Coast KZN

Back
15 Oct 2021

#FishEagle: Sardines in November!

(North Coast Courier: Sealice)

Who would have thought that sardines would still be netted in the month of November! Some were netted at Durban on Sunday.

Some anglers choose to ignore the fact that shad season is closed. One told me he was unemployed and the sale of shad was his only income.

Some really big garrick have been caught along the coast this year and the garrick run is far from over. The upper South Coast has been excellent, but unfortunately there are some cut-throat anglers cast several lines and then space rods in a way which allows for nobody else to cast a line.

It is the time of year when offshore anglers look forward to dorado appearing. The water is still a bit cold but the temperatures should begin to rise at any time from now onward. The first of the dorado are normally found deep out in the Mozambique current and as this current begins to move inshore, so too do the dorado follow.

It seems as if yellowfin tuna can be caught almost throughout the year and these fish have been found recently in the vicinity of the shoals of baitfish. Anglers recently seen fishing with live bait have caught some really big tuna and the South Coast anglers have been the guys pulling many of the tuna. Before sushi became well known, deep sea anglers did not target tuna too much, because the thought was that one could not really do much with the flesh except for asking ‘Mr Mozzie’ to smoke the fish.

More and more anglers have now turned to fishing in the bay because of the beach closures, and some really nice grunter, salmon, garrick and rockcod have been recorded. Unfortunately, the bay remains polluted so consuming fish caught in the bay could cause illness.