Flyfishing report: Saltwater - South Coast

Here on the KZN South Coast, the months of May and June bring not only glorious weather, but also the promise of improved fishing; that is if the inshore waters cool sufficiently to bring the promised “sardine run” into the picture. This is by no means a guaranteed event and many a hopeful netter has been fooled by inaccurate or deliberately incorrect reports of “Sardines on the beach.” The latest news is that a pilot shoal was sighted off Kobb Inn at the end of April. Here’s hoping that this will result in a positive for further north as well. A few years ago, fly anglers managed to catch a number of sards on small flies in the Mzamba area, when a couple of pockets came within casting distance.

Fly fishing on our coast remains slow at present, but on an outing by South Coast Fly Anglers to T.O. Strand in Glenmore in April, members finally landed a few wave garrick, while one angler hooked a small Marbled Electric Ray. As far as can be ascertained, this is a first of this species to be caught in the 30 odd years of the club’s existence. Fortunately, a couple of surfers helped return the fish to the water, with the aid of their boards. The lucky angler could not be persuaded to hold the ray up for a selfie!

The water in local farm dams has cooled considerably and as a result action has slowed down. On a recent outing to a dam in the Paddock area, 11 anglers only managed to land 8 small bass.

Planned outings by South Coast Fly Anglers in May include a trip to the Mzamba area and an outing to the Umzimkulwana River in the Paddock area, where we will target scalies, if the water is not too cold.

South Coast scene.