Mixed weather and sea conditions kept anglers guessing last week, with windy spells making beach fishing difficult and sometimes keeping boats ashore.

The water temperature held steady at around 21.5°C, however, and fishing remained mostly productive.

Shad and garrick were again the main attraction for surf anglers. This year’s shad run continues to impress, with August catches already ahead of last season. Some big fish were landed along the South Coast, particularly during quieter periods and after dark. Margate, Umkomaas and Scottburgh produced good returns, while Umhlanga Rocks, Ballito and Salt Rock remained popular locally.

Garrick were plentiful coastwide, with lower South Coast anglers landing fish exceeding 15kg. Live bait and lures proved most effective. Closer to home, the stretch between Umhlanga Rocks and Blue Lagoon remained a hotspot, while local river mouths and Chaka’s High Rock were also worth a shot.

Large salmon – some exceeding 20kg – were big news down south, while stumpies, shoal kob and grunter added variety. The increasing grunter activity could indicate the start of their northward spawning migration.

Rock anglers also enjoyed solid late-winter action. Blacktail approaching 2kg were reported, together with brusher, karanteen, rubberlips and stone bream. Prawn, rock bait and mussels remained reliable baits, while chokka and sardine combinations worked well for blacktail.

Offshore anglers found the inshore reefs most productive, with daga salmon, half-kob, soldiers and rockcod featuring in catches. Geelbek were available in selected deeper-water areas.

Further north, ski-boat anglers enjoyed excellent game fishing, with big barracouta, snoek and wahoo caught. Sharks proved troublesome, however, with one couta estimated at around 40kg losing a large portion of its body to a shark. Yellowfin tuna of up to 60kg were also reported in deeper water.

Locally, a large swell and strong south-westerly winds complicated weekend fishing, although boats were back at sea on Sunday. Umhlanga Rocks Ski Boat Club hosted its annual interclub competition alongside the SADSAA bottom fishing tournament.