Angling Report

Friends of mine spent the last long weekend on the South Coast near Kelso and although the weather and sea conditions were not all that great, they said that they really enjoyed themselves.

Throughout the weekend they saw patches of sardines slowly moving north with a few of the shoals moving in as close as the back-line.

Although there were very few game fish or sharks feeding on the sardines, there was plenty of whale activity and the fishing was good especially at first light when the shad began feeding.

Even though the surf was really rough at times the guys fishing managed to catch good sized shad on each outing and they said that it was a real pleasure having fresh shad for breakfast almost every morning.

It has been said that this year’s sardine run was the best for a number of years and the market has been flooded with the small fish and the public’s appetite for sardines has now waned.

I have not yet seen sardines passing by but I have been told by others that they have seen patches of fish in the ocean on a number of occasions, so I think that they will be with us for some time to come yet.

If it is true that the sardines have passed by along the North Coast I would have imagined that the fishing along the Durban North and Umhlanga beaches would have improved but this has not happened as yet.

I had a word last week with an angler who fishes the Durban North beaches on a regular basis and he said all he has seen is a few small shad caught on a few occasions but the anglers are mostly catching juvenile stumpies on light tackle.

These juvenile stumpies normally swim in big shoals and when they begin feeding close inshore, anglers usually manage to catch a number of fish. Unfortunately these fish are on the small side and because of the shortage of fresh fish, are not returned alive to the water which is a pity.

Other species caught recently in this area have been few and far between but the odd small grey shark and blue skate have been landed but anglers are reporting that the fishing is quiet in general.

Local surf anglers are mainly fishing the river mouth and rocky outcrops with mixed results. There have been a few garrick landed plus a few shad and a few fish caught among the rocks.

Unfortunately the weekend weather kept many local anglers at home again but I am sure that they did not miss too much as the sea conditions were not at their best after all the winds. One angler fishing in a rough surf one night last week managed to land a stumpie that weighed 6,5kg. and the fish took a whole ghost crab bait that had been in the water for approximately fifteen minutes. Unfortunately the angler remained mum about where he had caught the nice fish.

Anglers fishing the backline along the Durban North beaches have managed to boat a few garrick and snoek at times but have said that the fishing has not been all that great in trying conditions.

Even the bottom fishing has been disappointing but anglers fishing down south continue with some decent catches that have included daga and geelbek salmon plus the usual reef fish.

Unfortunately the weekend sea conditions kept many of these anglers shorebound.

The North Easterly wind that pushed on Sunday should flatten the sea but if it continues, could also pose problems for the offshore anglers. This could be the beginning of the windy season that we normally see at the start of Spring and if this is so then the sea is going to remain rough and it will be tough on the bottom anglers.

The sea water is still on the cold side and this is not what anglers look for as the cold water normally keeps the fish off the bite but the North Easterly winds may just push some warmer water inshore. We will have to wait and see.

The best prospects at present could still be at night and anglers fishing with the tide could land a decent fish but the fishing cannot be classed as hectic at the moment.

Sealice

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