Knysna Estuary - information, news, events and reports

[SAfish]

This is probably not the best time of the year to start this thread as the summer fishing season is drawing to a close. We are lucky because fishing here in the estuary never really comes to a complete stand still. This is just a guideline and I am by no means an expert. Please feel free to ask questions and I will try and answer them.

General:

The Knysna Lagoon as it is usually referred to, is not an actual lagoon but an estuary. The estuary is fed by the Knysna River which has a catchment area of about 330km² and delivers an estimated 110 – 133 million m³ of water each year. The lagoon covers 1 827ha and is about 3km at its widest. The estuary is fairly shallow with an average depth between 1.2 and 1.5m with a maximum depth of 16m and the tidal rise and fall is about 1.8m at spring tide.
Where the estuary joins the sea it is flanked by the world famous "Knysna Heads". The mouth is 230m wide and about 3.9m deep. Depending on the tide the current flows up to 4.6km/h with a flow of 1000-2000 m³ per second. This strong current and swirling wind makes the Heads very dangerous and only experienced skippers should attempt to pass through it. Many lives have been lost here through the years. One of the best known ships that went to Davy Jones’ Locker here was the Paquita. It went down on 18 October 1903 near Beacon Rock and divers can still see the ribs of her hull.
The Eastern Head with its up market residential area is easily accessible to the public and have a lookout area with breath taking views. There is a webcam at the Eastern Head and you guys can check out what the conditions are like during daylight hours. http://www.theheads.co.za/ Awesome hey?

[SAfish]

The Western Head is a proclaimed nature reserve called "Featherbed Nature Reserve" which is a big attraction for tourists with its restaurant and walking trails. It is only accessible by boat and ferries.
Knysna is known for its beautiful forest. It is a magic place where time seems to stand still. It is lovely to go and spend a relaxing day there. If you are really lucky you might see signs of the wild elephants hiding in the bush. Knysna is also famous for its local timber industry. Some of the finest furniture are manufactured here from local Yellow wood and Stink wood to name a few. Yellow wood was in such abundance in the old days that almost everything was made from it. When you go inside an old building here you can almost be certain that all the timber will be Yellow wood, even the rafters. These days the harvesting of trees in the forest is strictly regulated to ensure sustainability.
Knysna is also a Golfer’s paradise with 3 top golf courses within sight from each other. They are Knysna Golf course, Simola Golf Estate and Pezula Golf Estate.
Pezula played host to the French soccer team and Simola played host to the team from Denmark in the 2010 Soccer World Cup.
Knysna has a moderate climate with an average temperature of 18.8°C in July to 27.5°C in February. The coldest month is July when the mercury drops to 7.1°C on average during the night.
Knysna normally receives about 716mm of rain per annum, with rainfall occurring throughout the year.
The Knysna estuary is also home to the Knysna Sea Horse – Hippocampus Capensis and it is the world's only known estuarine seahorse species. They make their home in the dense vegetation and boaters should be careful not to enter these shallow areas.

[SAfish]

Boating:

Make sure you have the relevant permits obtainable from the post office. We are lucky to have a very active group of Parks board rangers and you might end up paying more for the fine than what the permit costs. An additional permit is necessary if you are going to make use of a boat on the lagoon. This permit is obtainable from the Parks board offices at the Thesen jetty. Make sure to take your vessel’s sea worthy certificate with you. The rangers do regular patrols per boat and will check your permits etc. If you do not comply with the regulations they might ask you to remove your boat from the water. Boat traffic during the holidays can get fairly heavy and you need to adhere to the basic rules. Always keep a lookout for other boats and people enjoying the water. Accidents happen quickly and will ruin your holiday. Keep a safe distance from skiers and other water users. There is nothing more aggravating than another boat racing close past you while you are fishing. Everybody has the right to be able to enjoy themselves so don’t be selfish!

