Hot Spot: Ponta do Ouro

 Across the South African border is the vibrant and busy little coastal town of Ponta do Ouro at the Southern point of Mozambique. Ignore all the RnRs, and land based activities,and make sure you wake up early because this fishing paradise is one of the most productive and underrated fishing spots on the East coast. Seamlessly blending in with the magnificent KZN coastline to the South and the exquisite and untouched coastal waters to the North towards Inhaca Island, a stretch of coastline that is abundant and productive.
It is abundant because it has been protected and well looked after on both sides of the border. Fish know no borders of course and they have free range on this amazing stretch. The very well protected KZN coast to the South does not allow any launching North of Sodwana, so the ocean waters closest to the border literally do not get boat traffic at all. And the Ponta do Ouro waters are part of the The Ponta do Ouro Partial Marine Reserve, which is incredibly well looked after and managed. Combined with the unique and incredible Kosi Bay lake system, just South of Ponta in South Africa, the beautiful and well-kept reef systems all the way from Sodwana to Inhaca Island, and it is no surprise that the fish thrive here.
The species list is endless, from open water pelagic monsters to reef dwelling tackle busters, you can tick the bucket list species off at ease. You can quite easily land a mix of Dorado, Sailfish, Couta, Jobfish and multiple Kingfish species, and even a Marlin in a day’s session.
Despite the abundance of fish, you still have to work hard and get to know the area, but if you get it right, you are going to smash it. The key to fishing Ponta is to be ready to diversify your tactics and be ready to change things up, often and quickly. Being prepared is key to doing well. Tactics wise, and what to do is an entire article on its own, which we will cover in another issue.
So when fishing Ponta, you need to have a bit of everything. Plastics, trolling lures, kona’s,you need some poppers, stick baits, bucktails, drop shots, and then dead bait traces are very important because you don't always find live bait readily available in Ponta, but have plenty live bait traces as well, because when you find the live bait you are on the money.
So, there's good fishing area all the way from Ponta through to Ponta Malongane, and beyond but we're just covering Ponta do Ouro to Malongane for now. Straight off Ponta is a reef called Doodles which often produces fish, and there's often a bit of live bait up towards Doodles just off back line. Out in the middle of nowhere there's often tuna around so look out for for action on the surface, like birds and surface movement, and current lines
Then working all those various reefs from Doodles to Malongane ledges all the way up to Pinnacles and then on those spots such as Pinnacles you can drop shot,and bucktail, for your species like Kingfish and Jobfish and Tropical Yellowtail and all those various pelagic reef species. You'll very often catch species like Couta and Bonnies on the bucktail and drop shot as well.
The 40m mark off Malongane going North is good for Wahoo and Tuna. And then don't be scared to fish shallow as well. So fishing right off the ledges off backline between Ponta Malongane and Ponta do Ouro, especially on the pushing tide, and the full high tide when the ledges are covered more, those Couta love to come in and feed in that shallower area.
Another important thing to remember is that Ponta is an all-day fishing spot. Obviously if you don't want to be out on the water all day then fish till say 11 o'clock, head back in have a break have some lunch, have a chow, have a rest up, get your tackle back in order, and then head back out at like 1pm or 2pm, and fish late into the afternoon. Those fish definitely bite late. In fact Ponta is actually a very good afternoon fishing spot and those fish love to have a late afternoon bite there.
Launching wise, Ponta do Ouro is very sheltered and very forgiving, especially with a Southerly swell. This doesn’t mean throw caution to the wind, but this lovely big bay gives you plenty of room to move and to time your run properly.
This is obviously just a brief hotspot overview for Ponto do Ouro, with some marks, and at some stage we'll go into a little bit more in-depth fishing the area from Ponta, all the way up through to Inhaca, and there's lots of different tactics and tips to fish different spots along this absolute fishing paradise.
Some good marks, working roughly from Ponta do Ouro to North of Malongane.
Doodles - 26° 49.784'S, 32° 53.875'E.
Atlantis - 26° 50.678'S, 32° 54.880'E
Ponta Ledge - 26° 49.808'S, 32° 55.140'E
Lego's - 26° 50.525'S, 32° 54.948'E
Steps - 26° 48.917'S, 32° 53.630'E
Kevs Ledge - 26° 46.740'S, 32° 54.360'E
Malongane Ledge South - 26° 47.880'S, 32° 54.990'E
Cloudbreak - 26° 47.187'S, 32° 55.217'E
Malongane Ledge - 26° 46.848'S, 32° 55.307'E
Malongane Ledge North - 26° 46.115'S, 32° 55.642'E
Texas - 26° 45.648'S, 32° 54.172'E
Pinnacles - 26° 45.328'S, 32° 56.212'E
Ponta Techobanine - 26° 40.724'S, 32° 54.461'E

Enjoy this beautiful fishing heaven, and treat it with the respect it deserves. Only keep what you need and don’t break any rules. The Marine Park officials love their Park and will certainly not take kindly to any marine ‘pirates’.
Best time of year: All year round but fishes particularly well between December and May.
Special note. Maputo National Park was proclaimed in 2021 after the merging of Maputo Special Reserve and Ponta do Ouro Partial Marine Reserve. So not only is the Marine life protected but the land based animals as well, and the Park is teaming with wildlife and a great place to go game viewing, making Ponta do Ouro a very unique destination indeed, and an incredible place to visit.