Santer
Cheimerius nufar
A pink reef bream that hunts small fish over deep reefs, caught on ski-boats from Mozambique to the southern Cape.
Size: Most are 25–35 cm and under 1 kg, and they reach about 75 cm. The SA angling record is 8 kg, from KwaZulu-Natal.
Where: From Mozambique down the KZN and Eastern Cape coasts to Cape Agulhas. Common off KZN and caught more and more in the Eastern Cape.
How to spot it
A fairly slim bream with a pointed snout and a gently curved head. Rosy pink above and silver below, with a small blue spot on each scale of the upper body. Young fish have six faint pink bars and long, thread-like spines at the front of the dorsal fin, which get shorter with age.
Varieties and look-alikes
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Santer - Pink above and silver below, with small blue spots on the upper body and a more pointed snout.
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Young santer - Long thread-like spines stick up from the front of the dorsal fin, and faint pink bars cross the body.
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Slinger - Pink-red with a very steep forehead and a bright blue line under the eye; no white marks.
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Red Roman - Orange-red, with a white saddle on the back, a white bar on the gill cover and a blue line between the eyes.
What it eats
Mainly a fish-eater: sardines and small reef fish, plus squid, octopus and crabs. Young santer eat small shrimps, octopus and little fish.
Where it feeds
- Loose shoals over deeper, fairly flat reefs, down to about 130 m
- Young fish on shallow reefs and the sand next to them, 7–60 m
- After a storm or a cold upwelling they often move into shallower water
How to catch it
Fish from a ski-boat over deep reef with a two- or three-hook bottom trace. Santer have bigger mouths than slinger, so a strip of fish, half a sardine or a live bait on a 2/0–5/0 hook works well. The shoals move between reefs, so if the bites stop, move and find them again on the fish finder. Jigs and soft plastics worked near the bottom also catch them.
| Way of fishing | How well it works |
|---|---|
| Bait on the bottomA sinker holds your bait still on the bottom. | Best |
| Under a bobberA bobber is a small buoy on your line: it holds the bait off the bottom and dips under when a fish bites. | Not used |
| Natural or dead baitReal food on the hook: worms, liver, sardine, chokka. | Best |
| Live baitA small live fish or other live creature on the hook. | Works well |
| LuresArtificial baits you cast and reel in: spinners, spoons, plastics. | Works well |
| TrollingLures or bait pulled behind a moving boat. | Not used |
| Fly fishingLight artificial flies, cast with a fly rod. | Not used |
Baits and lures that work
- Sardine
- Fish strips or dead fish
- Chokka (squid)
- Live baitfish
- Mackerel
- Octopus
- Metal jigs
- Soft plastics
Flavours it likes
- Fish
- Squid
Santer hunt fish, so fresh fish baits work best: sardine, mackerel or a strip of fresh fillet.
When it bites
Time of day
| Time | Bite |
|---|---|
| Dawn | Best |
| Day | Good |
| Midday | Slow |
| Dusk | Good |
| Night | Slow |
First light is the best time. They keep biting through the morning and slow down around midday.
Best months
- Good: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
Santer can be caught all year. In KZN they spawn from May to November, and in the Eastern Cape from November to February.
What affects the bite
| Condition | What it likes | Effect on the bite |
|---|---|---|
| Water temperature | Best at 15–23 °C | Low |
| Time of day | Best at dawn and dusk | Medium |
| Tide | Hardly matters | Low |
| Swell and surf | Best when the sea is calm | High |
| Air pressure | Best when steady or falling | Medium |
| Cloud cover | Hardly matters | Low |
| Wind | Best with a light breeze | High |
| Rain | Hardly matters | Low |
| Water clarity | Hardly matters | Low |
| Moon phase | Hardly matters | Low |
| Spawning | Hardly changes | Low |
High means it makes a big difference to whether this fish bites. Low means it hardly matters.
Tips
- Don't strike at every peck. Wait for the rod to pull down, then wind hard.
- Rig baits neatly so they don't spin on the way down; a spinning bait twists the trace.
- If the fish finder shows a shoal above the bottom, drop a jig or a live bait to them.
Good to know: Check the current rules: santer have a minimum size of 30 cm and a daily bag limit of 5 per person.
Are they biting today?
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