The Cape Town fishing calendar

Most charter websites will sell you any month. This one tells you which months are actually worth booking for which fish, because a charter sold on a species that is not in the water is a day nobody enjoys.

The short version

• Yellowfin tuna: October to June, deep water 30–50 km beyond Cape Point
• Longfin tuna: October to June, the same grounds
• Yellowtail: all year, closer in around the Point and the bay, with the hottest runs through summer
• Snoek: winter, May to August, inshore and wind-dependent
• Katonkel and bonito: the warmer months, inshore and mid-water
• Kob, kingklip and steenbras: all year, on the inshore reefs and structure

Tuna: October to June

This is the headline. Yellowfin off the Cape run large, with fish over 100 kg landed on this coast, and the grounds sit thirty to fifty kilometres beyond Cape Point, in deep water where the currents converge.

From Simon's Town, Cape Point is about eleven nautical miles, roughly half an hour on the deep-sea boat. The grounds are a further run beyond that, which is why this is an eight-hour day and why the boat needs a Category B certificate to work out there legally.

Longfin (albacore) come through the same window and are excellent eating. Skipjack and bigeye show up on the same grounds.

What decides a good tuna day: the current position, water temperature breaks, and whether the bait is holding. None of it is visible from a calendar, which is why we would rather talk to you about a date than take a booking blind.

Yellowtail: all year

Yellowtail bite all year here, and they are the fish that make an inshore day. They come through in numbers, they fight hard for their size, and you do not need to go forty miles offshore for them: they work the Point and the bay. The hottest runs come through summer, but there is no month to write off.

A good yellowtail run is the best-value fishing on this coast.

Snoek: winter, and only when the wind allows

Snoek are a winter fish, and they are the most weather-dependent thing we chase. A snoek day is decided by the wind, not the month. You can have a blank July and an excellent August, or the reverse.

They are also fast, toothy and chaotic to land. If you want a day where a lot happens, this is it.

The reef: all year

Kob, kingklip and steenbras hold on structured ground through the year, which makes bottom and reef fishing the least seasonal charter we run. Swell height and water clarity decide the day rather than the calendar.

It is also the more sheltered option, five hours inshore instead of eight offshore, and the better first fishing charter for most people.

Month by month

• January – March. Peak summer. Tuna on the grounds, yellowtail running hard, long days. Also peak south-easter, so mornings beat afternoons.
• April – May. Often the best of the year. The tuna are still out there, the wind has dropped, and the charter boats are quieter.
• June – August. The tuna tail off through June, and then it is winter fishing: snoek when the weather allows, yellowtail and reef fishing throughout. Southern right whales in False Bay from June, which is a genuine bonus on an inshore day.
• September – October. Yellowtail and reef fishing solid, and the tuna return in October.
• November – December. Tuna season in full swing. December books out early: start that conversation in October.

What you need

A valid recreational fishing licence, on every fishing charter, without exception. It is yours to hold, not ours, and we legally cannot take you without one. Buy one online at permits.postoffice.co.za or over the counter at any Post Office.

We will remind you the day before. It is still the single most common thing people forget.

Sea-sickness tablets, taken an hour before departure. Not when you start feeling it.

Closed-toe shoes, and a layer for the way home.

Rods and tackle are aboard and included on every fishing charter. Bring your own if you prefer, but there is nothing to hire and nothing you have to travel with.

What we will not do

We will not sell you a tuna charter in August. If you ask for a date when your target species is not around, we will tell you and suggest a better month, or point you at the charter that does work then.

That costs us the odd booking. It costs us fewer refunds and disappointed customers.

Ready to pick a date? Deep-sea fishing, bottom and reef, or the overnight fishing charter.