Sardine fever gripped the lower South Coast last week after reports of shoals off Port St Johns, Port Edward and Scottburgh.

By Saturday morning, netters were ready before first light at Port Edward, where the first successful nets of 2026 were hauled ashore. The catch included numerous karanteen, suggesting the game fish are moving up the coast with the sardines. Strong southerly winds made netting difficult, with the first fish reportedly selling for R1 200 a crate.

Netters were back on Sunday, but a big swell and a north-easterly wind made sightings difficult. A small successful net was recorded at Port Edward, followed by another at St Michael’s.
With plenty of sardines still reported near Port St Johns, lower coast beaches could see more activity in the coming days.

The arrival of garrick has also signalled the start of the winter fishing season. The first garrick was reportedly caught at Tugela Mouth, while catches have also been reported at Blue Lagoon, Tongaat and Ballito. Anglers will now be watching popular spots such as Chaka’s High Rock and Tinley Manor.

Shad fishing remains quiet after a promising start down south a few weeks ago. A few fish have been caught at first light, but only for short periods. Anglers are hoping the sardines will bring stronger shad activity.

Grey sharks remain widespread along the coast, with some beaches producing sharks on almost every cast. Night anglers have had some success with salmon and the occasional stumpie, but are urged not to fish alone.

Offshore, anglers are still landing a few large barracouta, although most fish are now under 20kg and the couta run appears to be slowing. Tuna are still around, with a few dorado also reported. Backline anglers are finding snoek in some areas and can now begin targeting garrick.

Bottom fishing is improving as winter settles in. Red fish, rockcod, daga salmon and geelbek are featuring in catches, while musselcracker are starting to show. There have also been reports of the odd large copper steenbras caught in deeper water.