{"id":2925,"date":"2012-06-14T12:28:03","date_gmt":"2012-06-14T10:28:03","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2021-08-12T09:30:31","modified_gmt":"2021-08-12T07:30:31","slug":"blind-river-kob-and-garrick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/?p=2925","title":{"rendered":"Blind River Kob and Garrick"},"content":{"rendered":"
Last year, on a trip to the Eastern Cape, we spent a couple of days at Kleinemonde, near Port Alfred. There we fished the West Kleinemonde river, which is closed to the sea, and has been for the last five years. The kob and Garrick trapped in this blind river have grown to adult size, but are unable to leave the system until they get enough rain to open the mouth of the river.<\/div>\n
\"\"<\/div>\n
\n
We fished all day, from before sunrise to after sunset. Most action around the first and last hours of daylight, particularly the kob. Garrick were around at any time, but also more aggressive in the low light periods.<\/div>\n
\"\"<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
We had great fun catching these awesome fish on light tackle , working lures through the channels and along the banks. It was quite different fishing a blind estuary, as there is no current and no tidal influence. We found that this being the case, we could use lures that give lots of action when worked slowly. The number one lure without doubt in this situation was the Rapala Glidin’ Rap. It suspends and sinks, very slowly when not being twitched, but had a beautiful side to side twitching action when being worked. It was absolutely deadly for kob in particular, though the garrick also loved it.<\/div>\n
\"\"<\/div>\n
We had an absolute ball catching good sized fish in the river. It was quite challenging, as the fish in blind rivers seem to be a touch wiser, and perhaps less aggressive than those in open estuaries, but then the challenge makes it all the more rewarding. Also, there is the fact that you know the fish have to be there, they could not have gone out to sea, and there is nowhere else for them to go.Something else interesting that happened while fishing for the kob and garrick in the West Kleinemonde river; Chris was throwing the cast net about a hundred metres along the bank, looking for some mullet to put out a livebait while we were spinning. He shouted that there was a kob smashing the mullet after he had thrown the net and chased the mullet out into deeper water. This happened a couple of times, with the kob lurking in the channel and hitting the mullet just after the net had landed, sometimes the whole head and most of the body of the kob was coming out of the water. Paul went up to where Chris was throwing his net and flicked his Glidin Rap into the channel and almost instantly went vas with a 15kg kob. Normally you would think that throwing the net would chase the bigger fish away, but in this case it obviously attracted the kob, which came to investigate what all the splashing was about.<\/div>\n
\"\"<\/div>\n

What a lot of people do not realise is that these fish do not breed in the estuary itself. They spawn out at sea and the young larval stage fish enter the river during an open phase. They then live in the estuary until they reach breeding size in some species, or in the case of white steenbras, they move out to sea once they are large enough to deal with the conditions in the surf. If they remain trapped in the system they can never breed, as all breeding is done in the marine environment. For this reason a blind river will have bigger and bigger fish in it evey year that it remains closed, with no small fish. Even the mullet get bigger, and you can no longer find small mullet. The predators also start to feed on other  species of fish such as cape stumpnose and mozambique tilapia. The tilapia breed in the estuary, so there will always be small ones around. This is what the cormorants etc are feeding on in these blind rivers that have been closed for some years.Interestingly there are also other organisms that rely on being able to access the sea in order to breed such as mud prawn. Mud prawn cannot continue to exist in a blind estuary that remains closed for too long, as they need a marine phase in their breeding cycle. Sand prawn are a different story and can breed within the river system. For this reason many of the blind rivers have a population of sand prawn, but not mud prawn.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Once again in a closed system like this it is critical to release your catch, as there is no way for those fish to be replaced, and if you want to continue enjoying that fishing in that system you need to look after the stocks of fish in it!<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last year, on a trip to the Eastern Cape, we spent a couple of days at Kleinemonde, near Port Alfred. There we fished the West Kleinemonde river, which is closed to the sea, and has been for the last five years. The kob and Garrick trapped in this blind river have grown to adult size, but are unable to leave the system until they get enough rain to open the mouth of the river. We […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":199,"featured_media":4582,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[70],"tags":[331,116,332,114,330,333],"class_list":["post-2925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-south-africa","tag-eastern-cape","tag-garrick","tag-kleinemonde","tag-kob","tag-port-alfred","tag-tilapia"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/4fd9dadc9f53d.jpg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3448,"url":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/?p=3448","url_meta":{"origin":2925,"position":0},"title":"Breede River Kob and Grunter","author":"Craig Thomassen","date":"April 4, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The Breede river has to be one of the few fully functioning estuaries in South Africa. It is permanently open, with a deep mouth and channel, allowing a massive amount of water to move in and out of it on each tide. There is an abundance of mud prawn, as\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 1 comment","block_context":{"text":"With 1 comment","link":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/?p=3448#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/b2ap3_thumbnail_DSC_0562.