Bream and blacktail at Ballito

Shad are moving up the KZN coastline in numbers and more catches of them can be expected from this point onwards. Shad is a popular bait for many anglers targeting larger edibles and sharks on the KZN north coast. It is also a fun and easy fish to catch on small Falcon spoons in the mornings and evenings.

Ballito and Sheffield fished well over the last few days, particularly with species such as bronze bream and bigger blacktail taking baits. With the sea flattening out last Sunday, fish went off the bite. They should be back on as soon as the sea and wind picks up again. These fish tend to feed well through the westerly winds when the water is rough and churned up. After reports of shad being caught by the dozen in and around Sheffield and Ballito, anglers took to the waters in full force and a lot of shad were caught off the rocks. Many of the fish were undersized, but most anglers got their quota of keepers.
 
Anglers at Blue Lagoon were fortunate enough to see decent catches of kingfish on McArthy dropshot and small spoons. Some even had a few runs on fly fishing tackle inside of the river mouth. On the sea side of things, anglers seemed troubled by a mass of milk sharks eating anything in the water.

Anglers fishing in Durban off Blue Waters Pier enjoyed good catches of shad and smaller sharks such as greys and milkies. Pompano have not moved off just yet, as we have been receiving reports of decent specimens on a weekly basis. Mackerel and maasbunker have been landed on small baits. The beachfront has been relatively quiet recently, with not much other than a few small edibles and shad being landed.

Kob and garrick have been spotted by spear-fishermen off the Bluff. They were small in numbers, but of a decent size. Bronze bream are moving through in dribs and drabs and are now on most reefs and ledges. News from the anglers targeting kingfish is that there are plenty around, but there is almost no live bait to be seen. These blacktip kingies tend to prefer live bait. A spoon may just serve as a useful alternative.

There have been good catches of grunter and kingfish at various spots in Durban harbour, mainly areas around the coaling dumper and the mangroves.

A couta of 31.7 kilograms won Pieter Bodenstein first prize at Quattro King of the Sea at Pumula over the past weekend.

(File Photo:Gallo Images)

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