Angling Report

For most of last week the angling conditions were good, then on Friday along came a fresh north easterly wind that created rough seas and the surf became unsettled.

The hot humid weather persisted throughout the week and the cooler weather on Sunday was a welcome relief but unfortunately anglers were unable to do any fishing. Most of the surf angling action was taking place up north where the summer fish have been providing some hectic action.

This year there has been an abundance of big skates and anglers that have traveled and anglers have reaped the rewards with some hectic battles with these big hard fighting fish. I heard that one angler had a tremendous battle with a diamond ray that ended with the angler fighting the fish while on his knees because he was so tired.

There have been many photos taken by anglers proud of their catches and many have said that this year’s summer season has been one to remember for a long time to come.

Anglers fishing locally have found some big sharks on the bite but many have also lost their all nylon traces after being picked up by one of these sharks.

A few smaller sand sharks and skates have also been caught along the local sandy beaches but the fishing has been quiet when compared to up north. The only news of edible fish being caught recently was from the anglers fishing the Durban and Durban North beaches where a few small pompano have been caught by those using sealice baits. Anglers using light tackle have had some fun catching the wave garrick that have been biting just behind the shorebreak and the early morning anglers have caught shad which were all undersized.

Anglers are beginning to call these small shad pests as they shred any bait cast into the water and there is no chance for the larger fish to pick up a bait. The crayfish season re-opens on Thursday and divers will be hoping for some calm water which could be a bit tricky considering the weather of late.

Normally the crayfish divers catch some big bugs at the beginning of the season but nowadays the guys have had to dive in the deeper water to catch their quotas because the shallower reefs have been fished out, but the regulars all have their special places where they catch their crays. Shoal couta have arrived in local waters and quite a few small couta have been caught off Durban recently.

Sharks have again taken their share of hooked fish but at least the offshore anglers have something to look forward to again. Offshore anglers have to look carefully at the weather reports before launching because we have had some big winds recently which have tended to begin blowing early in the morning.

When I had a look at the sea on Sunday it did not look too encouraging because there were some big swells and the water did not look all that clean. Normally at this time of the year the winds tend to lie down a bit but who knows now with the change in the climate.

It seems as if the weekend anglers have borne the brunt of the bad weather and rough seas while the anglers able to launch during the week have had some good fishing weather and calm seas.

Many of the local beaches are badly sanded up at present which is a norm for this time of the year and some of the popular angling beaches are said to be quite dead yielding nothing at all. Anglers looking to catch fish have to travel to where the fish are reported to be feeding and everyone knows that the fish are not as plentiful as they once were.

Today fishing is a game of being in the right place at the right time, using the correct tackle and bait plus being really patient when waiting for a bite.

Sealice

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