General Description and habitat:

The couta is often thought to be one of the most abundant salt water game fish species on the east coast of Southern Africa. This pelagic fish is generally found in deeper water but has been known to venture close to shore in search of prey. This makes it possible to target them from the shore in certain areas, although the vast majority of these game fish are targeted off shore. Large specimens of up to 40 kgs often hunt alone or in pairs while smaller couta, in the 5 to 12 kilo range tend to move in shoals, sometimes numbering in their hundreds. They prefer areas with structure, such as reef pinnacles, since this provides the couta with shelter from currents as well as a large food supply in the form of bait fish around the reef.

Couta are blue-grey above the lateral line with silver sides. The undersides of the belly are white. Many vertical and irregular bars cover the sides. The darkness of these stripes increase with the age of the fish. Couta have razor sharp teeth, which necessitates piano wire leaders when targeting these fish, as well as extreme care when handling a landed fish.

Angling Tackle and Tactics:

Fly:

Fast action 9ft 10 - 12wht rods, matched with a large arbor direct drive reel is the standard set up. This species is most often targeted at a depth of between 10 and 30 meters of water, and often in conditions where the current is running above 3 knots. This strong current combined with the depth at which the species often feed require a very heavy, fast sinking fly line. A line in the 500 to 700 grain range, to ensure you will be able to get the fly into the feeding zone.

The most productive method is to use the deep dredging technique over a pinnacle or drop off. In this manner, the skipper will drift the boat down current over where the couta are holding. The fly line is cast down current, and allowed to sink deep through the water channel as the boat drifts back onto the line. When at its maximum depth, the fly line is retrieved with fast positive strips. In some instances a double handed retrieve works best.

Flies that tend to produce the best results are Chartreuse clouser deep minnows, and large flashy profiles. The size of these flies varies, depending on the prominent bait fish in the area, but flies tend to be tied on large 3/0 to 6/0 hooks.

Leader set up is a simple 5 -7 ft leader, of 20 – 25lb fluorocarbon, when the water is extremely clear or standard monofilament, when the water is slightly discoloured.

Comprehensive tackle lists, compiled for each unique Salt water fishing area, will be sent out on request, keith@tourettefishing.com, or on booking. Also have browse through the following article for more on the subject:

• Eclectic Inhaca

Conventional:

There are many ways to target couta using conventional tackle methods. Artificial lures and spoons are popular, as well as the recent explosion of the popular method of casting plastic artificial lures for this species. Area, depth and speed of the retrieve are all similar to that of casting flies for these fast predators. Although artificial lures are a productive and exciting conventional method of fishing for couta, the vast majority of these game fish that are caught on conventional methods are targeted using live bait. The type of live bait used varies from area to area, depending on the prominent bait fish species. Common and popular live bait species used for targeting couta include mackerel, bonito, maasbanker, scads and shad.

Comprehensive tackle lists, compiled for each unique Salt water fishing area, will be sent out on request, rob@tourettefishing.com, or on booking. Also have browse through the following article for more on the subject:

• Inhaca Island and the Realm of Hells Gates
• Couta Code

For details on the areas Tourette Fishing targets couta, go to the following pages:

• Inhaca Island Fishing Kayak Safari