Angling Report

When I said last week that some of the local anglers were praying for a bit of dirty water, I think that those prayers were more than answered. After the storms of last week, the rivers flooded into the sea but there was so much rain in such a short time that a lot of damage was caused by the inevitable flooding. Tons of debris and pollution ended up in the sea and on local beaches.
Fishing was impossible during the week but as the days passed, the surf moderated and anglers were able to cast their lines on Saturday morning. A couple of friends were fishing and although they did not catch anything, they said that a couple of shad were caught. The problem they said was the amount of waste plastic in the water which tangled around their lines with every cast. Fishing was a problem because of the plastic in the water and they soon packed their gear and left the beach.
We see the waste plastic everywhere. On the banks of the rivers, in the rivers, in the sea, alongside the road, in the bush – surely something can be done to eradicate this problem. I have read many articles over time about the problems this plastic causes to the environment and in the ocean because it does not break down. Why do we not revert back to the old brown paper bag that dissolves rapidly after becoming wet. Plenty of marine life dies because of waste plastic floating in the sea and this includes the turtles that mistake this plastic for jellyfish (which they eat).
Just before the bad weather arrived along the coast, the fishing improved nicely with fish on the bite in several areas. Shad made up the bulk of catches but there were some shoal and snapper salmon caught as well plus one or two nice stumpnose. A few garrick also made an appearance in the river mouth areas but these fish seem to be congregating further up the coast where anglers caught some nice sized fish. There seems to be a lot of garrick along the South Coast at present. Local river mouths and other well-known garrick angling spots should start producing more fish soon. It is always the same story though, as soon as the fish start feeding well, the bad weather and rough seas arrive.
Anglers will have to watch the sea conditions carefully because whilst I was writing this column, I was watching the southerly wind blowing and bringing plenty of dark clouds with it. The second half of the week will be the best time for anglers to wet a line again although there is a possibility of more bad weather on the way.
Before the bad weather I was talking to a couple of my deep sea angling friends and they said that they had caught a few decent sized fish on the bottom, but the water had been cold and the fish were generally off the bite a bit. One angler said that on the shallower reefs they had caught a few big lantern bream or cave bass, a couple of daga salmon and a few half kob. Unfortunately, because of the cold water, the sea barbell were a real pest nailing every bait put down. I have heard that these barbell are a very nice eating fish but in my day, we never brought them aboard the boat.
Offshore anglers in the Durban waters have caught a lot of baitfish recently and these have included maasbanker, mackeral and red eye sardines. Some of the anglers have stayed inshore in the bad conditions and spent their time on stocking up with bait. One angler said that they had caught two garrick whilst fishing close inshore for bait just off Glenashley beach. Apparently the shad were thick and the anglers were bitten off many times and a few U-Zuri rigs were destroyed.
Sealice

Basil Manning is sponsoring a weekly prize of a R200 voucher for the “Catch of the week”. With a specific focus on sustainable use of our ocean resources, preference will be given to fish that has been released – although fish caught and kept will not be disqualified.
Send a good quality photo of your catch to sport@nothcoastcourier.co.za. Include the angler’s name and surname, species, weight (estimated or actual), where and when it was caught and what bait was used.