ISSN 2310-3884 B A S S D I G E S T Graham Weakley F o r A n g l e r s b y A n g l e r s ISSUE 2 / DECEMBER 2013 S E A S O N Fly Popping A A D I L for Bass C A J E E T IS T H E Drive E B A S S C H A M P I O N S J U S T Y A N D G R E G - It A MILE! E X C L U S I V E I N T E R V I E W F R A N M Y E R S - W H A T I S S P O O N P L U G G I N G ? K N O W Y O U R P R O ' S - D A R R Y L Q U I N T O N E X C L U S IV E L IV E G R A H A M W E A K L E Y - P O P P I N G F O R B A S S A A D I L C A J E E - T I S T H E S E A S O N S P O R T S G U ID E ROB FISHER - 2013 SPAIN CHAMPIONSHIPS R O B F I S H E R - 2 0 1 3 S P A I N C H A M P I O N S H I P S
In this issue... w w w . b a s s d i g e s t . c o . z a ' 2013 Spain World Championships 6 Know Your Pro's Exclusive Interview 22 14 Interview with Darryl Quinton Justy Varkevisser & Gregory Schleup 2013 eBass Champions 32 SA Tournament Results 28 Popping For Bass Results of the latest tournaments by Graham Weakley around S.A. Floattubes & Pontoons T'is the Season... 18 44 By Magnus Beukman and Martin Article by Aadil Cage Schoonhoven What is Spoonplugging? Top Tips 10 56 Fran Myers Getting your frog on by Bassaholic The Tacklebox Accommodation Fishing Tales & Fishing Venues
In this issue... w w w . b a s s d i g e s t . c o . z a ' 2013 Spain World Championships 6 Know Your Pro's Exclusive Interview 22 14 Interview with Darryl Quinton Justy Varkevisser & Gregory Schleup 2013 eBass Champions 32 SA Tournament Results 28 Popping For Bass Results of the latest tournaments by Graham Weakley around S.A. Floattubes & Pontoons T'is the Season... 18 44 By Magnus Beukman and Martin Article by Aadil Cage Schoonhoven What is Spoonplugging? Top Tips 10 56 Fran Myers Getting your frog on by Bassaholic The Tacklebox Accommodation Fishing Tales & Fishing Venues
Welcome Readers A Note from the Editor... w w w . b a s s d i g e s t . c o . z a Welcome to our December edition of Bass Digest. We are proud to bring you interactive digital content directly to your fingertips. Bass Digest is laced with interactive content. From embedded video clips, sound clips, revolving galleries, 2013 - Issue 2 hyperlinks and more. COPYRIGHT NOTICE All Contents copyrighted. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any material without prior written This logo indicates that the product/service is linked for ease of consent from the publisher is strictly prohibited. purchase. Simply click on the product and get directed to the Bass Digest is not responsible for researching the eCommerce site for quick and easy purchase. accuracy of the content published in Bass Digest. All content published in Bass Digest has been done Advertisers are now able to instantly engage with you. With a single click on advertiser's articles you gain Wow, time has really flown by. Can you believe that we are so with explicit permission of the individuals and access to their websites, Facebook Fan Pages, Twitter ramblings etc... businesses in mention. already in December and our second issue has already come to fruition? Issue one has surpassed all our Bass Digest is here for the bassing community. So should you have an article you would like to publish, expectations and was extremely well received with many Readers are advised that use of the information product or service you wish to advertise, or simply would like to show off your catch, just email contained within is at their own risk and neither positive comments from you, our readers. [email protected]. party assumes risk or liability for it. This has only spurred us on even more to continue To keep up with special offers, or the latest news from Bass Digest, be sure to like our page on Facebook delivering a quality publication, whilst constantly and/or follow us on Twitter. All you need to do is click on the below icons and you will be directed to our ADVERTISING INQUIRIES improving and learning as we go. This issue is again jam Facebook and Twitter pages respectively. packed, with a special feature on SA’s very own Varkenelli Advertising inquiries can be directed to info and boat partner Greg as well as the low down from our SA Proteas team who did us proud by finishing second at the @bassdigest.co.za recent world champs in Spain. GET PUBLISHED We have also kicked off our first series of articles on In order for Bass Digest to provide the best possible content, we have included a feedback section towards “spoonplugging”, which looks in depth at how bass locate the end of this publication. So please feel free to rate our Digital Magazine and provide the necessary Want a product reviewed? to structure and use these features as migration routes. It feedback. Have a great article to share? also explains how to target them using this very unique Take some awesome photo's? technique. Happy interacting and tight lines to everyone! Send them to [email protected] Darryl Quinton shares his experience with us in this month’s “Know your Pros” segment whilst our small boat Editor In Chief - Shahid Ebrahim enthusiasts Martin and Magnus expand on their series in Creative Content Editor - Lyndsay Mac Dougall part two and Cages’ column spreads some holiday cheer. Webmaster/Designer/Layout - Brent Webber So let stop talking and get right down to the fishing. Field Contributors: To all our readers, Bass Digest would like to be the first to wish all of you a great festive season and even better New Aadil Cage Year. Be safe and happy bassing till next year! Graham Weakley Magnus Beukman ED. Martin Schoonhoven Fran Myers Takkie Branford On Cover: Spain World Championship Team provided by Rob Fisher
Welcome Readers A Note from the Editor... w w w . b a s s d i g e s t . c o . z a Welcome to our December edition of Bass Digest. We are proud to bring you interactive digital content directly to your fingertips. Bass Digest is laced with interactive content. From embedded video clips, sound clips, revolving galleries, 2013 - Issue 2 hyperlinks and more. COPYRIGHT NOTICE All Contents copyrighted. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any material without prior written This logo indicates that the product/service is linked for ease of consent from the publisher is strictly prohibited. purchase. Simply click on the product and get directed to the Bass Digest is not responsible for researching the eCommerce site for quick and easy purchase. accuracy of the content published in Bass Digest. All content published in Bass Digest has been done Advertisers are now able to instantly engage with you. With a single click on advertiser's articles you gain Wow, time has really flown by. Can you believe that we are so with explicit permission of the individuals and access to their websites, Facebook Fan Pages, Twitter ramblings etc... businesses in mention. already in December and our second issue has already come to fruition? Issue one has surpassed all our Bass Digest is here for the bassing community. So should you have an article you would like to publish, expectations and was extremely well received with many Readers are advised that use of the information product or service you wish to advertise, or simply would like to show off your catch, just email contained within is at their own risk and neither positive comments from you, our readers. [email protected]. party assumes risk or liability for it. This has only spurred us on even more to continue To keep up with special offers, or the latest news from Bass Digest, be sure to like our page on Facebook delivering a quality publication, whilst constantly and/or follow us on Twitter. All you need to do is click on the below icons and you will be directed to our ADVERTISING INQUIRIES improving and learning as we go. This issue is again jam Facebook and Twitter pages respectively. packed, with a special feature on SA’s very own Varkenelli Advertising inquiries can be directed to info and boat partner Greg as well as the low down from our SA Proteas team who did us proud by finishing second at the @bassdigest.co.za recent world champs in Spain. GET PUBLISHED We have also kicked off our first series of articles on In order for Bass Digest to provide the best possible content, we have included a feedback section towards “spoonplugging”, which looks in depth at how bass locate the end of this publication. So please feel free to rate our Digital Magazine and provide the necessary Want a product reviewed? to structure and use these features as migration routes. It feedback. Have a great article to share? also explains how to target them using this very unique Take some awesome photo's? technique. Happy interacting and tight lines to everyone! Send them to [email protected] Darryl Quinton shares his experience with us in this month’s “Know your Pros” segment whilst our small boat Editor In Chief - Shahid Ebrahim enthusiasts Martin and Magnus expand on their series in Creative Content Editor - Lyndsay Mac Dougall part two and Cages’ column spreads some holiday cheer. Webmaster/Designer/Layout - Brent Webber So let stop talking and get right down to the fishing. Field Contributors: To all our readers, Bass Digest would like to be the first to wish all of you a great festive season and even better New Aadil Cage Year. Be safe and happy bassing till next year! Graham Weakley Magnus Beukman ED. Martin Schoonhoven Fran Myers Takkie Branford On Cover: Spain World Championship Team provided by Rob Fisher
Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 SPAIN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2013 Article & Images by Rob Fisher The2013BassWorldChampionshipswasheldinCordoba, Spain at Lake La Breña this year. The team flew from King Shaka airport to Dubai and then onto Madrid. A short overnight stay in Madrid was followed by a high speed train journey into the interior of Spain to Cordoba. Excitement mounted as the teams from all over the world started to arrive. Teams came from Russia, Spain, South Africa, Venezuela, France, Portugal, Mexico, Germany, Italy, Swaziland and Croatia. There were two days of practice where our team attempted to pattern a foreign body of water and make plans for the three days of competition coming up. After the first two practice days, SA had developed a good gameplan.Finallydayoneofthecompetitiondawned. It’s hard to explain the feeling of excitement, nervousness, anticipation, eagerness and everything else experienced while we were sitting on the boats waiting to head out through the buoys to compete. The First day’s weigh-in was awesome as plenty of locals had pitched up to create a very festive weigh station. The excitement was tangible when any fish over 2 kilograms was weighed. The dam is relatively new and the dam record is a 3 kilogram bass. Rob had been keeping notes of the various bag weights and we knew we needed a good bag from Shane and Greg. As their we had done well. When we arrived back at the hotel we little boat came in, we gestured to them and they both could view the positions after day one. Celebrations gave a thumbs up. We were all holding thumbs. ensued after we discovered we were lying second. Our mood was jubilant. An exceptionally good start! The The scale stopped at 8kg's! The emotion was something Russian were in first place with France in third. to behold. Hugs and high fives followed. The wait to get back to the hotel to see the results was nailing-bitingly Day 2 was a lot tougher and we held our own although intense. Our sheer jubilation as it was confirmed as it we dropped on place to third with Russia still leading was confirmed that we had achieved second place, was and Portugal moving into second place. We needed a immense. Only our second World Championships and new game plan for the final day. After much team talk, we had finished second. Words cannot describe the homework and deciding on our secret baits and feeling accurately. techniques, we started day 3 determined, wanting to climb back up the laser to second place. The last day's The team dressed up in their step outs and after a very fishing was intense and the crowd waiting at the weigh emotional speech by the Captain in our room, we station had grown every day, so the atmosphere was headed to prize giving. electric with huge excitement! It's very difficult to explain the feeling of putting on our The weigh in started and there were mixed bags. Some green and gold, and with our National anthem playing, team had found fish and other had toiled. The first SA going up up to collect our Silver Medals, and our trophy THE TEAM bag weighed was 4,2kg's and the nerves began to build. for finishing as runners-up. Emotions ran high. Our second bag weighed in at 5,2kg's and our hopes Back Left to Right : Brendon van Zuydam, Shane Estran, Rob Fisher (Manager), Trevor Brown grew. We thought we may have done enough but knew WELL DONE SOUTH AFRICAN BASS ANGLING TEAM! Front Left to Right : Hendrik Korf, Greg Schluep, Keiron Samkin (Captain)
Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 SPAIN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2013 Article & Images by Rob Fisher The2013BassWorldChampionshipswasheldinCordoba, Spain at Lake La Breña this year. The team flew from King Shaka airport to Dubai and then onto Madrid. A short overnight stay in Madrid was followed by a high speed train journey into the interior of Spain to Cordoba. Excitement mounted as the teams from all over the world started to arrive. Teams came from Russia, Spain, South Africa, Venezuela, France, Portugal, Mexico, Germany, Italy, Swaziland and Croatia. There were two days of practice where our team attempted to pattern a foreign body of water and make plans for the three days of competition coming up. After the first two practice days, SA had developed a good gameplan.Finallydayoneofthecompetitiondawned. It’s hard to explain the feeling of excitement, nervousness, anticipation, eagerness and everything else experienced while we were sitting on the boats waiting to head out through the buoys to compete. The First day’s weigh-in was awesome as plenty of locals had pitched up to create a very festive weigh station. The excitement was tangible when any fish over 2 kilograms was weighed. The dam is relatively new and the dam record is a 3 kilogram bass. Rob had been keeping notes of the various bag weights and we knew we needed a good bag from Shane and Greg. As their we had done well. When we arrived back at the hotel we little boat came in, we gestured to them and they both could view the positions after day one. Celebrations gave a thumbs up. We were all holding thumbs. ensued after we discovered we were lying second. Our mood was jubilant. An exceptionally good start! The The scale stopped at 8kg's! The emotion was something Russian were in first place with France in third. to behold. Hugs and high fives followed. The wait to get back to the hotel to see the results was nailing-bitingly Day 2 was a lot tougher and we held our own although intense. Our sheer jubilation as it was confirmed as it we dropped on place to third with Russia still leading was confirmed that we had achieved second place, was and Portugal moving into second place. We needed a immense. Only our second World Championships and new game plan for the final day. After much team talk, we had finished second. Words cannot describe the homework and deciding on our secret baits and feeling accurately. techniques, we started day 3 determined, wanting to climb back up the laser to second place. The last day's The team dressed up in their step outs and after a very fishing was intense and the crowd waiting at the weigh emotional speech by the Captain in our room, we station had grown every day, so the atmosphere was headed to prize giving. electric with huge excitement! It's very difficult to explain the feeling of putting on our The weigh in started and there were mixed bags. Some green and gold, and with our National anthem playing, team had found fish and other had toiled. The first SA going up up to collect our Silver Medals, and our trophy THE TEAM bag weighed was 4,2kg's and the nerves began to build. for finishing as runners-up. Emotions ran high. Our second bag weighed in at 5,2kg's and our hopes Back Left to Right : Brendon van Zuydam, Shane Estran, Rob Fisher (Manager), Trevor Brown grew. We thought we may have done enough but knew WELL DONE SOUTH AFRICAN BASS ANGLING TEAM! Front Left to Right : Hendrik Korf, Greg Schluep, Keiron Samkin (Captain)
Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 Image Supplied by Japie Botha South Africa's Wrangler Angler Japie Botha is undertaking a fund raising campaign for his trip to represent South Africa in the Bass Federation Nation next year in the U.S.A. Support your Wrangler Angler and buy a ticket today. See details below and simply click on the e-mail address to contact Japie and get your entry in for this fantastic holiday! THE PROTEA TEAM IS PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 Image Supplied by Japie Botha South Africa's Wrangler Angler Japie Botha is undertaking a fund raising campaign for his trip to represent South Africa in the Bass Federation Nation next year in the U.S.A. Support your Wrangler Angler and buy a ticket today. See details below and simply click on the e-mail address to contact Japie and get your entry in for this fantastic holiday! THE PROTEA TEAM IS PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 WHAT IS.... SPOONPLUGGING? to follow – the information I saw just made SENSE. The Article & Images by Fran Myers guy was selling video tapes. I was buying everything else so I bought them. After getting the videos I felt my lake was so different For the past couple of years I have been writing on different fishing forums in South Africa. I started posting when to any other, that I would prove that there was no way I found questions about Bass Fishing. The questions were typical forum types – 'Where are the fish?', 'Didn’t catch what was on the tapes could be right. So my wife and I anything today, why can’t I catch more fish?' and 'What lures do I need to fish a particular reservoir (dam)?'. took our 25 foot pontoon boat out and did what the tapes said. In less than an hour with some very fancy To the group of fisherman that I am part of, the answers were common knowledge. The questions with answers driving I was able to point and say \"There they are\". I were published in educational materials nearly word for word as the ones posted. My knowledge came from being couldn't believe it. Now I'd like to say that all we did a Spoonplugger. A Spoonplugger is someone who fishes according to the Basic Guideline that Mr. Elwood Perry was throw some lures out and caught bass from the created more than 50 years ago. first cast but nope, I didn't. Now it would be easy for anyone to say that a person in Minnesota would have no idea how to catch Bass in South Africa. That’s true. I am about 13,000 kilometres away from your side of the world. Knowledge is the key A few of the important FACTs a fisherman MUST accept to improve their fishing success – whether you’re a Spoonplugger or not, include: - The 'home' of the fish is in DEEP water. This means O 30-35 0feet - Most of the water in your favourite reservoir contains ONO fish. In fact 90+% of the adult fish live in 1% of the Ototal water volume of a lake, river, or reservoir - Fish follow paths along the bottom that most of the O time a fisherman can find. These paths are called O Structure, Breaks and Breaklines At the end of 2013 it’s a pretty good bet that most fishermen have heard some form of these facts. But few of those fishermen understand what they mean. To Spoonpluggers, these facts are so important that we know if any fisherman were to adjust their fishing to account for these facts - the catch will change radically. The person who came up with thesefactsfirstwasElwood\"Buck\"Perry.Theseandmanymorefacts,proceduresandknowledgearethefoundationof the complete fishing system Mr. Perry called \"Spoonplugging\". The first seeds of Spoonplugging began in the 1940’s when he was a young kid. Mr. Perry then spent over 30 years provinghisideas.HecreatedTheSpoonpluggersBasicGuideline.Ifanyfishermanfishedbasedontheguideline–there There certainly are differences. I’m Northern Hemisphere, South Africa is Southern. But really that’s about it. isnowayafishermanwouldn'timprovehiscatch.KnowledgeiswhatSpoonpluggingisabout.Mr.Perryinventedalure called a Spoonplug, however Spoonplugging isn’t just fishing with a Spoonplug. Mr. Perry was a noted fisherman So why do I even bother sharing and not just keep the fishing information to myself? Well in Spoonplugging, before he invented the Spoonplug. sharing is a major part of what we do. \"Knowledge is key\" is not just a motto – we believe it to our core and Mr. Perry thought sharing was very important. There have been many very good fishermen. Especially today with all the modern tools, people have learned the same facts that Mr. Perry did 50 years ago but no one has found as many facts and then proved them, and then shared them. How did I get into Spoonplugging?… Mr. Perry has a book called “Spoonplugging-Guide to Lunker Catches” and a 9 volume Home Study Course that covers As a much younger person, fishing was the 2nd largest passion in my life. Everything that I did was to try and catch suchawidevarietyoftopicsthatisequalinqualitytoanycollegecourseorairlinepilotcourseIhaveevertaken.Mr.Perry the most and biggest fish. I watched every TV fishing show, Tournament and bought as many magazines when I was a College Professor of Physics so he knew what text books were like. could. Not having much money, I bought as much tackle and rods as I could afford. After a few years, the only things that got bigger was the pile of tackle and the level of my frustration. In 1991 I saw an infomercial about a Wecallthe“GuidetoLunkerCatches”theGreenBookbecauseofthecover.Beforeitwaspublished,Mr.Perrywrotea13 remarkable fishing system that all a person had to do was go to any body of water, for any species of fish, and after partmagazinearticleinthemagazine“FishingFacts”wherehewastheEducationalEditor.The13partarticleandjusta a few minutes - be able to point your finger to the water and say \"There they are!\" little bit more, is the Green Book. The article started in June of 1972. For the next hour I watched things so alien to thinking, so out of the norm that none of the fishing shows I Knowledge is the key. I have been a serious Spoonplugger since 2002. I was a slow learner as I didn’t catch a watched had even mentioned what I was seeing. But being a person who likes thorough step by step procedures
Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 WHAT IS.... SPOONPLUGGING? to follow – the information I saw just made SENSE. The Article & Images by Fran Myers guy was selling video tapes. I was buying everything else so I bought them. After getting the videos I felt my lake was so different For the past couple of years I have been writing on different fishing forums in South Africa. I started posting when to any other, that I would prove that there was no way I found questions about Bass Fishing. The questions were typical forum types – 'Where are the fish?', 'Didn’t catch what was on the tapes could be right. So my wife and I anything today, why can’t I catch more fish?' and 'What lures do I need to fish a particular reservoir (dam)?'. took our 25 foot pontoon boat out and did what the tapes said. In less than an hour with some very fancy To the group of fisherman that I am part of, the answers were common knowledge. The questions with answers driving I was able to point and say \"There they are\". I were published in educational materials nearly word for word as the ones posted. My knowledge came from being couldn't believe it. Now I'd like to say that all we did a Spoonplugger. A Spoonplugger is someone who fishes according to the Basic Guideline that Mr. Elwood Perry was throw some lures out and caught bass from the created more than 50 years ago. first cast but nope, I didn't. Now it would be easy for anyone to say that a person in Minnesota would have no idea how to catch Bass in South Africa. That’s true. I am about 13,000 kilometres away from your side of the world. Knowledge is the key A few of the important FACTs a fisherman MUST accept to improve their fishing success – whether you’re a Spoonplugger or not, include: - The 'home' of the fish is in DEEP water. This means O 30-35 0feet - Most of the water in your favourite reservoir contains ONO fish. In fact 90+% of the adult fish live in 1% of the Ototal water volume of a lake, river, or reservoir - Fish follow paths along the bottom that most of the O time a fisherman can find. These paths are called O Structure, Breaks and Breaklines At the end of 2013 it’s a pretty good bet that most fishermen have heard some form of these facts. But few of those fishermen understand what they mean. To Spoonpluggers, these facts are so important that we know if any fisherman were to adjust their fishing to account for these facts - the catch will change radically. The person who came up with thesefactsfirstwasElwood\"Buck\"Perry.Theseandmanymorefacts,proceduresandknowledgearethefoundationof the complete fishing system Mr. Perry called \"Spoonplugging\". The first seeds of Spoonplugging began in the 1940’s when he was a young kid. Mr. Perry then spent over 30 years provinghisideas.HecreatedTheSpoonpluggersBasicGuideline.Ifanyfishermanfishedbasedontheguideline–there There certainly are differences. I’m Northern Hemisphere, South Africa is Southern. But really that’s about it. isnowayafishermanwouldn'timprovehiscatch.KnowledgeiswhatSpoonpluggingisabout.Mr.Perryinventedalure called a Spoonplug, however Spoonplugging isn’t just fishing with a Spoonplug. Mr. Perry was a noted fisherman So why do I even bother sharing and not just keep the fishing information to myself? Well in Spoonplugging, before he invented the Spoonplug. sharing is a major part of what we do. \"Knowledge is key\" is not just a motto – we believe it to our core and Mr. Perry thought sharing was very important. There have been many very good fishermen. Especially today with all the modern tools, people have learned the same facts that Mr. Perry did 50 years ago but no one has found as many facts and then proved them, and then shared them. How did I get into Spoonplugging?… Mr. Perry has a book called “Spoonplugging-Guide to Lunker Catches” and a 9 volume Home Study Course that covers As a much younger person, fishing was the 2nd largest passion in my life. Everything that I did was to try and catch suchawidevarietyoftopicsthatisequalinqualitytoanycollegecourseorairlinepilotcourseIhaveevertaken.Mr.Perry the most and biggest fish. I watched every TV fishing show, Tournament and bought as many magazines when I was a College Professor of Physics so he knew what text books were like. could. Not having much money, I bought as much tackle and rods as I could afford. After a few years, the only things that got bigger was the pile of tackle and the level of my frustration. In 1991 I saw an infomercial about a Wecallthe“GuidetoLunkerCatches”theGreenBookbecauseofthecover.Beforeitwaspublished,Mr.Perrywrotea13 remarkable fishing system that all a person had to do was go to any body of water, for any species of fish, and after partmagazinearticleinthemagazine“FishingFacts”wherehewastheEducationalEditor.The13partarticleandjusta a few minutes - be able to point your finger to the water and say \"There they are!\" little bit more, is the Green Book. The article started in June of 1972. For the next hour I watched things so alien to thinking, so out of the norm that none of the fishing shows I Knowledge is the key. I have been a serious Spoonplugger since 2002. I was a slow learner as I didn’t catch a watched had even mentioned what I was seeing. But being a person who likes thorough step by step procedures
Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 fishSpoonplugginguntilmythirdtriponthewater.ThatdayIcaughtmoreandbiggerfishthanIhadintheprevious B A S S C H A L L E N G E 10yearsoffishing.ThisyearIwaspartofa3boattriptoLakeSinclairinMichigan.6people,2.5days,614Smallmouth, Walleye and Musky were caught. John Bales and I had a one day grand total of 100 Smallmouth Bass. You don’t have Challenge Accepted to have decades of experience either. The LEAST experience Spoonplugger in the group (2nd or 3rd season, I think) found the spot where we caught the most fish. w w w . b a s s c h a l l e n g e . c o . z a Here are some of the videos that were taken, enjoy! Note the other 2 boats had GoPro’s and other cameras and took The BASS CHALLENGE offers a platform for bass anglers who fish from float tubes, kick-boats, pontoon boats, kayaks, close to 100 hours of video. John and I just caught fish…Enjoy! inflatables and small bass boats to socially compete in a stress free environment. We do not claim to be a professional outfit,onthecontrary,weliketokeepourtournamentsfunandfriendlywithoutthehustleandbustleofthetraditional Please note these clips vary between 4:30min to 10min and might compound your data usage if making use of a bass tournament trails in South Africa. mobile platform to view them. Rather ensure you are connected to a wireless network with an uncapped data solution. TBC fishing competitions are fun for both experienced tournament anglers and newbies alike. If you love to catch bass, you'll love The Bass Challenge. I was invited to write an article to tell people what Spoonplugging is. I think Mr. Perry’s Guideline and sharing his articles do a better job than I could. What Spoonplugging is to me is the better question. Spoonplugging and followingitsguidelineshasgivenmetheconfidencetofishanywhereandKNOWwhatIhavetodotocatchafish.Beit in Minnesota, Texas, Florida, or even 13000 kilometres away in South Africa. Knowledge is the KEY! Buck Perry's educational material can be found on buckperry.com
Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 fishSpoonplugginguntilmythirdtriponthewater.ThatdayIcaughtmoreandbiggerfishthanIhadintheprevious B A S S C H A L L E N G E 10yearsoffishing.ThisyearIwaspartofa3boattriptoLakeSinclairinMichigan.6people,2.5days,614Smallmouth, Walleye and Musky were caught. John Bales and I had a one day grand total of 100 Smallmouth Bass. You don’t have Challenge Accepted to have decades of experience either. The LEAST experience Spoonplugger in the group (2nd or 3rd season, I think) found the spot where we caught the most fish. w w w . b a s s c h a l l e n g e . c o . z a Here are some of the videos that were taken, enjoy! Note the other 2 boats had GoPro’s and other cameras and took The BASS CHALLENGE offers a platform for bass anglers who fish from float tubes, kick-boats, pontoon boats, kayaks, close to 100 hours of video. John and I just caught fish…Enjoy! inflatables and small bass boats to socially compete in a stress free environment. We do not claim to be a professional outfit,onthecontrary,weliketokeepourtournamentsfunandfriendlywithoutthehustleandbustleofthetraditional Please note these clips vary between 4:30min to 10min and might compound your data usage if making use of a bass tournament trails in South Africa. mobile platform to view them. Rather ensure you are connected to a wireless network with an uncapped data solution. TBC fishing competitions are fun for both experienced tournament anglers and newbies alike. If you love to catch bass, you'll love The Bass Challenge. I was invited to write an article to tell people what Spoonplugging is. I think Mr. Perry’s Guideline and sharing his articles do a better job than I could. What Spoonplugging is to me is the better question. Spoonplugging and followingitsguidelineshasgivenmetheconfidencetofishanywhereandKNOWwhatIhavetodotocatchafish.Beit in Minnesota, Texas, Florida, or even 13000 kilometres away in South Africa. Knowledge is the KEY! Buck Perry's educational material can be found on buckperry.com
Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 Interview with Team Triton Mercury VC eBASS 2013 CHAMPIONS BASS DIGEST: Strategy plays a vital role in winning Zone 6 and catching a giant sack over the last 2 days, eventually resulting in our victory as a country. any tournament. What key pointers can you give our readers with regards to putting a strategy together? BASS DIGEST: During any tournament series, there are often times when key decisions need to be taken, JV/GS: Knowing your competitors' strengths and which can prove to be the turning point. They can weaknesses and watching the weather leading up to ultimately mean winning or losing the tournament. the tournament days. If you find a good spot away from What decisions would you say were key to your success the crowds, lean on it hard on day 1 as you will have this season in turning around a particular tournament company the next day. and why? BASS DIGEST: All Anglers experience bad days on JV/GS: Locking in the game plan has to be the most the water, days when things just don’t seem to go your significant decision we ever make. Roodekoppies in way. Was there any point in the series when this particular, when we fished an area the size of a coffee happened to you and what did you do to overcome table and never moved during the day for a period of 8 this? hours. JV/GS: This occurs often during the season. Believe in BASS DIGEST: Being such accomplished anglers your ability to catch fish, stick to your original game already, where to from here for team Triton Mercury VC? plan and seriously increase the amount of smack talk What are your goals for the future? about your competitors on the water. JV/GS: In today's times just managing to continue BASS DIGEST: What has been the highlight of both with another season would be great. Costs have your fishing carreers? increased so much over the last 2 years, it is a huge commitment. To knock out consistent finishes at every JV/GS: Fishing as a team during the 2012 Darwendale event ends up taking a lot of time, effort and money. Justy Varkevisser - 21 Protea Caps, 6 Federation Nation Championship Qualifications Gregory Schluep - 6 Junior Protea Caps, 3 Protea Caps BASS DIGEST: Welcome Justy and Greg and once tournament ready? again congratulations on your excellent performance this season at the Elite Bass Alliance Series and finishing JV/GS: Practice time is critical, along with fish in top position. management during practice periods. Choosing the best fish location and sticking with the plan, even when BASS DIGEST: Looking back at the season, you had conditions change, is also important. some amazing catches including a massive 5 fish bag of 12.41kg at Arabie. What sets you apart from other BASS DIGEST: Fishing two up on a boat can teams when it comes to landing big fish consistently? sometimes lead to a comedy of errors. What was the funniest thing that you can remember happening this JV/GS: Equipment is the major factor here, even after season? hooking these larger fish there is no guarantee that you will boat them without the correct rods, reels and line. JV/GS: We both enjoy fishing during practice without Of course having the confidence to present larger baits, hooks in soft plastic baits. Getting fish to the boat also pays off. without a hook is quite an achievement. Greg needs a 10,5lb bass to break his PB, so seeing the look on his BASS DIGEST: When it comes to tournaments such face after shaking off at least 3 fish bigger than his PB as these, preparation is vital for success. What would this season, was priceless. you say are the key steps to ensuring you are
Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 Interview with Team Triton Mercury VC eBASS 2013 CHAMPIONS BASS DIGEST: Strategy plays a vital role in winning Zone 6 and catching a giant sack over the last 2 days, eventually resulting in our victory as a country. any tournament. What key pointers can you give our readers with regards to putting a strategy together? BASS DIGEST: During any tournament series, there are often times when key decisions need to be taken, JV/GS: Knowing your competitors' strengths and which can prove to be the turning point. They can weaknesses and watching the weather leading up to ultimately mean winning or losing the tournament. the tournament days. If you find a good spot away from What decisions would you say were key to your success the crowds, lean on it hard on day 1 as you will have this season in turning around a particular tournament company the next day. and why? BASS DIGEST: All Anglers experience bad days on JV/GS: Locking in the game plan has to be the most the water, days when things just don’t seem to go your significant decision we ever make. Roodekoppies in way. Was there any point in the series when this particular, when we fished an area the size of a coffee happened to you and what did you do to overcome table and never moved during the day for a period of 8 this? hours. JV/GS: This occurs often during the season. Believe in BASS DIGEST: Being such accomplished anglers your ability to catch fish, stick to your original game already, where to from here for team Triton Mercury VC? plan and seriously increase the amount of smack talk What are your goals for the future? about your competitors on the water. JV/GS: In today's times just managing to continue BASS DIGEST: What has been the highlight of both with another season would be great. Costs have your fishing carreers? increased so much over the last 2 years, it is a huge commitment. To knock out consistent finishes at every JV/GS: Fishing as a team during the 2012 Darwendale event ends up taking a lot of time, effort and money. Justy Varkevisser - 21 Protea Caps, 6 Federation Nation Championship Qualifications Gregory Schluep - 6 Junior Protea Caps, 3 Protea Caps BASS DIGEST: Welcome Justy and Greg and once tournament ready? again congratulations on your excellent performance this season at the Elite Bass Alliance Series and finishing JV/GS: Practice time is critical, along with fish in top position. management during practice periods. Choosing the best fish location and sticking with the plan, even when BASS DIGEST: Looking back at the season, you had conditions change, is also important. some amazing catches including a massive 5 fish bag of 12.41kg at Arabie. What sets you apart from other BASS DIGEST: Fishing two up on a boat can teams when it comes to landing big fish consistently? sometimes lead to a comedy of errors. What was the funniest thing that you can remember happening this JV/GS: Equipment is the major factor here, even after season? hooking these larger fish there is no guarantee that you will boat them without the correct rods, reels and line. JV/GS: We both enjoy fishing during practice without Of course having the confidence to present larger baits, hooks in soft plastic baits. Getting fish to the boat also pays off. without a hook is quite an achievement. Greg needs a 10,5lb bass to break his PB, so seeing the look on his BASS DIGEST: When it comes to tournaments such face after shaking off at least 3 fish bigger than his PB as these, preparation is vital for success. What would this season, was priceless. you say are the key steps to ensuring you are
Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 ELITE BASS ALLIANCE SERIES BASS DIGEST: We have now reached our quick fire BASS DIGEST: Pet Hates? section of the interview, what is your....... JV/GS: Nothing annoys me more than “spot thieves”, you can fish a specific area one day with no visitors and BASS DIGEST: Favourite technique? after the weigh in on day one you have had a great day. JV/GS: Pitching a large bait. It ceases to amaze me how many boats will accidentally find their way to the same area. BASS DIGEST: Favourite bait? BASS DIGEST: That concludes our quick fire section. JV/GS: 6” Varkenelli Customs Moffat 104 Hendrik Potgieter Rd Florida Hills Lastly, what advice would you offer to anyone wishing Non Profit Bass tournament to compete professionally in bass fishing tournaments? BASS DIGEST: Worst technique? JV/GS: Cranking The eBass tournament series is a nonprofit organization that wants to take JV/GS: Ensure your gear is maintained and is working competitive bass angling to the next level. We started on the back of the properly. In todays competitive times the loss of any BASS DIGEST: Favourite venue and why? failed BETT series and have made it into a huge success. time during tournament days can be detrimental to JV/GS: Vaal Dam – Local, Lake Chicumba – your results. International. Both are large bodies of water and you We have recently opened the entries for 2014 and have had a great can get away from the crowds. BASS DIGEST: Thank you again Justy and Greg for response. We currently have received over 40 entries and only have a maximum 60 boat field! taking time to talk to Bass Digest. We wish you all the BASS DIGEST: Favourite tournament angler and success for the future and look forward to chatting with why? The entry fees are R5500-00 per team for the entire year payable before the you again. 13th of Dec, one can enter before that but please pay before the 13th Dec JV/GS: Brandon Palaniuk – He is living every 2013. Federation Anglers dream. We currently have some of the country’s top anglers that have entered and the competition is seriously tough. We also have very good prize money up for grabs. Each monthly tournament (9 tournaments) is as follows: 1st Place - R8000.00 2nd Place - R6000.00 3rd Place - R4000.00 4th Place - R3000.00 5th Place - R2000.00 Biggest Fish - R1000.00 Season prize winners and classic prize money of R 100 000-00 total Only the top 25 teams qualify for the classic and we have 2 lucky draws during the season as well as 3 Spots that will be auctioned off. So a total of 30 teams will be entitled to join the Final Classic. We have received huge help from Sponsors last year and would like to thank the following: Midas Group, Varkenelli Customs, Bocal Africa, M & M Construction, Viper Doors, Solly’s anglers corner, Western Accessories, Murtan Printers, Bearing Man Group, WOF Bass.co.za, Okuma, Gani’s. A very BIG thank you guys!! For more info www.ebass.co.za FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK
Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 ELITE BASS ALLIANCE SERIES BASS DIGEST: We have now reached our quick fire BASS DIGEST: Pet Hates? section of the interview, what is your....... JV/GS: Nothing annoys me more than “spot thieves”, you can fish a specific area one day with no visitors and BASS DIGEST: Favourite technique? after the weigh in on day one you have had a great day. JV/GS: Pitching a large bait. It ceases to amaze me how many boats will accidentally find their way to the same area. BASS DIGEST: Favourite bait? BASS DIGEST: That concludes our quick fire section. JV/GS: 6” Varkenelli Customs Moffat 104 Hendrik Potgieter Rd Florida Hills Lastly, what advice would you offer to anyone wishing Non Profit Bass tournament to compete professionally in bass fishing tournaments? BASS DIGEST: Worst technique? JV/GS: Cranking The eBass tournament series is a nonprofit organization that wants to take JV/GS: Ensure your gear is maintained and is working competitive bass angling to the next level. We started on the back of the properly. In todays competitive times the loss of any BASS DIGEST: Favourite venue and why? failed BETT series and have made it into a huge success. time during tournament days can be detrimental to JV/GS: Vaal Dam – Local, Lake Chicumba – your results. International. Both are large bodies of water and you We have recently opened the entries for 2014 and have had a great can get away from the crowds. BASS DIGEST: Thank you again Justy and Greg for response. We currently have received over 40 entries and only have a maximum 60 boat field! taking time to talk to Bass Digest. We wish you all the BASS DIGEST: Favourite tournament angler and success for the future and look forward to chatting with why? The entry fees are R5500-00 per team for the entire year payable before the you again. 13th of Dec, one can enter before that but please pay before the 13th Dec JV/GS: Brandon Palaniuk – He is living every 2013. Federation Anglers dream. We currently have some of the country’s top anglers that have entered and the competition is seriously tough. We also have very good prize money up for grabs. Each monthly tournament (9 tournaments) is as follows: 1st Place - R8000.00 2nd Place - R6000.00 3rd Place - R4000.00 4th Place - R3000.00 5th Place - R2000.00 Biggest Fish - R1000.00 Season prize winners and classic prize money of R 100 000-00 total Only the top 25 teams qualify for the classic and we have 2 lucky draws during the season as well as 3 Spots that will be auctioned off. So a total of 30 teams will be entitled to join the Final Classic. We have received huge help from Sponsors last year and would like to thank the following: Midas Group, Varkenelli Customs, Bocal Africa, M & M Construction, Viper Doors, Solly’s anglers corner, Western Accessories, Murtan Printers, Bearing Man Group, WOF Bass.co.za, Okuma, Gani’s. A very BIG thank you guys!! For more info www.ebass.co.za FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK
Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 FLOATTUBES & Article & Images by Martin Schoonhoven & Magnus Beukman PONTOONS gear and tackle to the waters if you are not careful. In actual fact, there is one prestine Quantum X-Factor reel disassembled faster than you can say \"FISH ON\". This is however, sometimes at the expense of sacrificing and Abu Garcia Veritas lying 13m under the surface of structural strength and valuable space on the craft. In the world of bass fishing, the recipe for being Boskop Dam thanks to Velcro failure and possibly some successful is quite simple. Get the right lure to a Many commerical floattubes and kickboats are attention deficit on my behalf. Both commerical and DIY kickboats have advantages location close to the bass, wham bam, bob`s your available and you can even design and build your own, and disadvantages. Commerical kickboats are built to a uncle. but would advise leaving floattubes to those that set standard and design and need no further know how, as their bladder systems are a little more modifications to be used effectively. Modifying your In reality, if bass fishing was that easy everybody complicated. commerical kickboat to your own required would be great at it. But if you have the righ location, specifications and requirements is slightly challenging, presentation and mental focus, it can be quite easy. Floattubes come in many different shapes and sizes, however not impossible. Be sure not to impede on any Each of these topics can be discussed in great depth, from round (similar to a tractor tube), to U-shaped, and warranties or guarantees when altering your kickboat, but let’s start by focusing on location. then V-shaped. All these shapes have their own as this could be a costly affair if you need to raise a individual strengths and weaknesses. warranty claim. There are two ways of thinking when attempting to locate bass. There are territorial bass, which are located The biggest criteria to consider when deciding on a Designing and building your own kickboat is one of the in a specific area that meets all their requirements. floattube is its weight limit. At this point, it is advisable best ways to ensure you get everything you need from Then there is the roaming bass which moves around to be realistic and have an honest discusssion with your kickboat. Various commercial kickboat companies continually seeking food sources, shelter and other yourself and your bathroom scale. Most manufacturers in South Africa do give you the option of modifying the necessities of a bass in the 21st century. cater for the average man and have a weight limit of Another disadvantage of fishing from a floattube is the basic design to your requirements. Designing and between 100-115kg. However, be sure to get one that low position of the angler in relation to the water. Your building your own kickboat for your specific needs is Getting to these areas does require that the angler be is rated 10-15kg heavier to allow for fluctuations of legs are fully submerged and a wet glutus is a given. both challenging and satisfying, however with mobile on the water. You can sometimes however cast body weight. sufficient planning and preparation, this can be done. from the bank into these areas where bass can be Being seated in this low position does negatively found, but it is time to take the big leap and get A second important factor to consider is where you eaffect your ability to see into the water to identify When deciding on embarking on a custom-build it is mobile. intend to spend most of your time fishing. It is all fine cover. On numerous ocassions, I have accidentally important to take the following factors into and well to have the biggest floattube available, kicked over perfect bass holding cover, which only consideration. As discussed in our previous article, there are 3 main however if it is too big to get into some places, it will became visible once looking down. crafts available to bass angler who want to start fishing be of no use. on the water. We will be focusing on the cheapest way Water temperatures do become an issue of concern to get on the water. Incidentally, this is the most fun Most of the larger dams and rivers have points of easy when fishing with this style of craft, so be sure to invest method in our opinion. access, especially in my native highveld region. in some thermal under garments, as well as a However, anglers in KZN would agree that some of breathable or Neoprene set of waders. I have Kickboats and floattubes have one common their smaller bass dams in the sugar cane fields are personally suffered from frozen toes and can highly characteristic, that the craft is angler propelled by extremely difficult to get in and out of. In these cases, a discourage anyone who wishes to enter the water means of kicking with flippers. smaller compact floattube would save you a lot of time during the winter months without such barrier getting to and from the fishing waters. A machete thus protection. Summer times, however are great as you becomes an essential piece of fishing equipment. are cooled by the water during the course of the day. Floattubes are the best form of water craft to start your These are all factors that come into play when deciding exploratory efforts on your local waters and achieving on your preferred craft for hunting lunkers. However the first steps to becoming an experienced bass angler. cost is nine times out of ten the deciding factor in our As your experience and desire to enter the competitive current economic climate. circuit grows, you might find that fishing from a floattube has some disadvantages. The number one The next step up is the Kickboat. Now when the time disadvantage, is the space limitation. comes to purchase your first or switch from a floattube, you will be pleasantly surprised at the wider variety Without modifying your floattube, you are limited to 3 available on the market today. fishing rods. Two mounted to the floattube usually by means of velcro straps, and one in your hands. Always The current trend amongst kickboat builders is to remember, there is the risk of relegating fishing design a kickboat that can be assembled and
Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 FLOATTUBES & Article & Images by Martin Schoonhoven & Magnus Beukman PONTOONS gear and tackle to the waters if you are not careful. In actual fact, there is one prestine Quantum X-Factor reel disassembled faster than you can say \"FISH ON\". This is however, sometimes at the expense of sacrificing and Abu Garcia Veritas lying 13m under the surface of structural strength and valuable space on the craft. In the world of bass fishing, the recipe for being Boskop Dam thanks to Velcro failure and possibly some successful is quite simple. Get the right lure to a Many commerical floattubes and kickboats are attention deficit on my behalf. Both commerical and DIY kickboats have advantages location close to the bass, wham bam, bob`s your available and you can even design and build your own, and disadvantages. Commerical kickboats are built to a uncle. but would advise leaving floattubes to those that set standard and design and need no further know how, as their bladder systems are a little more modifications to be used effectively. Modifying your In reality, if bass fishing was that easy everybody complicated. commerical kickboat to your own required would be great at it. But if you have the righ location, specifications and requirements is slightly challenging, presentation and mental focus, it can be quite easy. Floattubes come in many different shapes and sizes, however not impossible. Be sure not to impede on any Each of these topics can be discussed in great depth, from round (similar to a tractor tube), to U-shaped, and warranties or guarantees when altering your kickboat, but let’s start by focusing on location. then V-shaped. All these shapes have their own as this could be a costly affair if you need to raise a individual strengths and weaknesses. warranty claim. There are two ways of thinking when attempting to locate bass. There are territorial bass, which are located The biggest criteria to consider when deciding on a Designing and building your own kickboat is one of the in a specific area that meets all their requirements. floattube is its weight limit. At this point, it is advisable best ways to ensure you get everything you need from Then there is the roaming bass which moves around to be realistic and have an honest discusssion with your kickboat. Various commercial kickboat companies continually seeking food sources, shelter and other yourself and your bathroom scale. Most manufacturers in South Africa do give you the option of modifying the necessities of a bass in the 21st century. cater for the average man and have a weight limit of Another disadvantage of fishing from a floattube is the basic design to your requirements. Designing and between 100-115kg. However, be sure to get one that low position of the angler in relation to the water. Your building your own kickboat for your specific needs is Getting to these areas does require that the angler be is rated 10-15kg heavier to allow for fluctuations of legs are fully submerged and a wet glutus is a given. both challenging and satisfying, however with mobile on the water. You can sometimes however cast body weight. sufficient planning and preparation, this can be done. from the bank into these areas where bass can be Being seated in this low position does negatively found, but it is time to take the big leap and get A second important factor to consider is where you eaffect your ability to see into the water to identify When deciding on embarking on a custom-build it is mobile. intend to spend most of your time fishing. It is all fine cover. On numerous ocassions, I have accidentally important to take the following factors into and well to have the biggest floattube available, kicked over perfect bass holding cover, which only consideration. As discussed in our previous article, there are 3 main however if it is too big to get into some places, it will became visible once looking down. crafts available to bass angler who want to start fishing be of no use. on the water. We will be focusing on the cheapest way Water temperatures do become an issue of concern to get on the water. Incidentally, this is the most fun Most of the larger dams and rivers have points of easy when fishing with this style of craft, so be sure to invest method in our opinion. access, especially in my native highveld region. in some thermal under garments, as well as a However, anglers in KZN would agree that some of breathable or Neoprene set of waders. I have Kickboats and floattubes have one common their smaller bass dams in the sugar cane fields are personally suffered from frozen toes and can highly characteristic, that the craft is angler propelled by extremely difficult to get in and out of. In these cases, a discourage anyone who wishes to enter the water means of kicking with flippers. smaller compact floattube would save you a lot of time during the winter months without such barrier getting to and from the fishing waters. A machete thus protection. Summer times, however are great as you becomes an essential piece of fishing equipment. are cooled by the water during the course of the day. Floattubes are the best form of water craft to start your These are all factors that come into play when deciding exploratory efforts on your local waters and achieving on your preferred craft for hunting lunkers. However the first steps to becoming an experienced bass angler. cost is nine times out of ten the deciding factor in our As your experience and desire to enter the competitive current economic climate. circuit grows, you might find that fishing from a floattube has some disadvantages. The number one The next step up is the Kickboat. Now when the time disadvantage, is the space limitation. comes to purchase your first or switch from a floattube, you will be pleasantly surprised at the wider variety Without modifying your floattube, you are limited to 3 available on the market today. fishing rods. Two mounted to the floattube usually by means of velcro straps, and one in your hands. Always The current trend amongst kickboat builders is to remember, there is the risk of relegating fishing design a kickboat that can be assembled and
Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 Size and Shape of Pontoons for example. It might seem insignificant now, but when you are dealing with 10-20km/h winds you will wish you The larger the diameter of the pontoons, the more thought of it beforehand. weight they can bare. My personal kickboat's pontoons are large in diameter, however a smaller portion of the These little tweaks and gadgets make your life easier on poonton sits in the water and makes my craft more thewaterandoptimiseyourfishingtimeduringasocialor susceptible to being blown around by the wind. tournament session. I prefer a slight lift on the tips of the pontoons to ensure Besuretotakethetimetoplanyourbuildanddon'tjump thewaterflowseasilyaroundthemandislesssusceptible the gun, this will just end up costing you unnecessary to drag. capital in the long run. You may even having to start a project from scratch because of one tiny mistake. There are various sizes, colours, lengths, diameters from numerous suppliers around South Africa, so be sure to We are huge fans of pursuing bass on kickboats, but make the right choice. kickboats are not without fault. Kickboats fall right in between floattubes and small boats when comparing costs. Kickboats generally only accommodate one Collapsability person, and as such, not the ideal way to introduce buddies or a fairer loved one to the sport. The main Rigid frame kickboats are inherently stronger than other disadvantage with floattubes and kickboats is the matter frame types. However, this frame style requires some sort of manual propulsion. On non-windy days it is complete of utility vehicle to transport around. and utter bliss, however on days when the wind picks up, you better ensure you have an anchor system in place The preferable material to be used during frame and legs of steel to maintain a tempo for the entire construction is aluminium, as aluminium is strong, light duration of the trip back from where you launched. and corrosive resistant. Building a \"one piece\" kickboat Stopping to rest and deal with a cramp could see you end will require you to have mastered the art of aluminium up being carried hundreds of metres in the opposite welding. You will need to find a specialist in this field as direction. this machinery is rather expensive. In conclusion, floattubes and kickboats are great cost When building your custom kickboat you will have the effective ways of expanding your bass fishing experience freedom to add all the gadgets that your heart desires. A beyond the bank. With a little planning, you can have a small gadget as simple as a u-bolt to tie your ancher to, craft that can assist you to enjoy many years of happy hunting and fishing for your next PB.
Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 Size and Shape of Pontoons for example. It might seem insignificant now, but when you are dealing with 10-20km/h winds you will wish you The larger the diameter of the pontoons, the more thought of it beforehand. weight they can bare. My personal kickboat's pontoons are large in diameter, however a smaller portion of the These little tweaks and gadgets make your life easier on poonton sits in the water and makes my craft more thewaterandoptimiseyourfishingtimeduringasocialor susceptible to being blown around by the wind. tournament session. I prefer a slight lift on the tips of the pontoons to ensure Besuretotakethetimetoplanyourbuildanddon'tjump thewaterflowseasilyaroundthemandislesssusceptible the gun, this will just end up costing you unnecessary to drag. capital in the long run. You may even having to start a project from scratch because of one tiny mistake. There are various sizes, colours, lengths, diameters from numerous suppliers around South Africa, so be sure to We are huge fans of pursuing bass on kickboats, but make the right choice. kickboats are not without fault. Kickboats fall right in between floattubes and small boats when comparing costs. Kickboats generally only accommodate one Collapsability person, and as such, not the ideal way to introduce buddies or a fairer loved one to the sport. The main Rigid frame kickboats are inherently stronger than other disadvantage with floattubes and kickboats is the matter frame types. However, this frame style requires some sort of manual propulsion. On non-windy days it is complete of utility vehicle to transport around. and utter bliss, however on days when the wind picks up, you better ensure you have an anchor system in place The preferable material to be used during frame and legs of steel to maintain a tempo for the entire construction is aluminium, as aluminium is strong, light duration of the trip back from where you launched. and corrosive resistant. Building a \"one piece\" kickboat Stopping to rest and deal with a cramp could see you end will require you to have mastered the art of aluminium up being carried hundreds of metres in the opposite welding. You will need to find a specialist in this field as direction. this machinery is rather expensive. In conclusion, floattubes and kickboats are great cost When building your custom kickboat you will have the effective ways of expanding your bass fishing experience freedom to add all the gadgets that your heart desires. A beyond the bank. With a little planning, you can have a small gadget as simple as a u-bolt to tie your ancher to, craft that can assist you to enjoy many years of happy hunting and fishing for your next PB.
KNOW YOUR PRO'S Age: 39 Bass Digest/December, 2013 Hometown: Mogale City Favourite Fishing Venue: Vaal River Personal Best: 4.98kg Boat & Motor: Ranger Z518 Teamed with a Mercury Optimax 225 Division Representing: Southern Division Favourite U.S. Angler: Brandon Palniuk Sponsors: Rapala VMC, Shimano, Ranger Boats & Delta Marine Achievements: Multiple Protea Caps, 2003 Federation Championships, Tuscaloosa USA contender, 2006 Divisional Championships, Tennessee USA contender, 2011 World Championships, Lake Bolsena, Italy contender, Several Tournament wins. Bass Digest: Hi Darryl thanks for taking time out of your day to partake in our “KNOW YOUR PRO’S” article I really enjoy preparing my tackle. Line changes, lure for Bass Digest. We hope to familiarize South African tweaking and just simply going through the motions. I Bass Digest readers with our local pro’s. often sit up until the early hours of the morning sorting things out. It’s awesome. I also spend loads of time working on mapping and a solid game plan in my Darryl Quinton: Thanks Bass Digest for the opportunity. Digital Magazine's are the future and I am head. Because I don’t get out much, I believe my most powerful tool is “enjoyment”. Once I’m on that water it glad to see that you have created this platform for the South African market. is pure enjoyment that drives me. It’s all about the fish and myself. Bass Digest: Where and when did your passion for Bass Digest: You recently finished in the top 3 of the Bass Angling begin? 2014 Divisionals on the Vaal Dam. Please tell us what your game plan was and what lead to your success that Darryl Quinton: Well it first started with my Dad. weekend? When we first arrived from Zimbabwe in the early 80s, my Dad worked at Eskom. He would take me to Megawatt Park as often as he could. I caught my first Darryl Quinton: Well to start off with, I don’t really know the Vaal Dam that well. Over the years I’ve bass on a Mepps Black Fury. From here onwards I really enjoyed pursuing these green fish. During my Matric naturally heard anglers talking about the Dam and its traditional patterns. The fish relate to the hard bottom year I joined the Artlure leagues. I managed to fish for the Province and represented Transvaal at several areas. Now with the dam at merely 60% there wer very National Championships. I joined up with Original few productive areas left. I discovered this by driving around and looking for these areas. The ones that were Bassmasters and that’s when the passion for competitive Bass fishing began. I really enjoyed the left would be highly pressured. So my game plan was to try cover water and adopt the ”run and gun\" fishing challenges and made some really good friends along the way. I remember the very first time I made the but doing it methodically. So every day I did that and it Provincial Team. What a feeling! I fished a couple of paid off. I managed my limit every day by doing this. It was a great experience and unbelievable challenge. Nationals and simply remember how tough this was. It was at Tzaneen Nationals that I made the Protea Team for the first time. I’ll never forget that night. No words Bass Digest: Being such an accomplished angler to describe it. From then on I have simply just enjoyed already, where to from here for you? What are your the ride. What an awesome sport. aspirations & goals for the future? Bass Digest: What are your preparations leading up Darryl Quinton: I have been so blessed with what to an important event like Divisionals? I’ve achieved. I would love to give back now by getting more involved in development programmes and share with others what I truly love. I will continue being Darryl Quinton: I don’t really get to go out as much as I would like to, but I try focus on the time I have. I competitive but allow more time for others. normally put in a weekend prep on the dam I’m fishing prior to the event.
KNOW YOUR PRO'S Age: 39 Bass Digest/December, 2013 Hometown: Mogale City Favourite Fishing Venue: Vaal River Personal Best: 4.98kg Boat & Motor: Ranger Z518 Teamed with a Mercury Optimax 225 Division Representing: Southern Division Favourite U.S. Angler: Brandon Palniuk Sponsors: Rapala VMC, Shimano, Ranger Boats & Delta Marine Achievements: Multiple Protea Caps, 2003 Federation Championships, Tuscaloosa USA contender, 2006 Divisional Championships, Tennessee USA contender, 2011 World Championships, Lake Bolsena, Italy contender, Several Tournament wins. Bass Digest: Hi Darryl thanks for taking time out of your day to partake in our “KNOW YOUR PRO’S” article I really enjoy preparing my tackle. Line changes, lure for Bass Digest. We hope to familiarize South African tweaking and just simply going through the motions. I Bass Digest readers with our local pro’s. often sit up until the early hours of the morning sorting things out. It’s awesome. I also spend loads of time working on mapping and a solid game plan in my Darryl Quinton: Thanks Bass Digest for the opportunity. Digital Magazine's are the future and I am head. Because I don’t get out much, I believe my most powerful tool is “enjoyment”. Once I’m on that water it glad to see that you have created this platform for the South African market. is pure enjoyment that drives me. It’s all about the fish and myself. Bass Digest: Where and when did your passion for Bass Digest: You recently finished in the top 3 of the Bass Angling begin? 2014 Divisionals on the Vaal Dam. Please tell us what your game plan was and what lead to your success that Darryl Quinton: Well it first started with my Dad. weekend? When we first arrived from Zimbabwe in the early 80s, my Dad worked at Eskom. He would take me to Megawatt Park as often as he could. I caught my first Darryl Quinton: Well to start off with, I don’t really know the Vaal Dam that well. Over the years I’ve bass on a Mepps Black Fury. From here onwards I really enjoyed pursuing these green fish. During my Matric naturally heard anglers talking about the Dam and its traditional patterns. The fish relate to the hard bottom year I joined the Artlure leagues. I managed to fish for the Province and represented Transvaal at several areas. Now with the dam at merely 60% there wer very National Championships. I joined up with Original few productive areas left. I discovered this by driving around and looking for these areas. The ones that were Bassmasters and that’s when the passion for competitive Bass fishing began. I really enjoyed the left would be highly pressured. So my game plan was to try cover water and adopt the ”run and gun\" fishing challenges and made some really good friends along the way. I remember the very first time I made the but doing it methodically. So every day I did that and it Provincial Team. What a feeling! I fished a couple of paid off. I managed my limit every day by doing this. It was a great experience and unbelievable challenge. Nationals and simply remember how tough this was. It was at Tzaneen Nationals that I made the Protea Team for the first time. I’ll never forget that night. No words Bass Digest: Being such an accomplished angler to describe it. From then on I have simply just enjoyed already, where to from here for you? What are your the ride. What an awesome sport. aspirations & goals for the future? Bass Digest: What are your preparations leading up Darryl Quinton: I have been so blessed with what to an important event like Divisionals? I’ve achieved. I would love to give back now by getting more involved in development programmes and share with others what I truly love. I will continue being Darryl Quinton: I don’t really get to go out as much as I would like to, but I try focus on the time I have. I competitive but allow more time for others. normally put in a weekend prep on the dam I’m fishing prior to the event.
Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest: What do you consider to be your think can be done to give the sport the recognition it Images by Darryl Quinton primary fishing strengths & weaknesses on the water? deserves? Darryl Quinton: I would consider my strength Darryl Quinton: The sport is definitely growing at a “Power Fishing”. I love to cover water and search for rapid pace in SA. I don’t think we have the numbers like active fish. My weakness is sitting on a spot waiting for the US. It’s very sad for me to see accomplished anglers fish to move in. I hate lighting a braai and waiting. ? leave our sport due to politics. Developing juniors and ensuring the follow through to senior levels. That’s how we grow this sport. Again focus on enjoying rather than Bass Digest: What advice do you have for young aspiring bass anglers that hope to achieve the level of destroying! fishing you have? Bass Digest: Daryl, thank you for your time and we look forward to keeping track of your future bassing Darryl Quinton: Those that know me well enough achievements have heard me say this numerous times. If you want to achieve in this sport, all you have to do is simply ENJOY !!!!! I truly believe this. Determination to figure out the Darryl Quinton: Thanks again for this opportunity. I fish and not worry about other anglers. Time is precious urge every senior angler out there to take a kid fishing. so enjoy the time you have. There’s nothing better than seeing the satisfaction on a junior's face and that smile when he/she holds that Bass up for a photo. Teaching that kid to release that Bass Digest: Bassing in S.A. is growing rapidly, but yet we seem to be lagging behind somewhat in fish and simply enjoy watching it swim away to fight accordance with the likes of the U.S.A. What do you another day. Tight lines DQ! DARRYL QUINTON IS PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest: What do you consider to be your think can be done to give the sport the recognition it Images by Darryl Quinton primary fishing strengths & weaknesses on the water? deserves? Darryl Quinton: I would consider my strength Darryl Quinton: The sport is definitely growing at a “Power Fishing”. I love to cover water and search for rapid pace in SA. I don’t think we have the numbers like active fish. My weakness is sitting on a spot waiting for the US. It’s very sad for me to see accomplished anglers fish to move in. I hate lighting a braai and waiting. ? leave our sport due to politics. Developing juniors and ensuring the follow through to senior levels. That’s how we grow this sport. Again focus on enjoying rather than Bass Digest: What advice do you have for young aspiring bass anglers that hope to achieve the level of destroying! fishing you have? Bass Digest: Daryl, thank you for your time and we look forward to keeping track of your future bassing Darryl Quinton: Those that know me well enough achievements have heard me say this numerous times. If you want to achieve in this sport, all you have to do is simply ENJOY !!!!! I truly believe this. Determination to figure out the Darryl Quinton: Thanks again for this opportunity. I fish and not worry about other anglers. Time is precious urge every senior angler out there to take a kid fishing. so enjoy the time you have. There’s nothing better than seeing the satisfaction on a junior's face and that smile when he/she holds that Bass up for a photo. Teaching that kid to release that Bass Digest: Bassing in S.A. is growing rapidly, but yet we seem to be lagging behind somewhat in fish and simply enjoy watching it swim away to fight accordance with the likes of the U.S.A. What do you another day. Tight lines DQ! DARRYL QUINTON IS PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 BASSING, ART LURE STYLE!! Article & Images by Takkie Branford A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE And a great many perspectives there are, I am sure that fishing. We caught big fish on very small spinners and you would agree. This greenish fish with the big mouth althoughyouonlyneedonefishforanArtLurecomp,we has caused countless hours of insomnia for many an caught a limit in less than fifteen minutes. angler. It is a passion that is difficult to describe to someone who has not made the perfect pitch and felt After we had our fun, we decided to move on and take a the Morse code tap-tap that is sent up the line through breakasIdidn’twanttopressurethefishtoohardaweek the rod. Or the mayhem, when a top water lure gets before competition day. During a drink's break we smashed the moment you pull it off the lily pad. That, quickly cracked Doorndraai’s bass code! The bass were together with a beautiful sunrise and the camaraderie of holding deep, waiting for the water temperature to rise. a friend or two, is hard to beat. Warmer water in the shallows caused a host of Kurper species to leave their rocky shelters and to start feeding, This is not a story of monster bass getting pulled in one making them vulnerable in the open water. The bass after the other, it is simply bass fishing from an Art Lure knew that and the table was set, so to speak. The rest, I’m fishing point of view. For those of you who are still in the sure, doesn’t need an explanation. dark, Art Lure fishing, in simple terms, refers to catching multiple species of fish using only artificial lures such as On competition day everybody raced off to target their spoons, spinners, flies, lead heads and plastic baits. In a bass spots. We relaxed and kept our eyes on the competition, the angler with the most species, wins and Lowrance fish finder’s water temperature reading as we On another occasion two of our juniors were fishing Kurpers and big bass. The bass would just sip the flying if two or more people have the same amount of species, madeourwaycalmlytoourtargetedarea.Andjustlikein Renosterkop. They were targeting Makriele (Silver ants from the surface and a well placed Ddfly with a the man with the heaviest weight takes the day. prefish, our game plan worked out perfectly. Out of 30 Barbel) with small efzet spoons. They also knew that the twitch or two and you were in for the fight of your life. teams we managed first place! bass were targeting the Makriele. Often you get your Now let me get back to the bass. The experienced Art bonus bass while working for another species, so In another example of targeting bass with Art Lure baits, Lure angler knows how to do one thing very effectively preparation is very important. They caught a few I have seen an angler pitching the same little efzet and that is how to read the water. He knows how the Makriele and then a solid take as all hell broke loose. spoon into the nest of an enormous bass. He moved the ecosystem works and understands how the food chain One boy landed a 4.2 kg beast of a fish and 5 minutes little spoon about 5mm at a time. The fish couldn’t stand operatesintheparticularbodyofwaterthatheisfishing. later the other one posed with a 4 kg fish. Both fantastic it any longer and engulfed the little spoon. After he Itisthiskeyknowledge,whichisgainedthroughArtLure fish for Rhino head. released the fish safely, he explained that he was angling of understanding how the various baitfish imitating a dwarf Kurper who was eating the eggs. This species in our dams react to different conditions that is When one looks at Mokolo Dam the same scenario has worked plenty of times when they get a bit finicky. crucial for targeting bass successfully. happens there, big schools of Makriel suspend in the water with the bass just hanging around below them Angling has no rules; only guidelines. So the next time AfineexampleofthisisDoorndraaiDam,whichisknown enjoying a snack when they need it. when you are battling to get a bite despite having the for its notoriously difficult bass population. Deep water, latest bass tackle with a state of the art bass boat, think which is crystal clear is the story here. Mix in a 100 locals Another favourite dam of ours has a little stream that of the little boy at Rust de Winter wearing torn rugby who are racing each other all over the dam on anything flows into it. Flowing water attracts the 3 spot Barb shorts, pulling in fish after fish with a little black fury that’sgotanengineandtheabilitytofloat,andyouarein (Ghielemientjie) and a cast with a weightless Berkley spinner. for tough fishing, my friend. Havoc “sickfish” is a fish on almost every cast. They can’t resist the Ghielies in the open water. Keep your eyes and ears open. Think out of the box and I was warned about how everybody was going to observe your surroundings. When you are in sync with struggle in the competition to get the one bass that they Matching the “hatch” applies to all forms of angling and the water while fishing, you will realise that amazing wouldneed.Onourtwopracticedayswefishedhighand sometimes fish key in on a specific food source. Sure, things are happening all around you and that is all part low for Doorndraai’s elusive bass without any success. you will get your fish on a reaction strike but you will get of the food chain. The day was getting warmer and the water temperature more if you can imitate what they are feeding on. in the shallows was rising rapidly. We decided to target To me, we are only guests who must appreciate and some of the hundreds of Redbreast Kurpers that are to Another example of this happened when we were on respect each and every day that we have on the water. be found in the dam with a no 1 Abu Droppen spinner. the water at one of our local dams. Numerous flying ants We caught our fair share and were still spinning for them suddenly took to the air as we were fishing and a huge Like the slogan of one tackle company says; “Always when they completely disappeared. What followed can feeding frenzy began right in front of our eyes. It was a think like a fish, no matter how weird it gets.\" Have a only be described as fantastic and wonderful bass freebie for all involved, which included birds, Blue good one!
Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 BASSING, ART LURE STYLE!! Article & Images by Takkie Branford A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE And a great many perspectives there are, I am sure that fishing. We caught big fish on very small spinners and you would agree. This greenish fish with the big mouth althoughyouonlyneedonefishforanArtLurecomp,we has caused countless hours of insomnia for many an caught a limit in less than fifteen minutes. angler. It is a passion that is difficult to describe to someone who has not made the perfect pitch and felt After we had our fun, we decided to move on and take a the Morse code tap-tap that is sent up the line through breakasIdidn’twanttopressurethefishtoohardaweek the rod. Or the mayhem, when a top water lure gets before competition day. During a drink's break we smashed the moment you pull it off the lily pad. That, quickly cracked Doorndraai’s bass code! The bass were together with a beautiful sunrise and the camaraderie of holding deep, waiting for the water temperature to rise. a friend or two, is hard to beat. Warmer water in the shallows caused a host of Kurper species to leave their rocky shelters and to start feeding, This is not a story of monster bass getting pulled in one making them vulnerable in the open water. The bass after the other, it is simply bass fishing from an Art Lure knew that and the table was set, so to speak. The rest, I’m fishing point of view. For those of you who are still in the sure, doesn’t need an explanation. dark, Art Lure fishing, in simple terms, refers to catching multiple species of fish using only artificial lures such as On competition day everybody raced off to target their spoons, spinners, flies, lead heads and plastic baits. In a bass spots. We relaxed and kept our eyes on the competition, the angler with the most species, wins and Lowrance fish finder’s water temperature reading as we On another occasion two of our juniors were fishing Kurpers and big bass. The bass would just sip the flying if two or more people have the same amount of species, madeourwaycalmlytoourtargetedarea.Andjustlikein Renosterkop. They were targeting Makriele (Silver ants from the surface and a well placed Ddfly with a the man with the heaviest weight takes the day. prefish, our game plan worked out perfectly. Out of 30 Barbel) with small efzet spoons. They also knew that the twitch or two and you were in for the fight of your life. teams we managed first place! bass were targeting the Makriele. Often you get your Now let me get back to the bass. The experienced Art bonus bass while working for another species, so In another example of targeting bass with Art Lure baits, Lure angler knows how to do one thing very effectively preparation is very important. They caught a few I have seen an angler pitching the same little efzet and that is how to read the water. He knows how the Makriele and then a solid take as all hell broke loose. spoon into the nest of an enormous bass. He moved the ecosystem works and understands how the food chain One boy landed a 4.2 kg beast of a fish and 5 minutes little spoon about 5mm at a time. The fish couldn’t stand operatesintheparticularbodyofwaterthatheisfishing. later the other one posed with a 4 kg fish. Both fantastic it any longer and engulfed the little spoon. After he Itisthiskeyknowledge,whichisgainedthroughArtLure fish for Rhino head. released the fish safely, he explained that he was angling of understanding how the various baitfish imitating a dwarf Kurper who was eating the eggs. This species in our dams react to different conditions that is When one looks at Mokolo Dam the same scenario has worked plenty of times when they get a bit finicky. crucial for targeting bass successfully. happens there, big schools of Makriel suspend in the water with the bass just hanging around below them Angling has no rules; only guidelines. So the next time AfineexampleofthisisDoorndraaiDam,whichisknown enjoying a snack when they need it. when you are battling to get a bite despite having the for its notoriously difficult bass population. Deep water, latest bass tackle with a state of the art bass boat, think which is crystal clear is the story here. Mix in a 100 locals Another favourite dam of ours has a little stream that of the little boy at Rust de Winter wearing torn rugby who are racing each other all over the dam on anything flows into it. Flowing water attracts the 3 spot Barb shorts, pulling in fish after fish with a little black fury that’sgotanengineandtheabilitytofloat,andyouarein (Ghielemientjie) and a cast with a weightless Berkley spinner. for tough fishing, my friend. Havoc “sickfish” is a fish on almost every cast. They can’t resist the Ghielies in the open water. Keep your eyes and ears open. Think out of the box and I was warned about how everybody was going to observe your surroundings. When you are in sync with struggle in the competition to get the one bass that they Matching the “hatch” applies to all forms of angling and the water while fishing, you will realise that amazing wouldneed.Onourtwopracticedayswefishedhighand sometimes fish key in on a specific food source. Sure, things are happening all around you and that is all part low for Doorndraai’s elusive bass without any success. you will get your fish on a reaction strike but you will get of the food chain. The day was getting warmer and the water temperature more if you can imitate what they are feeding on. in the shallows was rising rapidly. We decided to target To me, we are only guests who must appreciate and some of the hundreds of Redbreast Kurpers that are to Another example of this happened when we were on respect each and every day that we have on the water. be found in the dam with a no 1 Abu Droppen spinner. the water at one of our local dams. Numerous flying ants We caught our fair share and were still spinning for them suddenly took to the air as we were fishing and a huge Like the slogan of one tackle company says; “Always when they completely disappeared. What followed can feeding frenzy began right in front of our eyes. It was a think like a fish, no matter how weird it gets.\" Have a only be described as fantastic and wonderful bass freebie for all involved, which included birds, Blue good one!
Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 Article & Images by Graham Weakley P O P P I N G F O R B A S S breaching green back draft filled with rows of We ended the evening enjoying the sunset and Sad as it seems, these days all we manage on the After floating around for what seemed like an eternity, grasping sandpaper making escape impossible! comparing notes, by which stage I had put a Strike water is a measly one day a week, if lucky. This day they decided that this uncle looked a bit grumpy and Pretty eerie, huh? king Z2 onto my leader and cast it out and made my can, however be very special if the planets line up. For shuffled off. By this stage I had heard the odd yelp way over to Mike to open a beer. The predictable reasons probably far too technical for a layman like me from Mike who seemed to be issuing a steady After the action had died down a bit, I stowed my fly then occurred in the most savage way possible and to understand, some days are just the right days, and whupping on the juvenile bass, which took effort to rod and pulled out my light fast action spinning rod gone were the boils and bubbles only to be replaced this Sunday was one of those. tolerate. Waiting does inadvertently zone you in and flicked out a 4inch Slider. For anyone under 40, by a full leaping aerial attack. A final fish on a final though, and by the time you whip out your first this is a bait that is probably the father of all finesse cast....what a great Sunday! It was the day after the Boks so narrowly lost out to double haul you are almost part of your surroundings fishing and involves casting a small action less plastic those island savages in black, whom we just cannot and I believe the bass are less spooked by this floating worm rigged on a weedless, weighted slider hook. seem to get the better of lately. I had an intrinsic need shadow above them. to dominate something on a sporting front to keep The trick being, hard as it is, to bring the bait back in the flag flying. Well, this was my lame excuse to my Nothing quite comes close to a good fish on a first as smooth and actionless a way as possible. The wife anyway, for heading out on Sunday. cast, but none more so than the engulfing take on a original “do nothing” method. The idea being that surface bug! My bug had ricocheted off a palmiet the cadence and rhythm of the retrieve supplies the Mike and I, with heads still rubbery from the Ellis Park frond and landed with an audible plop. Right away I miniscule movements of a baitfish in motion. Well, effort, gathered at around 2pm, pumped and loaded saw a chunky shadow appear from the depths and for whatever reason, the bass wouldn’t leave it alone our kick boats and set off for a private dam I’ve been with the slightest of twitches, the surface boiled rather and I had great joy in playing numerous fish on the grooming. Our target was a few early season than exploded as my bug just disappeared, one ... two light line and fast tip. Good to know that retro tricks largemouth on recently tied bass bugs that screamed seconds and the 7 weight bowed into strike action as I are still worth a whack or is it just that I’m moving on 'eat me' at every glance. The beauty of bass bugging is leaned back into the surging largemouth. Right there, in fish years? that it is as far from delicate trout presentations as you mission accomplished as the strike is, without a doubt, can go on the fly fishing scale. You are throwing the the money shot us fishermen dream about! proverbial dog a bone with the noisier the offering, the more appealing. Once on, the bass usually give a decent account of themselves, but if you can lead them away from the structure, you generally will have bragging rights. The afternoon kept delivering results to both of us and a well presented bug was often rewarded, if not with a solid hook- up, then with at least a slurping effort to keep the blood boiling. HavingrecentlywatchedAirJawsontelly,I couldn’t help but draw comparisons to the leaping great whites Chris Fallows has so beautifully captured in slow mo. This might sound like scant praise for an exotic fish whose bucket mouth is a far cry from the razor gape of We finned off in opposite directions with the dam only death that haunts the cape fur seal. Put a few Zen just big enough for three kick boaters at best. There proportions into play and how different is it really? were a couple of farm kids swimming in the cold crisp spring water off the dam wall making a general racket. Imagine being a golf ball sized critter, let’s call you a Out of courtesy, I gave Mike the quiet left arm and I mouse shall we, and you have fallen into the drink begrudgingly paddled their way. from your waterside dwelling, your mission is a swift swim back to safety but you are interrupted by a
Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 Article & Images by Graham Weakley P O P P I N G F O R B A S S breaching green back draft filled with rows of We ended the evening enjoying the sunset and Sad as it seems, these days all we manage on the After floating around for what seemed like an eternity, grasping sandpaper making escape impossible! comparing notes, by which stage I had put a Strike water is a measly one day a week, if lucky. This day they decided that this uncle looked a bit grumpy and Pretty eerie, huh? king Z2 onto my leader and cast it out and made my can, however be very special if the planets line up. For shuffled off. By this stage I had heard the odd yelp way over to Mike to open a beer. The predictable reasons probably far too technical for a layman like me from Mike who seemed to be issuing a steady After the action had died down a bit, I stowed my fly then occurred in the most savage way possible and to understand, some days are just the right days, and whupping on the juvenile bass, which took effort to rod and pulled out my light fast action spinning rod gone were the boils and bubbles only to be replaced this Sunday was one of those. tolerate. Waiting does inadvertently zone you in and flicked out a 4inch Slider. For anyone under 40, by a full leaping aerial attack. A final fish on a final though, and by the time you whip out your first this is a bait that is probably the father of all finesse cast....what a great Sunday! It was the day after the Boks so narrowly lost out to double haul you are almost part of your surroundings fishing and involves casting a small action less plastic those island savages in black, whom we just cannot and I believe the bass are less spooked by this floating worm rigged on a weedless, weighted slider hook. seem to get the better of lately. I had an intrinsic need shadow above them. to dominate something on a sporting front to keep The trick being, hard as it is, to bring the bait back in the flag flying. Well, this was my lame excuse to my Nothing quite comes close to a good fish on a first as smooth and actionless a way as possible. The wife anyway, for heading out on Sunday. cast, but none more so than the engulfing take on a original “do nothing” method. The idea being that surface bug! My bug had ricocheted off a palmiet the cadence and rhythm of the retrieve supplies the Mike and I, with heads still rubbery from the Ellis Park frond and landed with an audible plop. Right away I miniscule movements of a baitfish in motion. Well, effort, gathered at around 2pm, pumped and loaded saw a chunky shadow appear from the depths and for whatever reason, the bass wouldn’t leave it alone our kick boats and set off for a private dam I’ve been with the slightest of twitches, the surface boiled rather and I had great joy in playing numerous fish on the grooming. Our target was a few early season than exploded as my bug just disappeared, one ... two light line and fast tip. Good to know that retro tricks largemouth on recently tied bass bugs that screamed seconds and the 7 weight bowed into strike action as I are still worth a whack or is it just that I’m moving on 'eat me' at every glance. The beauty of bass bugging is leaned back into the surging largemouth. Right there, in fish years? that it is as far from delicate trout presentations as you mission accomplished as the strike is, without a doubt, can go on the fly fishing scale. You are throwing the the money shot us fishermen dream about! proverbial dog a bone with the noisier the offering, the more appealing. Once on, the bass usually give a decent account of themselves, but if you can lead them away from the structure, you generally will have bragging rights. The afternoon kept delivering results to both of us and a well presented bug was often rewarded, if not with a solid hook- up, then with at least a slurping effort to keep the blood boiling. HavingrecentlywatchedAirJawsontelly,I couldn’t help but draw comparisons to the leaping great whites Chris Fallows has so beautifully captured in slow mo. This might sound like scant praise for an exotic fish whose bucket mouth is a far cry from the razor gape of We finned off in opposite directions with the dam only death that haunts the cape fur seal. Put a few Zen just big enough for three kick boaters at best. There proportions into play and how different is it really? were a couple of farm kids swimming in the cold crisp spring water off the dam wall making a general racket. Imagine being a golf ball sized critter, let’s call you a Out of courtesy, I gave Mike the quiet left arm and I mouse shall we, and you have fallen into the drink begrudgingly paddled their way. from your waterside dwelling, your mission is a swift swim back to safety but you are interrupted by a
Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 S O U T H A F R I C A N T O U R N A M E N T S B Y R E G I O N Your tournament not showing? Email [email protected] with the details
Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 S O U T H A F R I C A N T O U R N A M E N T S B Y R E G I O N Your tournament not showing? Email [email protected] with the details
TOURNAMENT TOURNAMENT RESULTS RESULTS THE BASS CHALLENGE EBASS Images provided by Bass Challenge Images provided by eBass Leg 9 Top 10 Overall Top 10 VENUE : Albert Falls Dam DATE : 1st-2nd November 2013 1 - Robert Tuzza 1 - Nico Mathee 1- Michael Matthee & Glen Naude - 20.08 2 - Ian Brown 2 - Tristan Wood 2 - Pieter Espag & Izak de Beer - 16.19 3 - Chris Ras 3 - Danny Creigh-Smith 3 - Leon Potgieter & Jan Lubbenge - 16.02 4 - Wouter Kritzinger 4 - Brian McCaroll 5 - Wesley Smit 5 - Dominic Calsada 4 - Anton van Loggerengberg & Barry Paxton - 14.70 6 - Theo Schoeman 6 - Wouter Kritzinger 5 - Mitford Collett & Dries Botha - 14.61 7 - Gordon Brown 7 - Rui Calsada 6 - Dirk Briel & Christine Briel - 13.63 8 - Nico Mathee 8 - Martin Schoonhoven 7 - Justy Varkevisser & Greg Schluep - 12.95 9 - Armand Fourie 9 - Francois Steyn 10 - Francois Griesel 10 - Theo Lombard 8 - Rowan Shives & Neels Botha - 11.51 9 - Joe Mendes & Loui Barbosa - 11.43 10 - Tinus Barnard & Pieter vd Westhuizen - 9.99 For more information on the Bass Challenge, visit www.basschallenge.co.za For more information on the Ebass series, visit www.ebass.co.za
TOURNAMENT TOURNAMENT RESULTS RESULTS THE BASS CHALLENGE EBASS Images provided by Bass Challenge Images provided by eBass Leg 9 Top 10 Overall Top 10 VENUE : Albert Falls Dam DATE : 1st-2nd November 2013 1 - Robert Tuzza 1 - Nico Mathee 1- Michael Matthee & Glen Naude - 20.08 2 - Ian Brown 2 - Tristan Wood 2 - Pieter Espag & Izak de Beer - 16.19 3 - Chris Ras 3 - Danny Creigh-Smith 3 - Leon Potgieter & Jan Lubbenge - 16.02 4 - Wouter Kritzinger 4 - Brian McCaroll 5 - Wesley Smit 5 - Dominic Calsada 4 - Anton van Loggerengberg & Barry Paxton - 14.70 6 - Theo Schoeman 6 - Wouter Kritzinger 5 - Mitford Collett & Dries Botha - 14.61 7 - Gordon Brown 7 - Rui Calsada 6 - Dirk Briel & Christine Briel - 13.63 8 - Nico Mathee 8 - Martin Schoonhoven 7 - Justy Varkevisser & Greg Schluep - 12.95 9 - Armand Fourie 9 - Francois Steyn 10 - Francois Griesel 10 - Theo Lombard 8 - Rowan Shives & Neels Botha - 11.51 9 - Joe Mendes & Loui Barbosa - 11.43 10 - Tinus Barnard & Pieter vd Westhuizen - 9.99 For more information on the Bass Challenge, visit www.basschallenge.co.za For more information on the Ebass series, visit www.ebass.co.za
TOURNAMENT TOURNAMENT RESULTS RESULTS BFSA MONEY TRAIL BFSA KICKBOAT TRAIL Images provided by BFSA Images provided by Bass Challenge THEEWATERSKLOOF 2nd November 2013 WHITEHALL 9th November 2013 1 - Team DragonFly - 7.79kg 1 - Malcolm Palmer - 2.65kg 2 - Team Goya/Bass Warehouse - 7.564kg 2 - Deon Rossouw - 1.442kg 3 - Team Six Pack - 7.227kg 3 - Julian Coetzee - 1.235kg 4 - Team Sub Mariner - 5.913kg 4 - Martin Atwell - 1.192kg 5 - Team Xcite Baits - 4.89kg 5 - Quintin Campbell - 1.151kg For more information on the Bass Challenge, visit www.basschallenge.co.za For more information on the Bass Challenge, visit www.basschallenge.co.za
TOURNAMENT TOURNAMENT RESULTS RESULTS BFSA MONEY TRAIL BFSA KICKBOAT TRAIL Images provided by BFSA Images provided by Bass Challenge THEEWATERSKLOOF 2nd November 2013 WHITEHALL 9th November 2013 1 - Team DragonFly - 7.79kg 1 - Malcolm Palmer - 2.65kg 2 - Team Goya/Bass Warehouse - 7.564kg 2 - Deon Rossouw - 1.442kg 3 - Team Six Pack - 7.227kg 3 - Julian Coetzee - 1.235kg 4 - Team Sub Mariner - 5.913kg 4 - Martin Atwell - 1.192kg 5 - Team Xcite Baits - 4.89kg 5 - Quintin Campbell - 1.151kg For more information on the Bass Challenge, visit www.basschallenge.co.za For more information on the Bass Challenge, visit www.basschallenge.co.za
TOURNAMENT Bass Digest/December, 2013 RESULTS WCBAA ELITE SERIES Images provided byWCBAA Quaggas Kloof 16th - 17th November 2013 Congratulations to RAYMOND SOER on winning the World of Fishing & DAY 1 Day 2 bass.co.za subscribe and win competition. Category A Category A Raymond wins a R300 hamper compliments of World of Fishing and bass.co.za. Graham Alastair - 12.06pts Brenden Gravenor The vouher is redeemable online @ bass.co.za or in store. Category B Category B Johan Groenewaldt - 10.02pts Roy Douglas-Henry Category C Category C Malcolm Shirley - 10.02pts Johannes Oberholzer For more information on the Bass Challenge, visit www.basschallenge.co.za
TOURNAMENT Bass Digest/December, 2013 RESULTS WCBAA ELITE SERIES Images provided byWCBAA Quaggas Kloof 16th - 17th November 2013 Congratulations to RAYMOND SOER on winning the World of Fishing & DAY 1 Day 2 bass.co.za subscribe and win competition. Category A Category A Raymond wins a R300 hamper compliments of World of Fishing and bass.co.za. Graham Alastair - 12.06pts Brenden Gravenor The vouher is redeemable online @ bass.co.za or in store. Category B Category B Johan Groenewaldt - 10.02pts Roy Douglas-Henry Category C Category C Malcolm Shirley - 10.02pts Johannes Oberholzer For more information on the Bass Challenge, visit www.basschallenge.co.za
Page 2 Page 1 Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 November 2013 Report At 15:00 we all went out again to see if we could better our bags. Hendri got number 5 on his second Venue: Rust De Winter Dam cast into the lillies. So both of us had our limit. Date: 9 - 10 November 2013 Tony’s boat was fshing some very skinny water, but up on the trolling motor was some mysterious woman wearing a dress. It turned out to be Tony WINNERS WORDS by Kobus Oosthuizen wearing the dress. Total fsh: 8 Total Weight: 6.08 Kg After this sight we decided to head back to the river Average weight: 0.76 Kg to see if we could upgrade our bags. I managed to get a fsh of 1.15Kg which also ended up to be the Seasonal Pattern: big fsh of the inhouse. We were greeted by VERY HOT weather conditions. At the weigh-in there were a couple of limits. Tony, The fsh was in post spawn! The wind was pumping John B, Hendri and myself all had limits. I have to for most of the days. mention that Shagger also had a limit untill Tony decided that he doesn’t like losing to his boat partner Fishing Conditions: and decided to accidentally let one of his fsh jump out of the livewell. Not to worry Shagger Tony will We arrived on the Friday afternoon, we were met get fned for this. with very hot conditions. The water level is down to 87%, water temperatures ranged from 75-82°F. The I have to mention Captain H aka John H, he gets our water clarity ranged from crystal clear at the dam Selous Scouts award for staying out on the water the wall, stained in the salad bowl to muddy in the river whole day. Unfortunately he only managed 1 small section. fsh. We all congratulated John B on his new Triton, what a nice boat. The scores were tight after day 1 We managed to get on the water at about 15:00. with myself in the lead with 4.08 kg, followed by We headed for the river section. After a couple of Tony and Hendri. minutes we managed our frst couple of fsh, fshing very shallow water (skinny water if your name is Day 2 started with lots of wind, which made the Shagger) with Black Horny Toads. fshing very tough. We decided to head back to the river section as the fsh we did get out of the river We moved out of the river to the point of the salad seemed to be a little bigger. After about an hour I bowl, were we found a massive gillnet with about 60 managed to land 1 fsh of about a kilo. We headed Kurper and some yellow fsh in it. We spend the rest back to the salad bowl. Hendri managed to get a fsh of the afternoon cutting out the Kurper, which was on his frst cast. I was on with number 2 a while later. 20 minutes later I landed number 3, limit luckily still alive. The netting situation is becoming full. Thanks to the Power Poles we managed to anchor in the weed patches, without them I would a big problem in most of our dams. not have flled my limit. Hendri managed another keeper. Saterday morning saw us all racing to our spots. We really had no set pattern, fsh was sitting deep (8-12ft) but we also got fsh in 2ft of water. All We decided to head back to the river section. After Tony’s fsh was taken in less than 3ft of water. We mainly fshed 3 different baits. Gary Yamamoto spending an hour there with nothing to show, we 4” Senko in Amber Laminate, 8” Yamamoto Grub in Green Pumpkin and black horny toads. decided it was time to move to the salad bowl. We found some fsh in the 8ft range fshing the edges of the weed patches with weightless senko’s. At about Tackle: 07:00 the wind started to pump for most of the day. Quantum EXO Rods, Quantum EXO Reels spooled with 10lb and 14lb Sugoi Flourocarbon. By 11:00 I had my 5 fsh limit, but Hendri was still short with only 4 fsh in the box. We decided that we The Numbers: would get off the water at 13:00 for a break from the Total fsh: 39 hot weather. Everybody was soon sitting under the Total weight: 25.68 kg trees enjoying the shade. Everyone except Captain Average weight: 0.66 kg H, he was still looking for fsh to fll his bag. Fish/Angler: 5.57 Biggest fsh: 1.15 kg - Kobus Oosthuizen Back to the Top Back to the Top
