Pompano biting at Blythedale

Cape Vidal - This area has had rods bending throughout the week with sandsharks, blackfin sharks and honeycombs, all in the 80-90kg mark, which is exceptional for the anglers on grinder outfits. There are also hundreds of shad in the Vidal area as well, which will hopefully still be there by the end of the month. The fish around Richards Bay have been far smaller, but abundant nonetheless. Sandharks up to 20kg were landed, as well as brown skates and snapper salmon during the evenings.

Zinkwazi -  This spot also showed anglers what it is capable of last week, yielding a number of species such as sandsharks, lesser sandsharks, blue rays, brown rays and grey sharks. Most of these fish were caught on fresh mackerel and red-eye baits.

Blythedale - A few good catches here, including some awesome pompano and kingfish. Many anglers have been moving over to braided line for edibles over the last few years, and have experienced the good and bad traits of using these lines. When using braid for soft mouthed fish such as grunter and pompano, extra care should be taken to fish a long leader to absorb more shock, and to ease off on the pressure when the fish are in the shore break, to avoid pulling the hook loose when the fish takes a sudden run.

Durban North - Anglers who have been spinning for kingies, garrick etc. along the Virginia stretch over the last week have been met by a huge presence of shad, which are still providing hours of fun on the light tackle. Blue Lagoon had few reports of decent fish over the last week, besides the odd sandshark being caught during the evenings.

Durban – The piers and beachfront have both been productive, particularly with grunter and stumpnose on sardine fillets and sardine head. These fish also require a rod which has a softer tip, in order to avoid hooks being pulled. The Daiwa Saltist 13'6" boasts a set of Fuji Tangle-free guides, Fuji reel seat and the perfect amount of forgiveness in the tip for a variety of edible fish and even small to medium flatfish. The stretch from uShaka Beach to Addington Beach produced some good sandsharks, brown skates and plenty bonefish, as well as the edibles such as stumpies and grunter.

A reminder also that Durban Ski Boat Club is hosting Durban’s first Jetski Fishing Bonanza this weekend. Prizes worth R290 000 are up for grabs and the main prize is a Yamaha VX1100 Jetski. Visit their website for an entry form or for pre-entries www.durbanskiboatclub.co.za

(File Photo: Gallo Images)

Twitter - @SportswaveAndre @kingfisherdaiwa