South African Fishing

This book was written by Ivor Whitley and Pat Garrat and was first published in 1989.  It covers the entire South African coastline.

The book is a must for any serious angler, with tackle tips, bait tips where and how as well as all the most popular towns and their most well known fishing spots. 

The book is a little dated with regulations having changed over the last couple of years but is still worth buying with all the Towns and fishing spots being well marked. 

I have owned my copy for many years and often make use of it when going on holiday to new and exiting seaside towns.

Conditions for galjoen are ideal when the following factors come into play; colour of the water, foamy water, constant even breaking waves, water temperature, washed open holes, proximity of rocks and the wind direction.  The galjoen fisherman may have the best bait and tackle available, but if the conditions are not favourable his chances are dramatically reduced.

The sea must have a lot of wave action that will in turn ensure adequate oxygen in the water causing the ever evasive galjoen to become very active.  A calm sea with little or no foamy water will cause the water to have less oxygen thus sending the galjoen off to find a more suitable place to feed.  The waves need to roll in evenly with a constant white foam to be classified as ideal galjoen water.

Galjoen prefer the water to be slightly discoloured with some wave action, should the water be too clear and transparent you can be sure no galjoen will be around.  A dirty green milky colour seems to be the colour preferred by the galjoen.  The ideal water temperature for galjoen fishing is between 15º and 19º Celsius.  Should the water be too cold the fish will go off the bite, too warm water will not have enough oxygen and also cause them to go off the bite.

Most experienced fishermen will avoid going fishing should the sea be to rough.  Huge swells running in smashing against the rocks followed by the water pulling back leaving the area you wanted to fish all but dry is not the way to spend your free time.  With this type of sea condition there is usually free floating kelp that is bound to find your line and cause many break offs and possibly even a broken rod for good measure.  Your sinker and bait will not be in the same place long enough for you to stand a chance of hooking a fish.  Move away from this area and try and find deeper water with some protection in small bays that will not be hammered by the surf,  by doing this you will find the galjoen has done the same and luck could be on your side with a fish or two.

There are areas along our coast where stronger water is referred, usually shallow rocky areas like Pearly Beach and Rietfontein that only allow galjoen to come into the shallow areas when there is a strong sea breaking over these areas.

Most fishermen prefer calmer seas with waves running in evenly in threes and fours.  This causes only slight waves to hit the rocks with only enough strength to wash around rocky outcrops causing small worms and bits of food to be washed free attracting feeding galjoen.  The water should not be to calm, there must be some foam breaking to ensure sufficient oxygen in the area being fished. 

The galjoen fisherman is always on the lookout for holes that have opened up, this is caused by rough seas washing open areas that have been covered by sand for some time exposing small black mussels, worms etc.  Keep a look out for are rocky areas exposed after storms, shale and bits of rock washed up on a beach, beach areas with higher embankments  and steep drop offs should indicate good areas to fish for galjoen and other fish like steenbras.

  Should you however only get to the water on a higher tide be on the lookout for areas  where the waves tend to sit while rolling in on either side leaving a darker area that is deeper than the surrounding area.  These areas will have a darker blue colour to them, by casting your sinker into these holes you should feel a rocky bottom when slowly retrieving your line.  The moment you feel your sinker touch an object under the water let it stay there for a couple of minutes, any fish in the area is bound to pick up your bait.  Try casting your bait into this area for another 30 minutes or so, if you don’t feel a fish move to another spot, the hole has been open for to long or the fish are not feeding in the area at the moment, maybe try the spot later on in the day on a different tide.

Fishermen will know that wind plays a large role in catching most fish, this is also true for galjoen fishing.  Most fishermen will agree that fishing when the wind is howling is no fun at all, your line gets blown into a bow that makes it just about impossible to feel a bite unless the fish takes the bait all the way down hooking itself.

However wind is extremely important to bring about the necessary cycle in weather that is needed to bring favourable fishing weather.  The cycle usually runs over a 7 day period starting with lovely sunny weather with no wind and bright blue ocean, no galjoen would be caught near the shallower areas. On day 2 the North Westerly wind starts blowing up a gale, the water still has the pale blue colour to it, making it very unpleasant for fishing. 

On the 3rd day it usually starts raining causing the North Wester to slacken and turn to a South Westerly wind.  Large swells run inshore bringing about a very rough foamy shore line.  The sea is to rough to fish.

The 4th day will have scattered showers with a light southerly wind, the water will still be very rough with lots of loose floating kelp and strong side washes making it impossible to fish.

Day 5 will have a Strong South Easterly wind blowing, flattening the sea.  Water colour has improved and waves are foaming through evenly in 2s and 3s, the water temperature has gone up making it a very good fishing day.

Day 6 will have a light South Easterly blowing, sunny skies.  Waves are breaking evenly close to shore bringing feeding fish into the tidal zone within casting distance.  Good fish should be taken.

On day 7 a light North Easterly wind blows causing the water to start changing.  The water looses its colour and gets colder making the fish go off the bite.