#FishEagle: Strong winds curb fishing opportunities

With winds shifting from north to south and a three-metre swell last week, anglers were lucky if they were able to fish for a few hours – either from the beach or at sea.

With cooler than usual water temperatures, plenty of wind prevailed at the weekend with a howling north-easterly which moderated to a southerly by Sunday.

Despite the tough conditions, anglers persevered.

Catches of copper bream seem to be tapering down despite this species enjoying rough ocean conditions. Rocky gullies continue to produce smaller species such as blacktail and some karanteen, as well as the odd stone bream.

At Tugela especially, some big kob or salmon continue to be caught along the coastline. These fish were placed on the endangered list some years back and a catch limit of one per person was introduced.

Anglers are reminded to release fish back to the water unharmed to aid with improving breeding strength of the species.

Now is the time of year when anglers struggle to reel in decent, edible fish with the increase of inedible species.

Some garrick were caught at local angling spots, but even fishing for this species has become somewhat difficult with the shad being everywhere.

Anglers are reminded that the shad season is closed and they should be returned to the water if caught.

Nighttime anglers have caught some big stumpies and there have been good catches of grunter, too. Just remain mindful of the criminal element at night, so it is best to fish in groups.

Fishing for inedible species is currently more productive as a number of big rays of various species have been caught recently. Sharks are becoming busy as well.

Some anglers use live mullet which can be found in the shorebreak as bait.

At present early morning hours prove to be best for fishing, at least until the wind begins to blow.

Anglers last week reported large shoals of grunter, which is excellent news for those who enjoy fishing the bay.

Local offshore anglers have not be able to spend much time at sea but there has been the odd dorado and decent bottom fish caught. Most of the action has been up north, however, where big couta have been caught along with a few sailfish.

Unfortunately, productive areas such as Cape Vidal have been bombarded by fresh winds which have reduced opportunity.

An alternative for those looking for gamefish could be the Zinkwazi deep sea grounds. It would seem some really big yellowfin tuna are up for grabs.

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