Fishing in Durban

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  offshore · rocky shores · Oct–Jul

  Yellowtail (Cape yellowtail)

  Seriola lalandi

  Live bait, metal jigs or poppers into a feeding shoal, on heavy spinning tackle.

  Georgina Jones · CC BY-SA 4.0

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  surf beaches · rocky shores · offshore · Year-round

  Giant trevally (GT)

  Caranx ignobilis

  Big poppers and stickbaits worked hard over reef edges and channels; on the flats, a big baitfish fly on a 12-weight.

  Christopher Mark · CC BY 4.0

• Polydactylus quadrifilisNo open-licence photograph

  surf beaches · Year-round

  Giant African threadfin

  Polydactylus quadrifilis

  Live or cut bait, or a big soft-plastic or bucktail jig, fished through the surf near a river mouth.

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  rocky shores · surf beaches · Jun–Jan

  White musselcracker (brusher)

  Sparodon durbanensis

  A whole crab, a bunch of mussel or red bait on a strong hook and heavy line, fished right in the white water at the foot of the rocks.

  Public domain (iNaturalist) · CC0 (public domain)

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  offshore · Year-round

  Couta (narrow-barred Spanish mackerel)

  Scomberomorus commerson

  A live or dead bait — a mackerel or a garfish — slow-trolled on a wire trace over reef pinnacles at first light.

  Rob Foster · CC BY 4.0

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  offshore · surf beaches · harbours and piers · Year-round

  Talang queenfish (largemouth queenfish)

  Scomberoides commersonnianus

  Poppers, stickbaits and fast spoons worked across the surface near reef edges and river mouths, or a live baitfish on a short wire trace; on fly, a fast-stripped baitfish pattern.

  portioid · CC BY 4.0

Also in season: Spangled emperor, White seabream (blacktail), Flathead grey mullet (striped mullet), Great barracuda, Dusky kob (kabeljou), Spotted grunter, Milkfish, Mangrove red snapper (river snapper), Leerfish (garrick). Other seasons: Bluefish (elf, shad) (Dec–Sep).

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  estuaries · Year-round

  Dusky kob (kabeljou)

  Argyrosomus japonicus

  Live mullet or a whole squid (chokka) after dark near the mouth; a soft-plastic paddletail worked along the channel.

  Greg Tasney · CC BY-SA 4.0

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  estuaries · Sep–Apr

  Spotted grunter

  Pomadasys commersonnii

  Live mud or sand prawn on a light running trace over the banks on the push of the tide; a small prawn fly cast to feeding fish in the shallows.

  Andreas De Beer · CC BY 4.0

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  estuaries · Year-round

  Milkfish

  Chanos chanos

  A small algae fly, or a strand of green weed or bread on a small hook, put right in front of feeding fish in calm, clear water, on a long, light leader with plenty of backing.

  TonyT · CC BY 4.0

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  estuaries · Year-round

  Mangrove red snapper (river snapper)

  Lutjanus argentimaculatus

  A live mullet or prawn, or a lure or soft plastic cast tight to mangrove roots and rock ledges, on strong line with the drag locked — the first few seconds decide it.

  portioid · CC BY 4.0

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  estuaries · Oct–May

  Leerfish (garrick)

  Lichia amia

  A live mullet swum near the surface at an estuary mouth, or surface plugs and stickbaits worked fast through the surf.

  Justin Ponder · CC BY 4.0

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  estuaries · Sep–Apr

  Mozambique tilapia (blue kurper)

  Oreochromis mossambicus

  Earthworm or bread dough on a small hook under a float, close to the weed edge on a warm afternoon.

  Wynand Uys · CC BY 4.0

Also in season: Giant trevally (GT), Giant African threadfin, Talang queenfish (largemouth queenfish), Flathead grey mullet (striped mullet). Other seasons: Bluefish (elf, shad) (Dec–Sep).