Well I am not going to lie to you it has been a tough week for us here in KZN South Africa with the rioting and looting going on. We seem to have pulled through the worst of it though and some guys did dive today. Connie Hallowell managed to “loot” his 1st Wahoo just before the riots started on a boat dive down South. Snoek have been reported jumping on the backline up North and chasing Sardine shoals down middle to lower South.
Saturday and Sunday look awesome weather wise with light offshore wind early bells switching around to light variable on shore wind in the arvo. Swell will be smaller Sunday coming through at 1.6m 13 seconds compared to 2m Saturday morning at 16 seconds.
So both Saturday and Sunday get the green light for a dive.
There were not a lot of great days this week but when it was good the fish were there. Large shoals of Snoek and Garrick were sighted down South and up North. There are also one or two winter fish around with some Daga salmon coming out here and there. So when the weather is good you must dive! Some tank Wahoo were shot in the USC Blue water Sodwana competition last week Friday and the full article is available here… https://masterwatermen.co.za/2021/07/09/wahoo-mayhem-usc-blue-water-competition-sodwana-2021/
In the fish pic’s this week we have Angus chuffed with his 1st game fish 8,7kg Coffee bay, Brett with Snoek shore dive North, Byron with a decent brace of Snoek boat dive South, Chadd bagging a Snoek even though he did not have a gun shore dive North, Connie Hallowell with his PB Snoek boat dive South, Doms with a Garrick and Snoek shore dive North, Grant Laubscher and Andrew with Snoek shore dive North, Master Don Solomon with a beast 6.5kg Scotsman boat dive South, Master Juggs Holzman with a decent 4.5kg Tasselfish shore dive Durban, Master Louis Schorie with a decent 4.5kg Tasselfish shore dive Durban and Piet Combrink with a Daga shore dive South.
Saturday is not looking too bad weather wise with a offshore NW blowing early bells to just after 9am then slowly switches around to a moderate NE. The swell is predicted at 2.5m at 12 seconds but will probably be around 2m at 11 seconds Durban area being bigger in the South and smaller in the North. Sunday morning looks great with the swell down to 1.8m and a light offshore until a moderate NE wind picks up around lunch time.
So if you can brave the larger surf Saturday looks good early bells if you can find viz. Sunday morning would be my best bet for a dive with the sea having settled a bit.
How is it that the best blue water game fish competitions are the ones that you could not attend!? The Umhlanga Spearfishing Club Blue water compo this year was deffos no exception to the aforementioned Murphy’s law!
On the night after the compo there were stories being leaked out about Wahoo so loose they were jumping in the hatches and of course there was a picture doing the rounds of Master Peter Jacobs with a Tank 40.5kg Wahoo! And then another pic and another pic everyone getting Wahoo some 20 to 30kg plus…legendary…and I missed the compo but I had 3 years to enter hey Kyle? Bleakness of note!
Even new Diver James Purcell got stuck into a beast Wahoo 10 minutes into his 1st Drift on Cpt Jannie’s boat. Now bear in mind here that James only recently shot his 1st Natal Snoek so plugging a 30kg plus Wahoo is a bit of an upgrade in the scheme of things!
Buzzard crew were as usual on form as a team with Cpt Peter Jacobs (Master Adam Waites, Master Luke Garlick and Master Markus Potgieter) landing the biggest and winning fish of the compo a 40.5kg Wahoo.
“No massive story really, 40.5kg Wahoo shot during the comp, nothing exciting or groundbreaking “ say’s Master Pete…hahaha. “I just got lucky with the right fish on the right day. First drift, good shot so it didn’t rev too hard. We put float and landed Adams fish (Wahoo 22.45kg) first then sorted mine out. We dive as a team so shared the prize money. Luke’s Couta of 23.5kg was also a bonus on the day which got him 5th prize for biggest Couta ”
See Two Snoeks Tommy spearfishing is a TEAM sport, you said it not me!
I had my money on Luke Mollison the Hoo whisperer to win the compo but maybe the decision to go North with Captain Alistair Jones on Mr Grinch with Liam Mullany ( 90 percent of the action was South on the day) hampered his efforts. But he still managed a slab Wahoo of 32.5kg which secured him 6th place for second biggest Wahoo.
