Word was that shad, with a variety of sharks, kob etc, were on the bite on the Zululand coast (Between Tugela & Mtunzini) & being hanging around in numbers. So I gathered a group of enthusiastic friends/colleagues to have a fun-day out,& we planned for Saturday morning early, to try swim a shad or two for garrick/kob , catch some shad for the grid , let some of the newbies put their newly acquired skills/tackle to the test, to get the “viskoors†feeling when shad is on the run, as some of them has never caught one before.
The mission was to enjoy the “togetherness†& camaradrie we have, share our knowledge & experience with everyone, hoping that the “vis-koors†will inspire the newbies to take up this hobby with a passion. The idea was to have a gr8 day out next to the best place on earth - nl. the saltwater , & ending it off with a braai on the beach early evening.
(I must say that the newbies caught some shad & now they properly “hooked†on fishing with tales of - “I need to get this rod , that reel , & .....................dammit, I got bitten off , sh!t, they bite skelm ..................!!)
Arrival at the spot yielded a few anglers on the beach , some who were there from the previous eve & about to leave. Catches reported by them was not more than a few shad & very small kob, with a “milkie†in between & some bigger sharks taking some traces & mono with them out to the deep blue.
We started off for kob as the water was the perfect “ginger water†but yielded small shad after shad. (From undersize to 45cm)
I managed one milkie whilst my son caught a small kob, Morne a small “sandy†of about 2kg besides shad being caught.
A few shad was kept for the braai & pan, while the rest returned to grow & bite another day.
We fished till dusk , packed up, all climbed in to clean up our area & around us (believe me anglers still need to be lessened in cleaning up - the beach was littered with rubble from old tangled mono to bait boxes , plastic etc. - filthy) & then had a gr8 braai (Scrumptious thick T-Bones) on the back of the dune where our vehicles were parked.
The NCS guys were on the beach checking permits, catches & recorded each anglers details & then who had to sign next to his details
(This was totally new to me), yet the guy & his crew were very friendly , professional , & knew his “do’s & don’t’s†& information off-hand, handing out info booklets , charts & fish-measurement charts, & telling us what were caught further up & down from our site.( Mostly shad , small kob, some small sharks - no garrick yet)
I must say as big WELL DONE to them for the way they approached all anglers on the beach with such decent explanation & request. (Unlike other NCS officials in the past)
Surely they have a positive impact on anglers who are out there abiding to the rules & regulations & we would love to see them being more active in achieving their objectives.
What seemed to be a local compo in progress , we saw a guy into a shark thought to be a very large Blacktip, keeping him busy for the best of 45min , then lost it close to shore. Seemingly poor knots at terminal tackle. Maybe next time !!
Another absolute fantastic day was had at the sea , with some fun for the “manneâ€, high spirits & enjoying a clean yet gr8 sport. Thanks to our Creator for making it possible.
Some pics of the “manne†& scenery at the spot we fished.
The mission was to enjoy the “togetherness†& camaradrie we have, share our knowledge & experience with everyone, hoping that the “vis-koors†will inspire the newbies to take up this hobby with a passion. The idea was to have a gr8 day out next to the best place on earth - nl. the saltwater , & ending it off with a braai on the beach early evening.
(I must say that the newbies caught some shad & now they properly “hooked†on fishing with tales of - “I need to get this rod , that reel , & .....................dammit, I got bitten off , sh!t, they bite skelm ..................!!)
Arrival at the spot yielded a few anglers on the beach , some who were there from the previous eve & about to leave. Catches reported by them was not more than a few shad & very small kob, with a “milkie†in between & some bigger sharks taking some traces & mono with them out to the deep blue.
We started off for kob as the water was the perfect “ginger water†but yielded small shad after shad. (From undersize to 45cm)
I managed one milkie whilst my son caught a small kob, Morne a small “sandy†of about 2kg besides shad being caught.
A few shad was kept for the braai & pan, while the rest returned to grow & bite another day.
We fished till dusk , packed up, all climbed in to clean up our area & around us (believe me anglers still need to be lessened in cleaning up - the beach was littered with rubble from old tangled mono to bait boxes , plastic etc. - filthy) & then had a gr8 braai (Scrumptious thick T-Bones) on the back of the dune where our vehicles were parked.
The NCS guys were on the beach checking permits, catches & recorded each anglers details & then who had to sign next to his details
(This was totally new to me), yet the guy & his crew were very friendly , professional , & knew his “do’s & don’t’s†& information off-hand, handing out info booklets , charts & fish-measurement charts, & telling us what were caught further up & down from our site.( Mostly shad , small kob, some small sharks - no garrick yet)
I must say as big WELL DONE to them for the way they approached all anglers on the beach with such decent explanation & request. (Unlike other NCS officials in the past)
Surely they have a positive impact on anglers who are out there abiding to the rules & regulations & we would love to see them being more active in achieving their objectives.
What seemed to be a local compo in progress , we saw a guy into a shark thought to be a very large Blacktip, keeping him busy for the best of 45min , then lost it close to shore. Seemingly poor knots at terminal tackle. Maybe next time !!
Another absolute fantastic day was had at the sea , with some fun for the “manneâ€, high spirits & enjoying a clean yet gr8 sport. Thanks to our Creator for making it possible.
Some pics of the “manne†& scenery at the spot we fished.
