The KZNCZU kicked off its first round on the 21st January 2011 and as with tradition, most teams headed North to target the flat fish, as in many cases these fish disappear and teams are left either waiting or rushing off to home waters.
The Transkei has over the past month fished very well and places like Port St Johns and Umboyti have yielded many hammerhead and fair size grey sharks.

Angling
Just when we thought all the bad weather was over, a real big south west wind, with rain, hit during the course of last week-end. The KZNCZU kicked off its first round on the 21st January 2011 and as with tradition, most teams headed North to target the flat fish, as in many cases these fish disappear and teams are left either waiting or rushing off to home waters.

The Transkei has over the past month fished very well and places like Port St Johns and Umboyti have yielded many hammerhead and fair size grey sharks. So far we have had no news of any of the KZNCZU results. Anglers fishing along the Umkomaas stretch have had some patchy results lately. This stretch works particularly well at this time of the year for kingfish. A good indication that these predators are in the vicinity is when small shad start teeming in the river mouth. A small live shad or karrenteen will surly entice one of the bigger ignobilis.

Terry Nel from Port Edward
Further down the coast, in the Bazley area and there were reports of some big sand sharks in this area. Terry Nel from Port Edward reports that the middle of January has been very hot down that part of the world and they have experienced hot days and rain. Large rock salmon have been ruling at southern estuaries and those taken have mostly been on Strike Pro top water lures, sardine and squid baits. A number of small kob have also been caught during the evenings. The middle South Coast now produces some good flatfish and shark fishing at this time of the year, so if you are needing some well earned exercise, get your heavy tackle out and venture down to the Bazley or Turton areas.

Flatfish angling along the Zululand beaches should now be in full swing and places like Amatikulu and Port Durnford should start producing some wonderful results particularly with the butterfly rays. There are also reports of the odd big sandie at these venues but the place to be for the sandies is the Tugella North Bank area.

Durban Bay has for the last couple of weeks fished extremely well (for some fishermen) with both boat and wharf anglers getting some good size grunter. Some of these fish have exceeded the 5 kg mark but there are still plenty of average size fish around.

Ski Boat
Ski Boat fishing has taken a turn for the good and now most anglers are chasing snoek, dorado and couta. Some of the bigger charter boats that venture far out to sea have had excellent returns of some sizable dorado and the odd sighting of marlin and sailfish. The snoek in particular have been plentiful but can be very frustrating as at times the refuse any spoon or bait that is presented to them but in an instant they can turn on and than all hell breaks loose. Best baits for these tasty fish are the small (15g), Kingfisher Snoek Spoons or red eye sardine fillets. Bottom fishing is also very productive with most charter boats returning good results of nice ‘red fish’ and some sizable rock cod.
The Durban Ski –Boat Club

The Durban Ski –Boat Club are having a fishing festival on the 23rd & 24th  April 2011. First prize for the biggest couta is a completely rigged 565 Sea Cat with trailer and 2 x 70HP Yamaha’s, the value is about R400, 000.00. There are R450, 000.00 worth of other prizes to be won as well as a huge jackpot lucky draw of R20, 000.00 cash. Pre-entry is R300.00. For more info on this very well run competition visit their Website: www.durbanskiboatclub.co.za.

New Hanover Schools Bass Comp
Rory da Silva has sent in this info about the New Hanover Schools Bass Compo. “This is the 8th year the comp has been running and last year we saw a record turnout of 840 anglers of all ages. This is one of the best if not the best comps of this kind around. (Organized and run as only people with a passion and commitment for their school can do) Date:    Saturday 12th March 2011 Venue:  Dalton/New Hanover area .The competitors will have 15 stocked dams to choose from with a prize for biggest fish being allocated to a senior and junior per dam. Registration:   5.30am at Torwoodlea Dam, lines up at 16h00. Pre entries receive a free Tee shirt (before 28 Feb 2011) Pre Registration:  www.newhanover.co.za or fax 086 694 6748, or contact, Jurgen Oellerman on 0827858166 or Cliff Torlage 0828807088. Cost:   Seniors is R100/angler and R60/junior

River Monsters: Hidden Predator
River Monsters: Hidden Predator – the episode showcasing the research we are conducting on the Breede River Zambezi (bull) sharks – will finally be aired in South Africa on Monday, January 31st at 20h00 on Discovery (channel 121). Tune in to watch as Jeremy Wade tackles the biggest and strongest fish he has ever captured, while simultaneously contributing to this exciting and groundbreaking research project!