Angling Report – 3 October 2014

As predicted, the north easterly winds pushed the first half of last week before turning southerly as the weekend approached. The equinox spring tides created a strong surf that did damage along some beaches by washing away the sand. One such beach is Westbrook where waves were washing right up to the retaining wall. Anglers were actually standing on the wall and casting into deep water during the high tide periods. Most anglers were having a last fling for shad before the season closed, but the first half of the week produced very little. As the week drew to a close some decent sized shad were caught at Umhlanga beach however, continuing throughout the weekend. Fish of around 1.5kg to 2kg were landed. I have heard from some locals that they are considering targeting the big shad that arrive in these waters during the closed season. My advice is to leave these fish alone because you stand a good chance of being caught. Just last weekend, the wildlife officers arrived on the beach at Umhlanga at 6am and apprehended an angler for fishing without a licence. The fine was R1500 and would have become way more expensive if there were illegal shad involved. Being an avid angler myself I know it is very tempting, but we need to do our bit to help preserve these fish for future generations – no matter how small part we each play. There have been several big stumpies caught at various popular fishing spots so this could be the way to go for anglers looking for fresh fish. Stumpies will take most baits, but I have found that crab, squid and mussel baits are the best. Who that are lucky enough to be in possession of crayfish could be in the pound seats when targeting stumpies and copper bream. Other species to target are the big blacktail which seem plentiful at present and they give excellent account of themselves on light tackle. I saw several dusky sharks landed in the morning and late afternoons last week. It is great fun catching these sharks and they really stretch one’s arms. A wire trace is needed when these fish are feeding otherwise there is every chance of being bitten-off every throw. A fresh fillet or whole sardine will almost guarantee a pull, but a live bait is the best way to go when fishing for duskies. I spent some time watching a skiboat fishing close in at the Tongaat mouth on Friday morning. These guys caught at least two garrick and I am sure they landed a couple more as I saw them stop several times as they moved north towards Ballito. The winds of last week were a hastle for the offshore anglers, but I heard that anglers are catching some geelbek, dagas and some decent bottom fish. Sealice