Kenton-on-sea Fishing Report 2010/2011

[WalkersKiller]

Day 1
Arrived at Kenton on sea the previous day (17th December) and was looking forward to some serious fishing… The morning of the 18th was my first day and I went off to the hardware store in Port Alfred to stock up on bait and tackle, also bought myself a new 6 foot rod as my previous 6 foot’s life had come to an end of a 20 year life span, I caught many fish on that rod and it was disappointing but wasn’t unexpected… I bought a Shimano Nexave 60, very light rod that looks and feels amazing and it works amazingly too! So I decided to head to my favourite spot in Kenton… Bats Cave… I rigged up my Shimano Nexave with my trusty Shimano FX 2500 loaded with 7lb XX and 18lb leader and set out to target some Bronze Bream. I fished Bats Cave for 2 hours before I hooked into a nice Bronze Bream of about 30cm, unfortunately it came off as I identified it. Shortly thereafter I announced to myself “Last Cast!” as it was getting dark and the rain was starting to come down. I then hooked into a beautiful Koester of about 10 cm, my first one of this Rockcod species! I was very chuffed about this and it quickly took away my disappointment of losing that Bronze Bream. Below is a picture of Bats Cave and then a picture of the Koester.

[WalkersKiller]

Day 2
Got an early start on my second day of fishing after the previous day had consisted of bad weather and crowded fishing spots. I went to Bats Cave once again to fish the low and the push. Didn’t get any big fish but had lots of fun catching Strepie. I gave one of the size Strepie to a local who asked for it just before I was going to put it back. He filleted it, threw it out and landed a 5kg Kob all in about 5 minutes after I had given him the fish. I managed to catch 10 Strepie, with the biggest being 22cm and I also caught a Twotone Fingerfin (Butterfish) that measured 15cm. This was the first time I had caught a Butterfish myself. Most of my fishing friends and even my girlfriend had caught one but this was my first! I was using a size 6 hook with a quarter ounce sinker in the gulley with chokka soaked in sardine blood. This was the same rig I used the previous day and the same rig I had caught my PB Bronze Bream of 1.7kg’s in 2009 in the same spot.

[WalkersKiller]

Day 3
I set off with Steven (AD97) and his father for a late afternoon light tackle boat fishing trip in the Kariega River. We launched at 2pm and got back around about 7pm. I rigged up with a Size 1 hook, bottom trace and mud prawn. The fishing in the river had been decent and we were a bit unfortunate. There were a lot of smaller fish around and I caught a 15cm Cape Moony (On a size 1!) and 2 Cape Stumpnose that were 25cm, decent Stumpies for the river. Steven also got a Stumpy of the same size. He did get a big pick up. His Shiomano Slade went screaming off and then stopped. We think it was a big Catface Rockcod because it took him into his hole and cut him off eventually. We trolled some Halco’s but didn’t get any action. It was nice being on the river even though we did not get any prize fish!

[WalkersKiller]

Some more pics from the Kariega  :sml:

[WalkersKiller]

Day 4
I set off to the Kenton Marina to do some Grunter fishing with Pink Pawn. My quest was unsuccessfully once more but I managed to get a Pinky of about 10cm. A nice surprise as I have not seen a Pinky in the river for a year and a half now but not my target species. I saw a small Raggie swimming around in the shallows and suddenly the fish went off the bite, so I headed home…

[WalkersKiller]

Day 5
It was Christmas day and I decided to take my father fishing with me to Bats Cave. The rain had been on and off and eventually chased us off the rocks about 50 minutes after we started fishing. My father went back to his English background of fishing with a porcupine quill small hook and small weight. He caught 5 Strepie and a nice size Blacktail close to 20cm. He doesn’t fish often so it was fun seeing him fight those fish on 4lb line! I myself put out some big chokka and sardine combo baits but the Strepie were too wild! I caught 3 strepie with the biggest one (32cm) giving me a strong fight on 18lb line. I honestly thought it was a different fish because it took a bit of line and it pulled me quite hard! It was a fun experience and Im sure I will be going back soon!