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9518,"url":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/?p=9518","url_meta":{"origin":2925,"position":1},"title":"The good side of Port St Johns","author":"Craig Thomassen","date":"August 28, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"August is traditionally the windiest month on our calendar. With front after front marching up our coast there are few places where one plans a trip to during that month. Port St Johns is an exception. Not that the wind doesn\u2019t blow there in August. But it is a great\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Inside Angling"","block_context":{"text":"Inside Angling","link":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/?cat=35"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/The-good-side-of-port-st-Johns.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/The-good-side-of-port-st-Johns.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/The-good-side-of-port-st-Johns.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/The-good-side-of-port-st-Johns.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/The-good-side-of-port-st-Johns.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/The-good-side-of-port-st-Johns.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7489,"url":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/?p=7489","url_meta":{"origin":2925,"position":2},"title":"Hunting for Kob, Wavecrest Hotel, Transkei","author":"Craig Thomassen","date":"April 14, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"My family has been visiting Wavecrest hotel for more than forty years. It is where I went on my summer holidays when I was a kid, and I have many happy memories from the place. I did a trip there a couple of weeks ago, along with my Dad, Geoff,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Inside Angling"","block_context":{"text":"Inside Angling","link":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/?cat=35"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Hunting-for-Kob-Wavecrest-Hotel-Transkei.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Hunting-for-Kob-Wavecrest-Hotel-Transkei.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Hunting-for-Kob-Wavecrest-Hotel-Transkei.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Hunting-for-Kob-Wavecrest-Hotel-Transkei.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Hunting-for-Kob-Wavecrest-Hotel-Transkei.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Hunting-for-Kob-Wavecrest-Hotel-Transkei.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9498,"url":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/?p=9498","url_meta":{"origin":2925,"position":3},"title":"Port St Johns, The Bad And The Ugly.","author":"Craig Thomassen","date":"August 26, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"August is a good time to visit Port St Johns. This is when there are large adult kob and garrick in the estuary and the surf around the Umzimvubu river mouth. At this time of year some of these adult breeding fish are still on their way up to the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Conservation"","block_context":{"text":"Conservation","link":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/?cat=79"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Port-St-Johns-The-Bad-And-The-Ugly.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Port-St-Johns-The-Bad-And-The-Ugly.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Port-St-Johns-The-Bad-And-The-Ugly.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Port-St-Johns-The-Bad-And-The-Ugly.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Port-St-Johns-The-Bad-And-The-Ugly.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Port-St-Johns-The-Bad-And-The-Ugly.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2295,"url":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/?p=2295","url_meta":{"origin":2925,"position":4},"title":"Flamingo Lodge 2018 Trip","author":"Craig Thomassen","date":"August 30, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"In southern Angola, where the desert meets the sea, is a small, rustic lodge, which caters for the adventurous fisherman. Perched on the edge of the Namib desert and looking out over the Atlantic ocean, Flamingo lodge is isolated and remote, the perfect base to mount a mission to target\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Inside Angling"","block_context":{"text":"Inside Angling","link":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/?cat=35"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/DSC_0134.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/DSC_0134.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/DSC_0134.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/DSC_0134.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/DSC_0134.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/DSC_0134.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2272,"url":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/?p=2272","url_meta":{"origin":2925,"position":5},"title":"Cunene River Mouth Trip","author":"Craig Thomassen","date":"August 30, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"When we planned our recent trip to Flamingo Lodge in Southern Angola, I was hoping for reasonably flat seas. This would make it possible to do the 250 km drive south along the beach to the Cunene River mouth. I had attempted to do the journey with some friends back\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Inside Angling"","block_context":{"text":"Inside Angling","link":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/?cat=35"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/DSC_0024-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/DSC_0024-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/DSC_0024-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/DSC_0024-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/DSC_0024-1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/DSC_0024-1.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa8sv9-Lb","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/199"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2925"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2925\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4587,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2925\/revisions\/4587"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}