Talk of the town was anglers fishing off Ballito encountering an orca last week (read the story on the front page).

This is not a normal occurrence in our waters, although there have been sightings during the winter months in the past.

Southerly winds last week ensured cooler conditions and cleaner sea water resulting in improved angling, but that all changed when the north-easterly arrived on Saturday.

It churned up discoloured water which put a damper on good fishing.

The game fish season continued to produce a fair amount of good catches last week though, with barracouta at last appearing in large numbers.

They were feeding over a wide area from Ballito to Durban but unfortunately sharks were a nuisance as usual, chopping hooked fish at most of the game fishing grounds.

The couta were mostly shoal-sized but some weighing more than 20kg were hooked among the shoalies.

Unfortunately live bait was hard to come by, probably because of the presence of the many sharks.

Inshore anglers again found snoek feeding, and they also saw what was described as “acres” of bonito as well.

Apparently bonito are widespread along the South Coast and off Durban where a number were caught by anglers wanting to stock up on bait.

The presence of bonito could mean more billfish action in the near future and rock and surf anglers should try to purchase a stock of bonito for use in the coming shad and kob seasons.

A few dorado were caught last week but the dorado season seems to be slowly winding down. Anglers fishing the bottom reefs should still be able to catch some using trap sticks.

The bottom reefs continue to provide a variety of quality fish, including various big rock cod species, soldiers and the odd Englishman, while the inshore reefs are beginning to produce sizeable lantern bream or cave bass.

Rock and surf angling was a little on the quiet side last week and a few anglers reckoned the water was too warm.

A few shad were caught off La Mercy, plus the odd bronze bream, but not much else was happening.

On Saturday morning I checked the water which I found discoloured all the way from Durban to Westbrook caused by the churn-up by the north-easterly wind. The water at Westbrook was also polluted by sewerage.

Apparently the fishing in Durban was quiet with just a few small shad and the odd small stumpie being caught.

The was no fireworks in upper South Coast area where only a few bronze bream, the odd rock cod and lantern bream were landed.

Durban bay continued to produce good-sized grunter, a few small king fish, snapper kob and springer.

It seems as if the water has cleaned up a bit in the bay at present but one must always remain wary as the bay is one of the first areas to become polluted.

Light tackel boat angling in the bay can be great fun, especially when the weather is calm. In the past there have been some surprising catches, including barracouta and daga salmon plus some big sharks from time to time.

March is the time for local anglers to think about fishing for pompano. They should begin to appear at any time subject to the water remaining warm, calm and clean.

The crayfish season is open now, so prime bait should be no problem.

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.