Garrick fishing at The Block

Garrick fishing at The Block

Although the garrick and salmon must be swimming by the other beaches and bays, for some reason they all really love The Block, and the adjacent Sandspit beach. Maybe it’s because the mightyUmzimkulu River near Port Shepstone is closed, so the fish get all confused and end up swimming up and down wondering where the mouth is?!

Friday saw the first flurry and 5 garrick came out altogether – 2 on the Sandspit, and 3 off The Block. All on live mullet, which were easily netted this early in the season.

We saw one lucky earlie* get himself a huge shad. Not quite the monster shot at Chakas last year but I thought it was a smallish garrick when I first saw it in the dusk.

Then the next day, another pearl, happened on a Saturday and I counted 12 rods standing at attention. Only 4 Garrick hit the beach though, and then the next brought on a huge swell, making things difficult for the garrick fishermen.

The big waves are breaking way out the back and fading into the middle break where there are a few holes. Loads of guys are on it today – maybe the salmon will start up again.

The colder news is that a huge front and swell are imminent, and that the shark nets have been removed in lieu of the approaching melee. The rumour mill has it set at between 7 and 10 metres so watch out!

* earlies: the odd breed of human who can be encountered anytime from 2 or 3 am onwards. They are often spotted at service stations buying coffee, and in carparks drinking the coffee. Other habits are driving up and down the coastline at these odd times, chatting eagerly to other earlies in carparks, swopping vital tidbits of information, as they go about their early morning missions. They seem to disappear as the sun comes up, very much like early morning vampires.