Saltwater Offshore Angling

The Shad/Elf is slowly starting to appear in the False Bay area, and we still get occasional catches of the odd lost Cob. The Strong Southeasters surprising us almost every thirds of fifth day during this December holiday, does bring the Cob along the shoreline, but it is also keeping the familiar sight of schools of baitfish this time of year, away from the False Bay area. This might result in yet another bad season for the Geelbek/Cape Salmon as experienced last year.

Some boats did report good catches of Geelbek in the Struisbaai area, and a few of the commercial fishermen even resorted to filling their tonnage by catching Shark for the export market. This is a great sport and I would suggest anyone that gets the opportunity to go on such a shark trip, should gladly accept. Expect cuts and bruises, and the unexpected swearword every now and then, as this is hard work and catching these boys with a hand-line sure is great fun.

Snoek seems to be something of the past and most fish shops now sell Cuta as Snoek in their shops. The Cuta is actually a deepwater Snoek caught by using nets instead of the usual hand lines. The meat is much tougher and the fish is awesome on the coals or in the oven. The taste is the same as that of an Ordinary Snoek, and it even looks the same. Cuta is also cheaper than Snoek in some cases… expect to pay around R16-00/kilo.

The Steenbras (“Steam-trains”) are also slowly showing themselves in Kleinmond, Hawston, Onrus and Betties Bay. Good catches are also expected in the Old Gordon’s Bay harbor. Light tackle is an essential part of your kit, and fresh prawn will do the trick. Expect to spend a good couple of hours on the harbor wall, and cast both in and outside the harbor.