Big shad action at Ballito

Kosi Bay – There are still some edibles around but the catch of the week for this area was a Blackfin Shark of just under 80 kilos. This was caught on a Daiwa SL50SH Reel and Poseidon 5 combo on a slide-bait, which was intended for a Kingfish. The fight lasted just over an hour and a half.

St Lucia/Cape Vidal – There are still some good catches here of edibles, predominantly Shad, and amongst the Shad have been some juvenile Kingfish and a lovely Blue Spot Kingfish was also caught on a McArthy Chartreuse Paddle tail.

Richards Bay – Bar a few small Grey Sharks on the beach, it would seem that the harbour is the best grounds. There have been Grunter although not plentiful – they are beautiful fish of up to 5 kilos. Anglers have used Prawn and Chokka baits as well as Redeye Belly to target these big fish.

Zinkwazi – With the upcountry visitors here, this is a popular spot and has seen some Shad action in the morning with the odd bigger Grey at night. The youngsters can make use of light tackle to target Wave Garrick and Black tail etc.

Umdloti/Ballito – There is no substitute for experience and Anglers that watched the wind patterns fished this area with some good results. Grey Sharks of up to 30 kilos and a few Honeycomb Rays as well as the odd big Shad up to 3 kilos.

Umhlanga – This popular local beach can be somewhat crowded during the festive season. Although, the Lighthouse area can be a good spot, when it is crowded Anglers should be aware when casting that they have a good footing. There have been a few Shad and smaller Grey Sharks as well as a Brown Skate of just over 15 kilos on Tuesday morning.

Virginia/Beachwood – Although very sporadic some nice size Shad were caught at both of these beaches. These areas are best fished in the early hours of the morning using a whole Mackerel on either a Slide trace or the Saltwater Grey Shark trace. The Shad prefer a bigger bait and will happily take a smaller Shad. Barry Watts fished this area during the week and landed two beautiful Honeycomb Rays.

Sportswave has also been told of a 4kg lantern fish landed in Richards Bay.

(File Photo:Gallo Images)

- Kingfisher Report and Andre Bloem

Twitter - @SportswaveAndre