actually plankton feeders and that’s their primary diet. That’s, they live off Antarctic and very nutrient rich waters, but yeah, they actually do eat sardines. And that’s awesome news because that just proves to me one more thing that you know, nature is just amazing guys.

And these marine ecosystems and the marine environment is so synchronized and you have these symbiotic relationships between different species. So this sardine run coincides at exactly the same time as the humpback whale migration. So obviously these sods are also a food source for them as they’re heading up into the warmer water, which is just freaking amazing.

So yeah, I’m sorry for the misinformation, but I hope yeah, I’ve also learned something. The only thing I do know is that. The more I think I know, the more I realize how little I do know. So anyway, thanks for the correction guys. And yeah, it’s wonderful news that these sardines are also being fed on by the, by the humpbacks as they migrate.

Anyway, that’s all I got for today. Let’s keep it real guys. As we always say, conserve and protect, keep those beaches tidy. And you know, if the public are going down just to watch the sardine action, if you see trash on the beach, just pick it up. Pick it up and go put it in a trash can, even if it’s not yours, because it definitely helps.

And that’s what we just need to do as human beings. Look after it. Cool guys. We will chat tomorrow. We’ll update you as things happen. Cheers.

Thank you Kevin!

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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Afternoon Sardines Roundup by Kevin in Qora 23 June 2024 GOOD WATER TEMPS! #sardinerun2024 #sardine #run #2024 #sardines

Afternoon Sardines News 23 June 2024 by Kevin

Afternoon Sardines Roundup by Kevin in Qora 23 June 2024 GOOD WATER TEMPS! #sardinerun2024 #sardine #run #2024 #sardines

Afternoon Sardines Roundup by Kevin in Qora 23 June 2024 GOOD WATER TEMPS! #sardinerun2024 #sardine #run #2024 #sardines Kevin is back! It feels like an eternity since we have been on our own. Kevin got the seasonal Transkei flu bug. But is back already with this afternoon’s sardine report!

How’s it, chaps? This is Kevin at Cochemouth, just north of Mazepa Bay in the southern Transkei. Sorry you haven’t heard from me for a couple of days. I’ve been down with the flu, so you probably have got a bit of a croaky voice still, but let’s try and give you a summary of the last few days while I’ve been absent.

Not many nets, nets came out, prior to today, but we’ve now heard of two nets that have come out in the Shelley Beach area right by the Ski Boat Club. One this morning and one just now this afternoon. There’s also reporting of shoals around Issa Pingo and even up in Amanzimtoti side. There’s people reporting that there are sardines offshore.

So I think what we can attribute this to is the water temperature drop. Thank you Adam Kamdar for your update on the temperatures. I got a temperature from Durban this morning, the water was sitting at about 21 degrees. And Adam is saying that it’s now at about 20 generally. But he was finding some cold patches out offshore.

Of about 16 degrees. So this is exactly what we were waiting for. The sardines are now going to have lots of reason To move around the bluff and move on to the Durban beach front and keep moving northwards up the north coast This is what they need. They need water around the 20 degree mark or lower. So yeah, this is all good news chaps Uh, let’s see what the next couple days brings but All we can do is look at the current conditions and give our forecasts based on that, but this is what we’re going to say now is that we’re going to see a major movement of these shoals that have been lingering back sitting on the south coast because of the warmer water ahead of them and thankfully they didn’t move out into the They still hug the coast, but a couple of kilometres out, but they’re going to definitely move in closer now, and they’re going to have all those predators on their backs, which is going to push them towards the shore, and I expect they’ll move past the bluff and into the Durban area fairly soon, over the next day or so, and then they’ll start heading north.

As well. You know, their migratory instincts push them North no matter what happens. They want to go North. That’s just where they migrating to. So yeah, this is all good news. Good news for the netters. Good news for the public. Good news for the fishermen. So yeah, we’ll update you as things change.

Anyway, that’s all I got for now. Afternoon sardines! Cheers.

