#FishEagle: Outrage at anglers “slaughtering shad from sunrise to sunset”

The sardine run continued in full force last week with shoals reportedly stretching from the Bluff in Durban all the way down the South Coast.

Some big nets were hauled in at Illovo, Winkelspruit and Pennington earlier in the week.

By the weekend activity became much quieter though. Shoals are said to becoming smaller, indicating the end of the run could be near.

Offshore anglers have reported pockets of sardines almost everywhere in the deeper waters off Durban and stretching northwards.

Snoek are still being caught in numbers in several areas off Durban and locally, plus the odd big couta, but most anglers are concentratingit on the bottom.

Daga salmon are more prevalent at present and half-kob continue to increase in numbers. Geelbek salmon are on the bite at night.

As expected, some of these fish are coughing up fresh sardines when pulled onto fishing craft, a pretty normal occurance when the sardines flood the local waters.

Rockcod and red fish species are also keeping anglers happy and catches have been good on every outing.

Those fishing the backline area have found plenty of garrick at Umgeni, stretching all the way to Umhlanga Rocks and locally at the Tongaat River mouth.

Unfortunately sharks are again becoming a bit of a problem with the sardines moving north close inshore.

Local rock and surf anglers have managed to catch a few edible species such as shad, garrick, salmon and a few big stumpies, but the success rate fluctuated at times.

This is normal along local beaches at this time of the year but fishing will improve as the shad move up the coast.

Guys working the South Coast beaches have been caning the shad on a daily basis.

One South Coast fisherman said he watched with alarm as anglers were “slaughtering” shad from sunrise to sunset at Pennington beach, hauling in as many fish as their bait stock allowed.

He said the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) was alerted to the situation but nobody arrived as they were apparently busy arresting anglers at other South Coast areas.

For a while now many anglers ignore the shad catch limits and become aggressive when confronted.

Blue Lagoon seems to be producing a fair number of fish, mainly garrick and shad, but this location is so crowded every morning and not recommended to thosecoming from other areas.

Glenashley was another productive area. Some nice salmon and garrick have been taken on live bait and spoons, including a sizeable snoek attracted by a spoon which was reeled in from the beach.

Fishing venues locals should be watching for improved catches are:

• Umdloti near the big bricks and in front of the garage,
• the La Mercy mouth which produced shad and garrick,
• the Tongaat River mouth for shad and garrick,
• Matchaortwa in front of the hotel at Zimbali,
• Salmon Bay and Boulder Bay in Ballito,
• plus Salt Rock north of the hotel.

All these areas have been productive during past winters, while and Tindley Manor seems to be slowly coming back to life again.

Conditions are favourable at present and once the sardines disappear, the fish will all be back on the bite.

Sealice