Categories: Report

2020 sardine season: Preparing for the 2nd wave – of sardines!

Ryan Daly 2020 Sardine Run Imagery

Preparing for the 2nd wave – of sardines 2020!

Preparing for the 2nd wave – of sardines 2020! And special thanks to Ryan Daly for the featured image once again!

Each time I go on a sardine patrol way down south here on the KZN Lower South Coast- the signs are all there. Birds diving. Strong groundswell. Mean southerly winds. Cold water.

And although the aloes have stopped flowering – more sardines are being reported from way down in the Transkei right now. And given that last year nets were thrown in October even up in Durban, then we can probably bet a few shekels on the second coming of the sardines 2020.

The weekend coming up looks like the wind and weather is finally going to give us a break – and so it may also be a good sardine weekend.

Or not!

Either way, once the sardines start to disappear. Or when they feature only sporadically, the gamefish seem to wake up. The garrick and kob are busy being raped during their spawning pattern in Port St. Johns, and the survivors, if any, will be heading back into the surf zone and out to sea. Hungry as hell. This is the time when you could maybe take out and kill one or two. But NOT whilst spawning and at their most vulnerable.

A few boats have reported a few Natal Snoek and the spearfishermen are having a great run. Its every year this time that the spearos outfish the anglers by far. But that is not the case all year round. The water is beautifully clean and calm this time of the year. Ad then when the rains come, its no more diving for months at a time. Spearfishing is really hard work, compared to sitting there with a rod in your hand – all dry and comfortable.

Anway, so sardines aside, the harder this wind blows, the onshores of August, September and October – the better the summer gamefish season will be. Well, billfish for sure. And lets bet some more shekels on the couta coming back this year. They hid behind the Batman Flu really well this previous season!

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