Author Topic: KZN, spinning from the shore (Read 60024 times)

Tommo · « **on:** March 18, 2013, 06:49:16 PM »

Well it is the time of year for productive spinning from the beaches and deepwater points in KZN. From february through to July is generally a very good period for this type of fishing on the South Coast, and many of us look forward to this time of year.
Thanks to guys like Barry Wareham of Basil Mannings tackle store in Springfield Park, Durban, there is plenty of information and specialised tackle available for this style of fishing.

Spinning from the rocks on the KZN South Coast has traditionally been the domain of the salty old sea dogs, who brave the conditions day in and day out and fish their home grounds with old battered KP scarborough reels, throwing home made spoons with an overhead flourish and work very hard for their fish. The advent of braided lines, quality fixed spool reels and light graphite rods has made it possible now for most keen anglers to enjoy this type of fishing with far less effort and, dare I say it, with less experience.

There is a growing group of keen spin fishermen starting to bloom along the KZN South coast. Groups of guys from all over the province are arriving in the dark on the various deep water points. They are tackled up with the right gear and they are catching fish. SMS's and pics are being exchanged each morning, as the network gathers information and shares the latest fishing news. The exciting thing is that our points are still producing some very good fish. All it requires is a bit of dedication and effort and most anglers could have a shot at landing a nice game fish from the side.

Firstly it is crucial to get to the spot that you plan on fishing early, which means in the dark. I recommend a recce trip in daylight the day before if possible, to check out the lay of the land. You need to establish where you can safely park your car (important in our country these days). Find the best route to the spot you plan on fishing from your parking place. Check out the rocks and get an idea of where you can stand and fish and what is in the water in front of you in terms of submerged reef. At this time of year it is starting to get light down here at about 5.20am, so you want to be at your spot by 5.10am at the latest. Obviously this moves later as winter approaches.

Use your internet weather sites. The salty old sea dogs know exactly which wind will be blowing, how hard it will be blowing and how big the swell will be. The rest of us use sites such as Windguru and windfinder to help us with this information. This type of fishing is very much dependent on conditions, and if there is a big swell running or a strong onshore wind many spots can become unfishable.

It takes some confidence and experience to make your first few casts of the morning in the dark, and when fishing a new spot this can often result in losing lures. Once you have your bearings though, it is good to start fishing as early as possible and quite often you get that good bite while it is still pretty dark.
If there are regulars on the rocks it is a good idea to give them their space, and not crowd them. Also wait until they are taking a break before asking them the million questions that you would like answers to. Sometimes you have to pay school fees for your first outing or two to a new spot. The guys are generally friendly and will be happy to share information, particularly if they have seen you putting in the effort for a couple of mornings. The best time to approach them for a chat is generally when they are packing up.

A good idea is to watch the experienced guys and try to emulate what they are doing. If you see the guys are putting effort into long casts, then you should do the same. If they are hooking fish and having success using a specific retrieve, watch carefully and see how they are doing it. Sometimes it is a small thing that means the difference between catching and watching others catch.

Tackle wise, I would recommend a rod of at least 9 foot long and at most 11 foot long. This should be combined with a good quality fixed spool reel, around a 5000 to 6000 size. I am using Berkley Venom rods at the moment, which are great, but there are other good rods available for the job. The line used for this fishing is quite important. You are wanting casting distance and abrasion resistance. A difficult combination to find. I am using the Berkley Nanofil 25lb at the moment, and it seems to have both of these bases covered, so I am very happy with it. I use a fluorocarbon leader of 30lb, around 1m to 1.5m long (it depends on the rod length and the length of your drop. You don't want your leader knot to pass through your rod eyes at all). I do use a short piece of #4 piano wire (about 6") onto my lure, it saves bite offs, and also means my knot is not getting damaged by the rocks when my spoon comes in. Spoons of around 45g to 48g are ideal for this type of fishing. I am using a variety at the moment. My favourites are Iron Candy Couta #2 in Glow colour and Sea Iron Supersprat 45g stainless steel spoons. It is also worth carrying some dropshots and 2 oz poppers to cast if need be.

There are plenty of snoek (queen mackerel) around at the moment, as well as some garrick, shad and kingfish. I caught the above two snoek this morning and dropped another, which was a good morning for me. It made up for the blanks I had on my two previous outings.

I would have to recommend to anybody that is interested in getting into this fishing that there is no better store than Basil Mannings in Durban, they have all the right gear for this type of fishing and Barry is able to give top notch advice as he is one of the really experienced guys in this facet. Give him a call and you could save yourself a lot of money and increase your chances of success.

Charles · « **Reply #1 on:** March 18, 2013, 07:15:42 PM »

Great stuff Tommo!! Thanks for sharing. It is posts like yours that makes ULTIMATE such a great site!
As for Basil Mannings I am dissapointed with them. I wanted to order my long awaited Assasin through a tackle shop in Mosselbay due to my location in Sudan. According to the shop owner BM said they don't supply to dealers? Well thats it then. I wanted to order the rod to be available upon my arrival in SA but eish......
Thanks again for the great post Tommo!

