Traditionally the closest likely kob water to Cape Town are the  estuaries due East, about two and a half hours away. That all changed when Jannie Visser started to catch kob from the reefs on the eastern side of False Bay a season ago, about a 25 minute drive from the Cape Metropol. What struck me was that he was getting them quite consistently and soon I joined him on these evening sessions.

Over the last couple of weeks, while most of our crew plied our stuff on estuary action, Jannie has had some excellent days on the water Landing Garrick and kob almost on his doorstep. The action was so consistent, it was almost guaranteed. After landing 7 kob in one day and most of that during daylight, I quickly accepted Jannie’s invitation to join him on a pre-work session this morning.

Unfortunately the weather changed, a North-Wester started blowing and the action was not what we had hoped for. You want a south Easter for this. But an absolute pleasure to be on the water so early and close to the city, and pin a few kob on fly. Although anglers have been catching Garrick and elf on these reefs for decades, it has never been known as a likely haunt for targeting kob on fly. It’s definitely a fishery that has not been explored enough, and I guess only a matter of time before we figure out the bigger fish, or perhaps also Cape salmon (geelbek) for which these reefs are traditionally known.