Angling Report – 16 December 2016

For much of last week the wind was blowing long before first light but surprisingly, there was hardly any surf. Surfers looking for a wave had no chance but it was a surf ski angler’s dream launch for most of the week. Rain was promised for much of the week but only arrived at the weekend. The cool weather was a bit of a relief from the hot and humid days of late.
One surf ski angler fishing just off the backline in the Peace Cottage area mid-week caught a late season garrick of 15kg and a nice kingfish weighing just under 10kg on live baits. He said he was all on his own in the area and could probably have caught at least another kingie but unfortunately did not have any more live bait. Although he had a couple of chases on lure, the fish turned away near his ski. Other news was that a few yellowfin tuna were caught during the week and one ski angler was towed some distance by a big tunny before the fish “broke off”.
Some of the inshore anglers fishing the Durban North area said that several live baits were chopped by big shad but none were landed as the anglers were using just a single hook. The best way to rig a bait is to tie a line with a small treble to the eye of the main hook and insert the treble hook near the anal fin of the live bait. It is surprising just how often this small treble hooks the fish that chops the bait.
I expected to hear of more fish being caught but I think that the anglers were chased home by the winds. The southerly winds that blew for most of the week were not in favour of our the shad anglers because these fish prefer the north-easterly that tend to chop the surf up. However, a friend of mine told me at the weekend that a couple of big shad were caught in the Durban area and one of these fish weighed well over 7kg. I was in the Durban area during the week and I saw nothing come out and the anglers that I spoke to said that the fishing was quiet. There are plenty of shad being caught up north so local anglers should be able to catch these fish for some time yet.
When the surf conditions are perfect one would think that the fish would move inshore to feed but unfortunately, this is not always the case. On many occasions, I have seen these perfect conditions only to find the fishing to be quite dead, except for a few small fish being caught amongst the rocks. This is exactly what happened during the day all week long but I did see a couple of late afternoon anglers having some fun with sharks which move inshore when the surf is as flat as it was. Most of the local anglers tend to fish for the edible species of fish only and these sharks were caught on tackle being used to catch shad and a couple of guys were bitten off when sharks took the fillet baits.
It is never easy for the rock and surf anglers at this time of the year because the fishing is not always at it’s best. There are also the crowds that tend to flock to the seaside for their once a year visit. The best times for anglers wanting a bit of relaxation is to use the early morning and late afternoon periods but always be wary of any opportunists that seem to be about at all times these days.
The best fishing at this time of the year is found offshore and in the old days we used to look forward to December 16 which was the time that the barracouta would make an appearance. These days the couta seem to make an appearance during the month of January but there are dorado around at the moment along with the tuna plus there is always the chance of catching a billfish out in the deeper water.
I wish all anglers a happy and safe Christmas period and be careful on the roads and on the beaches.
Sealice