[WalkersKiller]

Day 6
Back to Bats Cave as its really busy down here at the moment and that’s the only place where you can get some quiet! Still no big fish around through a few big baits but they would get pecked no matter where you threw! So I put on a smaller size 8 and got a Strepie on every cast. I managed 5 and my father caught 5 as well as a Blacktail fishing with a float!

[WalkersKiller]

Day 7, 8 & 9
My girlfriend arrived from Joburg the night before so myself and her set off to Bats Cave. I frequent this spot so much because I know the area well and I have caught some great fish at this spot. We fished this spot for three sessions and we proceeded to catch 21 Strepie, with my girlfriend catching a 30cm fish… I caught a Twotone Fingerfin of 18cm and my PB Blacktail of 28cm, was very happy with that fish a nice fight on 7lb line, almost reefed me…

[WalkersKiller]

Day 10
After blanking the previous night while targeting Raggies I set off to Bats Cave once more. The fishing was very slow and after 3 hours I only managed 2 fish… One was a Strepie of about 20cm and then I caught my PB Mullet, a Flathead of 32cm, I was very happy with it and he put up quite a fight. I released him as I only had two more sessions to fish and I intended to do more light tackle fishing.

[WalkersKiller]

Day 11
I decide to do some late afternoon river fishing in the Kariega River. I used chokka on a size 6 hook and caught 4 Cape Stumpnose. These fish are strong fighters on light tackle and the biggest fish was 19cm, that one put up a good strong fight. I really enjoying fishing light tackle in estuaries and gullies around rocky areas. Its so rewarding and enjoyable. I did lose a big fish as it got dark when my hook pulled. There are many Kob, Pignose, Spotties, Bartail Flathead and Shad in the area I was fishing and it could have been any one of those fish, I was only on for about 30 seconds, but If I had landed that fish it definitely would have been the biggest of my trip!

[WalkersKiller]

Day 12
My final day at Kenton, so I deceided to go scratch around bats cave with some heavier tackle… Unfortunately I blanked, my 3rd time on the trip which wasn’t to bad but it was great to see the spot one more time! I am looking forward to going back there when the opportunity presents itself again and hopefully next time I will get that mo0nster fish! Heres a summary of what I caught:
1 Koester 10cm
46 Strepie 32cm (700 grams)
2 Butterfish 18cm (100 grams SASAA)
1 Cape Moony 15cm
6 Cape Stumpnose 25cm (500 grams)
1 Pinky 9cm
3 Blacktail 28cm (600 grams SASAA)
1 Flathead Mullet 32cm (500 grams SASAA)
It was a fun trip and in my opinion catching any size fish is better than catching no fish!
    
 :sml:
 

[BigG]

What a great report WK

Great species count there, such nice variety and great fun on the light tackle

Thanks for sharing !!

 

[Tommo]

Nice one! looks like you had a lot of fun. I really enjoy scratching with light tackle and catching a range of species. It can be some of the most rewarding fishing. Good to see that there are plenty of strepies around...

[WalkersKiller]

What a great report WK

Great species count there, such nice variety and great fun on the light tackle

Thanks for sharing !!

 

  BigG, it was a lot of fun...  :sml:

[WalkersKiller]

Nice one! looks like you had a lot of fun. I really enjoy scratching with light tackle and catching a range of species. It can be some of the most rewarding fishing. Good to see that there are plenty of strepies around...

  Tommo, I really enjoy messing around with the light stick and line and was very chuffed to see how wild the Strepie were, especially because there were quite a lot being taken out for bait by other anglers!

[REEFMAN]

Awesome fishing Gareth! Just shows... bigger is not always better! Great report!

[WalkersKiller]

Awesome fishing Gareth! Just shows... bigger is not always better! Great report!

  Reefz much appreciated!!!!