#FishEagle: Sailfish top the charts

The weather finally came to the party over the past week as anglers enjoyed the best action in recent weeks.

The summer game season seems to be well under way and so far the northern game fishing grounds such as at Cape Vidal are the most popular venues – for good reason.

Some decent fish have been caught at this popular off-shore angling area, and at the top of the list must be the most sought after billfish, the sailfish.

The sailies are most active at present, with many an angler enjoying a good fight, even though the fish was eventually lost.

Many of the sailies caught have been safely released as well, and this is always a good sign that anglers have conservation at heart.

Other species caught included barracouta, which hopefully will move down south again this year. Big yellowfin tuna stretching anglers’ arms, some nice dorado, the odd wahoo and, of course, big snoek have been caught.

It is a real mixed bag of edible game fish at the present moment, so no wonder the area has become so popular recently.

The problem with Cape Vidal is that sometimes the northeasterly wind really pumps and fishing conditions become uncomfortable, and sometimes even impossible.

Local anglers are also catching a few fish. It is still early days as the game fish angling historically heats up later in the winter season.

We always used to say December 16 was normally when the first couta would put in an appearance, although this is not necessarily so these days.

The sea conditions were a little kinder to the anglers compared to last week and anglers were able to record some decent time at sea.

The local guys were mainly catching tuna, dorado and the odd snoek when they could be found, but the game fish angling cannot be described as hectic.

The locals tend to fish the bottom reefs after an hour or two after launching and trying for game fish.

When conditions allowed, anglers have been recording some decent bottom fish catches.

These have included the usual reds, rock cod and salmon.

There have been reports of sharks becoming more prominent on the deep reefs, but this is pretty normal for this time of the year.

There is still a fair amount of baitfish to be found out deep, and those looking for the bigger fish should use live bait more frequently.

There have been days when anglers found that currents were spoiling the fishing, especially after a good blow, but fishing on the bottom is never easy.

Early morning surf anglers are still hooking a few shad but the majority of the fish are now on the small side.

The water temperature was high again last week, and one must remember that shad is a cold water fish.

There are times when anglers return home after catching shad, only to find that the fish are full of worms.

The water temperature is almost ideal for pompano that arrive in local waters during the summer months.

This species tends to enjoy the calm surf conditions and they normally move into the surf zone a couple of hours after first light.

I have always found that a live ghost crab is an ideal bait when fishing for this species.

There is always the possibility of also catching a big stumpie as well.

I saw a couple of nice sized mullet caught early one morning last week, and soon the wave of garrick and juvenile stumpies will begin to put in an appearance, but at present it is the inedible fish that are mostly being caught.

Grey sharks are beginning to be found at most of the angling beaches and the summer flatfish are slowly but surely beginning to impose themselves.

Several sand sharks and skates have been caught, mainly during the late afternoon, but although the majority of the fish caught have been on the small side, this should change soon and the larger fish should begin to attack bait in the water.

A word of advice to the surf anglers – make sure that where you park is safe and has some security.

Many cars have been stolen this year and although the majority have been reported from the South Coast, the North Coast is just as vulnerable.

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