Fish Eagle: North for game fish

The weather was just about perfect again last week which proves that this is the best time along the local coastline, period.

The months of April and May have historically produced the best weather conditions of the year and therefore the best sea and surf which is in favour of the anglers.

The only problem was that the water was not all that clean. The water temperature is still on the high side which is again favourable for anglers but unfortunately the fish still seem to be few and far between in local waters. During the week I saw a few yellowfin tuna caught by the surf ski anglers and all the fish I saw averaged between 10 and 15 kilos in weight.

The news is that the water up north is producing some decent game fish which include couta, one or two wahoo and the inevitable large tuna. The popular launch sites up north will be quite busy this coming long weekend, weather permitting, and the Durban Festival offshore angling competition is also on so offshore anglers have a choice where they will be fishing.

The Durban competition always offers fantastic prizes but it is tough to be in the running for the main prize and in the past some unexpected catches have won this competition. The reason the competition is so tough is because of the number of anglers. Launching can be a problem and one can wait at the end of a long queue and end up launching quite late.

Many of the popular fishing spots are now virtually free from all the weed that was washed down the rivers and this has helped, but for some reason the fish remain off the bite. Most areas are reporting that the only catches of note have been inedibles in the form of small sharks and the occasional summer flatfish.

This weekend there will be many visitors to the coast. If conditions remain favourable, anglers could persevere with a crayfish bait or a live ghost crab and fish with a fairly long nylon trace hoping for a nice pompano to take the bait.

This species has been scarce locally so far but I believe that if the surf is right and the water remains warm, there is every chance of pulling a big pompano. In the past, anglers fishing the drop shot method have had some luck catching pompano weighing up to 5 kg in the Ballito area.

Anglers could target the sharks that feed normally in the early mornings and late afternoons. The river mouth areas are the best places, but spots such as Boulder Bay and Salmon Bay in Ballito could be worth a try.

At this time of the year the local rock and surf anglers tend to look south to see what is happening along the beaches but as yet the fishing is pretty quiet with just the odd small shad, copper bream and a few decent blacktail that have been caught. A few smallish salmon have been caught recently in the Umkomaas area but there is always a large crowd fishing that area.

Best of luck this long weekend and tight lines.

Sealice

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