#FishEagle: The golden months have arrived

Anglers everywhere are salivating as we fast approach what is traditionally the best season of the year for North Coast anglers.

April and May have historically been the holiday times favoured by visitors, because although early mornings can be slightly cool, the days are normally pleasantly warm with very little wind, and the sea becomes calm and takes on the “glassed-off ” look anglers and beachgoers prefer.

Last weekend was an excellent example of near perfect fishing weather, especially for the offshore anglers.

The offshore anglers have been cashing in and have returned to shore with some crocodile-sized barracouta in their hatches.

Big sharks are however still taking their share.

Further north has also been very productive for game fishing and venues such as Cape Vidal have had a lot of traffic recently.

Offshore angling was in the doldrums just a few years ago and there were plenty of second hand rigs being advertised for sale.

Since lockdown there has been a big change in game fish anglers’ fortunes. First it was the dorado that seemed to increase and then the couta were suddenly back – right on time.

There is still much speculation as to why this suddenly happened but as of now, the local game fish reefs are looking good.

Rock and surf angling remain quiet but this could change if the weather remains good and influences sea conditions.

This past week I saw mostly small fish being caught in the surf and these consisted of a few wave garrick and juvenile stumpnose, sometimes called yellowfin bream.

Along the upper South Coast anglers fishing at night seemed to fare better, landing several small kob or salmon in the river mouth areas. The fish have weighed between 1 and 2 kilos, so they are small but these days very little is returned to the water.

Anglers fishing at night are still fishing in groups for protection as theft of vehicles seems to be on the rise again.

Local fishing spots producing recently have been the Tongaat River mouth, Salmon Bay and Boulder Bay, but there has not been any fireworks.

This is the time of the year anglers have to change tactics and tackle, plus have some patience as well. It is time now to use an all nylon trace, change from using fillet baits and use crayfish, crab, chokka and even mussels and rock bait.

As the surf moderates and the water becomes cleaner, that is when anglers can expect the big pompano to move inshore.

Historically April and May produce high numbers of pompano locally. Although over the last few years pompano has been scarce. Instead big stumpies have been caught by anglers targeting the pompano.

The open sandy beaches can still be worthwhile trying for one of the big summer flatfish or shark, but it has been a bit quiet recently.

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