Cape yellowtail at Park Rynie

North Coast - Fishing at Cape Vidal and Sodwana has over recent weeks been very productive with boats reporting a variety of good gamefish. Yellowfin tuna seems to be abundant and the main target species here, but the odd big couta and wahoo are also being landed. Anglers at both of these venues have also reported some excellent marlin fishing with a mixture of both blue and black marlin being caught and released. There are no reports of any really big fish although the average size of most fish is in the 100kg range. St Lucia and Mapelane have also had some good fishing recently and a mixed bag of mainly Natal snoek, couta, dorado and the odd sailfish being reported.

Central Coast - Cold and off colour water here still persists, but anglers fishing the Westbrook and Ballito areas have had some good fishing as far as yellowfin tuna are concerned. Some big fish in the 40kg range have been caught in these areas. There are some reports filtering through of the odd big couta being landed in and around the Durban area. Snoek are late and should be quite abundant at this time of the year along the Umgeni, Umdloti and Westbrook areas. There are reports of the odd fish being caught from fishing skis, but at this stage there are no fireworks.

South Coast - As in Durban the sea has stayed cold and off colour as well, but there are some excellent reports coming in from the Aliwal Shoal and Park Rynie areas. Yellowfin tuna at these venues are quite abundant with both jetski and ski-boat anglers getting in on the action. Anglers fishing with surface poppers and grinders are getting some really good results at Aliwal. There have also been some good catches of wahoo along the Shoal, but couta here still remain elusive. However, it should not be long before they make their presence felt. A little further south, the Park Rynie and Kelso areas are also producing some good yellowfin and some unseasonal Cape yellowtail. These fish, some in the 20kg range, are being caught relatively shallow and can test an angler’s equipment and ability to the maximum. It is rare to have the yellowtail here at this time of the year, but the persistent cold sea temperatures could be a contributing factor. Hibberdene and the Protea Banks have also produced consistent catches of yellowfin, yellowtail and a few dorado have been reported here too.

(File Photo: FreeSpool)

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