“Ja over the course of the last two and a half years of the Compo being delayed due to Covid and world cup Rugby finals I have changed boat and crew a few times. It was great to take my newly acquired boat Mr Grinch out for a spin at Sodwana. I was originally crewing with Gary Uys and Ryan Burmeister but Gary sold his boat! North was quiet with the Couta and we decided to hit a lunch time Wahoo hunt at Elusives on the way back. Lucky we did and Luke managed to bag his 32.5kg Hoo.” Cpt Jonesy said about his day out.
The crew of Iggy Cpt Chris Koen, Master Royd Williams and Ryan Schubel flew the Zululand flag well on the day with 3 slab Wahoo down South. Cpt Chris’s 27.5kg Wahoo would have been around the 33kg mark but unfortunately the tax man (Large Bull shark) took a hefty chunk out of it towards the end of the fight. Hard luck Koenie! Royd got a solid 29kg Wahoo and Ryan managed a 22kg Wahoo which won him 2nd Prize for concealed weight (Wahoo 18.5Kg) .
Ex Durban North Local now Zululand farmer Master Ryan Burmeister on his boat Poseidon was not going to be left out on the day throwing 3 Couta and an Amber in the hatch winning the prize for most fish weighed.
The Comp committee boat Daddio with Cpt Quintin White, Kyle Richter, Dylan Koekemoer and Paul THB apparently had a tough day up North but did win some prizes with Paul taking The Iron so that he has a new hobby while off on maternity leave…hahaha. Cpt Quintin managed to luck 4th Prize Concealed Weight (Amber Jack 4Kg) with his 2.5kg Amber. #Nobananas goes to the crew of Daddio for their wisdom in choosing the night before the comp as a warm up to the festivities after the compo! Better luck next time lads!
Local Cpt Jannie Nienaber had a mixed crew on his boat consisting of Vesagen Mudaly, Master Richardt Botes and James Purcell. Vesagen did well landing a 25.5kg Wahoo and a 6.5kg Couta. Richardt was apparently not on form (night before’s festivities Klippies and Cola???) but still managed two Couta getting him 3rd Prize Concealed Weight (Couta 12.4Kg) with his 11.5kg Couta. Newbie James Purcell managed to plug a tank Wahoo but lost it
“The viz was about 15 to 20m and I was 10 minutes into the 1st drift when I saw the Wahoo heading away from me on the surface. So I pulled my flasher up and down to see if it would turn and come back. Which it did but then it turned away again so I pulled the flasher again and it came back allowing me to dive down and plug it. My gun reel emptied in 2 seconds flat and I clipped on the belt reel. BUT I could not bear to see my gun disappear and held on trying to get a float on I lost the fish!” Cpt Jannie said James came water skiing past the boat after he shot the fish!
Bleakness Jamo! Master Richardt saw the fish and recons it was a Slab… school fee’s being paid! James got the spirit award for the competition for which he a got the booby price (an iron) for best spirit at the compo due talking everyone’s ears off! Apparently the fine’s meeting was hectic because Master Richardt had some Jagermeister which may have fuelled James’s beak!
Well done to the USC committee and crew along with all the sponsors for the competition! Sounds like it was a cracker event!
Check out the pictures and PDF’s I have attached for more details.
As always Dive Safe and Straight Spears from The Bear…
USC Compo Sodwana 2021 Master Pete Jacobs 40.5kg Wahoo winning fish
Well it has been a bit of a slow week with a big cold upwelling after the NE wind on Sunday bringing algae and colder water inshore which has pretty much hung around all week killing the viz. The swell also got a bit large down south the last couple of days. Some Mackerel are around up North in the green and one or two decent Couta came out with sporadic Snoek action thrown in as well. Garrick are around and word is some decent winter fish are being caught lower South coast (Rumours…Ja nee). Sardines are around but there have been no big showings with bust ups this week as far as I know of.
In the fish pictures this week we have Brett with Snoek and a decent Couta shore dive North, Clive Honiball with a shark wrestled Snoek shore dive North, Connie Hallowell with a Garrick boat dive South and Master Louis Schorie with a fat winter Garrick shore dive Durban.
