#FishEagle: Fishing conditions remain unfavourable

Durban beaches remain closed following the detection of high levels of E.coli, which could take some time to be rectified.

The water at the Durban bay is just as polluted, however anglers continue to eat fish caught there, something I would be wary off.

Autumn is reaching its end and the days of calm weather are now something of the past.

Rainy winter weather has already begun in the Cape and inevitably those weather patterns move up the coast.

First light has seen colder temperatures, while sea temperatures remain high around 22-23 degrees Celsius, which could be bad news for those closely watching the sardines.

Shoals were spotted last week along the lower Transkei coast, but dirty water was persistent. Friends fishing there said it was really quiet, with only a blacktail of 1kg caught.

Last year’s sardine run saw netters giving away hauls for free, but things could be different this year.

Meanwhile, surf anglers have enjoyed excellent fishing for some time now, reporting decent catches of shad, shoal salmon, grunter and the occasional big stumpie.

Anglers fishing rocky outcrops regularly must still contend with dirty water. They were mainly catching blacktail plus the odd small shad, but nothing to write home about.

Anglers are waiting the north-easterly winds to arrive, hoping they will bring cold water.

Offshore anglers are taking advantage of warmer waters, targeting large couta which have recently come on the bite. Game fish anglers have had mixed results as they search for couta.

Some have resorted to fishing the bottom reefs where they’ve had better results. Some big rock cod have been caught here, including red species of fish.

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