DURBAN – A KZN angler landed two grey sharks in one day on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast during the sardine run last week Tuesday.
Andre Chinsamy, who was accompanied by other anglers on the day including Jace Govender, said it was his first sardine run and he was excited to have successfully reached his goal to land grey sharks.
In an ASFN fishing video posted on YouTube, the anglers are seen using drones to determine where the sardine action was taking place in Hibberdene, in order to cast their lines – baited with about five sardines at a time – between 50m and 80m out.
Within 30 seconds Chinsamy was the first to land a shark, which was 260cm and weighed more than 270kg, after he fully extended his 500m line.
He added that he had caught a shark weighing in at 130kg the previous day at Splash Rock, “but this is the one I came for”.
After the shark was measured, it was released.
The group of anglers moved on after they received information that a pocket of sardines was stuck between the rocks at Cracker Bay in Port Shepstone, about 26km from Hibberdene.
When the group arrived angler Jace Govender had already landed a spinner shark within 5 minutes.
ASFN said the sharks were in the shorebreak, and anglers were able to choose which one they wanted to hook by “lobbing” a bait in front of it.
Chinsamy hooked another shark and initially struggled to land it in what turned into an epic battle. Finally, after 35 minutes, he landed a grey shark and Govender helped him pull it ashore to be measured.
The length and weight were not provided.
“I had four sardines on the hook and I just lobbed it, not even 2m and you – hold on, guys if you are not here, you must make your way here. It’s an awesome experience, it’s actually my first time on the sardine run and it’s something else, it’s unbelievable,” he said.
Chinsamy and Govender released the shark, and it swam off.
ASFN said it supported and promoted sustainable and responsible fishing.
THE MERCURY