Most of the fishing activities take place all year round and occur mainly in the waters around the Dassen Island region. The Island is located approximately 7 Nautical Miles South-West of the Yzerfontein boat launching facility. These cold Atlantic waters are filled with rich amounts of anchovies and pilchard, which attract many species of marine and bird life.
The area is probably best known for its abundant catches of traditional Cape snoek. This fish spends most of its time traveling the shores from Namibia along the colder Atlantic to Cape Town following the bait fish shoals. Dassen Island and its surrounding reefs, have traditionally remained an excellent area for landing large amounts of Cape snoek.
During certain times of the year, when frontal systems influence an increase in water temperature, good amounts of yellow tail are sometimes present providing some exciting fishing.
In addition to the Dassen Island area, many sport fishermen search the tuna grounds approximately 30 nautical miles North-West of Yzerfontein. This area was always fished by the larger commercial fleets and produce good catches of longfin and often yellowfin tuna.
Apart from these game fish, traditionally caught on hand-line, the area is also incredibly popular for its West-Coast rock lobster catches. These are caught during the summer periods by commercial and recreational licence holders only, and during the regulated seasonal period as stipulated by the Sea Fisheries authorities.
The area is probably best known for its abundant catches of traditional Cape snoek. This fish spends most of its time traveling the shores from Namibia along the colder Atlantic to Cape Town following the bait fish shoals. Dassen Island and its surrounding reefs, have traditionally remained an excellent area for landing large amounts of Cape snoek.
During certain times of the year, when frontal systems influence an increase in water temperature, good amounts of yellow tail are sometimes present providing some exciting fishing.
In addition to the Dassen Island area, many sport fishermen search the tuna grounds approximately 30 nautical miles North-West of Yzerfontein. This area was always fished by the larger commercial fleets and produce good catches of longfin and often yellowfin tuna.
Apart from these game fish, traditionally caught on hand-line, the area is also incredibly popular for its West-Coast rock lobster catches. These are caught during the summer periods by commercial and recreational licence holders only, and during the regulated seasonal period as stipulated by the Sea Fisheries authorities.