Angling Report

Last monday was a terrible fishing day with gale force south westerly winds causing rough surf and sea conditions and the rivers poured dirty water into the sea. It was obvious that it was going to be a tough week for anglers and although the wind had died down a bit it was still blowing from a southerly direction on Tuesday. On Wednesday the south easterly was blowing and this wind is known in fishing circles as the poison wind. As the week progressed, fishing conditions improved and by the weekend the weather was favourable.
The predominant species caught locally at this time of the year is shad, but these fish feed best when the north easterly wind is blowing and this was not happening. A few shad were caught at the various popular angling spots towards and at the weekend but many anglers went home emptyhanded. The discoloured water did bring the sharks inshore and several were hooked and landed. Anglers also complained that there were plenty of peckers about that stripped baits almost as they were cast into the water.
On Thursday just before lunch I went to have a look at the water in the Tongaat area and I saw one of the local regulars leaving the beach. This angler told me that he had been fishing from just after first light first for shad then, after catching nothing, switched traces and cast out a live ghost crab. He said there was nothing happening so decided to leave his rod in his rod holder and he began fishing for small fish just to pass the time. As he was busy packing up his tackle after not having caught anything, the tip of his rod still in the rod holder began to bend and line began peeling of his reel. He said that he allowed the fish to take more line before setting the hook and when he did, he could feel that he was into a nice fish. Being an experienced and competent angler, he did not force the fish and eventually landed a beautiful brusher, estimated to weigh in the region of 6kg. The angler had another cast with a crab bait but never had another pull.
On Sunday morning I went to have a look and see whether any of the surf ski anglers that I knew had launched. I was just in time to see two ski anglers preparing to beach at La Mercy. They said that they had launched early that morning but found the sea a bit bumpy behind the backline and that the water was not all that clean. After paddling for a while they saw snoek jumping out of the water but although they pulled lures through the shoal and tried with small spoons and strip baits, found that the they were not feeding at all. The two decided to paddle out a bit deeper and try fishing on one of the inshore reefs. On seeing some movement on the surface near the reef, the anglers again pulled lures and ended up catching a small yellowfin tuna of about 4kg each. After trying for more tuna for about an hour in vain, they moved back onto the reef to catch a couple of “hamba kia” fish for a braai later in the day. They landed a couple of lantern bream and small spotted rockcod that were ideal for a braai.
Pensioner friends in the Durban area said that the fishing was quiet with just the odd shad even though the crowds were still on the beach. My one friend said that the fishing was better in the Umgeni area but there was just too much of a crowd to even think of trying his luck.
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.