#FishEagle: Shad season makes welcome return
Backline anglers report seeing a few outsized shad that have attacked their bait, while a couple of nice sized queenfish have been boated.
Rain again dashed anglers’ hopes of successful outings at the weekend, with only the most determined braving the wet conditions.
While waters were expected to be warm this week, the rains would have discoloured it.
With the new shad season starting this Thursday, there will be big return to the beaches at first light.
With that noted, some beaches still remain closed south of the Tongaat River and Ballito and Salt Rock angling spots are sure to be busy.
It is now that time of year when big summer flatfish begin to stretch anglers’ arms, and recently catches of the large rays and sand sharks have improved.
Some big skates have been caught along sandy beaches with numerous shad anglers hooking into one of these big fish, only to have their lines snapped because of inadequate tackle.
Beaches from Tongaat mouth up to Ballito always produce a number of good catches during this time of year.
If you’re looking to target edible species, consider looking north toward St Lucia and Mapelane where grunter are plentiful.
The St Lucia mouth is open, so the estuary should produce some good catches at present.
Those not keen on travelling can try the north bank at Blue Lagoon, some Durban beaches and Durban Bay where lots of big grunter have recently been caught.
Sea lice, prawn and shell baits are preferred, but strips of sardine do work at times.
This time of year is also perfect for offshore anglers, especially those looking for game fish. So far it seems as if this season is going to be a great one.
Dorado are now being caught in fair numbers, especially at the outer anchorage areas among ships.
Those fishing deeper out at sea have also found a few dorado in some areas while looking for big yellowfin tuna.
Some barracouta have been on the bite recently, but it is still too early to find shoals moving down the coast with inshore waters not exactly clean at present.
What can be found inshore at the moment include a few big garrick along the backline, with some snoek at times, plus a few kingfish.
Backline anglers report seeing a few outsized shad that have attacked their bait, while a couple of nice sized queenfish have been boated.
Some guys fishing deeper bottom reefs boated some decent fish, among these catches Cape yellowtail, daga salmon and the usual red fish species. Rock cod seem to be a bit scarce at the moment.
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.