[SAfish]

Fishing:

The Knysna estuary is home to more than 20 species of fish which makes it an ideal fishing location. Popular species are Grunter, White Steenbras, Kob, Garrick/Leervis, Elf/Shad and Mullet. Most of these species can be caught throughout the year but the summer months are the best time to fish for them. Fish normally moves up in the estuary with the pushing tide and down with the outgoing tide. It is therefore advisable to fish close to the heads at low tide and then move up with the pushing tide towards the “white bridge”. This is the bridge you cross when coming into town from George.
Sometimes when the water is cold the fish tend to stay high up in the river. After a couple of days of South Easterly wind you can expect to find the fish high up in the river as this wind cools the water down.
The estuary can be very difficult to fish sometimes and you will have to search hard and wide to find the fish. See the attached marked up Google map for general guidelines.
Various skates, rays and shark species also call the estuary their home and sometimes the monster Grunter or Kob turns out to be one of these fish. The largest Diamond that that I know of that was caught here weighed 88kg! There are also some big Raggies present and they can bust up your usual light tackle without breaking a sweat. Haha, do fish sweat?

Here is a link to an article on how to collect worm bait. http://www.ultimateangling.co.za/index.php/topic,626.0.html
These worms are excellent bait for Grunter, Steenbras and Kob. I prefer to use live Mullet as bait when I target Garrick and Kob.

[John F]

Great post!

 

[PH]

 
Thanks Hermann!!

I will print this and take it with me in December!!

[MIKE PIKE]

Very interesting Hermann, i've done the Featherbed nature reserve walk and it was very interesting with some good views as well..

[Kumz]

 ..... .......

[SAfish]

I pumped some blood and moonshine worms this morning and later I will go and release them again .....   There is a strong SE wind blowing and I hope the water did not cool down too much.

[WalkersKiller]

Fantastic post Hermann, love reading stuff about inshore and estuary angling, its an awesome way offishing! Cred to you bru!

[SAfish]

Report and outlook for Easter Weekend

The water temperature has dropped drastically since last Saturday and everyone is complaining that it is still fairly cold. Saturday saw a couple of small Leeries coming out. I had a confirmed report of a 8.5kg Grunter that was caught   and I will see if I can get some more details. I fished on Sunday afternoon but my bait came out untouched.
We are in for some bad weather for the next two days but it will clear up from Friday with stunning days predicted for Saturday and Sunday. I hope the Westerly wind brings warmer water and fishing should be good later in the weekend. Bad weather looks to set in again from Tuesday with big swells so R&S fishing is not advisable.
Have a great Easter weekend, stay safe and God Bless. 

[SAfish]

26/04/2011
This was how the morning started:
09:04 am

[WalkersKiller]

Stunning view 

[SAfish]

This is 2 hours later:
10:51am

[SAfish]

Thanks WK.
We had wind gusts of 25 knots and several boats broke free of their moorings. At the moment the NSRI is busy with the recovery of a sailboat that ran aground on a sand bank. The weather forecast does not look good for the next two days and I would advise people not to go on the water as conditions will deteriorate further.

[WalkersKiller]

Thanks WK.
We had wind gusts of 25 knots and several boats broke free of their moorings. At the moment the NSRI is busy with the recovery of a sailboat that ran aground on a sand bank. The weather forecast does not look good for the next two days and I would advise people not to go on the water as conditions will deteriorate further.

sounds hectic!!!

[J-Rock]

 :tkx:for the info... Will use it soon enough!!!

[Daisy]

This is a very good report and I am so glad you have finally started it.I will be looking out for the next one...great reading and lots to learn...thanks Hermann!!

[SAfish]

This is a very good report and I am so glad you have finally started it.I will be looking out for the next one...great reading and lots to learn...thanks Hermann!!

Thank you, Oom, it is much appreciated. 

[SAfish]

28 April 2011 - News and Outlook:

Hi all, the weather has been miserable with strong winds, cold and rain. The water temperature is below 16 degrees and fishing is not going to be great if you are planning to catch something.
The current 5-6m swells will flatten toward the weekend and we can expect waves of 2-3m with light winds from Saturday onward. If you are planning a day outside I would go for Sunday. The weather looks to be moderate with some sunshine and increase in temperature but expect the water temperature to be still cold.
I am going to give it a go and if I catch something it will be a bonus. If you are returning home on Monday please drive careful and get home safe.
Here are a some photos I took yesterday at "the heads" to show you guys the sea conditions.