Angling Report – 24 April 2015

Conditions looked very promising for anglers on Monday with moderate surf and the sea beyond the waves looking good and clean.
This all changed mid-morning on Tuesday when a fresh south westerly began to blow and the sea and surf conditions deteriorated. This wind pushed all night and by Wednesday morning, the sea was very lumpy and a big surf was running.
These conditions remained for the rest of the week and although it looked as if things were moderating on Saturday afternoon, the swell and big surf greeted anglers on Sunday morning.
A few anglers were trying on Sunday morning, but they all said that there was nothing happening and the rough surf was a problem. Alas, as soon as the fishing improves and a few decent fish are caught, in moves the bad weather.
I have seen this happen many times through the years and it is quite frustrating for anglers.
I would have thought that the big southerly surf would have broken up the sand banks a bit but this has not been the case and some beaches remain sanded up. I heard that there have been at least three shad weighing over 3kg that have been recently caught locally.
This is quite unusual for this time of the year as normally only a few, small shad feed during the month of April in our part of the coast. It is around the end of May that the green shad begin feeding in the surf on a regular basis.
The last couple of years has seen the China shad arriving late so hopefully the fish arrive on time this year and they will bring the garrick with. The water is still too warm for shad because they thrive in the colder water of the Eastern and Southern Cape where they can be caught all year round.
At this time of the year I like to use live crab as bait when fishing because there is always the chance of a pompano taking the bait.
I always tell anglers fishing with me in the dark that they should not cast too far because the fish move right into the shoredump to look for food.
Apparently the fishing was poor along the entire coastline this past week but on Monday morning I saw a huge fish in the waves at Westbrook beach. I happened to be looking at the sea through my binoculars and as a wave built up when I saw the big shape in the crystal clean water. The fish looked a lot like a brindle bass and I watched for some time as it swam slowly northwards. I have seen many fish in the water before, but nothing like this specimen with it’s big mouth and brushy tail.
Fishing news from the offshore guys was almost non existent which was no surprise because of the winds and unsettled sea. The Durban Ski Boat club will be hosting its big gamefish competition this weekend so the anglers will be all out during the week to find out what has been biting and where.
Remember last year a couple of anglers were badly injured when the marlin that one of them had hooked jumped over the bow of the boat and speared them with its bill. Hopefully the weather gods will be good to the anglers this weekend.
Although local anglers are targeting the pompano and stumpnose, they are also keeping their eyes and ears open to what is happening down the South Coast. The winter fish will soon begin to move up the coast.

Sealice