Offshore fishing all the rage

THE excitement of the sardines possibly arriving soon has everyone giddy while local fishing has definitely improved.

The trap stick is an offshore rod that is put out (generally with a live bait) while you are fishing on the bottom, either with lures or bottom fishing with bait. This is an often forgotten rod that can result in some amazing catches.

The action of bringing fish up from the bottom often gets the attention of game fish in the area, which then scoff down the helpless live bait. Remember to set your drag right and put the rod in a rod holder that will be down current if you are on anchor or up current if you are drifting.

The offshore fishing off Durban has been good. The bottom fishing has begun to pick up and the couta are keeping the game fish addicts happy.

The North Coast has seen a lot of wolf herring (silkies) and walla walla being caught while fishing for snoek. These species are normally a pest but have become a welcome catch due to the bait shortage.

They are not the greatest live bait, so your best bet is to allow them to die and then rig them.

There has been snoek around most of the usual areas so make sure you have good quality sardine to use for fillet baits. If you prefer not using bait, then smaller lipped lures and spoons are for you. Troll the lures and/or fillets on the back line in the early mornings for the best results.

The Durban coast has cleaned up with the fishing itself picking up. There have been some late season dorado around in the deep so make sure to check any floating debris you find in the deeper water.

The deep has also seen some good tuna caught on live bait and trolled lures. Skirted lures have done well with purple/black proving to be the best producer according to reports. Remember to vary your spread out the back of the boat with lures running just outside the whitewash as well as some “Hong Kong”.

The shallower areas have seen some decent couta landed.

Live bait has been king and luckily there have been some mackerel available on the bait spots. Take the extra ten minutes to get some live bait as this could save your day.

The South Coast has not had much reported in the past week. The garrick should start arriving in the next few weeks so keep an eye out for them.

There has been snoek around the river mouths with the current lines proving to be the best place to troll along. Much like the areas further north, a fillet bait or a smaller lipped lure will be your best choice to target these often-fussy fish.

The bottom fishing down south has been good with both bigger bottoms (geelbek and daga) as well as smaller ones (reds and rockcod) being caught with fairly regular repetition.

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