Seeing as the holiday season is upon us, here is a guide for those of you coming down to St Francis Bay/Cape St Francis area. Starting from East to West I will try to cover most of the spots I am personally familiar in this area with and give advice and tips on what bait and tactics to use. The St Francis main road is marked with red and the side-roads to different spots marked with blue. Same with Cape St Francis.
Kromme River Mouth to Eldebara rd
Access to this area is very easy and great for family outings. Try to plan your trip to coincide with a low tide, because besides being the most productive time, the high tide can sometimes cover the entire beach and chase you up the rocks. The seas are generally very calm in this area so use lighter tackle, except when the east wind blows and the white horses come racing in!
The beach in front of the parking area is very productive at low tide when one wades and casts out over the drop. Walking towards the mouth you will find deeper gullies and sandbanks. Try using fresh baits like prawn, pencil bait and bloodworm to entice steenbras, kob and belman in cold water. A close second choice would be some fresh chokka. I’ve had an instance where a steenbras swam past 2 bloodworms and a prawn bait on either side to grab a chokka in the middle. There are some scattered reefs which you will be able to spot at low tide and the areas around them are generally the best places to cast. During the summer months, this area also comes alive with blue rays, smooth hounds and sand sharks, which will take any bait thrown out there.
Peter rd, Anne avenue and “Die Bak”
Peter rd
As can be seen from the photo, this area is pretty flat and one needs to wade quite a bit to get into deeper water. Not bad for steenbras and flatfish like blue rays and diamonds, but there are better places out there.
Anne Avenue
More of a swimming area, but still a good spot to fish. Some young kob and steenbras are frequently caught, mostly on bloodworm, but chokka and sardine will also work. Wading out with a big bait is very successful in this area as large raggies and big flatfish also tend to come here to feed. Sliding is sometimes difficult in this area as the beach is pretty flat, so I’d recommend casting your baits out here. Try to fish away from the beach goers in this area, as it is more of a swimming area during the day.
Die bak
At the furthest point West on this beach where the rocks start is a very good area for youngsters. The reef forms a natural little bay protecting it from the worst swells. In calm, warm water plenty of grunters are caught here, along with stumpies, blacktail, steenbras, small kob, shad, gully sharks and the like. In stormy water this area is also great for cracker and galjoen (season closed).
NSRI slipway to Harbour
Although there are some fish in this area with some decent spots to fish for cracker, I wouldn’t recommend this area. This is however a good place for those of you who like snorkeling to go and search for some oysters and giant periwinkle (alikreukels). Have seen some decent fish like leervis, crackers and steenbras swimming around, but never really fished the area.
St Francis Point and shelly Beach
Right, now for the good stuff! This area is synonymous with big fish. Whether it is shark fisherman chasing that trophy fish or bleary eyed spinnermen throwing plugs and spoons at the break of dawn for yellowtail, there is always someone fishing this area. Word of warning – if you don’t have a proper 4x4 don’t take the gravel road. With the rains we’ve been having , this road is in a very lousy state. Rather park at the top and walk the extra 100m. If you are heading to the Shelly Beach area, park at the turn and take the path through the bush. Don’t go alone! Although I’ve never heard of an incident, there is always a first – you never know who is lurking in the bushes. Shelly beach can also be accessed from the Cape St Francis side.
Bokkies BaaiRight at the parking area you will find a little bay with round boulders. Cast a sardine here for elf and sometimes kob. Try to get your bait over the reefs onto the sandy patches, as you lose lots of tackle in the area. Spinning from the point to the left can get you into some garrick or elf as well. Shellfish and crab baits can get you some good crackers and it is always worthwhile to carry some squid with. For the light tackle enthusiast, this is a good area for scratching. All kinds of reef species abound in this little bay.
KommetjieWon’t go into too much detail here. Here you catch sharks and rays! Big ones, small ones, monsters, etc. Try to get to a spot where you can land your fish easily as many are lost right next to the rocks. Here it is first come, first served, so get there early.
PointThis is also a good place for sharks, but difficult to land them due to the high rocks. When the water is cold one can almost be sure to run into some offshore species like roman, geelbek, gurnard, etc here. Good catches of elf are also made. With a NE wind blowing the shoals of yellowtail come close inshore and you will see guys spinning from the rocks.
