Good time to head into the deep for dorado and tuna

THE offshore fishing has been going well along the KZN coast with big fish in the deep down south and fantastic fishing, both shallow and deep, further north.

The North Coast has seen a lot of fish, from Vidal and Sodwana all the way to Durban.

The snoek have been feeding well in the early mornings along the backline. Westbrook and Umdloti have produced good results while Jex Estate has been the pick of the venues. The shark tax has been high so try to get your fish in as quick as possible. Fillets have produced most of the bites with some fish being taken on lipped lures. The Durban coast has seen snoek off Umhlanga and Blue Lagoon. The early mornings are the times to target these fish.

The charters have been doing well out of Durban. The tuna and dorado have been the main catches with very few boats returning without a full hatch. The dorado and tuna have been a mix of sizes so be prepared for that giant to jump on to your lure or bait.

The South Coast has seen good couta fishing on the shallower reefs. The bigger baits have done well with walla walla and bonitos proving to be the most enticing of the dead baits. Make sure that your baits are trolling straight as a spinning bait will be ignored by most game fish. The deeper reefs have seen some yellowtail and amberjacks for those brave enough to drop a jig or live bait down to them. Make sure to use strong tackle as these fish do not fight fair.

The summer inedibles are the main targets at the moment for the shore anglers and they have been around in good numbers along most of the KZN coast.

Most of the deeper points along the North Coast have seen good numbers of both flatfish and sharks. Mackerel has been the pick of the baits for everything in recent weeks. Tinley Manor, Blythedale and Zinkwazi have been the top spots.

The mornings have produced most of the action with the bites slowing down as the day goes on.

The central coast has seen a lot of shad fishing action. The evenings have been the most productive with sardine and Japanese mackerel being the baits of choice.

The inedibles have been a bit quiet in Durban with mostly grey sharks being caught by the casting anglers. The drone anglers have managed some bigger fishlike sandies and some flatfish.The South Coast has seen a lot of dirty water from the rivers.

There has been a lot of scratching action with bronze bream and stumpies caught. The shad are around in good numbers and in most mornings.

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