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

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Kevin in Qora Flabbergasted by HUGE Shoal of Sardines TODAY 30 May 2024

Kevin in Qora Flabbergasted by huge shoals of sardines today 30 May 2024

Kevin in Qora Flabbergasted by HUGE Shoal of Sardines TODAY 30 May 2024

Kevin in Qora Flabbergasted by HUGE Shoal of Sardines TODAY 30 May 2024: listen to this very exciting voice note from Kevin in Qora as he reports being flabbergasted by the size of the shoal of sardines out front of his cottage in Qora today.

Words like motherload and early season show the severity of Kevin’s sardine fever-laden report. Makes me want to jump in a vehicle and head south right now!

? “Morning, everyone. This is Kevin from Qora Mouth. Just north of Mazepa Bay in the southern Transkei. Well, we’ve had those pilot shoals that came through over the last couple weeks. Which was a very good indicator that we’re going to have a wonderful sardine run again then we had a bit of a hold-up where sardines washed up in Haga Haga and we heard of a bigger shoal that was off of Sinsa And the water had warmed up a bit.

So that’s why I think that that shoal got held up and Now, today, there are literally thousands of birds out in front of me. I’m also seeing lots of predator activity whales breaching and I wouldn’t say it’s a super pod of dolphins, but plenty, plenty dolphin activity. But I’m talking thousands of birds stretched over probably a two-kilometer stretch lots of separate diving action So, what I’m going to say now is that this is a much larger shoal.

This just isn’t a little pilot shoal fractured off. This is something big. And being end of May, this is extremely unusual, but This is Big Chaps coming through here now, unfortunately my iPhone camera doesn’t do much justice to action that’s a couple kilometers out same as taking a full moon photo and all you see is a little yellow dot in the sky, but The evidence is here right in front of me.

It’s a very, very big shawl movement. I mean, this is on par with like the mother load that comes once a year and it’s way too early for the mother load unless it is the mother load. I don’t know. But Yeah, all I can say is I’m actually sitting here flabbergasted by the amount of activity and feeding going on.

I mean, I can’t even reiterate it more. Thousands and thousands of gannets big rafts everywhere where they’ve gorged themselves full and just others taking to the wing and diving. It’s just, you know, 20, 30 peeling off at a time, boiling the water. So yeah, this is good. This is good. Let’s see how fast they move.

This is the kind of shoal that definitely will reach KZN. So, yeah, keep your fingers crossed. Port St. John’s is the next port of call. There’s not much between here and there. There is Navaja where there’s some cottages. But it’s generally a quiet area, so the next major sighting and confirmation of this shoal is going to be Port St.

John’s Coffee Bay area, and that depending on how fast they move, let’s say we give them five to six days to get to Port St. John’s. But this is a big one. Cool buzz. Over and out. I’ll keep you updated. Cheers.”

Port St Johns

Is the next major port-of-call is gonna be Port St Johns. However, our sardine spies in Mdumbi might be up for some excitement this afternoon and in the morning.

The fishing has been rocking in Port St Johns the last few days.

Shoal sized kob on paddletail near Port St Johns
Shoal sized kob on paddletail near Port St Johns

KZN

Fishing in KZN water and other nearby spots however has been dismal. When the sardines shoal northwards from the deep south like this, it causes chaos with the local fish populations. They also follow the food around the place.

Even the shad have been really slow up in KZN.

The exception being the couta up on the north coast at the moment. They are also here for the sardines but don’t dig the cold water down south at all. Port Edward is roughly their southern limit. And at the limits of the couta’s range here like this, these are the big fish. Only the really big couta make it this far south.

All if these fish were caught down that way, over the years…during the sardine season.

Louis Posthumous and team have been using Mydos for decades
Louis Posthumous and team have been using Mydos for decades. Port Edward.
Another huge couta catch down on the KZN South Coast
Another huge couta catch down on the KZN South Coast
And a beautiful healthy looking 28kg crocodile couta by Mark Snyman
And a beautiful healthy looking 28kg crocodile couta by Mark Snyman
Mark Snyman in Port Edward
King Mackerel - 8 of, plus a fefty GT
King Mackerel – 8 of, plus a hefty GT
Karine van Rensburg of MYDO gives us some perspective standing next to Andre Laubschers magnificent 36.9kg ‘Couta taken off Port Edward

Affiliated YouTube Channels

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

https://youtube.com/@thesardinenews – neva miss out

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

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