Almost 2 500 fish were hooked as the country’s top offshore anglers descended on Richards Bay for the bottom fishing nationals last week.

Hosted by Meerensee Boat Club, the SADSAA tournament crowned both provincial team winners and individual champions. Anglers were restricted to a 10kg line class, with no more than two hooks in use at any time and all fish to be returned unharmed to the water where possible.

Unpredictable winds threatened to derail the event and cancelled day one, but the group persevered, catching and releasing fish from 25 different species, including big musselcracker, Englishmen, rockcod and seventy-four.

Western Province took top honours, followed by SADSAA with KwaZulu-Natal placing third.

More competition is currently underway up north, where anglers are taking on the OET Game and Billfish Tournament in Sodwana Bay.

Local offshore anglers endured tough sea conditions over the weekend, but there were good bottom fishing returns for those who made it out. Yellowfin tuna are beginning to make an appearance and dorado are slowly increasing in numbers. Some unconfirmed early reports of couta have also begun to stir excitement.

Rock and surf anglers continued to scratch among the rocks last week, catching the odd nice-sized copper bream, blacktail, and some large karanteen.

Beach anglers reported grey sharks returning in large numbers, while a few summer flatfish such as sand sharks and diamond rays are also starting to be caught. These species are expected to increase as water temperatures rise in November, signalling the arrival of the summer fishing season.

Outside of the inedible species, surf anglers also reported good catches of stumpies and Garrick along local beaches.

Meanwhile, fishing authorities conducted raids on several beaches and uncovered buried shad that had been poached. Although several anglers were active during the raids, none claimed ownership of the fish.

The confiscated shad were all prime breeding stock, representing a significant loss to the sustainability of the species.

While no arrests were made, authorities have confirmed that raids will continue and that prosecutions are imminent. Offenders could face criminal records.

There is no excuse, as the shad fishing ban has been in place for many years. Authorities have warned that ignorance of the closed season will not be accepted as a defence.

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