Angling Report – 20 December 2013

I was on the beach last week and saw the conservation people handing out pamphlets to fishermen and members of the public. These leaflets conveyed the warning that it was illegal to sell or purchase crayfish or shad. In fact it is illegal to sell or buy any recreational marine species. A recreational angler is one that fishes for fun, sport or for personal consumption under a licence that is obtained from the post office. The penalties for breaking the law are quite severe as a spot fine of R500 for each fish is payable (up to R2500) and the offender will have to appear in court, facing further fines, jail time and a criminal record.
Another reason for heeding these warnings is the potential health hazards. It has been known that poachers have stored live crayfish in long-drop toilets to keep them alive and “fresh” (among other unhealthy methods). The shad or other species of fish these guys try to sell are often not kept in cold storage and with the heat at this time of the year the flesh of fish deteriorates very rapidly. No matter how tempted you may be, take these warnings seriously and enjoy the festive season without any problems.
Good sea and weather conditions prevailed for the first part of last week, but a westerly buster came up on Wednesday night and continued blowing through Thursday. This strong wind brought with it rain and rough seas that created difficult angling conditions. Although the rivers came down in flood to further complicate things, the surf moderated during the weekend and conditions actually became very fishable.
There were a few decent sized shad caught last week and most of the popular shad angling spots produced some large fish. I fished the Umhlanga area twice last week and caught three nice shad on each outing, seeing a few more being caught by other anglers. It is quite surprising that the big shad are still around at this time of the year as normally the fish caught now are small with many being undersized. The fish that I caught were all over l kg and I saw many others of the same size or even larger. Salmon Bay in the Ballito area produced really nice fish last week, some of which weighing in at over 2,5kg. Most of the shad were caught at first light, but fish were also caught as the tide was rising during the mornings and late afternoon.
With the big shad feeding so late in the year it could mean that the seasons are changing, especially since the shad was so scarce earlier in the year during the supposed “peak” season. All the big fish that I saw recently were “return shad” which means fish that have already spawned and are on their way back south. It is easy to tell whether these fish had spawned as they have a very slender look – whereas those full of roe have fat bellies. I believe this week will be another good one for those looking for shad. Anglers should make sure they use fresh bait. The shad I caught at Umhlanga were all caught on fresh shad fillet. A wire trace is a must and whilst some anglers prefer to use a cork or a bung, I prefer a running trace without a cork.
Several stumpies were caught locally last week and these fish were taking a variety of baits. A couple of nice kingfish were also caught at Umdloti and one or two other local rocky areas. One angler fishing with us at Umhlanga caught a very nice pompano of about 6kg on crab bait just after the shad went off the bite. There is a variety of edible fish on the bite at present, but anglers should be prepared to be a little patient. I saw many anglers leave the beach after the early morning sessions only to lose out when the fish came on the bite again.
One surf ski angler fishing close inshore at the beginning of the week caught three nice sized dorado just south of Westbrook beach. I also heard that a few couta were caught in the Umdhloti area before the river water stained the sea. Anglers are saying that there are plenty of yellowfin tuna around which means that the summer gamefish season has begun. It seems as if this coming week could be a promising one with something for everyone.
Sealice