Hooked on Fishing: Game fish the focus this week
Winter fishing has been pretty good so far.
THE focus this week is on the Shelly Beach Mallards Game Fish Ski-boat competition, which started yesterday (Wednesday).
It will be fished over four days with the prize-giving being held at the Shelly Beach Ski-boat Club this Saturday night.
Weigh-ins will be held daily at the club from 2pm so come along and see some really good fish on the scales.
The first prize, a magnificent, all-new Mallards Centre Console Cobra Cat 630, will be on display.
Offshore fishing has been really good with some good-sized tuna being boated.
Craig and Vernon Tutton, fishing on King Tutt, returned on Monday with a fish of 27kg.
Kevin Oxenham, (ex Fawny Cat) has recently come out of retirement and, together with Sean Roberts, returned with three good-sized tuna of around the 20kg mark.
Bottom fishing has been producing some good fishing, with Digby Smith returning with his quota of geelbek and a nice pink salmon.
Hopefully the current will remain north-south, which should bring the fish back on the bite.
Rock and surf anglers are having good fun with shad biting freely at all the popular spots.
A couple of garrick have also been accounted for on live shad at The Block in Port Shepstone.
Dezlyn Smithwick and Louis Allison, fishing at Orange Rocks on Monday evening, had some good sport with diamond skates.
These fish were taken on fresh mackerel slide baits and were all around the 25kg mark.
The sardines are still as elusive as ever and with the water temperatures still sitting at around 22 degrees, there are no signs of these fish along the entire coast.
A big welcome to all visiting anglers. We hope you have tight lines during your holidays.
Mark Bennett, Tackle Box
Port Edward
Port Edward has been humming, with shad coming out literally shot for shot off the rocks and, as the news travelled, fishermen from the northern parts of the province descended on the town.
Sardines, or I should say the shortage thereof, have been a problem and shops along the coast were sold out even before the weekend arrived.
Bait dealers are restricted to very small limits, and these were sold out almost immediately, with the result that there were many unhappy customers.
Reports of fishermen staying on the rocks to take in more shad, even after they had made their bag limit, poured in.
Somehow, at times like these, one begins to feel ashamed of being a member of the human race.
Game fish are on the bite and the points have been highly active with kob, garrick and hammerhead sharks being caught.
On one afternoon, a total of five sea pike, between seven and 10kg, were landed off Splash Rock.
No sign of sardines, just rumours.
Terry Nel, Tackle Net
