TOUGH ‘DAY IN OFFICE’ FOR NATIONAL TEAM ANGLERS

SIPHOFANENI – National team anglers went home empty-handed in Saturday’s two species fishing tournament.

 National team anglers, who included captain Louis Van Zuydam,  Derek Hopf, Wimpie Bouwer, Manny Rego and Curtis Mathews were among the over 60 anglers in hunt for bass and tiger fish at the Lusip Dam outside Siphofaneni, but they had mixed fortunes. It was only Mathews who celebrated a podium finish (third place) with a bass catch of 3.175kg while Wimpie Bouwer’s 1.597kg-sized tiger fish relegated him to the eighth spot.

Rego, Hopf and Van Zuydam all endured a frustrating outing. The latter said their fish got stuck in some of the dead trees inside the water. 
The national team will leave the country on October 24 to compete in the Black Bass World Championships in Mexico.
Meanwhile, it was PJ Poupard who was a winner in the bass category after he weighed the biggest catch of 4.310kg. He caught it in shallow water near the dam wall at around 11am.

 The size of female angler Elsa Holzel’s tiger fish weighing 2.508kg was unmatched. She was armed with a penn fishing rod.
Up to E36 000 was up for grabs in the tournament and the category champions got E10 000 each. It was sponsored by Umbuluzi Valley Sales and Deli Spices. Umbuluzi Managing Director David Lourens said his company was driven by passion for fishing to come on board.

Like in most tournaments, fishing was from a boat and the fish was released back to the water after weigh-in. Crank bait and small fish were the preferred lures. It was the first time for the competition to be hosted. The tiger fish was expectedly a head-turner with its fierce distinctive and proportionally large teeth.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: