Varying sea and surf conditions, plus northerly and southerly winds, made for difficult fishing times last week.

In winter the southerly winds normally ensure built-up sand in the surf is moved but this doesn’t seem to be the case this year, causing shallow banks to develop at some of the popular fishing spots.

The south-westerly that arrived on Saturday night and continued throughout Sunday may have some impact on the sanded-up areas, but only time will tell.

Local anglers found the fishing tough last week and most returned home empty handed.

A few shad were caught at Chaka’s Rock and Tinley Manor at first light but overall catches were were poor along the local coastline.

The lower South Coast seems to be producing a few really big shad weighing around four kilos. Historically, October and November produce the most shad along the local coastline.

Anglers fishing the rocky gullies fared best last week with outsized blacktail being caught, as well as the odd copper bream and stone bream.

Rocky gullies are also suffering because of sand deposits, closing up the open gullies which poses a problem for anglers wanting to persevere among the rocks. Tobies also seem to be becoming more plentiful and these guys are really bad news attacking any bait cast into the water.

The guys fishing the late afternoons and into the evening continue to find a few salmon and the odd big stumpie but grey sharks are becoming a problem for anglers searching for edible species.

Grey sharks normally appear in the surf at this time of the year and produce some excellent sport. Westbrook Beach was a popular venue for anglers searching for grey sharks, especially the competition anglers.

Ski boat anglers found some nice bottom fish again last week despite the winds and big mid-week swells which caused some tricky surf launch conditions.

Daga salmon are the main target at present but other bottom species such as rockcod, the red fish species and the odd big musselcracker have all been caught last week.

In some areas anglers found half kob feeding. Bait is still plentiful with mackerel said to be “thick” and it is probably a good idea to stock up with fresh bait at present as the mackerel will become really useful during the coming summer season.

Backline anglers are experiencing another excellent garrick season this year with this species being caught basically all along the lower North Coast spots. A couple of 17-18kg garrick were landed and many returned unharmed to the water, which is really encouraging. The area near the Blue Lagoon is still producing snoek.

Just a heads-up for anglers fishing at the various local locations to be alert at all times that opportunistic criminals are not far away. There has been a spike of anglers being mugged and robbed of their tackle and personal belongings on the South Coast.

One couple parked their vehicle at an Amanzimtoti beach recently and left their vehicle for no longer than two minutes. On returning they found the vehicle’s front door open and the ignition wires ripped out. It was that quick and nobody was seen loitering in the area.

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