Tommo · « **Reply #2 on:** March 18, 2013, 08:16:50 PM »

Thanks Charles. I am glad that you enjoyed the write up. I think that Assassin is an in house brand at Basil Mannings, so they don't wholesale the rod to other dealers to mark up and sell. The thing to do is place your order directly with Basil Mannings, they have a web based store, so you could order it online. I would imagine that they would send it anywhere for you, so if you have family or friends in Mossel Bay, then have them send it there. I understand that the Assassin's are great rods. I haven't had the chance to use one yet, as I am generally restricted to using sponsored products. Don't give up if that is the rod you want, there is always a way!
I am sure thatr you are looking forward to getting home from Sudan and getting some quality fishing time on the water! Anyhow, thanks for the positive feedback on the post and good luck with getting the rod your heart is set on.

PH · « **Reply #3 on:** March 19, 2013, 05:37:32 AM »

Great report Tommo, thanks. Barry has always given me sensible advice and is known for catching snoek from the shore.

Poenskop · « **Reply #4 on:** March 19, 2013, 07:33:33 AM »

Awesome post there Tommo.

Do you think the Snoek will still be around beginning of June?

Tommo · « **Reply #5 on:** March 19, 2013, 07:57:26 AM »

Thanks PH!

Poenskop I am sure they will be, that is still prime season for them!

I went down this morning again, it was a spectacular morning, with small surf, a light SW wind blowing and really nice clean water. There were more guys on the rocks this morning, yesterday I had the point to myself, whereas I was sharing it with about 8 guys this morning. It is always nice when there are a few guys, as there is more chance of someone catching a fish and of course there is the safety in numbers aspect...

Anyhow, I didn't get a single knock this morning, despite casting my arm off. I guess that is just how it goes sometimes. I did see two snoek landed, both small fish, so I knew they were around. Below is a pic of Bryant (UA member) with his catch.

He was using the Iron Candy Couta #2 spoon. As you can see he managed to get himself soaked, and was obviously feeling peckish as he was chewing his rod. Bryant is using an Assassin Amia 11ft rod, with a Shimano Stradic 5000 reel.

REEFMAN · « **Reply #6 on:** March 19, 2013, 08:02:30 AM »

That's got to be such awesome fun! Light tackle catching game fish off the rocks... great post!

Tommo · « **Reply #7 on:** March 19, 2013, 08:06:53 AM »

Thanks Tony, yes it is really good fun. A chance to enjoy some proper gamefishing in our own backyard!

Nikao · « **Reply #8 on:** March 19, 2013, 08:10:15 AM »

Nice report Tommo and always some good advice!!

Poenskop · « **Reply #9 on:** March 19, 2013, 08:11:41 AM »

Can't wait for my Graphcast 3 to get done!

WalkersKiller · « **Reply #10 on:** March 19, 2013, 08:12:11 AM »

Awesome to see the Queenies are thick off the bricks! Nice one Tommo!

Half-Pint · « **Reply #11 on:** March 19, 2013, 08:24:19 AM »

Awesome post Tommo! Aside from Umdoni are there any other top spots along the south coast?

Tommo · « **Reply #12 on:** March 19, 2013, 08:31:00 AM »

Thanks HP. Yes definitely. Some of the productive spots at the moment are: Scottburgh point, Greenpoint, Errol Hayes' Rock and Widenham High Rocks. Those are just the few that I know of in our area. There are also spots further South such as Splash rock and Ladder rock down near Port Edward.

Gerhard · « **Reply #13 on:** March 19, 2013, 08:55:58 AM »

Awesome stuff Tommo

Love the photos of the sun rising and a couple of guys working from the rocks.

Marthin · « **Reply #14 on:** March 19, 2013, 09:04:40 AM »

Saw the pictures yesterday on facebook. Looks like great fun!... i'm yet to land anything decent from shore on artificials!!!!

Tommo · « **Reply #15 on:** March 19, 2013, 09:09:11 AM »

Hi Gerhard, the mornings are just so beautiful. Nothing like standing on a point watching the sun come up to get the day started! Here is another from this morning

You can see the lights on at the sugar mill in the backround.

Lucky Hook · « **Reply #16 on:** March 19, 2013, 09:12:52 AM »

Hi Tommo

Thanks for another awesome post – The pictures really capture that great feeling you get whilst spinning and watching the sun rise, desperately hoping that your spoon will be slammed by a pelagic predator.

For the last couple of years I have spent a couple of mornings a week spinning from the points and beaches on the lower North Coast. My experience is that the fish (especially Snoek and to a lesser extent Garrick) move in and out of an area extremely fast. They are there for a couple of minutes and then tend to move off. Obviously these fish are moving to feed but it appears that the baitfish / food in our area is limited and does not hold in a particular area. We very rarely catch more than one Snoek per person so to see you having caught two in a morning is fantastic. Is this a common occurrence on the South Coast – possibly more food for the fish that holds them in a particular area?

Gerhard · « **Reply #17 on:** March 19, 2013, 09:21:26 AM »

Thanks Tommo,

These photos reminds me with time spent with my dad at Hartenbos, Stibel and Big Fisherman with the same conditions and the sun rise...

Keep them coming.

Tight Lines.

Prego · « **Reply #18 on:** March 19, 2013, 09:24:17 AM »

Nice one Tommo, nothing like some fresh fish on the table. Those iron candy couta spoons through a mile, just love them.

CLS · « **Reply #19 on:** March 19, 2013, 11:15:22 AM »

Thanks Tommo, I have the same outfit as Bryant awesome set up. looking forward to the sardine run if it comes this year.