Sea Angling in and near Cape Town

Go Fishing

Welcome to a page that will try to supply anglers with all the info they need to go to the best fishing venues in the Overberg region, Western Cape, and who knows, later it could escalate to include the whole of Southern Africa. ... more

With thousands of kilometre of coastline teeming with hundreds of species of fish, it is no wonder that sea angling is one of the most popular activities with locals in South Africa.

Drive along any stretch of coastline, especially in the major cities at dawn and dusk, and you will see dozens of fishermen trying their luck in the surf with a bait box on one side and a cooler box on the other. Fish caught vary from tiny sardines to enormous sharks and rays and anglers trying to reel in a big catch often draw large crowds.

One of the best places to fish in the surf in South Africa is St Lucia on the northern coast of KwaZulu Natal. Species commonly caught include Shad, perch, grunter, garrick, kabeljou and shark. Growing in popularity here is salt water fly fishing, best done off of rocky outcrops stretching up the coastline. Or try your luck at a more unique style of angling – kite fishing.

The waters of False Bay in Cape Town and surrounds are a rock and surf anglers paradise. Fishermen dot the coastline every day of the year trying their luck in the surf. Common species include Yellowtail, Geelbek, red steenbras, red stumpnose, red roma, elf, garrick, white steenbras, galjoen and snoek. The harbour wall in the town of Gordon's Bay on the east side of False Bay is a popular spot, along with Melkbos and Kalk Bay.

Sea angling is also popular in Durban and the surrounding coast including Margate, Port Shepstone and Umhlanga. Crowds are drawn for the annual sardine run where every June and July millions of these silvery fish make their way up the Natal coastline.