Anglers made the most of the final week of shad season, hooking some big fish despite occasionally rough conditions.

The shad season officially closes on September 30, after which the fish cannot be legally caught and kept until December 1. The species is also non-commercial and cannot be legally bought or sold.

Shad have been consistent across most of the coastline over the past few weeks, with Margate Pier proving particularly productive. Early mornings generally offered the best returns.

Elsewhere, anglers had mixed fortunes. Recent rains caused flooded rivers to push dirty water and debris into the sea, while heavy seas and fresh winds added to the difficulty.

Surf anglers had their patience tested while targeting kob (salmon), although improving water clarity has raised expectations for the coming week. Some decent stumpies were caught after dark, including one weighing around 6kg, while grunter are reportedly moving northwards towards their spawning grounds.

Conditions did not favour garrick, but murky water encouraged inedible species inshore, with sharks, small sandies and rays beginning to appear. With sea temperatures above 21°C, catches should improve as the summer cycle develops.
With shad season now closed, more anglers will begin scratching among the rocks.

Copper and stone bream, blacktail and rock cod have recently been caught, while a small brusher was reported at La Mercy.

Offshore conditions improved during the week, with some big daga salmon, half-kob, redfish and rock cod featuring in local catches. Snoek and garrick however, were few and far between.

hSouth Coast offshore fishing remains productive. Another copper steenbras was caught last week, while a few large musselcracker, Scotsman, Englishman, geelbek, daga salmon and rock cod were also reported despite dirty water, rough seas and strong currents.