Coast KZN

State of the Coast: KZN
State of the Coast: KZN

State of the Coast: KwaZulu-Natal Chapter 1: Introduction & Background Chapter 2: Overarching Drivers Chapter 3: Climate Variability
Chapter 4: Coastal Environment Chapter 5: Estuarine Environment Chapter 6: Marine Environment Chapter 7: Human Environment Chapter 8: Economic Environment
Chapter 9: Governance Environment Chapter 10: Conclusions
The Profile of the KZN Coast
The Profile of the KZN Coast

Ugu Lwethu- Our Coast Defining the Coastal Zone The Physical and Coastal Environment Coastal and Marine Ecosystems
Coastal and Marine Species Migrations The Human Dimension Socio-Economic Uses of the Coast Commercial Resource Uses
Pressures and Threats Management of the Coastal and Marine Environments Understanding our Coast
Coastal access
Coastal access

Access RoutesBoat Launch SitesThe Human DimensionCoastal Access: Stats & Facts
Estuaries
Estuaries

What is an Estuary? Know your Estuaries Estuary Health and Conservation KZN Estuary Observer Programme
Historical Time Series Estuary Mouth Status Sand Mining
Recreation
Recreation

Fish TaggingAccess RoutesBlue Flag Beaches
Coastal risk and vulnerability
Coastal risk and vulnerability

Coastal Risk LinesExtreme EventsCoastal ErosionKZN Coastal Vulnerability IndexPollution
Coastal issues
Coastal issues

PollutionSand MiningCoastal ErosionNurdlesUPL Chemical Spill
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19 Jul 2022

FishEagle: Shad on the bite excites

(Sealice: North Coast Courier) Picture: File Photo. Pockets of sardines passing local waters have certainly improved surf angling, with shad being the main species caught.

Pockets of sardines passing local waters have certainly improved surf angling, with shad being the main species caught. Early mornings and late afternoons remain the best times for catching shad, and anglers should remember the bag limit.

Most popular angling spots reported catches of shad late last week, but unfortunately there are several of the shad angling spots which remain problematic with sand banks that result in shallow water, especially during low tide. Blue Lagoon has been popular with decent crowds and catches, however many anglers continue to ignore bag and size limits.

There has been some fish at Virginia and Glenashley, but these areas are not fishing at their best yet. Light north-easterly winds at the weekend may see this change, resulting in improved catches.

Boulder Bay and Salt Rock beaches have been popular too, especially for shad.

Garrick have also arrived with a few nice fish caught at Chaka’s High Rock and Tinley Manor. Anglers fishing at Richards Bay said they have been catching garrick for some time now, so it was probably dirty waters keeping the fish away locally.

The Tongaat River mouth has also been popular for catching garrick, and live bait is the way to go. Plugs and lures have also proven productive.

Copper bream was the main target among rock anglers last week, with some areas also producing some sizeable lantern bream. The ever present stone bream and karranteen have kept anglers interested.

Flat seas and small surf conditions were ideal for surf-ski anglers who were targeting snoek, which can be found almost everywhere at the moment.

The small pockets of sardines moving north played a big role in bringing out shoals of snoek (small nets of sardines were brought ashore at Isipingo – sadly the last news of sardines for the week).

Salt Rock saw a nice sized couta caught at the weekend but these fish are becoming scarce. Yellowfin tuna has also produced some good action.

Most of the game fish anglers are now concentrating on the backline areas in search of garrick. Umgeni mouth has been popular over the calm sea period and a few guys have been fishing the Durban North backline for garrick. There’s plenty of live bait in the shallow reefs, so bait is not a problem, and once sardines move on, catches should improve.

Anglers should concentrate on fishing reefs for big bottom fish at this time of year.

 

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