February 2022 - Mtunzini

I picked Mtunzini as the first place on the list as it was one of the places I grew up and has a great mix of estuarine and surf habitats. The main target species was Diamond Skate. Unfortunately there had been a lot of rain and there was an unbelievably strong sidewash all the way from Port Dunford down to the Banks and so surf fishing was very tough with even 10oz grapnel sinkers getting washed. There was also a lot of seaweed in the water which made sliding big baits impossible.

I managed a small Scalloped Hammerhead at the Banks and the estuary turned up River Bream, Javelin Grunter and Natal Moony.

We also tried a quick hour up Pelican island in Richards Bay whilst buying bait from Adcan and managed Russell's Snapper, Blacktail, Evil-eyed Pufferfish and Spot Damsel.

All in all it was a fairly disappointing trip with no Diamond Skates but at least I have kicked off the challenge.

Current total as at February 2022 - 7 Species