Saturday we have peachy Durban winter weather with a light NW early bells switching to a light NE wind in the arvo. Swell wise Durban and North there of the swell will be manageable at 2m or less from the South and down South will be a bit bigger at 2.2 to 2.4m in places. Sunday a cold front comes up from the Cape bringing a moderate SW wind early bells with some extra size in the swell up to 2.7 to 3m later in the day.
So frustrating trying to find decent viz at the moment but Saturday is the go day (gonna glass off one way!) with Sunday afternoon maybe looking good on the predictions but my feeling is Sunday morning early bells rather than afternoon.
Sea conditions have been good this past week and the Sardines are on the rampage up and down the coast! Unfortunately this makes it a bit hit and miss when diving with them as the gamefish are quite spread out up and down the coastline. I dived with Sardines three times this week and saw NADA! Other divers had more luck and some good backline Snoek and Garrick came out this week with the Sardines. Main centre of activity has been middle to lower South coast Sardine wise but shoals are being spotted as far as Tinley Manor on the North coast. Couta are definitely around as well and a couple of fish came out this week.
We have Brandon with a Stumpie shore dive, Brett with a Snoek and Couta combo shore dive North, Elton with a 16kg Garrick and a 8.4kg Snoek shore dive South, Greg from Cape Town with a brace of Snoek shore dive South, Kyle with a Daga shore dive South, Master Brent Borstlap with a Couta and Seapike combo boat dive Durban, Master Louis Schorie with a 4.2kg Stumpie shore dive Durban, Master Louis Schorie with a Garrick shore dive Durban, Master Richardt Botes with a Garrick shore dive South and Matthew Wilson with a Garrick shore dive North.
Saturday’s weather looks good with light early SW wind which should drop off by midday in Durban. Down South it’s a light offshore wind till mid morning when it swings around to a light SW wind which drops off in the arvo. Swell starts off small at 1.5m and picks up to 1.9m later in the day. Sunday a light offshore blows early bells and swings around to a moderate NE after midmorning. Swell kicks up a notch as well overnight to around the 3m mark and a serious wave period of 14 to 15 seconds.
Saturday is the day this weekend! There’s a slim to no chance to dive Sunday.
Huge Catface Rockcod shoaling. Bear Report 18-06-2021: Hi peeps and welcome to the Bears weekend Dive Report brought to you by thesardine.co.za and masterwatermen.co.za.
Finally this week the sea came right and with some classic June KZN weather we had some decent diving conditions almost right throughout the week. The one dive I had up the North coast I had just over 20m viz on the surface and 12m on the floor!. Game fish were around for those that were looking with Snoek and Garrick patrolling the shallows and Couta out past the 12m line swimming North for the winter. Sardine activity was mainly from Port Edward to Hibberdene with sporadic action throughout the week. The Catface rockcod have moved into the shallows for the winter spawn and there are absolute bus fish around! The Scotsman seemed to think they should follow the Catface in shallow and quite a few decent fish came out off Durban.
The week in fish
In the fish pictures this week we have Anthony Dede with a decent Catface and Tasselfish shore dive North, Anthony Dede with a Tank 6.5kg Catface shore dive North, Ashton with his 1st Garrick shore dive North, Brad with a decent Garrick shore dive, Christian with a brace of Snoek shore dive South, Christo Muller with two size Catface shore dive North, Dane Chittock with a Daga and Scotsman combo boat dive Durban, Declan and Rory with Snoek and Garrick combos boat dive Durban, Doms and Darryl with Garrick and Snoek shore dive North, Gordon aka Humpty Dumpty with a Garrick shore dive North, James Purcell with his first Snoek boat dive Durban, Keanu with a Garrick shore dive North, Liam and Teegz with two solid Couta shore dive Durban, Lincoln with a size Garrick shoredive south, Luke Shannon and Master Brent Borstlap with two decent Scotsman boat dive Durban, Master Jason Heyne 5.6kg Catface shore dive North, Master Richardt Botes with a size Englishman boat dive South, Matthew Wilson with a Snoek shore dive North, Talent Mkize with a brace of Garrick shore dive South, Troy Ellof with a beast Tasselfish shore dive Durban, Troy Ellof with a lovely Catface and Couta combo shore dive Durban, Troy Ellof with a slab Tasselfish shore dive Durban, and Zander with a Garrick and Snoek combo shore dive South.
