It is amazing to see how rock and surf fishing has evolved and changed over the years. When I was growing up, there were no more than a handful of hardcore anglers who specifically targeted sharks when they went fishing. Almost nobody fished for any flatfish on purpose, unless it was a shark fisherman who needed a live bait for a big Zambezi.

 In those days the primary objective of catching fish, was to get an edible fish that could be taken home to eat. The tackle used for this was generally a twelve to fourteen foot surf rod, with a Multiplier reel on it and twenty five pound breaking strain nylon. In those days nobody spoke about line in diameter, breaking strain was all that mattered.

 How things have changed! Nowadays most serious rock and surf anglers primarily target sharks and rays. Fishing for edibles is generally referred to as scratching, and it plays a much smaller part in rock and surf angling than it did in the past.

The reasons for this are mainly the growth of competitive angling, where the weight of the catch transfers to points scored, and the fact that edible fish have become far scarcer along our coast than they used to be.

Many of us miss the old style of fishing for edibles from the shore, as it was the way we grew up, learning from our fathers as we went along. Apart from the obvious benefits, like having fresh fish on the table in the evenings, these outings also had many other important aspects to them. Probably the main one was bonding time for families, as many children learnt the rules of the sea, how to collect bait and how to catch fish during these times.

With our fisheries being seriously over pressured, it is not nearly as easy for our generation to take our youngsters onto the rocks and give them the same experience that we had. Kids have a very limited attention span, and if things aren’t happening they quickly lose interest. There frankly aren’t enough fish around most of our coastline to keep our children keen.

Gully Fishing with light tackle is awesome for kids

 

This is where the Transkei comes into it. That piece of coastline, fondly known as the Wild Coast, still has plenty to offer in terms of fishing for edibles. It is also accessible to most South African families, with cheap accommodation available in many places.There are cottages and hotels where one can stay, my favourite Transkei hotel is Wavecrest. There is superb rock and surf fishing within close walking distance of the hotel as well as a beautiful estuary system right in front of the hotel.

Cattle on the beach, a typical Transkei sight

Transkei has the most beautiful and rugged coastline

 

The Transkei coastline is rugged and beautiful. Many species of edible fish live in the turbulent waters along rocky shores which are filled with life and food organisms. Species such as bronze bream, pignose grunter, blacktail, kob, galjoen, shad, black musselcracker and white musselcracker are plentiful along those shores and can be caught by rock and surf anglers fishing from the side.

Collecting bait at low tide

Fresh, natural bait can be collected from the rocks, estuaries and beaches at low tide, such as octopus, red bait, mudprawn, sandprawn, live mullet, ghost crab and sea lice. These fresh baits, natural to the area are ideal to use on the incoming tide, when the fish move in with the water to feed amongst the rocks.

When the wind blows and the sea is on its head there is generally an estuary nearby with somewhere to escape the wind and plenty of decent fishing on offer. The Transkei estuaries are still in good shape and have a great variety of species of fish living in them. They are also an ideal starting point for teaching kids to fish.

Transkei estuaries are still very productive

The conditions of the water along the Transkei coast are very weather dependant. South Westerly winds clean the water up and bring in warmer water, the South Westerly will also increase the size of the swell the harder and longer it blows. North Easterlies stir up sediment and bring cold currents in, but flatten the swell. The nice thing about a rugged and dynamic coastline like this, is that there is always somewhere to fish, no matter what the conditions. There are plenty of deep water points and sheltered bays, which allow one to get a line into productive water, whichever way the wind is blowing.

The rocky nature of the coast also means that there are plenty of spots where kids can get a line into the water and be fishing in productive spots on a very short cast. There are many gullies, which are rich in sea life and easily accessible from dry rocks. Some surprisingly good fish move into these gullies in search of food and there are many stories of kids getting smashed up by monsters, literally at their feet.

 

One of the down sides to fishing in such rugged terrain is the fact that you do lose a lot of tackle. I always pack far more sinkers and hooks for a Transkei trip than I would for a trip anywhere else. Very often the fish are to be found in such hostile spots, that if you do not hook a fish on each cast, you are unlikely to get your hook and sinker out. Fortunately you can fish many of those spots with pretty light gear, and so can get away with using two or three ounce sinkers, which are a lot cheaper than the big ones. Nowadays we are fortunate to have access to fantstic new fishing lines, which handle abrasion much better than the old lines used to. I use the new Double X Extreme Abrasion line for my Transkei rock and surf fishing and lose much less tackle (and fish) now than I did in the past.

You quickly learn to rig traces that are simple and very quick to put together when fishing in that sort of environment. You don’t want to spend ten minutes making up a rig that you are likely to lose on your next cast. Whatever you do, you need to ensure that your trace set up is still strong, because there is always the chance of hooking a good sized musselcracker in the foamy white water around the rocks. These fish really pull your rod down flat and are very tricky to land in rough terrain, particularly on light tackle.

Musselcracker move into shallow water and gullies to feed on the incoming tide

Black musselcracker also come close inshore and can be caught from the rocks, usually in deeper water

Kob are plentiful in the Transkei, and can be caught at most places along that coast. They tend to sit in sandy patches between the rocks, holding up during the day and actively feeding at night. They love an octopus leg cast into the water where they are holding and cannot resist the temptation of eating it at any time of the day. They are also suckers for spoons and dropshot, so spinning can be very productive in areas where the kob are around. Shad are also often caught from rocky points, and some very large shad are taken each season in the Transkei.

A kob caught spinning, on a Williamson Thunder Jig on a Shimano Exage 11 foot rod and a Trinidad 14 reel

One of the most popular species of edibles to catch in the Transkei is the bronze bream. These fish grow to in excess of 4kg’s and are plentiful wherever there is white water and rocks with lots of seaweed. They can be caught on most prawn baits, crayfish and also well beaten chokka. They have a small mouth, so a 2/0 size hook is about as big as you want to use when targeting them, I prefer to use a very small hook. My current favourite bronze bream hook is the VMC 7102 BN carp hook. Bronze bream can be quite sneaky biters, and will often move in towards you with your bait. If you get sudden slack line, then it is often a bream taking your bait and you should reel up the slack and strike. They give a good fight on light tackle and are an excellent eating fish.

Bronze bream are plentiful in Transkei

Species such as stone bream and blacktail are very plentiful and provide loads of entertainment to the kids. Gully fishing with a small ball sinker, or even with a float can be such fun for the youngsters, there is nonstop action and some of the fish that they hook in those gullies give them a real run around. With young local gillies available to be hired at very reasonable rates, you can have your kids looked after and even get the chance to have the odd throw yourself when you take them out for a session.

Gillies are cheap and helpful, especially with the kids

The Transkei is literally the last bastion of decent rock and surf fishing for edibles along our coastline. Please bear this in mind when visiting there, and treat it with the respect that it deserves. We have already seen what heavy fishing pressure has done to the rest of our coast, so fish responsibly. Keep one nice fish for the frying pan and release the rest of your catch for yourself or another angler to enjoy another day. Also please be aware that all fishing licenses and bait licenses are required in the Transkei, just as with the rest of our coastline, and the chances are good that they will be inspected during your stay.