Angling Report

There was quite a bit of wind about last week and when the North Easterly was blowing, the weather became hot and humid and rather uncomfortable. It did become much cooler on Thursday when the south westerly wind came through very early in the morning and by Friday, the weather was perfect all day and the sea and surf conditions were perfect for angling and for the divers as well because the visibility had improved.
The weather throughout the weekend was great but the sea conditions did not look all that good with the sea looking a bit bumpy and the surf turning mushy.
No doubt there will be a lot of visitors to the coast this weekend all hoping for some sunshine but unfortunately the long range weather report predicts rain which could be a bit of a downer – but the weatherman has been wrong in the past. Usually the weather over the Easter weekend is quite good and many times over this weekend I have been able to fish four days out of four then return to work the next day for a bit of a rest.
Visiting rock and surf anglers can look forward to having some fun with inedible species such as sharks and the summer flatfish such as sandsharks and big skates. The best times for these inedible species is the early morning and late afternoon periods but recently I have seen a couple of sandies being caught during the mid-morning periods when the sea has been good. Fairly robust tackle should be used with fresh fillet or chokka mixed baits and anglers should be prepared for hard battles with these fish. The sharks tend to feed just before or on first light or just before dark in the evenings while the flatfish prefer the daylight hours.
Anglers looking to catch the edible species may have to be a little patient because at present there could be stumpies, pompano and snoek around if the water is fairly calm. Anglers fishing the deep water points in Ballito have caught a number of snoek recently on lures cast out into the deeper water. The most popular tackle being used by anglers targeting the snoek recently is a good light spinning rod with a shimano reel loaded with fairly light braid line. There are several different lures that the anglers have been using but inquiries at the local tackle shops will ensure that anglers will be equipped with the correct lures for the snoek.
Recently, local surf anglers were catching quite a few decent sized pompano from the beaches but these fish seem to have tailed off a bit though there are still one or two about. I saw an angler catch a pompano of just under 4kg from a local beach just before the weekend. This fish was caught on a sealice bait, which seems to be the preferred bait this season but crayfish and ghost crab baits work just as well. The pompano do not like the rough water so if it is a bit rough then the stumpies should be targeted. Stumpies like to feed in the dark but many are caught during the daylight hours as well.
Some anglers like to be active all the time and this is when the drop shot method of fishing comes into play with surprising results. I once saw a beautiful pompano of 7kg caught on a drop shot in front of the La Montagne hotel in Ballito by a visiting angler. If the visiting anglers are not sure about the drop shot method of fishing, they could get all the advice and tackle they need from the local tackle shops.
Offshore anglers have been targeting the gamefish but catches have not been what they should be in local waters at present. A few big tuna have been caught with the odd big couta but the known game fish spots are not producing the amount of fish that they used to. One angler told me at the weekend that there was a big couta caught in the Tongaat area weighing 24kg, but the angler caught the fish in the bush as we put it in angling circles. This means that this fish was caught far from any known reef. At present the offshore anglers are targeting the snoek that still seem plentiful. It is well known that the gamefish can turn on suddenly so there is always the chance of pulling a couple of nice couta.
Enjoy the long weekend and keep safe.
Sealice

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