Weather and conditions
For our weather this weekend we have a moderate NE wind predicted for Saturday which looks like it will start at midmorning and pick up speed during the day . Swell averages 2.2m at 14 seconds off Durban and down the South Coast. Sunday there is a light to offshore NW wind early bells which will swing around to a light NE wind at lunchtime. Swell is down on Sunday to a manageable 1.9m average at 13 seconds being bigger South and smaller in the North.
So it’s Saturday early bells for a dive or take your chances and dive Sunday morning and hopefully, the NE wind has not turned the sea into a washing machine!
Hi peeps and welcome to another video from Master Watermen. This time we have special guest Master Richardt Botes putting a decent GT to sleep in style with a custom 1.2m carbon cuttlefish roller.
There’s nothing that beats putting a kill shot in on a size GT and even better when the fish did not even see you coming! It really gets the heart pumping and adrenaline going properly. These fish can and will properly destroy your spear and gear if you let them and a lot of experienced divers will let them swim by if they are at depth.
The best killshot placement is just behind the eye if they are parallel with you. From above you aim for the eye on the other side of the fish and the same for from below. A gun with some decent punch is required so a 1.2m double band rail gun and up or a 1.1m roller and up. I would definitely recommend using a 7.5mm spear and 1.8mm Dyneema running line.
What is amazing to see in the video is the balance of the 1.2m carbon cuttlefish roller and the zero recoil on the shot. Very smooth! Master Richardt reckons it is deadly accurate and has some serious range for those big blue water gamefish.
After the GT they moved spots and found the Wahoo and Master Richardt managed to bag two size fish around the 20kg mark! An epic day out in anyone’s books! Unfortunately the GoPro’s battery was dead…
Keep them coming Master Richardt Botes! Awesome footage to watch …thank you Boertjie!
Well at this stage of the aftermath from the cut off low it seems like it is a no dive report! The surf dropped off after a few days of NE wind which is great news but there appears to be little or zero viz reported in the last week! Thanks cut off low! Sardines are still coming out sporadically with Winkelspruit area South coast being the centre of most of the netting activity. Some big sharks are coming out with the shore anglers but no decent gamefish as of yet.
Peeps please give the netters space when they are pulling the nets! If there are spare Sardines they will sort the public out with some freebies at the end of the net pull. Also bear in mind if you are diving near nets being pulled that the skippers of the netting boats are not really on the lookout for you and your dive buddies! Prop rash means a serious trip to a hospital and Surgeon!
Good news is the weather seems to have been tamed for the meantime with good conditions predicted for this weekend. Saturday a light NW offshore blows early and switches around to a light NE in the arvo with the swell running at 13 seconds and 1.7m from the South. Sunday early bells a really light offshore blows then dies off to just about zero wind all day with the swell running at 11 seconds and 1.5m from the South.
So Saturday and Sunday are looking great for diving weather wise if some clean water pulls in! Sunday is probably the better day for a dive if you have only the one day free.
Special shout out this week goes to Dave De Wet from Frame Autobody panel beaters in Durban for donating a GOPRO Hero 8 to the channel !
It was all big excitement on Monday morning when the Sardines arrived down the South coast and nets were pulled at Port Edward and Ramsgate! Then the weather god’s decided to put on a huge fireworks display of thunder and lightning up and down the coastline for the Sardine’s arrival. Unfortunately this put paid to any sea based activities the whole week with the cut off low throwing plenty rain, swell and wind at our coastline. Damage control is Lower to middle South coast trashed with brown river water far out to sea, heading North thereof it is not so bad with blue line of cleaner water moving in on the North coast today (Friday). Couta and Snoek were coming out before the cut off low came through.
Fish pictures we have this week are Connie Hallowell with his 1st Natal knifejaw shore dive South, Luke Shannon with a brace of Couta boat dive Bluff and Zander with his 1st Snoek shore dive North.
