Rains also needed to keep estuaries healthy
WE ANXIOUSLY wait for muchneeded rains to fill our dams and release fresh water into our estuaries.
Fresh water entering our estuarine systems not only flushes out pollution but also helps to bring on the annual swimming prawn migration which takes place at about this time of year.
The grunters then enter the river, leading to a feeding frenzy.
It is good news for anglers, as excellent angling conditions then prevail.
Responsible angling
A reader, Juan Koekoemoer, sent me a photo of an oyster catcher he found while taking the long walk to his favourite spot down on the surf line.
He came upon this bird which had become entangled in line and was so exhausted that it offered no resistance to being caught.
He released the bird after disentanglement.
Remember the habitat of the oyster catcher was given as one of the reasons vehicles were banned on the beaches and so it is good to hear anglers do the responsible thing and care for them in these situations.
This is just one of many examples of what anglers do while fishing and it sets a good example.
The line issue remains a problem and I am glad to see that an upcoming competition – the Tiger Bay Champ of Champs on March 4 – has a “no line limit standard”, which means that heavier line can be used and there should be fewer break-offs, hence lessening the waste line issue. This is a first!
The Hook and Reel Angling Club hosts the event, which runs from 7am to 2pm. This is a strictly measure-and-release completion and bank anglers are welcome too.
Good catches
Generally, angling remains good, especially in the rock and surf sector, where good shad and musselcracker have been caught this past week.
The yellowtail and bonitas have also been caught by the deep-sea fraternity.
An interesting tag-and-release snippet revealed that a Cape salmon or geelbek tagged off St Francis Bay on December 18 2009 was re-caught at Blythedale, north of Durban on December 28 last year.
That is a 900km migration over seven years.
During liberation, the fish grew 36.1cm and weighed 7.3kg. It is interesting to note this as geelbek have not been well studied on the tagging side, as little or no information has been recovered.
There is great commercial interest in this fish and stock estimations show a rapid decline.
What is now noted is that migration might be the flip side of the coin?
Weekend weather
Mostly, at this time of year, anglers grab the early morning opportunity and fish on the rising sun until the wind sends us home. Tomorrow is such a day.
However, it is likely to be a windy period and hopefully the bit of rain that is forecast will actually be delivered late afternoon and evening tomorrow.
Low tide is at 2.14am and the wind is expected to turn westerly after having blown easterly today.
The easterly will moderate throughout the day on Sunday, providing an opportunity in the late afternoon.