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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27 Nov 2020

FishEagle: Summer flatfish put up a fight

(North Coast Courier)- Sealice Picture: Stanger's Dr Farouk Khader with his 85kg Honeycomb Sting Ray caught off Amatikulu Beach last weekend.

High rainfall flooded the rivers last week and finding clean water was almost impossible.

Before the dirty water arrived, shad had moved into the surf at Durban View at Umhlanga Rocks on Thursday morning, and all the anglers managed to catch fish. Some big shad were caught early the next morning too, plus anglers said that a few monster shad were being caught further south at the shipwreck opposite La Lucia Mall. Watching them one would think that catching these fish was perfectly legal. However the season remains closed until the end of November.

As expected, anglers arrived in their droves to these venues at the weekend. Not all the rock and surf anglers were targeting shad, as there are those who enjoy doing battle with the real big fish in the sea.

At Mtunzini this week one angler landed an absolute monster of a tiger shark. He used a drone to carry his bait out beyond the breakers, and the huge shark was the result of a tremendous battle.

Drones are now popular with anglers who years ago relied on kites to fly out their bait. I have seen big shark, barracuda, yellowfin tuna and garrick all caught by anglers using kites to place their baits beyond the backline. But anglers had to rely on early morning off-shore winds to fly their kites out to sea, where today drones can do this at any time.

Summer fishing season has already produced some excellent results up north with anglers targeting big sand sharks and rays. Although the weather did not play along, anglers still managed to catch a couple of big flatfish which included one or two diamond skates. Mtunzini and Amatikulu have been popular spots, and along with a number of big flatfish, sharks have provided excellent sport. As usual, some big fish have been hooked only to be lost after a short battle. One or two anglers even had their reels stripped off line.

A few sizeable rays have also been caught at Durban beachfront late at night – it seems set to be a busy summer this year. After an encouraging early start to the summer game fish season, the weather created unfavorable sea conditions. Winds and rain contaminated waters with dirt and debris, and a few days of swell and unsettled seas followed.

Off-shore fishing at northern venues such as Cape Vidal and Richards Bay managed some productive fishing at times catching dorado, barracuda and even billfish.

Times have been tough recently but no doubt conditions and fishing will still improve in the days to come.

Online Article