Bushmans River (EC) - Advice please?

[tyrrell]

Hi all,

I知 going to Bushmans River this weekend with the family for some R&R and serious fishing, but as I致e never fished the river before (well not since I was a lighty 20 years ago anyway), I知 hoping that some of you guys who know the river and surrounding area might be willing to share some info regarding spots, best tides, times, bait, etc.? Is the river producing lately? The Sandbar Floating Restaurant always pops up as a prime spot, but I just want to check before rocking up there that there aren稚 any issues with the owner(s) not liking people fishing there?

I値l be fishing off a boat on the river, targeting everything from grunter to kob and leery, using bait and artificials. I値l also be taking my surf gear (light, heavy and spinning), so any advice on the rock and surf areas would also be greatly appreciated. I値l be fishing for both eds and in-eds, with bait and artificials.

To put your minds at ease and perhaps help loosen some tongues, I'll be tagging and releasing 99.99% of the fish...will be keeping one for the braai.

Thanks guys! 

[jaenswart]

Wow enjoy..such a lovely place

[tyrrell]

Thanks Jaen, i intend to! 

Just hope that the weather plays along

[WalkersKiller]

Hi Tyrell, good luck that area (Kenton) is my favourite place in the world bru!

The Bushmans River is awesome if you have a boat but if you can get over the frustration of the weed in that river there are some good grunter, leeries, springer and kob to be caught on bait or trolling. There is new ownership at the sandbar, hes a cool guy and has a rod in the water from the time he opens to the time he closes. There are not as many fish around the sandbar as there used to be as they have closed the hole in the kitchen floor where they used to throw food away which attracted a lot of fish. The light still works and is on at night although it occasional went off earlier this year (July) as it needs to be replaced. There were a lot of Grunter in the 1-3kg range that were caught one night there and there are always kob and shad around. Also a lot of other weird species to be caught there but as i mentioned the fish are nowhere as prolific there as they used to be!

I(f you are looking for some estuary fishing on the bushmans walk towards the river mouth from the slipway and you will see a few bays and jettys. All these areas aere very fishable and you can catch anything from blacktail and stumpies to leeries and sandsharks here. On the Kenton side of the river mouth of the bushmans there is a great rocky area called bats cave. The fish here are wild! There are two rocky bay areas as you come around the corner of the beach. The second one is better in my opinion that the first. These areas can only be fished from about 2 hours before low till about an hour and half after low as it gets quite violent before and after these times. Depending on where you cast will depend on what you catch. if you have heavier tackle and you cast straight out you can catch brusher, poenskop, kob, lesser sandshark and spotted gully shark.

I prefer fishing the bay with a small rod and light tackle. Over the years my friends and I have landed about 20 species in the bay right in front of you! Depending on bait and size of hook as well as if you use a float or a sinker will depend on what you catch. There are big bronze Bream, John Brown, Zebra, Cracker, Shad, Blacktail, STrepie, Mullet, Klipfish, Red Fingers as well as many other fish. I also caught a STonebream at this spot which was (According to the ori table) was 100grams short of the SA angling record. There are monster fish here but there are a lot of peckers so if you are patient it will pay off!

I would also reccommend the bridge on the bushmans as it is a good live bait spot for kob and leervis.

This time of year means you have to wip out the heavy tackle and target some Raggies and big Gully Sharks in the Kariega River Mouth. They are wild this time of year. The biggest one that I have seen come out (Raggie) was in the 165kg mark but they average between 30 and 60 kilos. We caught a few Gully sharks in the 14kg area as well. The lesser sandsharks and sea barbel are wild here too and they get quite big as well. I landed a sea barbel in december on a 9/0 hook with a mackerel chop as bait. Best times to fish the mouth are early mornings and late afternoons into the night. Normally the fishing is better when the tide turns and starts coming in. Although it varies. The night time fishing for sharks is a lot more rewarding than the day time. There are also massive Blue rays in the area, my friend got a 25kg ray a few years back. You need to cast anywhere in the mouth area, the surf will produce a bigger fish but a longer wait.

The Kariega mudbanks are also a great place to fish (The other side of the kariega bridge- good for rockcod, stumpy's, grunter and kob) you can pump prawn and fish right there. There are some good sized fish in the area and a lot of species!

 

Let us know how it goes!

[WalkersKiller]

Coming back to the lure fishing... Trolling in the kariega river and fishing the deep drop offs and wholes are in my opinion the only way to fish that river. Most of the water is between 1 and 3 meters but there are a few drop offs in the 7-9 meter range. Mud prawn, sand prawn, pink prawn are without a doubt the best baits up river, sardine and chokka work but not as well. A live mullet could do the trick too. I would advise you to troll lures between 7 and 12 cm. The Springer, kob and garrick should grab onto them!

Havent fished the bushmans river for years. All I know is that there are plenty of eel and barbel and a lot of weed which makes trolling almost impossible and is really irritating. there are a few good spots that hold some big grunter and kob in the 20kg range. I think the Kariega is more fishable but just doesnt hold the amount or size of fish the bushmans does... Its worth it just for trolling though.

There are other rock and surf areas to fish. Carriage rock and shelley beach (Off the rocks) are some of the better areas. They produce a lot of Cracker. But Bats Cave is a must.

[tyrrell]

Awesome! Thanks WK, I really appreciate the effort you put into this hey!    I'll definitely give those spots a try and will report back on my return. I just hope that the weather sorts itself out as it's not too pleasant down here in the EC at the moment.  Have some cred...

[WalkersKiller]

Not a problem Tyrell hopefully the weather get a bit better, if you need any info, tips, specifics or anything else just drop me a pm. Also I would advise buying bait from D&A in Port Alfred, there bait is very fresh and a lot better quality than anywhere in Kenton/Bushmans.

Try get some mackerel for the raggies and blue rays they cant leave it alone! Also pink prawn for the river and off the rocks I would suggest chumming with sardines and using chokka soaked in sardine blood for a few seconds. Its pecker resistant and works all year round and considering the chokka are starting to become wild in that area this time of year all the fish will eat... I caught a 1.7kg Bronze bream on a size 8 hook on the bait mentioned in january this year. If you are still struggling you can collect some mussel worm on the rocks at bats cave, i think its 5 per person per day...

Looking forward to the report 

[tyrrell]

Thanks again dude! 

[WalkersKiller]

 :sml: its a pleasure bru  :sml:

[WalkersKiller]

Heard the weather isnt great in Kenton today, hope it clears up bud!

[tyrrell]

Yeah thanks bud, I'm watching it very carefully! Been pouring all morning here in PE, but all the forecasts say it "should" clear by Saturday morning

[Homie]

Wk,
Cred to you bru !
Great info !


 

[WalkersKiller]

  Homie appreciate it bru  :sml:

[WalkersKiller]

By the way Tyrell if you go to the Sandbar take some lures with you. Something with white or two contrasting colours works well at night, and when the kob are on the bite the lures often outfish bait. I wouldnt use anything more than 12cm off the sandbar. You also have a good chance of picking up a shad I have seen a few big Shad around 5kilos come out over the years on lure... There are a few Leeries around the sandbar too but I have only seen 2 come out and I have yet to get one. Sardine fillet with a heavy sinker can be dropped right off the jetty at the sandbar as there are still a few catface and yeloowbelly rockcod around as well as diamand and marbled electric rays. If you have some prawn with you cast straight out onto the prawn banks (Depending on the tide) and you should pick up a grunter or steenbras...  :sml: Good luck once again bru!