Author Topic: Artlure Sodwana (Read 11361 times)

Stan da man · « **on:** June 17, 2012, 11:42:14 PM »

Hi guys.

I'm new to saltwater fishing. This however does not mean i haven't tried before. I've spent almost all of our recent family holidays throwing smelly baits into a vast big blue hole but with limited success. did by some miracle land a 30kg shark and a shad on a miss cast directly into the breaking water in front of me, but that is that.

This time however I thought I'd do it right. bought myself an Abu Garcia Soron STX 60, 9 foot Berkley Cobalt fire, 20lbs braid, 40 lbs fluoro leader, some onda's, chisselnose plugs, halco poppers, spoons, paddle tails ect. Even put 10lbs braid on my Revo Stx for the bass rod if the big ones aren't biting.

Guess I'm sorted as far as tackle goes. now i need some advice on where to fish, how to fish above mentioned lures and which species i can target this time of year( considering that a lot of fish probably moved south for the sards).

Been to Sodwana before and threw a spoon like a mad man but blanked...did however hook a 90kg toppie in the calf...

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Stan

Leaving for sodwana on thursday

Toppie · « **Reply #1 on:** June 18, 2012, 06:58:36 AM »

Hi Stan, there are many places around Sodwana you can try your lures and artificials (walking 2-5km North and about 5-8km South) looking for working water.

However if you dont want to walk that far, try them right in the corner of the bay in front of the dive charter afdak's.

Here's the bad news, you might as well not waste your time during day time. See that you are on the beach and busy spinning before and during sunrise which is most productive.

By the time the boats start launching pack up and go enjoy a good breakfast.

You can also walk through Msenyi Lodge and down their walkway to the beach at the bottom and at high tide the area is known to produce good fish.

Looking forward to your report and photo's.

If all else fails go to John Matambo's fishing shop near and opposite J-M-J, just outside the park and go ask some pointers.

Tommo · « **Reply #2 on:** June 18, 2012, 08:02:32 PM »

Good advice Toppie, especially getting in a very early start. Also fish the Bay and ledges in the evening (depending on tides) you are there just after springs, so early morning should be good, and then afternoons from about 2pm to dark.

Stan da man · « **Reply #3 on:** June 19, 2012, 08:38:51 AM »

Awesome! Thanks Toppie and Tommo.
Spent another ton at the tackle shop yesterday. Also fixed a new eye to my rod...don't tests your line strength indoors

I will be packing food and drink so i plan to be fishing the whole 4 days that I'm there, from dark to dark, rain or shine. This vaalie don't see much of the sea. and i WANT that

Any chance for Garrick or Shad this time of year?
Also how do i target Wave Garrick. got some berkley stinky peeler crabs i think and a couple of 4 inch padle tails Smelt.

2 days to go!!!

Stan da man · « **Reply #4 on:** June 19, 2012, 08:50:14 AM »

Quote from: Toppie on June 18, 2012, 06:58:36 AM

Hi Stan, there are many places around Sodwana you can try your lures and artificials (walking 2-5km North and about 5-8km South) looking for working water.

I do not understand the term "working water" is that like frothy water???

Toppie · « **Reply #5 on:** June 19, 2012, 09:06:37 AM »

Stan, youre not going to get far with the "stinky crabs" have tried but not much success. Stick to the padle tails, but I recommend normal small to med sized spoons and white ice cream colour type plugs. The iron candy spoons also work well.

Best for Wave Garrick is fresh Sardine/Pilchard fillets but they take a/the variety artificials just as verociously.

Working water, ... somewhere on the forum is a brilliant tutorial by Reefman about "Reading the Water" to give you the best chance at targeting spots that will be more/most productive. At a place like Sodwana especially walking some distances from the bay and with sandy beaches its almost imperative to be able to identify the working water and rips where fish will be more abundent hunting for prey.

Perhaps someone on the forum can give Stan a pointer to the TUT.

John F · « **Reply #6 on:** June 19, 2012, 09:21:21 AM »

Reading the water Part 1 http://www.ultimateangling.co.za/index.php?topic=7396.0

Reading the water part 2 http://www.ultimateangling.co.za/index.php?topic=7429.0

Toppie · « **Reply #7 on:** June 19, 2012, 09:50:01 AM »

Stan, equiped with this knowledge you can't stand a better chance at Sodwana to be successful.

Good luck and tight lines - looking forward to your report and pics.

Tommo · « **Reply #8 on:** June 19, 2012, 09:51:51 AM »

It is still a touch early for Garick, there may be shad around. Wave Garrick are always there, so you should have fun with them. They will always be close to or in milky water, almost never in clear water. They come very close inshore, especially on a high tide, where they will feed just behind the shorebreak. On a low tide they will be in the milky water in the midbreak, they will take almost any lure that works through or underneath the white water. Bucktail jigs or dropshots are ideal for them. You can often see them surfing in the waves in the areas that they are feeding, particularly when they move in to the shorebreak.Just cast around those areas and allow a few seconds for the lure to sink, then bring it in with a twitching motion. They should hit it with plenty of aggression. Walking along the beach casting at each and every patch of milky water as you go along usually produces plenty of action. A few species of kingfish feed in very much the same way and can be caught while targeting the wave garrick. Have a great trip, and tight lines.

yatoivo · « **Reply #9 on:** June 19, 2012, 11:52:24 AM »

Stan da man,

a Well kept secret in that part of the world is a place called Mabibi, short distance north of sodwana(not sur eof the road now, but it used to be 1 to 2 hours drive around lake sibaiya). If you dont have any luck at sodwana a day trip up there might be worth your while. Especially if teh tides are right, and you can fish incoming early moring or incoming late afternoon. I havnt been there in years, used to go there often and always got some kingy's in the bay.
rom Mabibi bay we used to walk up north another 4 or 5 km and there is some rocks as well with a bay on the south side as well as north side, we used to get some shad there. But I am talkin about 8 years back, before that exclusive lodge was build there.

