Geelbek and Natal snoek off Durban
We have been told of good geelbek and Natal snoek fishing off Durban this week.
Over the last week the north-east winds have made fishing on a ski-boat extremely uncomfortable.
There were few gaps to fish and anglers took advantage when possible. With the winds blowing for this long and as strong as they have been, the water becomes very choppy and off-coloured. This will cause most fish to move off in search for cleaner water. Our entire coastline from Cape Vidal to Protea Banks has been effected by this and fishing has been difficult throughout. There have, however, been fish landed in dribs and drabs. Some big yellowfin tuna have been landed off Durban on live baits, but there are a lot of sharks taxing most catches. The one species which doesn't mind off-coloured water and has been caught by many is our Natal snoek. Snoek have a keen sense of smell and can locate a fillet strip bait in the dirty water, which has been the most popular presentation so far.
There have been a handful of couta which have been landed in the cleaner patches of water off Seabelle and Umdloti, mainly on mackerel and wala-wala.
Blue Lagoon has been working for most, with plenty of snoek coming out on ice blue dusters - this possibly due to the dirty water. Strike Pro lures have also got a few bites.
Further down the south coast near Green Point there have been good catches of couta from the kayaks and boats. Bottom fishing has been good recently, with many winter species moving through. Large shoals of geelbek have arrived with the colder water.
The Durban wrecks and the Table Top area have produced good catches of geelbek over the last week. It is good to see the fish here a bit early - but the action has been on and off according to water temperature.
(File Photo: Carrol Hermann)
Twitter - @SportswaveAndre
There were few gaps to fish and anglers took advantage when possible. With the winds blowing for this long and as strong as they have been, the water becomes very choppy and off-coloured. This will cause most fish to move off in search for cleaner water. Our entire coastline from Cape Vidal to Protea Banks has been effected by this and fishing has been difficult throughout. There have, however, been fish landed in dribs and drabs. Some big yellowfin tuna have been landed off Durban on live baits, but there are a lot of sharks taxing most catches. The one species which doesn't mind off-coloured water and has been caught by many is our Natal snoek. Snoek have a keen sense of smell and can locate a fillet strip bait in the dirty water, which has been the most popular presentation so far.
There have been a handful of couta which have been landed in the cleaner patches of water off Seabelle and Umdloti, mainly on mackerel and wala-wala.
Blue Lagoon has been working for most, with plenty of snoek coming out on ice blue dusters - this possibly due to the dirty water. Strike Pro lures have also got a few bites.
Further down the south coast near Green Point there have been good catches of couta from the kayaks and boats. Bottom fishing has been good recently, with many winter species moving through. Large shoals of geelbek have arrived with the colder water.
The Durban wrecks and the Table Top area have produced good catches of geelbek over the last week. It is good to see the fish here a bit early - but the action has been on and off according to water temperature.
(File Photo: Carrol Hermann)
Twitter - @SportswaveAndre