Fishing Reports

Hassen Check out the winds and swell prediction for Cape Town for the next 5 days.

These reports are compiled based on our own catches and information we receive from reliable anglers, both recreational and commercial, who are out there fishing. This ensures the reports are factual and current affording all anglers fishing the coast an accurate assessment of where to go and what catches to expect.

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March 2002

The past week has been outstanding weather and fish wise. Perfect hot sunny days with very little wind and flat calm seas.

There have been huge shoals of the smaller class Albacore (Longfin) Tuna in the 4 to 14 kg. class. Yesterday, on the boat Jabulani, we tagged 38 fish and free released a further 23, only keeping 18 fish which had unfortunately been injured badly. The Albacore were in such a frenzy we removed the tuna lures and only ran 12" kona's off the outriggers looking for big Yellowfin, unfortunately the small Albacore crashed onto these as well. Hard to believe a fish eating a lure of almost the same size.

We saw a Yellowfin of around 30 kg in our chum-line yesterday but no reports yet of any sizable fish around. However this will change any day now as the blue water is moving in quite rapidly.

Thursday 21st. - Yellowfin have arrived. The first of the day melted over 100 meters of line off the International 80 on full drag before the hooks came out, probably hooked in the side of the face. Loads of small Longfin Tuna in the 5 to 8 kg class, of which we tagged over 30 fish. We managed a few Longfin in the 12 to 14 kg class for the box plus two Yellowfin of around 25 kg. The highlight of the day was raising a Marlin onto the Kona lures, a nice class fish but didn't eat properly.

Sunday 24th. - Piles of Skipjack (3 on the fly) along with a few Longfin Tuna in the 15 kg class. 4 Yellowfin in the 40 to 50 kg class.

The Bay has been full of fish for the past few months, Yellowtail, Snoek, Katonkels, Skipjack Tuna, and many huge Sharks and Skates.

Two weeks ago we landed and released a Thornback Skate estimated to go well over the 600 pound mark. Many Bronze Whalers in the 200 to 350 pound mark along with Ragged Tooth Sharks over 200 pounds. We have had a few of our large sharks eaten in half while fighting them, this can only be the doing of the very large Great Whites which are plentiful at the moment. While fishing off the river at Muizenberg last week we saw no fewer than 5 Whites in our chum-line, some of these fish going close to the 2000 pound mark.

There are still plenty of Snoek in False Bay. Buffels Bay, and Rocky Bank have all been producing fish. With the water being warm and the days quite hot it is important to clean and ice your fish soon after catching them otherwise they will spoil in a few short hours.

Shoals of Yellowtail are moving along the Simonstown / Fish Hoek coast but the netters are certainly having more fun than the anglers. They have been netting umpteen tons of these fish daily, all full of eggs - not a good picture for the future but as they say, "it's a bi-catch and a man must live for today"

We have been catching a number of these fish in the 6 to 8 kg class on the fly - great fun and very hard work. There are a few shoals of Yellowtail in the 8 to 12 kg class around Seal Island at the moment.

Not much happening on the beaches lately, especially with the ban on 4 x 4 vehicles. There are still some nice Kob coming out during the daylight hours, in the Strandfontein area.

Fly Fishing: The rivers have been fishing well over the past few weeks but one must start early as the days are still very hot.

April 2002

The Yellowfin have arrived - and plenty of them. Fish ranging in size from 30 to 80 kg. For those with GPS navigation, the area to find them is from 34:21 / 018:14 to 34:28 / 018:04 and everywhere in-between. Yesterday we got the strikes on Red Head deep diving plugs, White bulb Squid and, the bigger class (70kg) on drift baits.

The Longfin are now averaging the 15kg class and are rising well on the bait and spinners (jigs, spoons). Colours which worked well yesterday were Green / Yellow and Orange / Gold - in Bulb Squids and swimming plugs.

Snoek are in abundance at Cape Point with the commercial fishermen landing over 120 fish per person in a morning. Ideal scenario for the fly angler.

Steenbras in the 8 to 15 kg class have been coming out in the Gunnery area on Sand Prawns. Fishing has been most productive from 5 to 10 pm.

June 2002

The Yellowtail have really played ball over the past few weeks. Although being driven away by the weather now and again, they have been present at the Bellows, SW Reefs and Rocky Bank every day. We have managed some good days of over 50 fish with bad days of 4 to 5 fish in between.

The Snoek have finally made their appearance. Some nice class fish around 3 to 4 kg have congregated off Slangkop Lighthouse, the Thomas Tucker wreck, Cape Point and Buffels Bay. Over the next few days we should see some great catches - shoals should now last until November.

Tuna have gone on their annual holiday to some sunny spot way out in the ocean. They will be back late September (if the SW winds blow consistently during August) or early October.

Galjoen fishing has been good all along the coast with the strong seas we've had lately. A few Steenbras have come out but one has to be brave to spend the night on a freezing cold beach.

Carp and Trout have been feeding well in the lakes and dams. The Bass are still rather lethargic and will remain so until the waters start to warm up.

Whales have started arriving in False Bay where we have sighted pods of 5 or 6 Southern Rights entering around Cape Point. Their activity within the bay will increase during the coming months with main concentrations being around in August and September.

It's been a bleak few weeks gone past with still no encouraging signs on the horizon. Apart from the very odd Yellowtail we've managed to scrounge at Cape Point there's not been a fish in sight. There are however some nice Gully Sharks between Cape Point and Bellows Rock for those interested.

