garden route Grunter Robin Fick (Additional Images by Niel Malan & LeRoy Botha) So, you would like to catch a Grunter on fly while on holiday along the Garden Route? I receive frequent enquiries from flyfishers trying to lure grunter on the fly along our coastline. The information in this article will be relevant to fishing along the shores of the estuaries on the Garden Route stretching from the Gouritz River in the south to the Keurbooms system in the north. As you read this you will establish along the way that there are some basics that will improve the odds in your favour, however as grunter can unfortunately not read do not take this information as gospel. Also, this comes from my experiences since I moved to the Garden Route in 1990 and, despite fishing many sessions since I retired six years ago, I cannot profess to being anywhere near confident enough to tell you that I will go down to the estuary and catch a grunter on fly. Accept your blank days and learn from them. I put them down to experimentation and a learning curve. I have tried to factor everything under various paragraphs but there will be cross-over thoughts on various experiences. How to improve the odds in your favour: Know Your Quarry The Spotted Grunter (Pomadasys commersonnii) spawn in spring with mature adults vacating the estuaries and leaving behind the immature fish. However, the good news is that they do not all leave and return at the same time so there are always fish available once the waters begin to warm up. If the winters are mild one may still find www.saflyfishingmag.co.za
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the odd fish around. Further north, where the water is warmer, they will be available year round. As they frequent shallow water to feed, any disturbance like boating activity, swimmers, dogs, etc. will put the fish down. They can grow to between eight and nine kilograms and any fish over 70cm on fly is considered a good catch. Due to angling pressure and illegal netting these fish are in rapid decline, so please release any fish that you do catch. Where to Locate Them Most bait anglers target grunter in deep channels. Despite this, the flapping of tails on the sandbanks is a sign of feeding fish and fish feeding in the shallows represent your best chance of hooking a fish. Big grunter have been caught deep by fly anglers fishing for kob but that is another chapter in progress. Gaps in weedbeds, sand flats and points as well as drop-offs are where one should concentrate your fishing. Walk or boat to quiet areas on the water that you intend to fish. What Grunter Eat The list is really endless and they eat anything from prawns to sardine. As we are flyfishers and concentrate our fishing in the shallows we need to understand what those frequently tailing and swirling fish are eating. Return to contents
