Bats Cave Kenton On Sea & Eastern Cape Saltwater Fishing Location
Bats Cave; A Great Sea Fishing Spot With Lots Of Fish... In South Africa
I have been fishing Bats Cave for many years now and it never ceases to amaze me how diverse this small gully can be in terms of saltwater fish species, sea weeds and just general sea life. The angling possibilities at Bats Cave are just unbelievable.
General Information On Bats Cave
Bats Cave is situated in the Eastern Cape coastal town of Kenton On Sea along the Sunshine Coast in South Africa. Bats Cave is a deep rocky gully that has access to the sea. It is close to the Bushman's River Mouth, one of the two river mouths which separate Kenton on sea... The other being the Kariega River Mouth. Where Bats Cave got its name from is a mystery to me... There is a cave at the fishing location and I can only presume the cave once looked like a Bat (Before erosion) or that is was once home to a colony of Bats... One can only wonder!
Angling Tips For Bats Cave
As I mentioned earlier Bats Cave has full access to the sea and just beyond the entrance to this rocky gully is a long sandbank. Bats Cave gets completely submerged at high tide so if you are planning to fish here please be careful and know when high tide is... I have tried to fish this spot at high tide before and it is quite dangerous. The best fishing at Bats cave is normally during Spring Tide. The fish go wild for any bait during this time, but generally the area is good fishing regardless of the tide and all sorts of saltwater facets can be practiced here: Lure fishing, bait, fly fishing, float fishing, shark angling... Once you start fishing you can cast anywhere although the best results are too be had right up against the sides of the rocks, off the right point and straight across the middle of the entrance to the gully. The best times to fish Bats Cave are 3 hours before low tide to 2 hours after low tide. The only thing I would like to ask you is please, if you fish this spot don't leave litter lying around and try release as many fish as possible... I have been fishing this spot since I was very young and I would like to keep it as abundant full of life as it is now, forever!
The Best Baits For Bats Cave
A lot of baits work very well here but it all depends on what fish you are targeting. But here's a shortlist of the best baits and what you can catch with them:
- Strepie Fillet: Kob, Brusher, Poenskop...
- Chokka: All species...
- Sardine: All species...
- Black Mussel: Rockcod, Blacktail, John Brown...
- Bloodworm: Stonebream, Bronze Bream...
- Sand Prawn: Musslecracker, Blacktail...
- Spoons: Shad, Kob...
- Plugs/Poppers: Garrick, Shad...
- Other Lures: Garrick, Shad, Kob, Rockcod...
The Fish Species That Occur At Bats Cave
In no particular order these are all the South African saltwater fish species that can commonly be caught at Bats Cave:
- Strepie (Karanteen)
- Blacktail
- Cape Stumpnose
- Grass Klipfish
- Bluntnose Klipfish
- Super Klipfish
- Zebra
- Evil Eyed Puffer
- Bronze Bream
- Stone Bream
- Harder (Southern) Mullet
- Flathead Mullet
- Shad (Elf)
- Kob
- Garrick (Leervis)
- Twotone Fingerfin
- John Brown
- Galjoen
- Red Fingers
- Koester Rockcod
- Catface Rockcod
- Yellowbelly Rockcod
- Brown Shyshark
- Spotted Gully Shark
- Lesser Sandshark
- Ragged Tooth Shark
- Tiger Shark
- Grey Shark
Enjoy fishing at Bats Cave it is such an amazing area with so many varieties and species of fish!