I have been fishing Bats Cave for many years now and it never ceases to amaze me how diverse this small gully can be in terms of saltwater fish species, sea weeds and just general sea life. The angling possibilities here are just unbelievable.
General InformationBats Cave is situated in the Eastern Cape coastal town of Kenton On Sea. It is a deep rocky gully that has access to the sea. It is close to the Bushman's River Mouth. Where Bats Cave got its name from is a mystery to me... There is a cave at the fishing location and I can only presume the cave once looked like a Bat (Before erosion) or that is was once home to a colony of Bats... One can only wonder!
Angling TipsAs I mentioned earlier it has full access to the sea and just beyond the entrance to this area is a long sandbank. Bats Cave gets completely submerged at high tide so if you are planning to fish here please be careful and know when high tide is... I have tried to fish this spot at high tide before and it is quite dangerous. The best fishing at here is normally during Spring Tide. The fish go wild for any bait during this time, but generally the area is good fishing regardless of the tide and all sorts of saltwater facets can be practiced here. Once you start fishing you can cast anywhere although the best results are too be had right up against the sides of the rocks, off the right point and straight across the middle of the entrance to the gully. The best times to fish Bats Cave are 3 hours before low tide to 2 hours after low tide. Please try release as many fish as possible here... I have been fishing this spot since I was very young and I would like to keep it as abundant full of life as it is now, forever!
The Best BaitsA lot of baits work very well here but it all depends on what fish you are targeting. But heres a shortlist of the best baits and what you can catch with them:
* Strepie Fillet: Kob, Brusher, Poenskop...
* Chokka: All species...
* Sardine: All species...
* Black Mussel: Rockcod, Blacktail, John Brown...
* Bloodworm: Stonebream, Bronze Bream...
* Sand Prawn: Musslecracker, Blacktail...
* Spoons: Shad, Kob...
* Plugs/Poppers: Garrick, Shad...
The Fish SpeciesIn no particular order these are all the South African saltwater fish species that can commonly be caught at Bats Cave:
* Strepie (Karanteen)
* Blacktail
* Cape Stumpnose
* Grass Klipfish
* Bluntnose Klipfish
* Super Klipfish
* Zebra
* Evil Eyed Puffer
* Bronze Bream
* Stone Bream
* Harder (Southern) Mullet
* Flathead Mullet
* Shad (Elf)
* Kob
* Garrick (Leervis)
* Twotone Fingerfin
* John Brown
* Red Fingers
* Koester Rockcod
* Catface Rockcod
* Yellowbelly Rockcod
* Brown Shyshark
* Spotted Gully Shark
* Lesser Sandshark
* Ragged Tooth Shark
* Tiger Shark
* Grey Shark
Enjoy fishing at Bats Cave it is such an amazing area with so many varieties and species of fish!
WK