So weather this weekend is a bit calmer (relative to during the cut off low) than during the week with sunny skies again in Durban today (Friday) but still some jacked swell. Saturday a -light cross offshore blows in the morning (WSW) swinging to a light SW wind Durban and South Coast. The SW only reaches the North coast later in the day. Swell averages at 2.3m in the morning switching to swell from the South picking up strength during the day to a 20 (yes twenty seconds) swell period. Sunday the swell period has dropped off a tad to 17 seconds but the swell size averages out bigger at 2.6m. Sunday there is a light offshore (NW) in the morning switching to a NE wind around 11am which freshens during the day.
So… hmm… is there a dive this weekend? Looking at the swell and all the river water around the chances are minimal unless you launch in the large surf and head out to deeper marks.
It always amazes me that one week the fish are literally jumping out the sea and the next it seems like the fish have all swum away to better waters! The Couta have all swum up North and the Wahoo seem to be scarce with the Garrick still putting in a shine here and there. Big surf dominated this week with a couple of NE blowers putting paid to any decent viz.
I only have one fish picture this week of Master Richardt Botes with his 1st Garrick of the season shot on a shore dive down South. An extremely quiet week peeps! News is reaching my ears though about sporadic sightings of pockets of Sardines in the Transkei and the inshore sea temperature Ramsgate and South thereof has dropped to 20 degrees C. 19\18 is the magic temp that normally brings the silver shoals up the Coast!
The weather Saturday looks pearler with a light offshore wind blowing in the morning switching to a light onshore in the afternoon. The swell is set to run at 2.2m off Durban with it being bigger South and smaller in the North. Sunday a moderate to Fresh SW blows from early jacking the swell to over 3.5m by mid morning.
So Saturday is go day if you can get a launch or a swim in past the surf and Sunday looks set to be a total blow out.
My Cleaner Wrasse buddy: Hi peeps and welcome to another Master Watermen episode!
When you spend many long hours in the water, waiting for your intended catch to swim by you get to see some amazing sea creatures. My favourites are all the small pretty fish who come to check me out. And this video has three very pretty feeshies, who are not camera shy at all!
Most of us have seen baby Kingfish (Jack’s) species hanging with Jellyfish as cover but they normally tend to hide behind and in the Jellyfish when you get closer for a look. The first fish in the video is one of these juvenile kingfish but he is definitely not camera shy and sends it full throttle for the camera lens when I get closer to his beautiful purple Jellyfish home!
Next up we have a pink see-through miniature Pipefish. That is also not camera shy. I get these little fellahs in summer using me and my floatline as cover as they drift with the warm current while I am looking Queen Mackerel and Narrow-Barred Spanish mackerel (aka couta). When you see the size of him it is no wonder he is looking for cover! Must be scary being that small and drifting out deep all on your own!
Then last but not least we have a Cleaner wrasse (Labroides Dimdiatus), that followed me off the reef on the seafloor, whilst I was catching crayfish, all the way to the surface! Quite unusual…then he proceeded to clean me (on the surface) just like I was one of his fish in line at his cleaning station on the reef! As you will see in the video he was definitely not camera shy at ALL!
Have any of you had a Cleaner wrasse come over and clean you whilst diving? Please let me know in the comments below.
Well the swell eventually dropped off and the sea cleaned up and the Couta were still local with some size Rockcod coming out pre sardine run. Also seems like quite a few guys getting shoal Wahoo out deep. Bad news is the swell is set to crank this weekend.
We have so many fish pictures this week! Here we have Abdalla with his 1st Garrick shore dive, Alistar Jones with a bus Catface and 14kg Couta boat dive South, Master Carl Werner with a slab Eelskin dive South, Glen Van Nooten with a Wahoo boat dive South, Glenn Van Nooten, Michael Green and Collin Townsend with some lovely Wahoo boat dive South, Graham and Lincoln with fat winter Garrick shore dive Durban, Hennie and Duan with decent Wahoo boat dive South, Jaco and Troy Ellof with Couta 16kg on the right shore dive Durban, Kurt Bunge with a size Catface shore dive South, Luke with a decent YFT boat dive Durban, Master Don Solomon with a decent Amber boat dive South, Master Juggs Holzman and Master Jason Heyne with Couta shore dive Durban, Master Louis Schorie 18kg Couta shore dive Durban, Master Richardt Botes with a class 7kg plus change Yellowbelly shore dive South, Master Richardt Botes with a lovely brace of Wahoo boat dive South, Renier with big Cape knifejaw shore dive South and Troy Ellof with a 14kg Couta shore dive Durban.
