#FishEagle: Jellyfish arrival a good omen

Winds, coupled with rain, laid waste to anglers’ plans at the weekend, but for the first time in a long time, the Mozambique current has brought with it jellyfish, a good sign that offshore game fish anglers are in for a treat.

The last time jellyfish arrived in significant numbers, anglers found that small shoal barracouta produced great fishing.

I can remember one morning, as far back as 1979, jellyfish were thick on the inshore game fish reefs, and we had a pull on every sardine that was put into the water.

Eventually, bait was running out so we resorted to chopping sardines in half, still getting a pull on each line cast.

As yet, the couta have not arrived.

Offshore anglers are caning the dorado mainly between the ships anchored offshore. Recent catches imply this year will be another excellent one.

Other species proving plentiful at the moment are yellowfin tuna and bonito that arrived locally in their numbers. In some backline areas, kingfish have been caught and it seems as though these have also arrived in numbers.

With water temperatures around 24 degrees Celsius, conditions are ideal for gamefish, however winds continue to hamper offshore anglers limiting their time at sea.

Some of the popular surf angling beaches toward the south remain closed – a possible blessing in disguise considering those unscrupulous anglers who ignore the shad ban year after year.

I heard one tackle shop manager mention that some customers were buying up to 15 boxes of sardines at a time and this can only mean the bait is bought to ensure they have enough supply when the shad shoals move inshore.

While one can be forgiven for landing a shad or two during first light, those who reel in shad after shad should be banned from the beach for life.

As the days go by, the number of summer flatfish continue to increase and, there have already been some fish of note landed locally.

Looking to fish light tackle? Mullet, wave garrick and moonfish are readily available to be used as live bait and the garrick have not yet disappeared.

The best time for surf anglers to catch fish remains the period from just before first light when the weather is at its best.

November, now coming to an end, is known as grunter time with some big fish already caught. Durban bay is fishing well for grunter, but from what I saw the water is not looking that clean.

Grunter don’t mind discoloured water but sewerage problems should have you avoid fishing here and rather turn your eyes north where shoals congregate for the annual spawning season.

Local fishing has been quiet – disregarding shad – but the year has seen some good seasons especially for those targeting stumpies.

While recent catches have been small, there is a chance of landing a large one. Cast your lines during the hours of darkness for the best result, although some good catches have been recorded during the day.

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