#FishEagle: Anxious wait for the sardine run
Last week the Shark's Board took a flight down south to check on the "sards" which were spotted heading north at the Hole in the Wall along the Transkei coast.
Eyes and ears remain glued to news reports of the sardine run.
Dirty water remains present along the whole South Coast coastline, however, but conditions further south are improving.
Spotted among the shoals of sardines were plenty of dolphins, sharks and birds.
Netters and fishermen eagerly await another bumper season similar to last year but one can never predict when and what kind of a run can be expected.
At present, ocean temperatures off Durban remain a warm 23 degrees Celsius – too warm for sardines which prefer 19 degrees.
If water temperatures remain high the sardine run could fizzle out.
Local fishing last week was quiet as many anglers remained home in the wake of the second flood between Tongaat beach and La Mercy.
Once more fishing wasn’t all that great with rivers in flood spewing debris out to sea.
Popular angling spots around La Mercy’s rocky fishing areas were a no-go owing to the muddy waters.
Conditions had improved prior to the most recent floods with shad coming on the bite nicely.
Shad had also shown a preference to feed only on certain baits such as Japanese mackerel and red eye sardines.
Anglers would be keen to know red eye sardines were spotted moving up the coast last week.
South Coast surf anglers continue to record decent nighttime catches, mainly of shoal salmon and some big grunter.
River mouth areas have recorded the best results, but unfortunately dirty water continued to turn fish off from the bite to some extent.
The most productive baits for anglers fishing grunter are sealice, prawn and cracker shrimp.
There’s been no news of garrick but as we enter June they ought to be not too far off from the upper South Coast.
Inshore game fish anglers have also been struggling with dirty waters.
A couple of anglers found patches of cleaner water and managed to catch some snoek. Not much else was reported last week.
For good fishing, anglers have had to travel with the odd dorado caught deep out at sea. Fishing on the bottom seems to be the way to go.
Follow The North Coast Courier on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & YouTube for breaking news
Telegram Broadcast Service: https://t.me/joinchat/yJULuN8NaCs5OGM0
WhatsApp Broadcast Service: Add The Courier to WhatsApp at 082 792 9405 and WhatsApp your name and surname to be added.
Stay in the loop with The North Coast Courier on Facebook, X, Instagram & YouTube for the latest news.
Mobile users can join our WhatsApp Broadcast Service here, or if you’re on desktop, scan the QR code below.
