Sardine Run 2021 ~ South Africa East Coast - Mega Fish

[GKC0806]

If anyone is interested, you might want to start having a check-out on Youtube for various angling newsfeeds covering the annual Sardine Run off the Kwazulu-Natal coastline of South Africa. This phenomenon, described by National Geographic as The Greatest Shoal on Earth, involves the mass migration of billions of sardines/pilchards from the cooler waters of the Cape, up the East coast of Southern Africa. The sardines mostly travel in shoals sometimes kilometres long fairly far out to sea, but once they reach the Kwazulu-Natal south coast, a combination of near-in continental shelf and predatory action from thousands of sharks, dolphins, porpoises and whales, plus associated pelagic game-fish, pushes the shoals into the surf, where they literally wash-up on the beach and can be netted (by the brave or foolhardy) with nothing more than a t-shirt.
Massive sharks (Grey's, Dusky's, Bronze Whalers, Backfins and Tigers' all come into the surf zone where they are targeted by anglers looking to have their arms and back's stretched. Not for the feint hearted - looking to tangle to large sharks in the 200-300kg range, buckling you for 2-4 hours without relief.
A new aspect to the shore-angling scene is the Drone-Angling, where the angler can drop large baits a little further out for when the shoals are not within casting distance.
Also makes for some unbelievable aerial footage, showing the shoals of sardines interspersed with feeding sharks.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=inU1P6b7qhw
Obviously Covid precludes travel to SA, but for anyone who would like to get into the fight of their life, it would be worthwhile contemplating a guided angling tour to SA, where Pro's have all the necessary heavy gear to set you up during this incredible natural phenomenon.