11 of the best fishing spots in South Africa

With a coastline of almost 3000 kilometres long, and numerous dams, lakes, rivers and streams, South Africa has plenty to offer for the fishing enthusiast. Since most fishing spots offer not only good fishing, but are set in gorgeous scenery and surroundings, they make great locations for weekend getaways.

Here are some of the best fishing spots around South Africa:

1. Dullstroom
   Dullstroom in Mpumalanga is arguably South Africa’s premier fly-fishing capital. It offers excellent still water and river fishing, with rainbow and brown trout stocked in most dams and streams. What’s more its prime country location makes it a great option for a weekend getaway for those in Gauteng.
2.  Du Toitskloof
   Du Toitskloof in the Western Cape is a well known fly-fishing destination, boasting unprecedented easy-access trout fishing. The icy mountain streams also offer excellent freshwater angling.
3. The Rhodes District
   Rhodes and the whole Southern Drakensberg area boasts pristine mountain streams and rivers such as the Bell, the Kraai and the Bokspruit. This area is known to offer some of the finest trout and yellow-fish fishing in the country.
4.  Jonkershoek Valley
   Jonkershoek in Stellenbosch offers superb fly-fishing for both the experienced and the novice angler. All five dams in the valley are operated from the oldest trout hatchery in Southern Africa, so there’s an abundance of fish to be caught, in particular rainbow trout, which can vary in size from rather small to a couple kilograms.
5. Elephant Coast
   The Elephant Coast in the Eastern Cape promises visitors a unique fishing safari experience, with excellent game fishing opportunities, in particular at Cape Vidal and Sodwana. Various species such as shad, grunter, salmon, garick and kingfish can be caught here. St Lucia and Kosi Bay lakes offer a rare semi-saline environment in which to test your skill.
6. Cape Point
   The Indian Ocean meet at Cape Point affords prime opportunities for deep sea fishing. The predominant offshore fish species found here are yellowfin tuna, longfin, mako and occasionally dorado. Inshore you can catch yellowtail and cape snoek with options for hooking cape salmon and kob.

7.  Shelly Beach
A fishing trip to Shelly Beach boasts both game and bottom fishing. Game fish in the area consists mainly of yellow-fin tuna, skipjack, bonito, and sarda-sarda tuna. You may even get the chance to catch dorado, king mackerel, wahoo, aailfish and marlin in season. Bottom fish consist mainly of slinger, englishman, scotsman, pink salmon, protea bream and a variety of rockod.
8. Wild Coast
Shore angling from the rocky coastline of the Eastern Cape’s Wild Coast rewards the angler with catches of garrick, kob, steenbras, shad, kingfish, galjoen and hottentot. For those who want a bit more action, boat anglers fishing from surf launched ski boats may get a chance at yellowtail, tuna, yellowfin, swordfish, mackerel, marlin, sailfish, barracuda, cob and queen fish.

9. Jozini Dam
Jozini Dam in Pongola, the heart of the Zulu Kingdom, offers the unique opportunity to catch the rare tiger fish. The Pongola River an extraordinary popular fishing spot in KwaZulu Natal, and hosts a number of fishing competitions. The many small bays and inlets present excellent fishing for tiger fish, kurper and barbel.
10. KwaZulu-Natal North Coast
The North Coast of KwaZulu-Natal is considered by many to be one of the best recreational fishing coastlines in the world. With warmer waters in the northern region, the chance of catching a large predator fish is unmatched almost anywhere else in South Africa. Expect to catch king mackerel, sharks, kingfish and queen fish as well as rays, skates and sand sharks.

11. Mokala National Park
The Northern Cape is the perfect place to escape to when the rest of the country is in the depths of coldest winter. Fly-fishing on the Riet River near Kimberley presents a truly superb fishing weekend getaway for the whole family.