History suggests that big shad should not be in local waters at this time of year, but decent fish are being pulled out with surprising regularity.

Despite high water temperatures of about 27°C, early morning and late-afternoon anglers are still enjoying solid shad returns at Ballito and nearby beaches. Traditionally, only undersized ‘green’ shad dominate at this time, making these catches unusual.

Reports of pompano have also filtered through, with calm surf and warm water in the second half of the week creating ideal shore-fishing conditions.

Diamond and honeycomb rays, along with brown skates, have also featured strongly. Bigger specimens have moved into local waters, pushing both anglers and tackle to their limits. A few grey sharks and plenty of sand sharks were landed, though not in the numbers seen previously, possibly due to large sharks patrolling the inshore reefs. Most of the bigger sharks are reportedly further north, with the odd specimen taken at local river mouths.

Offshore, the week began with strong surf, swell and currents hampering launches. Light winds were forecast, but a large front-driven swell, followed by cyclone residue from the Mozambique Channel, kept seas unsettled through midweek. By Thursday, the surf had calmed, the strong currents eased and favourable conditions returned, lasting into the weekend.

Couta and snoek featured inshore, though sharks proved a nuisance. Dorado, barracouta, wahoo and tuna kept deep-sea anglers busy, while marlin and sailfish remain active. Strong currents affected bottom fishing early on, but catches improved by the weekend.

A recent fish die-off at the Umhlali River mouth was a sad sight, highlighting the abundance of juvenile species in our estuaries.

Not long ago, I saw an angler fly-fishing at the Tongaat River mouth. He said he had caught a variety of fish on every outing, with the odd sizeable fish he was able to keep – an ideal way to fish when the water is calm.

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