It might have changed, or someone on here might have more recent info on the place, but it used to be paradise.

Tight lines

Cheers
Pieter

Stan da man · « **Reply #10 on:** June 19, 2012, 05:32:22 PM »

Quote from: John F on June 19, 2012, 09:21:21 AM

Reading the water Part 1 http://www.ultimateangling.co.za/index.php?topic=7396.0

Reading the water part 2 http://www.ultimateangling.co.za/index.php?topic=7429.0

Thank you so much for this. Searched google for ever looking for something like this.

Also thanks for all the advise.

If i put in enough casts i am bound to get hit by something.

Rory mundy · « **Reply #11 on:** June 19, 2012, 05:35:25 PM »

if you as john mtumbu you may just be directed to lake sibaya for your GT

REEFMAN · « **Reply #12 on:** June 19, 2012, 05:47:26 PM »

If you go overnight to Mabibi as Yatoivo suggests, go in numbers and go armed. Hotspot for crime nowadays. In fact, fishing at Mabibi after dark is silly. Asking for trouble.

yatoivo · « **Reply #13 on:** June 19, 2012, 05:53:56 PM »

Quote from: REEFMAN on June 19, 2012, 05:47:26 PM

If you go overnight to Mabibi as Yatoivo suggests, go in numbers and go armed. Hotspot for crime nowadays. In fact, fishing at Mabibi after dark is silly. Asking for trouble.

Eish!!!!, seriously? just go to show how things has changed in 8 years. Me and my wife went there all the time, and most of the time the camp site was empty.

Well scrap that Idee then Stan da man.

REEFMAN · « **Reply #14 on:** June 21, 2012, 01:14:37 PM »

Ja same here Yatoivo... been doing the Mabibi run for the last 20 years. Superb diving and snorkelling there too. There have been several hold-ups there in the past few years, one alleged rape as well, was never confirmed though. The local village at Mabibi has grown rapidly in the last few years, resulting in fishermen, divers and holidaymakers being soft targets. There used to be a Police Camp at Mabibi in the old days, now that it's largely shut down.... hmmm.

I still go there with 2 or 3 other vehicles during the day, but there is no way I'd chance it after dark.

Stan da man · « **Reply #15 on:** June 21, 2012, 07:11:18 PM »

Departure delayed....the doctor has to see a patient tomorrow morning.... Four days of fishing suddenly turned into three

I am going to be fishing alone from dark till dark and will be walking some distance. How safe is the beach 5kms north and south of Jesser Point? Having to carry a fire arm whilst relaxing just does not sound right to me....

REEFMAN · « **Reply #16 on:** June 21, 2012, 07:39:20 PM »

5kms either way is fine Stan. It's only after "9 mile" North (diving point) that you need to start being careful.

Zetti · « **Reply #17 on:** June 22, 2012, 06:21:27 AM »

Quote from: yatoivo on June 19, 2012, 05:53:56 PM

Quote from: REEFMAN on June 19, 2012, 05:47:26 PM
If you go overnight to Mabibi as Yatoivo suggests, go in numbers and go armed. Hotspot for crime nowadays. In fact, fishing at Mabibi after dark is silly. Asking for trouble.
Eish!!!!, seriously? just go to show how things has changed in 8 years. Me and my wife went there all the time, and most of the time the camp site was empty.

Well scrap that Idee then Stan da man.

Yip, sad but true. When we went there in january the guards at the Sibaya gate even warned us to be careful.

On the way we found a bunch of local chaps fishing lake Sibaya with tackle I can't even afford, was definitely not paid for.

WalkersKiller · « **Reply #18 on:** June 24, 2012, 09:55:34 AM »

Stan!

Stan da man · « **Reply #19 on:** June 26, 2012, 08:47:40 AM »

Well I'm back in Pretoria.

Fishing report:

I Blanked.

That's not entirely true. I did catch two tiny shads and a small black fish that had a mouth like a bass...rock cod maybe. All of them 20cm or under. Got up every morning at 4 to get to the beach proper early and on the pushing tide. Walked probably 30kms made hundreds of casts...the braid actually wore my finger out. Switched to the smaller dropshot rod and got the shad and rock cod. My mission however was to get my kingey so i stuck with the big rod. I saw a nice little bay with some working water as i approached it i saw a smash with fish jumping everywhere i had a 2oz chisel nosed plug on and made a frantic cast at the commotion....SNAP!!! the line wrapped around the eye second from the front and that plug is probably still flying....

This was the hardest I've ever fished...ever. My shoulders and back is sore, my feet is killing me, my hands are vrot. But if i had a chance to go back tomorrow I'd probably do it again. When I get my GT one day, I'm sure this hard graft would be justified.

Thanks for all the advice guys, next time hey