Fishing Report SA
KZN South Coast Region 3
Lower South Coast: Shelly Beach to Margate
KZN South Coast Region 3 Fishing & Weather Report — 26–27 August 2026
Representative location: Shelly Beach, KwaZulu-Natal
Coverage: Shelly Beach, Uvongo, Margate and the Lower South Coast between Shelly Beach and Margate
Issued: Wednesday, 26 August 2026 at 05:00 SAST
Overall outlook
A difficult marine window is indicated for both days. Modelled wave and swell maxima are about 2.9 m, with an 11–12 second swell period. Wednesday has lighter south winds but late light rain; Thursday turns much windier from the north-northeast, with modelled gusts up to about 66 km/h. The open coast and exposed ledges should be treated as rough and unsuitable for casual shore or offshore fishing until actual conditions are checked locally.
Best practical approach: if fishing, favour only a short, clearly safe shore window in sheltered water and keep shad as the main accessible target. Do not use the forecast as a substitute for checking the beach, rocks, launch and official warnings.
Wednesday, 26 August 2026
Weather & Marine
Temperature: 16.9–21.2°C
Rain: up to 92% probability; about 2.3 mm modelled. Mostly cloudy to scattered cloud through the day, with light rain developing from late afternoon/evening.
Wind: predominantly south (about 177°) at up to 18 km/h, gusting to about 39 km/h.
Waves and swell: modelled maximum about 2.9 m from the south (about 171°), period up to 13.5 seconds; swell period about 11.4 seconds.
Marine assessment: rough, powerful open-coast conditions despite the lighter wind forecast; exposed ledges and offshore launch require great caution and local verification.
Solunar Times
Activity rating: Good, but marine conditions are the limiting factor.
Major periods: 09:43–11:43 and 21:59–23:59
Minor periods: 04:50–05:50 and 15:37–16:37
Sunrise / sunset: 06:22 / 17:40
Moonrise / moonset: 16:07 / 05:20
Moon phase: Full Moon, about 97% illuminated
Tides — Shelly Beach
High 02:57 (1.23 m) · Low 09:05 (-0.06 m) · High 15:18 (1.34 m) · Low 21:21 (-0.06 m)
Fishing Focus
The clearest accessible public fishing signal remains winter shad along suitable shoreline water. Work only a safe beach or protected structure, look for bait and moving water, and consider sardine, red-eye, spoons or paddle tails. Garrick remain a possibility where bait is present. Tuna and other gamefish are an offshore-only prospect and should not be pursued in a marginal launch window.
Thursday, 27 August 2026
Weather & Marine
Temperature: 16.7–21.8°C
Rain: up to 76% probability; about 1.1 mm modelled. Light rain is most likely overnight and early morning, easing to mostly cloudy or broken cloud during the day.
Wind: predominantly north-northeast (about 32°) at up to 34 km/h, gusting to about 66 km/h.
Waves and swell: modelled maximum about 2.9 m from the south-southeast (about 149°), period up to 13.1 seconds; swell period about 11.8 seconds.
Marine assessment: very rough and wind-affected. Strong gusts combined with the large swell make exposed rocks, beaches and offshore operations particularly hazardous.
Solunar Times
Activity rating: Good on the solunar table, but the weather and sea state may cancel the practical fishing window.
Major periods: 10:29–12:29 and 22:43–00:43 (continuing into Friday)
Minor periods: 05:22–06:22 and 16:36–17:36
Sunrise / sunset: 06:21 / 17:40
Moonrise / moonset: 17:06 / 05:52
Moon phase: Full Moon, about 99% illuminated
Tides — Shelly Beach
High 03:24 (1.35 m) · Low 09:31 (-0.18 m) · High 15:44 (1.47 m) · Low 21:47 (-0.16 m)
Fishing Focus
The solunar periods overlap useful morning and afternoon movement, but the strong north-northeast wind and large south-easterly swell are the dominant factors. A shore session should be considered only if the actual water is demonstrably safe; otherwise wait. No offshore trip should proceed without a verified safe launch and return window. Shad remains the most realistic target from accessible shoreline water, with kob or garrick only as conditional possibilities around structure and bait.
Current public fishing observations
- The Kingfisher public reports index, checked 26 August, still listed 13 August 2026 as its newest KZN report. That report described active winter shad along the shoreline, South Coast garrick as a standout and tuna providing offshore action during suitable breaks.
- The same Kingfisher report said rough seas, cooler water and strong winds had reduced fishing time during a cold front, with rewarding sessions between weather windows. It did not publish a dated Shelly Beach-to-Margate catch breakdown.
- Out & About SA's public KZN sea-and-shore guide identifies Shelly Beach and Protea Banks with offshore gamefish, billfish, tuna, couta and sharks, and Margate with shad, kob and garrick. This is general location guidance, not a current catch log.
- Public SEALINE and Ultimate Angling pages were checked. They showed forum activity but no current, publicly readable, location-specific Lower South Coast catch report. KZNSSA and FishForLife were checked for public angling and conservation context, with no dated local catch update.
- No current public netting update, verified fish-sales location or price list for Shelly Beach–Margate was identified in the sources checked. Private or unavailable social-media groups were not accessed.
Sources and limitations
Weather values are a point forecast for the Shelly Beach representative location from Open-Meteo; wave and swell values are a model forecast from its Marine Weather API. Tides, sun/moon times and solunar periods are from the public Shelly Beach Tideschart fishing table and were checked at 05:00 SAST.
Forecast grids can differ from conditions at a particular beach, reef, point or launch. Wave height is modelled and does not describe every breaking wave. No live buoy, beach patrol, launch-master or official local observation was available through the checked public sources.
Public fishing information is limited: the newest relevant Kingfisher report available during this run was dated 13 August 2026, and the general guides do not constitute verified current catches for every town. Confirm current South African Weather Service warnings, access rules, permits and local sea conditions before fishing.
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SAFETY & INFORMATION NOTICE
This Fishing Report SA publication provides fishing, marine conditions and weather predictions for planning purposes. It is compiled from multiple publicly available weather and marine data sources. Conditions can change rapidly. It is not an official South African Weather Service warning and must not replace professional weather advice or local safety decisions.
For the full official weather forecast, updates and warnings, visit the South African Weather Service:
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