Some trophy-sized summer flatfish were hooked last week as anglers finally enjoyed some improved conditions.

Surf anglers caught some big sand sharks of over 50kg, plus diamond and honeycomb rays, the odd duckbill and grey sharks. They were able to do so because of average sea temperatures of 25°C and angler-friendly wave heights of less than a metre after weeks of strong surf.

Edible fish were less easy to find, but the word was that a couple of salmon (kob) were spotted in local waters and one or two decent stumpies were caught by those fishing in the dark. Anglers fishing with light tackle and plastic lures had some fun catching wave garrick (three spot pompano) and decent-sized blacktail in the shore break.

Further south, Durban produced some small pompano and salmon, plus the odd nice grunter, while those fishing the South Coast had less luck. A few shad were caught, but it was mostly inedible species that made up catch bags. The popular Umkomaas area was quiet because of dirty water and apparently this is a widespread problem. A trip down south is currently not recommended.

Offshore anglers fared well in the north last week, hooking big barracouta, yellowfin tuna and plenty of big snoek. The local sea conditions were not as ideal for game fish, but still there were some couta and a few sizeable wahoo caught off Umdloti, while yellowfin tuna and snoek can be found in numbers off the Umgeni and Umdloti River mouths.

Apparently live bait is a little scarce at present but it is not always necessary when targeting the big barracouta.

Anglers fishing the bottom reefs found easier current conditions, leading to a few big Englishmen, soldiers, half-kob and the usual rockcod species. The reefs have been fishing well this year and there have been reports of geelbek salmon being caught too, indicating that good fishing should continue.

The rocky gullies should also offer better results going forward, with stone and copper bream and blacktail on the bite. Lantern bream, rubber lips and even spad fish could surprise a few anglers at La Mercy, Ballito, Salt Rock and Tinley Manor.

This weekend the Umhlanga Rocks Ski Boat Club will host its annual game fish competition. It was first held during the mid 1970s and has remained popular with anglers and spectators ever since.

I fished in the second-ever tournament and was fortunate to see the winning fish leap out of the water no more than two metres away from the craft on which I was fishing. The winning fish was a marlin and the angler a member of the Umdloti Ski Boat Club. Today, marlin no longer qualifies for first prize, which is given to the largest game fish.

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