So the dreaded big surf is back again with the swell averaging at 3m local and a bit bigger down South on Saturday morning with a light to moderate SW wind blowing till mid afternoon. Sunday the swell drops by a meter to 2.6m odd being a little bigger in the South. A light long offshore blows early with a NE set to blow and pick up speed during the day on Sunday.
So protected surf launch or dive for Saturday and maybe a chance for a dive Sunday early bells if we are lucky!
This week has been a difficult week for shore diving due some rather large surf dominating up and down the coast but the weather has been epic to say the least. Some lucky divers managed to get into the Couta on the local though and the Wahoo are at their usual hangouts out deep with the odd smattering of Snoek on the in shore local as well. The first pilot shoals of smaller Garrick have arrived with fish coming out from the middle South coast to the middle North coast.
This week we have Andrew Trevathan with a decent Couta shore dive Durban, Glenn Van Nooten with a Wahoo boat dive South, Kobus Delport with a Garrick shore dive Durban, Lincoln with a brace of Garrick shore dive Durban, Master Don Solomon with a slab 9.8kg Kaakap shot at 46m boat dive South, Master Jason Heyne with a decent Rock salmon shore dive Durban, Master Juggs Holzman with a 10kg Couta shore dive Durban and Troy Ellof with a 17kg Couta shore dive Durban.
It looks like the weather gods give us another good day at sea Saturday with an offshore wind early bells switching to a light NE wind later in the day. Please take note the offshore looks set to bust down South so be careful boating wise out deep. The swell still looks like it’s going to be jacked Saturday at 14 seconds and 1.8m in Durban and bigger in the South to smaller sets in the North. Sunday morning a light offshore blows switching to a moderate SW just before lunch time in Durban and mid morning in the South. The swell looks like it finally gives up Sunday morning at 11 seconds and 1.4m only to have the SW jack it again in the afternoon!
So if you can brave the Surf Saturday is go day AND Sunday early bells is a winner too for a shore dive and same applies for the boaties too!
Couta and big surf. Bear Report 07-05-2021: Hi peeps and welcome to the Bears weekend dive report brought to you by thesardine.co.za and masterwatermen.co.za
It has been a week of big surf with maybe a day or two’s gap in between for a dive and viz mostly being reported way out in the deep. Some lucky divers did get in though and managed to get some fish with Couta still being around and apparently reef fish being quite thick on the deeper marks offshore.
We have Dylan with a decent Shad shore dive South, Kurt Bunge and daughters Bluefin and Big eye kingies boat dive far North, Master Louis Schorie with a shoal Couta paddle off Durban and Master Richardt Botes with a decent Couta and Blue barred parrot shore dive South.
The NE wind blew today (Friday) again flattening the swell out a bit but apparently not helping the viz. Saturday morning the NE drops off with not much wind till later in the afternoon when a light to moderate SW starts blow into the night. Swell for Saturday starts at 1.8m down South and is way smaller at 1.4m in the North. Sunday morning a light offshore blows North and off Durban with a SW starting to puff down South which freshens during the day and reaches the North in the afternoon. Swell Starts at 2m and gets bigger as the SW freshens during the day being larger South and smaller in the North.
Hmmm…not sure how much viz is going to be around after 3 days of NE but it is looking good weather conditions wise for a dive Saturday and maybe Sunday morning North coast. The weather apps have been a bit off so timing of SW blow is hard to predict!
Great White shark and Shoals of Sailfish sighted off KZN coastline
Winter is starting to kick in in KZN with one or two Humpback whales being sighted and some Garrick (Lichia amia) starting to come out. The Aloes are not yet in bloom though but the winter swells have arrived and even one or two small shoals of sardines being sighted down in the Transkei.
Winter brings big gamefish and big sharks inshore to feed and last week was no exception with a rather large Great White being seen by fishermen out on Silver mine off Ballito on the North coast of KZN. Sailfish have also arrived in numbers with a whole shoal being recorded by Scuba divers off the Aliwal Shoal and a mate of mine dropping one off Sheffield stairs on the KZN North coast last week.