AngelsI cannot with a clear conscience recommend this spot. There is a reason why it has this name. Standing there, the swells look like mountains towering above you, only to disappear into the deep gully in front. Scary stuff indeed! It is however one of the best spots for cracker, galjoen and poenskop. If you do decide to venture out here:
· Don’t go in rough seas
· Don’t go with pushing tide
· Don’t stay long – only while tide is dropping
· Never, never take kids along (have seen this – they got into trouble)
· Don’t take chances
· Go somewhere else
Die TandeAnother great spot for galjoen, poenskop, elf and cracker. Only accessible at low tide. Rather long and difficult walk over rough terrain to get to the gully, but well worth it. After a couple of minutes of walking over loose round boulders and cross reefs, you will get to a deep gully with access to the open sea left and right. Throw out some drift bait for elf and sometimes yellowtail or rock baits for various reef species including blacktail, galjoen, cracker, bronze bream, zebra and the like. Some romans are also caught here from time to time using chokka or octopus.
High rock
Another magical spot for galjoen and cracker with the elf and kabeljou putting in an appearance from time to time. Go at low and fish with the rising tide until you feel that the gully at the back is getting too deep to swim across. Not an easy spot to fish, but pretty safe from the water. This spot works best after a strong SW wind has been blowing, churning the water into a foamy mess.
Shelly Beach
Again, wait for a strong SW to get some life into the water. At high tide you can fish from the little beach for galjoen, cracker, blacktail and kob. To the west of the beach are some deep gullies and reefs and right up to the beach are some great places to scratch around. This is a really good and safe area – highly recommended. Where the rocks stop, a deep gully is usually formed with some scattered rocks. Also worth a try.
Cape St Francis beach
The beach itself is difficult to fish due to the strong currents that usually prevail in this area. When the water is too calm on the St Francis side come here early mornings and bring some bloodworm, prawn, or pencil with to try an land yourself a proper steam train. Shad and kob can also be targeted as well as all the shark species found in the area.
Lighthouse
BeachWhere the rocks start is a decent spot to try for kob and steenbras and pretty safe at night.
PointThis is a well known surf spot, but also very popular among elf fishermen. I would recommend using drift bait, as it is quite snaggy in this area. From time to time some juvenile yellowtail (2-5kg) also put in an appearance and ensure great sport! The area between the point and the lighthouse has some good scratching opportunities and abound with gully sharks which are great fun to catch on medium tackle. Catch some strepies (karenteen) during the day and toss out a head as soon as dusk settles in.
LighthouseAt the lighthouse itself, you will find a good place to cast a plug or spoon for garrick, elf and yellowtail. You can venture onto the front rocks at low tide, but again – watch the conditions carefully and be sure of your tides. Cracker and poenskop can also be targeted here. This spot is dangerous, so watch out!
To the west are some more deep gullies and targeting reef dwellers here can be great fun.
Cracker hole
Well, as the name suggest….
Wild Side
There are some high points to cast plugs for yellow tail, but this is a scratching paradise. At the parking are you can walk straight down the walkway and fish right there.
Or go through the fence and walk the coast till you find a nice hole for a cast
There is one particularly deep gully about 5 minutes walk from the fence where cracker, shad and kob have been caught. The rocks on the opposite side has seen some action from yellowtail.
Walking further west, you will get to an area with long deep gullies running straight out to sea. Look for good “working” water to catch the various reef species.
Further on you will find a long flat area. At high tide this is very good musselcracker and galjoen water.
Mosterdshoek 
At the very end of ones walking range is Mosterdshoek. For those of you who venture this far out the rewards will be good. Trust me, it is a very stiff walk. Here you will find deep water and rough seas. The conditions are harsh and so are the fish. Monster crackers and poenskop haunt this area. Kob and elf are plentiful during certain times and reef fish are common. Bait – crab, red bait, etc is also quite common. Here I would recommend heavy tackle to tame these beasts, and also because you sometimes have to lift the fish up the ledges.
Well, there it is. Will update with photos on my next trips, but these are basically all the places I fish in this area. Feel free to ask questions if you are unsure about something.
