KZN kayak angler all at sea as fish drags him deeper into the ocean

A KwaZulu-Natal angler who was fishing from his kayak on the south coast ran into trouble after a fish he hooked dragged him further into the ocean on Sunday.

Kevin Fourie, National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) station commander at Rocky Bay, said a paddle-skier arrived at the rescue station on Sunday morning to report that his friend, who was on a fishing kayak, was in distress near Kelso beach.

Fourie said a team was deployed to conduct a search for the fisherman, who was found a few kilometres away with his kayak "semi-submerged".

"He was treated for exhaustion and shock and brought safely ashore and no further assistance was required.

"He reported that he launched at 6am to go fishing and hooked a fish which dragged him further out to sea.

"The fishing hatch on his kayak blew away and it started to take water, hampering his attempts to paddle to shore against strong northeasterly winds.

"He then called a friend to raise the alarm," said Fourie.

He said the man was advised to go fishing with a friend in future.