May and June are some of if not the best diving months in KZN with June being my favourite spearfishing month of the year. Generally clean water and calm seas with a lot of action in shallow water makes for great diving plus the arrival of the sardines really spices things up!
Just about everything in the Ocean eats sardines and they act as a huge magnet pulling Ocean life inshore to follow them and feed on them. I have had some hectic experiences diving with the sardines from a shoal of Bronze whalers (sharks) trying to eat me to shooting Couta (Narrow barred Spanish mackerel) in 3m of water off rays on the backline!
So get that gear prepped and ready for the chaos that will come and get psyched! Also keep your eyes peeled for Mr Great White and treat him with the respect he deserves…it’s his Ocean after all!
One last thing please take caution when rushing to park down by the sea to dive! Check the picture out to see why!
The featured clips were submitted by the public to us. We are redistributing these clips in the interest of news. If any of the following clips are yours, please get in touch so we can credit you and discuss the video clip with you. Sincerely, the Master Watermen team and The Sardine News.
Bus 22kg Poensie . Bear Report 30-04-2021: Hi peeps and welcome to the Bears weekend Dive Report brought to you by thesardine.co.za and masterwatermen.co.za.
Great news this week the sea came right and some lucky individuals got some fish! There were lots of shoal Couta around this week and I got the smallest mouse Couta (2.5kg) out of a shoal on a shore dive up North. It looked way bigger in the 25m viz hahaha!
Poensie and things
Here are some fish from the week and we have Brett with a brace of Couta boat dive Durban, Clive Honibal with a Snoek and some bottoms shore dive North. North then Leon with a GT boat dive South. Master Gavin Nell with a beaut 22kg Poensie boat dive South. Master Louis Schorie with a decent Rock salmon ski dive Durban. Master Richardt Botes with a lovely Rock salmon boat dive South. Matt Pender with a decent Englishman boat dive Durban. Rory with a bus Shad boat dive South and Wesley Smith with a brace of Couta boat dive Durban.
First Garrick of the Season
Kevin with the 1st Garrick of the KZN season shore dive.
Kevin with the 1st Garrick of the KZN season shore dive North
Weather synopsis
So the weather sites got the prediction wrong for today (Friday) with the swell not jacking too much and the SW wind only coming late in the arvo. I see the swell has jacked a bit of Durban this afternoon and evening with the wind picking up to just under 20 knots. Saturday a light to moderate SW is set to blow with the swell averaging just over 2m up and down the coast. Sunday the swell drops off slightly just over 2m south and 1.8m. North with a light offshore wind in the morning switching to a light onshore in the afternoon.
At a pinch I would say maybe there may be a dive early bells Saturday (if the weather sites get it wrong again?) morning and definitely look for a dive Sunday if the swell has not jacked too much.
The bad news is just about zero diving was done this last week and I do not have a single feeshie picture for you peeps. The thunder storms pulled in a couple of times over the last week and messed the sea up as well as bigger than average swell running up and down the coast!
The good news is it looks like the weather comes right over the weekend and the swell drops off.
We had a moderate SW blowing most of today (Friday) and some heavy quick showers of rain here and there which hopefully won’t fill the rivers and cause the sea water to go chocolate milkshake again! April is normally a drier month than it has been recently so here is holding thumbs that May is a better month for diving!
We have a moderate SW blowing from early bells Saturday morning through the day and dropping off late arvo. It blows harder in the South and lighter in the North and the same goes for the swell Starting at 3 plus meters South and 2.5 m North dropping off to 2.5m South and 2m North in the arvo. Sunday the wind blows light offshore early bells and swings around to a light Southerly wind just after midmorning North and South. Swell starts at2.3m in the South and 1.7m in the North and should drop off slightly during the day.
So it looks like Sunday is go day shore or boat dive if you can find some viz…Just bear (pun intended) in mind that its low tide early bells so a later dive on the pushing tide would probably be the best bet!
It has been an absolutely sublime week with stunning April diving conditions up and down the coast! But all good things must come to an end and a huge cold front has pulled in with a proper SW wind blowing bringing size 5/6m swell thrashing the sea into a proper washing machine!
