A massive shoal of sardines off Scottburgh allowed netters to land bumper hauls along the South Coast last week.

Netters at Scottburgh, Umkomaas, Winkelspruit, Port Shepstone and Margate all enjoyed good returns midweek before a strong southerly wind brought operations to a standstill over the weekend. The surf reached 3-metre highs, disrupting both the sardine run and beach angling.

Despite the rough seas, shad fishing has been excellent, particularly along the South Coast, where anglers enjoyed fast action on both bait and spoons. Margate Pier remains a hotspot, while Ballito, Umdloti and Umhlanga Rocks also produced good catches. Encouragingly, many anglers were seen releasing fish after reaching the four-fish daily bag limit.

The heavy surf slowed catches of garrick from the shore, although offshore anglers around Durban continued to find success. Kob reports also quietened, though a few determined anglers landed quality stumpnose at Salt Rock and Umdloti.

As the sea settles, local rocky gullies are expected to fish well after being scoured clean by the swell. Copper bream, stone bream, blacktail and karanteen should all feature, while sizeable pinkies are proving plentiful and making excellent bait.

Offshore, reef fishing remains the focus. Geelbek are moving into shallower water, daga salmon continue to keep anglers busy and larger rockcod are becoming more common. There are also signs of sardine patches moving north offshore, which could improve bottom fishing in the days ahead. Meanwhile, snoek have been a welcome bonus for ski-boat anglers able to launch between periods of rough weather.