Winter appears to have arrived early on the North Coast, with two cold fronts in as many weeks bringing rain and rough seas.

Wave heights reached 3.7m at Westbrook on Friday evening, while offshore anglers had to wait until Sunday for conditions to improve.

Strong surf and dirty water along the South Coast kept most anglers off the water last week, although sharks were active before the front arrived and were caught across a wide area. A few small kob were also reported, while local rock and surf anglers landed some shad at first light and small salmon after dark.

Fishing has generally been slow, which is typical for this time of year, but attention is now shifting to winter species expected to arrive soon.

Anglers fishing rocky gullies are eagerly awaiting the arrival of copper bream, while bronzies have already been caught at several popular spots. Lantern bream, blacktail and karanteen numbers are also expected to improve as winter conditions scour sand from the gullies and attract predators closer inshore.

Offshore anglers managed some early-week sea time before the front forced boats off the water. Launch conditions improved slightly on Sunday despite heavy surf. Large barracouta remain on the inshore reefs, although catches have been difficult, while snoek remain plentiful and a few small dorado were also landed. Further north, wahoo were reported, although sharks continue to be a nuisance.

Bottom fishing has remained productive, with rockcod, soldiers and Englishman featuring strongly in catches. Daga salmon are now plentiful, half-kob continue to bite in some areas and geelbek salmon numbers are improving offshore. Water temperatures remain warm at around 25°C, raising hopes for a productive winter season.

Meanwhile, a Sodwana Bay billfish tournament attracted more than 40 boats, with 32 billfish hooked and released over four days.

Before last week’s front arrived, some pilot shoals of sardines were spotted near East London, but they have not been seen since rough seas moved in.