ISO 24444 / ISO 24443 EU COLIPA and SANS 1557 Verified Broadspectrum Sunscreens
Sodwana Bay Fishing & Solunar Times
← All fishing spots · 🎣 Ski-boat & game fishing →
54 /100 ★★☆☆☆ slow
Falling fast (-4.0 hPa/6h) — front coming; 0.9m — working the gullies nicely; 0.9h off the turn, picking up.
Why the bite reads slow right now
🔻Pressure+10
falling fast (-4.0 hPa/6h) — front coming
〰️Swell+8
0.9m — working the gullies nicely
🌊Tide flow+4
0.9h off the turn, picking up
🌅Light-4
bright midday sun — fish sitting deep
🌘Moon phase-2
neap tides — smallest movement
📏Tide range-2
0.5m — small neap movement
Bars are the live points each factor added to (green) or took off (red) today’s score. Full breakdown below.
Show how this score is worked out
| Baseline | an average day on an average tide | +40 |
| Solunar | between bite windows | 0 |
| Moon phase | neap tides — smallest movement | -2 |
| Tide flow | 0.9h off the turn, picking up | +4 |
| Tide direction | pulling out | +1 |
| Tide range | 0.5m — small neap movement | -2 |
| Wind | 14 km/h onshore, light | -1 |
| Swell | 0.9m — working the gullies nicely | +8 |
| Pressure | falling fast (-4.0 hPa/6h) — front coming | +10 |
| Light | bright midday sun — fish sitting deep | -4 |
| Water temp | 25.4°C | 0 |
| Total | 54 | |
Every factor above is live data for this spot. Solunar and the weightings are an informed guide, not a guarantee — the sea gets a vote.
📖 Today’s story
Slow going — work for it. A strong dropping tide is moving food around. A 0.9m swell is working the gullies. A falling glass ahead of a change is a classic trigger. Best window today around 05:50.
📉 Barometric trigger
Falling fast — a front is coming, prime feeding trigger, climbing next 6h.
Last 6h -4 hPa · next 6h +1 hPa · live from Open-Meteo.
Tide: falling, 0.9h from the turn (next low 16:06)
Moon: Last Quarter (50% lit)
Major bite: 04:50–06:50 · 17:15–19:15
Minor bite: 22:52–00:22 · 11:18–12:48
Strongest near dawn/dusk or a tide change. Nearest tides →
🐟 Best fishing times today
🎣 Reading today’s bite…
■ prime ■ good ■ fair ■ quiet ■ dawn/dusk H/L = tide · tap an hour for detail
🌊 Today's tide
⚖️ What you may legally keep here
| Species | Min size | Bag limit | Closed season |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billfishes (marlin, sailfish) | — | 5/day | none |
| King mackerel / couta (cuda) | — | 10/day | none |
| Kingfishes / trevally (incl. giant kingfish, GT) | — | 5/day | none |
| Yellowfin tuna | — | 10/day | none |
| Barracuda | No published recreational limit — confirm with DFFE before keeping | ||
| Dorado / dolphinfish | No published recreational limit — confirm with DFFE before keeping | ||
A recreational fishing permit is required (available at the Post Office). Over and above the per-species limits above, Reg. 22(7)(f) prohibits keeping more than ten fish in total per day irrespective of species (except species with no bag limit, or a bag limit above ten). Sizes are measured snout to tail tip.
Source: Marine Living Resources Act 18 of 1998 — Regulations (GN R1111), Annexure 7 (Regulation 22). Limits shown only for species named in this spot's notes; where a common name covers more than one species (stumpnose, musselcracker) every applicable limit is listed. Regulations change — verify with DFFE before keeping any fish.
🎣 Where to fish Sodwana Bay
The marks our local knowledge describes for this spot — what the structure is, what holds there and how it is fished.
🌊 Drop-off
Bait / lure: live bait
💡 Top tip
“Trolling live bait and lures over the reef lines and drop-offs is the standard method, while the beaches and rocks add smaller reef and surf species.”
🪨 Rocks
Bait / lure: live bait
Across the whole spot
Baits that work here: live bait
Marks are drawn from our own local knowledge for this spot — each one shows the sentence it came from. They are descriptions, not survey positions: we do not publish a cast coordinate we cannot stand behind. Rock and ledge angling is dangerous in big swell — check the conditions above and never fish a ledge alone.
☀️ Sun & skin — out on the water all day
Sunrise 04:55 · Sunset 18:09 · Peak UV 6
Surfers & anglers get the highest UV dose of anyone. Recommended: SPF 50, reapply every 2 hours and after every session.
Shop SPF 50 sunscreen →Surf/wave: Open-Meteo Marine. Sun/UV/pressure: Open-Meteo. Tides: Stormglass model. Solunar is an approximate guide. Generated Mon, 02 Nov 2026 15:13 SAST.
Aerial map — Sodwana Bay
Jesser Point launch
Beach
Deep hole / gullyCasting spot
Hand-styled from NGI 0.25 m national aerial. Markers show productive marks & casting spots — indicative local knowledge, not live conditions or navigation advice; tides, banks, rips & hazards change, so use your own eyes on the day.
About Sodwana Bay — Fishing Local Knowledge
Sodwana Bay is a world-class fishing destination, launching ski-boats straight off the beach into deep, warm water over dramatic reef topography. It sits within the iSimangaliso marine protected area, so a compulsory fishing permit and the park's zoning rules apply — angling is prohibited in protected zones such as the area south of Jesser Point — and you should always confirm current regulations before fishing.
The deep water and reefs hold outstanding gamefish: king mackerel (couta), giant kingfish (GTs), yellowfin tuna, dorado, barracuda, sailfish and marlin, with the main run from about November to May though fish are present year-round. Trolling live bait and lures over the reef lines and drop-offs is the standard method, while the beaches and rocks add smaller reef and surf species. Nearby Cape Vidal offers similar offshore access. Check current bag and size limits and all park permit requirements before you keep anything.