There were shoals of smaller Snoek, Couta and Kingfish around and some decent fish did come out.
We have Ashley Paul with a decent Blacktip Kingfish shoredive South, Ashley Paul with an Amber boat dive Durban, Brett with a Blacktip Kingfish shore dive North, Clinton with a lovely brace of Harry hotlips boat dive Durban, Connie Halowell with his 1st Indian mirror fish shore dive South, Duan De Villiers with a decent Fulvie boat dive South, Hennie with a decent GT boat dive South, Hennie with a size Blacktip Kingfish boat dive South, Kurt Bunge with a Snoek shore dive South, Master Don Solomon with a lovely 19kg Couta and 5kg Rock salmon boat dive South and Master Richardt Botes with a Snoek and Couta combo shore dive South.
So the cold front from today (Friday) is going to leave us with a 3m swell on Saturday with a light offshore blowing early switching around to a NE wind just after mid morning and picking up speed throughout the rest of the day. Swell is bigger in the South and smaller in the North. The NE puffs through the night and into Sunday morning picking up speed after mid morning and only quitting in the evening. Swell averages just over 2m up and down the coast on Sunday.
Well that will put paid to any shore diving this weekend besides Durban beachfront area. A Boat dive off Durban could be a go tomorrow morning and maybe a launch for Protea or Aliwal on Sunday if the North East wind does not kill the conditions.
SHARK ATTACKS SPEARO! Umdloti KZN North Coast Jarid Norman
As we all know spearfishing is a dangerous sport but shark attacks on spearos are actually few and far between! Normally it’s a case of mistaken identity where the shark thinks you are part of the fish you have just shot and it’s a quick nip or bump as we spearos call it. The rest of the time the attacks are genuine and normally by the three usual suspects Great White sharks, Tiger sharks and Bull sharks. In Jarid Norman’s attack at Selection reef Umdloti today it is the former and in white water (surf) plus he was holding a Yellow belly rockcod (Mero) which he had just speared and was subduing. Jarid says it felt like a bump or punch to the head which he thought was his dive buddy, Jonathan Greenway, bumping into him in the white water foam. Then he saw the little cheeky reef shark(1.3m long) swimming away from him and realised it was the shark that had bumped him!
Only after Jonathan had swum up to check him out did they realise that Jarid was bleeding from the scalp and they decided to swim back to shore (100m) to see if Jarid needed some medical attention! Jarid is a pretty large unit of a man and does not scare easily so once they hit the beach it was laughs all round. On closer inspection Jonathan noticed something white sticking out of Jarids head…low and behold there was a broken off shark tooth stuck in Jarrids head! No worries says Jarrid and films himself pulling the tooth out his skull at home!!! I am just happy he is safe and escaped with a minor injury. The Dr cleaned it up and said no stitches plus apply surgical spirits. Lucky DUDE! Oh…he let the shark take the Yellow belly for dinner…Hahahaha.
The bad news is it’s been one of those weeks…big swell and loads of rain making the water not so great. The good news is the sea is coming right and the weather is looking good for the weekend!
Let’s see what came out this week…
We have Christo Muller with his 1st Wahoo and Master Richardt Botes with a Couta boat dive South, Clive Honiball with a Snoek shore dive North, Master Richardt Botes with a Fulvie shore dive North and Tyran with his first Couta boat dive South.
So yes some Couta and Wahoo coming out earlier in the week out deeper so maybe this weekend will show some stripes too!
The weather Gods are happy this weekend with today (Friday) having just about zero wind. Saturday a light offshore blows early bells and switches to a light NE later in the day both North and South. Swell starts at 1.5m and dwindles off to 1,2m in the arvo. Sunday is just ballistic with minimal swell and maybe an offshore wind early bells otherwise no wind predicted North and South!
So get those pink slips in order because it’s a DIVE WEEKEND BABY! Hopefully some viz pulls in tonight and the light NE wind tomorrow arvo picks up the NS current to bring the game fish on.
As always Dive Safe and Straight Spears from the Bear…
Link to online report [youtube http://youtube.com/w/?v=Y7n5SPIPFDg]
Christo Muller with his 1st Wahoo and Master Richardt Botes with a Couta boat dive South
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