A strong south-westerly wind and big swells for most of the week made it one to forget for local anglers.

The three-metre swell that arrived on Monday moderated slightly at the start of the weekend but returned at four metres on Sunday morning. The conditions meant fishing time was limited for both surf and offshore anglers, and those who persevered in the tough conditions found the beaches between Durban North and the Tongaat River to be quiet.

In a brief window of almost perfect conditions on Friday evening, some friends and I decided to fish between 6pm and 9pm during the high-water period, with grunter as the target species. In the first hour, we had barely a single bite – except to find that a baited hook had been bitten off one of our lines, likely by a shark. A nice stumpnose of around 3.5kg was hooked soon after, followed by a 3kg grunter just as we were packing up to leave. All things considered, we agreed two fish between us was a disappointing trip.

Another regular surf angler I saw said he had heard of a few shad caught at Umdloti, but that the usual Tongaat fishing spots were quiet. The rocky outcrops, which normally provide great fishing at this time of year, produced just a few copper and stone bream, along with the usual big blacktail that have been in local waters for some time. Bronze bream are increasing in numbers down south and should arrive locally once the seas moderate.

Garrick are still plentiful in the Durban area, but it was offshore anglers who had the best returns during the limited sea time last week. A few big daga salmon topped the list of catches from the bottom reefs, while soldiers, rockcod and the odd musselcracker were pulled in as well. Baitfish remain readily available, with mackerel and maasbanker the preferred options.

The shad season closes on September 30, after which fishing for the species becomes illegal until the end of November. This regulation was introduced after shad stocks were found to be declining and authorities determined that the spawning season needed to be protected. Unfortunately, there is still a market willing to pay the inflated prices charged by those flouting the law. Shad are on the non-commercial list, meaning the species cannot be bought or sold.

More difficult conditions are expected this week and are only likely to moderate by the weekend.