A few Squid (chokka) in Buffels Bay although you will have to scratch around for them. Some Snoek made a brief appearance at Stompneus Bay on the West Coast but that's all over now.

The only encouragement I can give right now is that the Snoek should start to make a worthwhile appearance any day now. Where or when is anybody's guess. When the weather settles there should be some Yellowtail on Rocky Bank and at the Bellows.

Even the beaches have been quiet with only a few Galjoen coming out. Plenty in the Cape Point nature reserve but as per usual, they are all small.

May 2002

Well winter has arrived in style - gale force North Westers, driving rain and swells over 10 meters. We've been land bound for almost a week now and the weather has abated, hopefully giving us good fishing for the next two weeks.

These storms usually herald the arrival of the huge Snoek shoals which should start to make their appearance along the Western side of the Peninsula shortly. The Yellowtail have disappeared from the Rocky Bank area mainly due to the sudden drop in water temperature, down to 14,6 degrees. However this can change at any time if the winds change to the South West. There are still good sized Squid (chokka) in Buffels Bay along with massive shoals of Pilchard and Anchovies, a good sign for the Snoek.

This weather pattern should have brought the Snoek, which were on Rocky Bank, into the Buffels Bay area and along towards Smitswinkel Bay.

The Tuna are still out there, and with the reports of the shoals still way up the West coast, I believe we could still see a bumper close to the season. With the weather settling we should be able to get out there soon and hopefully fish through until the next full moon phase.

These storms have opened up the gullies along the coast and the Galjoen have started to feed prolifically. I have found over the years that these fish invariably seem to prefer worms to redbait when the sea has been strong enough to wash out the piles of redbait pods. Perhaps this is due to the free availability of redbait to feed on while the worms are more scarce and make a nice change to the diet.

After a good run of both Albacore and Yellowfin, the fish have gone a bit quiet. The smaller fish are feeding during the morning period with the larger class feeding very late in the day. Although there have been fish to the west of Hout Bay, they have been more consistent in a 5 mile radius of the 34.32 S / 18.06 E area.

There are a number of Yellowfin way down in the South, out of range of the "day" boats but still a good sign.

Rocky Bank, to the east of Cape Point, has been producing good catches of Yellowtail over the past few weeks. Our boat Jabulani accounted for 52 fish on Saturday between two anglers. These fish have however been difficult to catch by regular troll methods showing a preference for Spoons trolled far back. We have had good success in recent weeks with Sardines or Squid trolled with a Bait-O-Matic lure in front - colours Green / Yellow, Blue / Silver and Hot Pink.

The Yellowtail have also been taking Sardine / Squid baits at around 17 to 20 meters.

There are shoals of Snoek at Rocky Bank which can be difficult to catch as they are gorging themselves on the massive shoals of Anchovy. Here we have found the Spoons, fished deep on a slow retrieve, to be working the best.

The beaches have been a little quiet lately although the Galjoen have eaten well when the surf has been strong. The odd Steenbras during the night though with the onset of Winter, fewer anglers are venturing out.

July 2002

Snoek are plentiful from Kommetjie Lighthouse all the way through to Cape Point. I think that given the current weather conditions they should be in Buffels Bay by the weekend. Fish are averaging 2 to 6 kg and are in good condition.

Shoals of Yellowtail are still all around Cape Point, in the SW Reefs / Bellows Rock / Anvil area and Rocky Bank. Although the water remains a cool 14°c, they still come on the feed in patches. The main concentrations have been feeding very late in the day.

Steenbras have been coming out at Gordons Bay harbour, most likely because of the dredging so sand prawns and bloodworms will be the best baits. Galjoen are still coming out along Strandfontein although there are a number of undersized fish amongst them.

On Monday we were involved in a rescue when the boat, Sailors Joy was rammed, while on anchor, by a large purse seine netting boat, Bella Prima. This kind of tragedy is always very sad and unnecessary, especially given the clear weather on the day. If one is to learn something from the unfortunate loss of life, it would be never to take for granted that the other vessel will take evasive action - always be ready and keep a constant watch, especially when big boats are operating in the area.

Fishing is back in full swing. Yellowtail at Cape Point and Snoek at Kommetjie again yesterday. The Yellowtail started off very slowly in water of 14,2°c, usually a little cool but the signs were good. Action started around 2:00pm in the area between Bellows Rock and SW Reefs, and lasted about an hour. Thereafter the odd fish were taken. We accounted for the majority of our fish, in the 4 to 6 kg class, on the new Cedar plugs we're testing for Williamson Lures, more specifically the plain wood lure. See the tackle test for our report on them.

The Snoek have been plentiful from Kommetjie to the Thomas Tucker wreck just south of Scarborough. These fish have averaged around the 2 to 5 kg mark. However they have sometimes been a bit finicky with some commercial boats doing well (400 - 600 fish) while others almost nothing. I did notice good showings of Snoek on the echo-sounder yesterday - off the back of Bellows Rock and towards Rocky Bank.

There have been a few Steenbras, in the 5 to 12 kg class, off the beaches lately. Taken mainly on sand prawns and bloodworm from last light until the early hours of the morning. Galjoen are still coming out from the gullies along the coast.

Rivers are flowing strong at the moment and closed for Trout angling, however the dams and lakes are producing some very nice fish. This is the Trout's spawning time and they can be very aggressive feeders, especially if your fly has orange in it.

The Carp are in winter feeding mode which necessitates stronger flavours and the likes, however they are eating well despite the cool weather.