Offshore anglers have high hopes for the summer gamefish season following excellent recent sailfish and dorado catches.

An all-African record sailfish of 73.4kg was landed off the South Coast last week, while then 17-year-old Matthew Shepard caught and released a sailfish of around 50kg off Ballito on Thursday, just one day before his 18th birthday.

December’s arrival has brought true summer conditions, with sea temperatures rising sharply to 23.9°C over the weekend. The warmer water has triggered the annual southward migration of sand sharks, rays and the gamefish species offshore anglers eagerly pursue, dorado, barracouta and marlin among them.

Dorado have already made an impressive early showing, with some anglers predicting an “invasion” this season. With live bait plentiful, the odds of hooking a big bull dorado are excellent.

Encouraging reports from northern waters also point to a memorable 2025/2026 gamefish season, with all marlin species already landed along the coast and sailfish numbers exceeding expectations.

Big yellowfin tuna, wahoo and barracouta have added to the mix. As always, the season’s success will depend on weather stability and inshore water quality.

Last week began slowly due to stormy conditions, but once the seas settled, deep-sea anglers enjoyed productive sessions on the reefs. Big red fish, slinger, soldier, Englishman and various rockcod species were caught, along with amberjack, yellowtail and daga salmon in certain areas. Bluebottles have been seen, though jellyfish have not yet appeared in numbers.

Rock-and-surf anglers welcomed the lifting of the shad ban, although reports of schooling fish remain limited. Some sizeable shad have been caught down the coast, with slimmer return shad” – post-spawning fish – also showing locally. Early mornings and late afternoons remain the most productive times and the popular stretches from Tinley Manor to Eastmore are expected to draw crowds.

Local surf anglers encountered mainly inedible species last week, with grey sharks, sandsharks and a few rays dominating catches. Edible species were found mostly around the rocks, including the odd copper bream and good numbers of blacktail. Rough seas early in the week made conditions challenging.

This week’s improved weather and light winds promise excellent opportunities for offshore, kayak and shore-based anglers alike.

Snoek and the occasional garrick remain on the backline, while surf anglers can switch to light tackle later in the day for wave garrick, juvenile stumpies, big mullet and the shoal and snapper salmon currently on the bite.

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