A few minutes on bait can save your day

THE fishing is starting to pick up. The excitement of the sardines possibly arriving soon has everyone giddy while the local fishing has 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 which 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 these past weeks. 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 backline in the early mornings for the best results.

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

The deep has also seen 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 decent couta landed. Live bait has been king and luckily there have been some mackerel available on the bait spots. Take the extra 10 minutes to get some live bait as this could save your day.

On the South Coast the garrick should start arriving in the next few weeks so keep an eye out for them. Tight lines!