Angling Report

It was a bit of a mixed bag with the weather last week and there were some good days for fishing and others not so good.

Fortunately the weather was on the weekend anglers’ side even though it did look pretty gloomy at first light on Saturday, then just when the cloud cover seemed to be breaking up by mid­ morning, the wind began to blow and the sea became rough.

There was some heavy rain just south of Durban on Friday afternoon and the weather people predict more heavy rain for next week.

This could mean that there will be more river water entering the sea, which will be a pity because the sea water was nice and clean last week and the game fish anglers were finding the fish were slowly coming on the bite.

Water flowing into the sea would mean more dirty water and pollution and the fish will seek areas that they can find clean water.

The surf ski anglers would be the guys worst hit because they are limited in the distance they can travel.

The inshore game fish anglers found some nice sized yellowfin tuna on the bite last week plus a couple of nice kingfish. The boat anglers travelling out deeper caught dorado again but the sea conditions were not all that great out in the deeper water.

There was a bit of a swell running that made fishing uncomfortable, especially when the wind began blowing.

According to a couple of the anglers who fished offshore, it was a bit slow but it is still early in the game fish season and the warm Mozambique current still needs to move closer inshore.

They found the water to be a bit cold which did not help at all. Always when the southerly winds move up the coast, the sea water tends to become cold and when the wind switches to the north east, the water tends to warm up and the warm current moves closer inshore.

Last week most of the wind came from the south and it was only at the weekend that the wind switched to the north east. The southerly winds should begin to die away now and the north easterly pick up.

This will bring the warm current inshore and with it will come the bluebottles, the fire weed and other stinging creatures associated with warm water. Hopefully this year we will see some jellyfish and this could mean an excellent couta season if these jellies arrive. Some of the best couta seasons of the past have been associated with plenty of jellyfish in the sea. In recent years the couta have only arrived in numbers in the month of January.

I was surprised there were not all that many anglers fishing from the beach last week even though the conditions were favorable for much of the week. There were the anglers fishing for shad at first and last light, but the rock anglers were a bit scarce.

This could only have meant that there was not too much happening and although a few sandies have been caught from some of the local angling spots, many of the local anglers tend not to fish for these summer flatfish even though they provide excellent sport.

One angler I met again last week has been doing quite well with stumpics from a local beach. Recently he caught two small stumpies on one outing and on the day that I met him, he had another of around 4kg that he had caught in the dark, early that morning.

Apparently he has been fishing with rock crab and has had some excellent results recently. He said that he had caught most of his fish at high water during the early morning hours.

A fishing article in a daily newspaper last week suggested that if anglers could afford the cost of fuel they should travel north because some big summer fish were on the bite.

The author also said that anglers should also make sure that they were equipped with a car guard! That comment just highlights what is happening these days.

Sealice

Catch of the week

Send a photo of your catch to sport@northcoastcourier.co.za and share your success with all the ardent fishermen on the North Coast.

Include the angler’s name and surname, species, weight (estimated or actual), where and when it was caught and what bait was used.

Who knows, you could win a R200 voucher from our sponsor for “Catch of the week”.

>>  Ready to say ‘I Do’ on the Dolphin Coast? Meet the team ready to advise, help and deliver on your big day.

>>  Visit our Education feature for a collection of all the best schools, tutoring systems, and even some colleges and training facilities on the North Coast.

Do you want to receive news alerts via WhatsApp? Send us a WhatsApp message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 061 718 4438.

Please read our WhatsApp broadcast list disclaimer.
Join us on BBM at 59015786
Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram