#FishEagle: Summer season heating up

We are living in strange times, but hopefully everyone realises that discipline will play a huge role in the return to normality.

Anglers have been reluctant to return to beaches even when it became clear that you may do so, should you possess a valid fishing permit.

Many were fined for not adhering to the Covid-19 regulations, and some for not having valid permits.

Case in point, last Thursday I was talking to a group of anglers about fishing. Not one of them was wearing a face mask.

I wonder whether they realise just how serious the virus is?

Recent heavy rains have impacted fishing with millions of litres of dirty river water entering the sea.

The winds have dispersed the dirty water over large areas, including a number of popular angling spots.

Still, there were areas that had crystal clear water.

Popular places for angling last week included the Tongaat River mouth and the rocky La Mercy spots.

Several normally popular sites were deserted.

At Glenashley and Virginia little was happening during the early morning sessions, except for the odd small shad and the odd summer flatfish and small shark. 

Anglers looking for some heavy action have found large sharks feeding, plus nice grunter in the rivers. 

Wind has ruined angling some days, but usually the early mornings are ideal.

Beach fishing in the Transkei is quite productive at present.

Apparently, a lot of garrick and kob have been caught, keeping the anglers happy.

Some really nice big blacktail and small musselcracker have also been on the bite.

The summer season is well underway up north, where a few giant flatfish have been landed after some tremendous battles. 

It was encouraging to see that the mouth has been opened at St Lucia, so maybe now this area can again become very popular with anglers – with the added hope of the lake returning to life.

I hear that Zambezi sharks are plentiful there at present, and they will no doubt enter the estuary.

Surf ski anglers have struggled to find clean water offshore, but they may still manage to catch a few decent game fish, including dorado.

Off the Durban beachfront, anglers have found some really nice queenfish along the dirty water line, with tuna and bonito also biting.

Small shad are still a problem in-shore, nailing almost anything put out into the water.

The odd nice sized couta has also been caught in the waters off Umdloti and Tinley Manor, so the season seems to be progressing nicely even though there have been problems for anglers wanting to launch at times.

Ski boats and other craft fishing the deeper, cleaner waters have found an abundance of sailfish.

Several sizeable sailies and big yellowfin tuna have been caught recently, with most being released.

Dorado seems to be thick out in the deeper water, and anglers are recording decent catches on every outing.

Strangely, I have not heard of any wahoo as yet, so maybe these fish are still on their way from up north.

But whenever conditions allow, some notable bottom fish have been brought back to the beach. 

All this looks for the making of the best summer season in recent years.