Angling Report – 13 May 2016

A fresh to strong south westerly wind arrived last Tuesday and caused the swell to pick up. The surf remained strong for the rest of the working week and the weekend fishing was spoiled by another front that brought plenty of rain (but how welcome the rain was).
Although the surf was strong, not too much was happening and anglers said that perhaps it was due to the crystal clear water. Although fish like pompano generally like clean water, the big surf probably kept them beyond the waves. I was, however, told that a couple of small specimens were caught in the Durban area.
The big surf washed away some of the angling beaches, leaving steep banks which makes it dangerous when casting, especially during the high spring tide periods like last week. I saw a few guys fishing amongst the rocks and the news was that they were only catching a few small fish.
It certainly seems as if the winter has come early this year which could be a blessing in disguise, although the seawater is still pretty warm. Surf anglers will now target fish such as salmon, shad, garrick and brusher and don’t forget the copper bream that feed amongst the rocks during winter. There are plenty of shad about but the majority of the fish are undersized and not worth the effort unless looking for live bait. I have found, however, that mullet, pinkie or karranteen seems to work better when looking for garrick or daga salmon.
I believe that a few nice sized shad (around 1kg) were caught last week in the rough conditions along the lower South Coast beaches. During the past couple of shad seasons I have found that these fish were feeding just behind the shore break and if one casts too far, nothing touches the bait. The shad also do not feed for too long – mostly for15 to 20 minutes and then they are gone. That is why it is best to have a bait in the water just at first light in the morning.
There are a few shoal sized salmon around and I believe that these fish are showing a preference for fresh fillets. Friends told me that whole sardines are not working for these fish at the moment. When fishing for salmon in the dark, it is advisable to use a smallish hook because there will invariably also be some stumpnose about. I normally fish alone and unfortunately I do not fish after dark anymore after nearly being hi-jacked last year. Now I wait for company to arrive before removing my tackle from my vehicle.
I believe that a few nice couta were caught last week between Stud Rock and Umdhloti mouth and I was surprised to see just how many ski boats were in the area during the week. A couple of my friends booked off sick from work so the fishing must have been worth it. Now is also the time for the big couta but unfortunately the shark problem is still there with some really nice fish being eaten once hooked. The surf was not ideal for launching from the beach and many of the boats that I saw were registered Durban ski boats. As expected, I never received any news from the bottom anglers because of the swell out at sea.
Tides will be neaps this week and hopefully the sea settles quickly and with all the rain along the coast, it is almost certain that fresh water will be flowing into the sea. This should be a good thing as long as there are not too many weeds about.
Sealice