Page 2 Page 1 Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 November 2013 Report At 15:00 we all went out again to see if we could better our bags. Hendri got number 5 on his second Venue: Rust De Winter Dam cast into the lillies. So both of us had our limit. Date: 9 - 10 November 2013 Tony’s boat was fshing some very skinny water, but up on the trolling motor was some mysterious woman wearing a dress. It turned out to be Tony WINNERS WORDS by Kobus Oosthuizen wearing the dress. Total fsh: 8 Total Weight: 6.08 Kg After this sight we decided to head back to the river Average weight: 0.76 Kg to see if we could upgrade our bags. I managed to get a fsh of 1.15Kg which also ended up to be the Seasonal Pattern: big fsh of the inhouse. We were greeted by VERY HOT weather conditions. At the weigh-in there were a couple of limits. Tony, The fsh was in post spawn! The wind was pumping John B, Hendri and myself all had limits. I have to for most of the days. mention that Shagger also had a limit untill Tony decided that he doesn’t like losing to his boat partner Fishing Conditions: and decided to accidentally let one of his fsh jump out of the livewell. Not to worry Shagger Tony will We arrived on the Friday afternoon, we were met get fned for this. with very hot conditions. The water level is down to 87%, water temperatures ranged from 75-82°F. The I have to mention Captain H aka John H, he gets our water clarity ranged from crystal clear at the dam Selous Scouts award for staying out on the water the wall, stained in the salad bowl to muddy in the river whole day. Unfortunately he only managed 1 small section. fsh. We all congratulated John B on his new Triton, what a nice boat. The scores were tight after day 1 We managed to get on the water at about 15:00. with myself in the lead with 4.08 kg, followed by We headed for the river section. After a couple of Tony and Hendri. minutes we managed our frst couple of fsh, fshing very shallow water (skinny water if your name is Day 2 started with lots of wind, which made the Shagger) with Black Horny Toads. fshing very tough. We decided to head back to the river section as the fsh we did get out of the river We moved out of the river to the point of the salad seemed to be a little bigger. After about an hour I bowl, were we found a massive gillnet with about 60 managed to land 1 fsh of about a kilo. We headed Kurper and some yellow fsh in it. We spend the rest back to the salad bowl. Hendri managed to get a fsh of the afternoon cutting out the Kurper, which was on his frst cast. I was on with number 2 a while later. 20 minutes later I landed number 3, limit luckily still alive. The netting situation is becoming full. Thanks to the Power Poles we managed to anchor in the weed patches, without them I would a big problem in most of our dams. not have flled my limit. Hendri managed another keeper. Saterday morning saw us all racing to our spots. We really had no set pattern, fsh was sitting deep (8-12ft) but we also got fsh in 2ft of water. All We decided to head back to the river section. After Tony’s fsh was taken in less than 3ft of water. We mainly fshed 3 different baits. Gary Yamamoto spending an hour there with nothing to show, we 4” Senko in Amber Laminate, 8” Yamamoto Grub in Green Pumpkin and black horny toads. decided it was time to move to the salad bowl. We found some fsh in the 8ft range fshing the edges of the weed patches with weightless senko’s. At about Tackle: 07:00 the wind started to pump for most of the day. Quantum EXO Rods, Quantum EXO Reels spooled with 10lb and 14lb Sugoi Flourocarbon. By 11:00 I had my 5 fsh limit, but Hendri was still short with only 4 fsh in the box. We decided that we The Numbers: would get off the water at 13:00 for a break from the Total fsh: 39 hot weather. Everybody was soon sitting under the Total weight: 25.68 kg trees enjoying the shade. Everyone except Captain Average weight: 0.66 kg H, he was still looking for fsh to fll his bag. Fish/Angler: 5.57 Biggest fsh: 1.15 kg - Kobus Oosthuizen Back to the Top Back to the Top
Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 One thing that stands out is the commitment the top Not only are more social kickboaters joining the ranks THE BASS CHALLENGE anglers have shown throughout the season. It’s one of the TBC, but we are seeing more and more people thing to join our tournament on the odd occasion, but making friends and even fishing together on a it’s another to fish all of them, as well as making the efforts to pre-fish all the venues. We take our hats off personal level 2013 WRAP UP to these guys who did so well this season – you all The Bass Challenge for 2013 also saw the closest race thoroughly deserve it! for the Angler of the Year title. Three individuals (Nico Mathee, Tristan Wood and Danny Creigh-Smith) were Images provided by Bass Challenge A few statistics from the 2013 Bass separated by a mere 2 points from each other as it came down to the wire at the final leg held at Boskop Challenge series: dam. The Angler of the Year was awarded to Nico Mathee for his outstanding performance during the - Biggest Fish – 2.20kg by Duane Cross at Klerkskraal O series. He was followed closely by Tristan Wood as well Dam leg 5 during the month of May as Danny Creigh-Smith. - Biggest 3 fish Limit – 4.33kg by Robert Tuzza at O Boskop Dam leg 9 during the month of November A nice addition to the 2013 series is the TBC Classic. - Record attendance was set at Murray park leg 7 in O The top 15, as well as a Wild Card, have been invited to September with a staggering 71 entrants compete in a classic to be held at an unknown venue - Most blanks in a leg – 41 at Murray Park Dam during on the 30th November to the 1st December. We wish Oleg 7 in September them the best of luck and may the best man win. - 6 Venues were used during the Bass Challenge series Ofor 2013 - Kickboaters accounted for 3 of the 9 wins in the O series Images provided by Bass Challenge A few changes late last year saw the Bass Challenge the next level. Paul has organised numerous sponsors change to a 9 leg system, with the best of 8 legs of a to come onboard and facilitate prizes for the majority competitor's overall score to count. We also adopted of our events, including our Classic. Brent embarked on the Grand-Prix system used by numerous other fishing the strategic marketing of the Bass Challenge via tournaments. numerous means, including social media and the upgrade of our new Online Forum. Needless to say, this year has been one with its ups and downs. The Bass Challenge 2013 series has been host to 137 individual competitors. We also boast an average Shawn Willment resigned from The Bass Challenge to attendance of 41 entrants per tournament – that’s not a take on other projects and was embarking on an bad turnout, if we say so ourselves. We were extremely exciting new adventure of immigration. Shawn was one proud to break an attendance record at Leg 7 (Murray of the founders of the Bass Challenge alongside Hugo Park), which saw 71 entrants take part in the vd Walt. Thankfully, Paul Pereira and Brent Webber competition – our previous record was 58 entrants. stepped up to assist with the organising of the series, and the upkeep of the website. Paul and Brent assisted in taking The Bass Challenge to
Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 One thing that stands out is the commitment the top Not only are more social kickboaters joining the ranks THE BASS CHALLENGE anglers have shown throughout the season. It’s one of the TBC, but we are seeing more and more people thing to join our tournament on the odd occasion, but making friends and even fishing together on a it’s another to fish all of them, as well as making the efforts to pre-fish all the venues. We take our hats off personal level 2013 WRAP UP to these guys who did so well this season – you all The Bass Challenge for 2013 also saw the closest race thoroughly deserve it! for the Angler of the Year title. Three individuals (Nico Mathee, Tristan Wood and Danny Creigh-Smith) were Images provided by Bass Challenge A few statistics from the 2013 Bass separated by a mere 2 points from each other as it came down to the wire at the final leg held at Boskop Challenge series: dam. The Angler of the Year was awarded to Nico Mathee for his outstanding performance during the - Biggest Fish – 2.20kg by Duane Cross at Klerkskraal O series. He was followed closely by Tristan Wood as well Dam leg 5 during the month of May as Danny Creigh-Smith. - Biggest 3 fish Limit – 4.33kg by Robert Tuzza at O Boskop Dam leg 9 during the month of November A nice addition to the 2013 series is the TBC Classic. - Record attendance was set at Murray park leg 7 in O The top 15, as well as a Wild Card, have been invited to September with a staggering 71 entrants compete in a classic to be held at an unknown venue - Most blanks in a leg – 41 at Murray Park Dam during on the 30th November to the 1st December. We wish Oleg 7 in September them the best of luck and may the best man win. - 6 Venues were used during the Bass Challenge series Ofor 2013 - Kickboaters accounted for 3 of the 9 wins in the O series Images provided by Bass Challenge A few changes late last year saw the Bass Challenge the next level. Paul has organised numerous sponsors change to a 9 leg system, with the best of 8 legs of a to come onboard and facilitate prizes for the majority competitor's overall score to count. We also adopted of our events, including our Classic. Brent embarked on the Grand-Prix system used by numerous other fishing the strategic marketing of the Bass Challenge via tournaments. numerous means, including social media and the upgrade of our new Online Forum. Needless to say, this year has been one with its ups and downs. The Bass Challenge 2013 series has been host to 137 individual competitors. We also boast an average Shawn Willment resigned from The Bass Challenge to attendance of 41 entrants per tournament – that’s not a take on other projects and was embarking on an bad turnout, if we say so ourselves. We were extremely exciting new adventure of immigration. Shawn was one proud to break an attendance record at Leg 7 (Murray of the founders of the Bass Challenge alongside Hugo Park), which saw 71 entrants take part in the vd Walt. Thankfully, Paul Pereira and Brent Webber competition – our previous record was 58 entrants. stepped up to assist with the organising of the series, and the upkeep of the website. Paul and Brent assisted in taking The Bass Challenge to
Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 We look forward to the 2014 season kicking off next year January at a location yet to be decided upon. We Congratulations to Nico Mathee on taking plan on great things happening for the next season, home this years prestigious Bass including the winning prize of a boat for next year’s Challenge Angler of the Year 2013 award. Angler of the Year. We look forward to the planning, camaraderie and great spirit the Bass Challenge is all Nico Mathee was closely trailed by Tristan about. Wood and Danny Creigh-Smith. A huge thank you to our sponsors throughout the year. Nico, as well as 14 other entrants, Big thanks go to Western Accessories, Blue Water Gear, including a Wild Card, will compete in our World of Fishing, Rapala VMC, Pure Fishing South Africa, very first Bass Challenge Classic by The Fishing Pro ShopAngling AfricaPisces Predator invitation only. Thornveld AnglingXplorer SANabana Lodge www.basschallenge.co.za The Classic will take place from the 30th November to the 1st December at Koster Dam. We wish our top classic anglers all the best. Our Classic Entrants are as follows: 1. Nico Mathee 2. Tristan Wood 3. Danny Creigh-Smith 4. Brian McCaroll 5. Dominic Calsada 6. Rui Calsada 7. Wouter Kritzinger 8. Martin Schoonhoven 9. Francois Steyn 10. Theo Lombard 11. Piet Lombard 12. Chris Ras 13. Theo Schoeman 14. Glen Lees 15. Brent Webber + Wild Card: Jonathan Whitehead Images provided by Bass Challenge Standby Wild Cards: #1 - Armand Fourie #2 - Derick Sieberhagen #3 - Mauritz van Wyk Images provided by Bass Challenge #4 - Levi Brits B A S S C H A L L E N G E Challenge Accepted w w w . b a s s c h a l l e n g e . c o . z a
Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 We look forward to the 2014 season kicking off next year January at a location yet to be decided upon. We Congratulations to Nico Mathee on taking plan on great things happening for the next season, home this years prestigious Bass including the winning prize of a boat for next year’s Challenge Angler of the Year 2013 award. Angler of the Year. We look forward to the planning, camaraderie and great spirit the Bass Challenge is all Nico Mathee was closely trailed by Tristan about. Wood and Danny Creigh-Smith. A huge thank you to our sponsors throughout the year. Nico, as well as 14 other entrants, Big thanks go to Western Accessories, Blue Water Gear, including a Wild Card, will compete in our World of Fishing, Rapala VMC, Pure Fishing South Africa, very first Bass Challenge Classic by The Fishing Pro ShopAngling AfricaPisces Predator invitation only. Thornveld AnglingXplorer SANabana Lodge www.basschallenge.co.za The Classic will take place from the 30th November to the 1st December at Koster Dam. We wish our top classic anglers all the best. Our Classic Entrants are as follows: 1. Nico Mathee 2. Tristan Wood 3. Danny Creigh-Smith 4. Brian McCaroll 5. Dominic Calsada 6. Rui Calsada 7. Wouter Kritzinger 8. Martin Schoonhoven 9. Francois Steyn 10. Theo Lombard 11. Piet Lombard 12. Chris Ras 13. Theo Schoeman 14. Glen Lees 15. Brent Webber + Wild Card: Jonathan Whitehead Images provided by Bass Challenge Standby Wild Cards: #1 - Armand Fourie #2 - Derick Sieberhagen #3 - Mauritz van Wyk Images provided by Bass Challenge #4 - Levi Brits B A S S C H A L L E N G E Challenge Accepted w w w . b a s s c h a l l e n g e . c o . z a
Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 CAGE'S COLUMN Article & Images by Aadil Cajee T ' I S T H E S E A S O N . . . Are we there yet Dad? (20 seconds pass) .....Are we there fisherman. The basic principle is the same, read the yet Dad? (another 20 seconds pass) Now Dad? water, choose a lure, work the lure.... catch something! Yip, it’s just about that time of year again. Time to put Whether you’re spending time with kids catching the hectic work year behind us and take some well moonies and blacktail in the rockpools, casting a small earned time off to enjoy summer, family and fishing of spoon into the shore break for dinner time shad or course! throwing a small popper in the white water for a kingfish, it can all be done with the same outfit you use Most of us have made peace with the fact that fishing is for bass. So what do you need then? just in us, so I don’t feel guilty that most of the planning that goes into my daily routines is always linked back to - Rod: 6’6 or 7ft medium heavy spinning rod (2 piece is this lifestyle we love, in some way or another..... extra 0obviously easier to travel with) effort at work to be able to take a mid week fishing - Reel: Small 2500 or 3000 sized coffee grinder day.... pretending to be interested whilst painfully - Line: 8-15lb braid with a short (half metre) mono or walking shopping malls (so I can get the OK from the 0flouro leader of 15-20lb Mrs to go fishing the day after), right down to planning holidays with family. The outfit above is never going to cover all the possible bases (the same way you’re not going throw a frog in For me, I don’t have to be perched on the nose of my the slop with your finesse mojo rod!); it will however be boat, deciphering whether what I just saw on the screen enough to get you fishing whilst on holiday. So what do you need to tie onto the end of the leader? while you toss a spoon into the waves (shad, wave was a big fat bass next to a tree of a big fat tree next to a Like we are all used to, the list of lures would give this Garrick, Kob and little Kingfish are always bound to be bass to be content, I just need to be somewhere, magazine enough content for the next 10 years but I’ll around). Keep an eye on what and where the locals are. anywhere with water, rod in hand....aah happiness! list what I believe to be the basic essentials: It’s always good to watch and gather information from the regulars in an area. So anyway, who cares about what makes me happy... - A pack of Berkley Gulp camo worms point is, many of us will be heading out this holiday - 1/16oz jig heads for the camo worms At low tide, don’t be afraid to wade out to good looking season, more than likely to a place that has water, which - Small size 8 and 10 long shank hooks to fish the camo rocky points and get your spoon or jerkshad out into means regardless of whether our beloved green fish are Oworms on a bassing dropshot rig deeper water.... the magic part about tossing a lure out there or not, there most certainly is an opportunity to be - A few teardrop type weights (1/2oz) into the sea is that you never quite know what may somewhere... rod in hand... in a happy place! - Small selection of casting spoon up to 1oz (Halco O decide to chomp down on it! And while you’re out there, Twisty, Abu Toby, Iron Candy bullet to name a few) remember to be safe. Dark and secluded beaches are I love fishing in the ocean as much as I love fishing for - A pack or 2 of Berkley or other jerk minnows (flukes) in perfect for thugs looking for easy mugging targets. bass, so packing fishing tackle on any seaside holiday Ochartreuse pepper, goldfish and pearl watermelon O Always watch the water, especially if you decide to get comes naturally. I wanted to share though, that there with some 1/2oz to 1oz jigheads to match up and fish off the rocks – all it takes is one wave to wash may be guys and girls out there who either didn’t see it you off. as an option or just didn’t know where to start. Put the above in a little bag, pick up your rod and just have fun. There is a certain appeal in the simplicity of Don’t forget to pick up your litter, release your catch if For very little cost, and using tackle that you already this form of fishing... barefoot in the sand, the waves it’s under size or outside the bag limit and make sure own for bass, you could quite easily give yourself access lapping at your feet, while you contemplate life. (For me you buy your fishing licence at the local post office. But to heaps of light tackle fun on the beach. We have great it’s mostly dreading the coming of the new work year, most of all, when you’re standing on the beach with the access to some beautiful stretches of coastline with the fact that I need to quit bad habits and save more sun peeking over the horizon and only the sound of the fishing available at the doorstep of most of the popular money – for fishing tackle obviously!) waves can be heard while you prepare to launch a holiday destinations. spoon over the backline..... remember to close your eyes As a general guideline, at high tide, lobbing a camo for a second and take it all in.... if that’s not the definition Spinning, plugging and dropshotting (in the saltwater worm in the gullies and working white water can of happiness, then happiness doesn’t quite exist! Buckle sense of the word i.e. fishing a soft plastic bait on a produce blacktail after blacktail. If you’re on the sand, up and drive safely! weighted jighead) should come naturally to any bass target the low light times of sunrise and sunset and walk
Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 CAGE'S COLUMN Article & Images by Aadil Cajee T ' I S T H E S E A S O N . . . Are we there yet Dad? (20 seconds pass) .....Are we there fisherman. The basic principle is the same, read the yet Dad? (another 20 seconds pass) Now Dad? water, choose a lure, work the lure.... catch something! Yip, it’s just about that time of year again. Time to put Whether you’re spending time with kids catching the hectic work year behind us and take some well moonies and blacktail in the rockpools, casting a small earned time off to enjoy summer, family and fishing of spoon into the shore break for dinner time shad or course! throwing a small popper in the white water for a kingfish, it can all be done with the same outfit you use Most of us have made peace with the fact that fishing is for bass. So what do you need then? just in us, so I don’t feel guilty that most of the planning that goes into my daily routines is always linked back to - Rod: 6’6 or 7ft medium heavy spinning rod (2 piece is this lifestyle we love, in some way or another..... extra 0obviously easier to travel with) effort at work to be able to take a mid week fishing - Reel: Small 2500 or 3000 sized coffee grinder day.... pretending to be interested whilst painfully - Line: 8-15lb braid with a short (half metre) mono or walking shopping malls (so I can get the OK from the 0flouro leader of 15-20lb Mrs to go fishing the day after), right down to planning holidays with family. The outfit above is never going to cover all the possible bases (the same way you’re not going throw a frog in For me, I don’t have to be perched on the nose of my the slop with your finesse mojo rod!); it will however be boat, deciphering whether what I just saw on the screen enough to get you fishing whilst on holiday. So what do you need to tie onto the end of the leader? while you toss a spoon into the waves (shad, wave was a big fat bass next to a tree of a big fat tree next to a Like we are all used to, the list of lures would give this Garrick, Kob and little Kingfish are always bound to be bass to be content, I just need to be somewhere, magazine enough content for the next 10 years but I’ll around). Keep an eye on what and where the locals are. anywhere with water, rod in hand....aah happiness! list what I believe to be the basic essentials: It’s always good to watch and gather information from the regulars in an area. So anyway, who cares about what makes me happy... - A pack of Berkley Gulp camo worms point is, many of us will be heading out this holiday - 1/16oz jig heads for the camo worms At low tide, don’t be afraid to wade out to good looking season, more than likely to a place that has water, which - Small size 8 and 10 long shank hooks to fish the camo rocky points and get your spoon or jerkshad out into means regardless of whether our beloved green fish are Oworms on a bassing dropshot rig deeper water.... the magic part about tossing a lure out there or not, there most certainly is an opportunity to be - A few teardrop type weights (1/2oz) into the sea is that you never quite know what may somewhere... rod in hand... in a happy place! - Small selection of casting spoon up to 1oz (Halco O decide to chomp down on it! And while you’re out there, Twisty, Abu Toby, Iron Candy bullet to name a few) remember to be safe. Dark and secluded beaches are I love fishing in the ocean as much as I love fishing for - A pack or 2 of Berkley or other jerk minnows (flukes) in perfect for thugs looking for easy mugging targets. bass, so packing fishing tackle on any seaside holiday Ochartreuse pepper, goldfish and pearl watermelon O Always watch the water, especially if you decide to get comes naturally. I wanted to share though, that there with some 1/2oz to 1oz jigheads to match up and fish off the rocks – all it takes is one wave to wash may be guys and girls out there who either didn’t see it you off. as an option or just didn’t know where to start. Put the above in a little bag, pick up your rod and just have fun. There is a certain appeal in the simplicity of Don’t forget to pick up your litter, release your catch if For very little cost, and using tackle that you already this form of fishing... barefoot in the sand, the waves it’s under size or outside the bag limit and make sure own for bass, you could quite easily give yourself access lapping at your feet, while you contemplate life. (For me you buy your fishing licence at the local post office. But to heaps of light tackle fun on the beach. We have great it’s mostly dreading the coming of the new work year, most of all, when you’re standing on the beach with the access to some beautiful stretches of coastline with the fact that I need to quit bad habits and save more sun peeking over the horizon and only the sound of the fishing available at the doorstep of most of the popular money – for fishing tackle obviously!) waves can be heard while you prepare to launch a holiday destinations. spoon over the backline..... remember to close your eyes As a general guideline, at high tide, lobbing a camo for a second and take it all in.... if that’s not the definition Spinning, plugging and dropshotting (in the saltwater worm in the gullies and working white water can of happiness, then happiness doesn’t quite exist! Buckle sense of the word i.e. fishing a soft plastic bait on a produce blacktail after blacktail. If you’re on the sand, up and drive safely! weighted jighead) should come naturally to any bass target the low light times of sunrise and sunset and walk
Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 F I S H I N G T A L E S F I S H I N G T A L E S G E T T I N G F R I S K Y T E S T I N G W O O D S T O C K We had an early start to the day at Hazelmere Dam, Saturday 23 November, we were on the water by 5am. We fished the river section and despite the calm conditions and plenty of top water action, I found it tough to get I recently moved to Ladysmith due to work commitments and enquired about the bass fishing in the area. Although I got mixed reports about Woodstock I had to go and check it out for myself, I was very glad I did! any bites. When I did get a bite it was a monster 2 kgs+, but as quick as it was on and jumped... it was off and I was heartbroken. I fished several different baits and techniques trying to find the sweet spot. I landed a few small bass on top water. As the sun started burning down and with my previous disappointment, I decided to switch Woodstock is a big piece of water and is quite intimidating when you first get onto it. There are mainly 3 types of structures to fish and they are rock, to a confidence bait and rigged up a weightless BWG rock and a bit more rock!! Most banks are Frisky Shad in Black Red flake. third cast and I was muddyorclaywiththeoddrockyoutcropand into a better fish 500 Grams+, followed by a few then closer to the dam wall there are cliffs and more. I made my way into shallower water and rockybanks.Watergrassisapparentlygoodto found some reeds with a small branch suspended in fish but the water level is down and the little the water. I pitched my Frisky Shad into the reeds bit of grass currently available is too shallow and noticed a large bump on the branch. As I for fish to hold to. To me Woodstock is very brought the bait over the last limb I felt a distinctive similar to Goedetrouw with regards to tug on the line, I allowed the fish a second or two to structure. commit to the bait and then set the hook. What a great fight, back and forth and round and round on Fish are not widely spread but when you find my kick boat. After a few minutes I landed a them they seem to be bunched up on the beautifully healthy 2.3kg Largemouth bass. I stuck spot. Fish are aggressive, stocky and fight like with the Fisky Shad the rest of the session swopping Trojans. I fished for 2 days and managed bags between weightless and lightly weighted with a of 9.4kg and 7.7kg (biggest fish weighed split shot. I landed a further 1.1kg, 2 x 850 grams and 2.8kg). Taking into account the potential of a bunch at 300 to 750 grams. What a lekker day on the dam, the bag weights are average in my the water. opinion. Weather was a factor unfortunately, cold and rainy conditions definitely affected the fishing negatively. Woodstock is a challenge and I will be going back to explore and to better understand the behaviour of the fish. The dam fished far differently to what I am used to (dams with plenty structure). Launching facilities are basically non-existent, arrangements need to be made through the Ladysmith Bassmasters Congratulations to Tyron Potgieter on winning Blue if you would like to fish there as they have an Water Gear's \"I'D Hit That!\" competition. Tyron wins agreement with water affairs to access the a \"I'D Hit That!\" T-shirt as well as a Xcite Baits XB-1 dam. Square-bill compliments of Blue Water Gear. Visit www.bluewatergear to check out their range of products. Or find them on facebook Submit your Catches with a brief overview to [email protected] With the ability to embed YOUTUBE clips you can even send us VIDEO FOOTAGE of your catches. Either send us the VIDEO CLIP or upload it to YOUTUBE yourself and send us the link with a brief overview
Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 F I S H I N G T A L E S F I S H I N G T A L E S G E T T I N G F R I S K Y T E S T I N G W O O D S T O C K We had an early start to the day at Hazelmere Dam, Saturday 23 November, we were on the water by 5am. We fished the river section and despite the calm conditions and plenty of top water action, I found it tough to get I recently moved to Ladysmith due to work commitments and enquired about the bass fishing in the area. Although I got mixed reports about Woodstock I had to go and check it out for myself, I was very glad I did! any bites. When I did get a bite it was a monster 2 kgs+, but as quick as it was on and jumped... it was off and I was heartbroken. I fished several different baits and techniques trying to find the sweet spot. I landed a few small bass on top water. As the sun started burning down and with my previous disappointment, I decided to switch Woodstock is a big piece of water and is quite intimidating when you first get onto it. There are mainly 3 types of structures to fish and they are rock, to a confidence bait and rigged up a weightless BWG rock and a bit more rock!! Most banks are Frisky Shad in Black Red flake. third cast and I was muddyorclaywiththeoddrockyoutcropand into a better fish 500 Grams+, followed by a few then closer to the dam wall there are cliffs and more. I made my way into shallower water and rockybanks.Watergrassisapparentlygoodto found some reeds with a small branch suspended in fish but the water level is down and the little the water. I pitched my Frisky Shad into the reeds bit of grass currently available is too shallow and noticed a large bump on the branch. As I for fish to hold to. To me Woodstock is very brought the bait over the last limb I felt a distinctive similar to Goedetrouw with regards to tug on the line, I allowed the fish a second or two to structure. commit to the bait and then set the hook. What a great fight, back and forth and round and round on Fish are not widely spread but when you find my kick boat. After a few minutes I landed a them they seem to be bunched up on the beautifully healthy 2.3kg Largemouth bass. I stuck spot. Fish are aggressive, stocky and fight like with the Fisky Shad the rest of the session swopping Trojans. I fished for 2 days and managed bags between weightless and lightly weighted with a of 9.4kg and 7.7kg (biggest fish weighed split shot. I landed a further 1.1kg, 2 x 850 grams and 2.8kg). Taking into account the potential of a bunch at 300 to 750 grams. What a lekker day on the dam, the bag weights are average in my the water. opinion. Weather was a factor unfortunately, cold and rainy conditions definitely affected the fishing negatively. Woodstock is a challenge and I will be going back to explore and to better understand the behaviour of the fish. The dam fished far differently to what I am used to (dams with plenty structure). Launching facilities are basically non-existent, arrangements need to be made through the Ladysmith Bassmasters Congratulations to Tyron Potgieter on winning Blue if you would like to fish there as they have an Water Gear's \"I'D Hit That!\" competition. Tyron wins agreement with water affairs to access the a \"I'D Hit That!\" T-shirt as well as a Xcite Baits XB-1 dam. Square-bill compliments of Blue Water Gear. Visit www.bluewatergear to check out their range of products. Or find them on facebook Submit your Catches with a brief overview to [email protected] With the ability to embed YOUTUBE clips you can even send us VIDEO FOOTAGE of your catches. Either send us the VIDEO CLIP or upload it to YOUTUBE yourself and send us the link with a brief overview
Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 F I S H I N G T A L E S F I S H I N G T A L E S WHITE RIVER LUNKER FINAL ROUND FOR THE DAY I caught this beautiful bass in a private dam just outside White ItwasanextremelywindySaturdayatInandaDam.Thefishinghadbeentoughandafteralongmorning,Iwas River, Mpumalanga, on the 26th October. almost ready to leave. I had caught about 10 bass but none of them were picture worthy. But I couldn't let myself off the hook until I had caught a decent bass. I used a Black Deadringer and as soon as the bait hit the water I sawawavecomingoutofthetallgrassnexttoit,andIknewright I found a sheltered bay by the picnic area and worked my way around it, without much luck. I was almost ready then and there I was in for a fight. togiveup,butforthelasttimeItriedapatchofgrassthatIhadcastintomanytimesinthatsameday.Thistime was different - as my lure sunk into the grass, about a metre into the cover, I felt the slightest \"tick\" on the line. As soon as it hit, I saw the big bulky eyes and hand-size mouth With nothing to lose, I went full swing and I felt my hook connect with something solid. made an appearance out of the water and I then knew this is my bigonethatIhavebeenwaitingforsincepickingupmyfirstbass. AsIpulledtowardsthesurfacethefishstartedtothrashandtryturnmebackintocover.ButIheldthatrodhigh It weighed 3.4 kg and was a very healthy fish. and tight and launched him into the open water. After a short fight, I managed to lip a healthy 2.4kg bass. A great way to end a tough days fishing! Thanks to Captain Wimpie Boshoff who made it possible for me that day. Regards Waldo Greeff Distributed by Blue Water Gear Submit your Catches with a brief overview to [email protected] With the ability to embed YOUTUBE clips you can even send us VIDEO FOOTAGE of your catches. Either send us the VIDEO CLIP or upload it to YOUTUBE yourself and send us the link with a brief overview
Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 F I S H I N G T A L E S F I S H I N G T A L E S WHITE RIVER LUNKER FINAL ROUND FOR THE DAY I caught this beautiful bass in a private dam just outside White ItwasanextremelywindySaturdayatInandaDam.Thefishinghadbeentoughandafteralongmorning,Iwas River, Mpumalanga, on the 26th October. almost ready to leave. I had caught about 10 bass but none of them were picture worthy. But I couldn't let myself off the hook until I had caught a decent bass. I used a Black Deadringer and as soon as the bait hit the water I sawawavecomingoutofthetallgrassnexttoit,andIknewright I found a sheltered bay by the picnic area and worked my way around it, without much luck. I was almost ready then and there I was in for a fight. togiveup,butforthelasttimeItriedapatchofgrassthatIhadcastintomanytimesinthatsameday.Thistime was different - as my lure sunk into the grass, about a metre into the cover, I felt the slightest \"tick\" on the line. As soon as it hit, I saw the big bulky eyes and hand-size mouth With nothing to lose, I went full swing and I felt my hook connect with something solid. made an appearance out of the water and I then knew this is my bigonethatIhavebeenwaitingforsincepickingupmyfirstbass. AsIpulledtowardsthesurfacethefishstartedtothrashandtryturnmebackintocover.ButIheldthatrodhigh It weighed 3.4 kg and was a very healthy fish. and tight and launched him into the open water. After a short fight, I managed to lip a healthy 2.4kg bass. A great way to end a tough days fishing! Thanks to Captain Wimpie Boshoff who made it possible for me that day. Regards Waldo Greeff Distributed by Blue Water Gear Submit your Catches with a brief overview to [email protected] With the ability to embed YOUTUBE clips you can even send us VIDEO FOOTAGE of your catches. Either send us the VIDEO CLIP or upload it to YOUTUBE yourself and send us the link with a brief overview
Bass Digest/December, 2013 Bass Digest/December, 2013 T R I B A L B O A T S R E V I E W R X 1 8 8 0 As we got chatting with the manufacturer, it became overflow experienced at all. quite apparent that Tribal Boats are extremely passionate about their offering and have spared no All in all, the Tribal RX 1880 was a pleasure to fish off, expense in ensuring their product offers some of the andofferedallthecomfortsofsomeofthemorepricier best materials when it comes to boat building. They boats out there. It is incredibly versatile for its size and Specifications: have gone to great extremes in ensuring the the perfect option for anyone wanting a decent sized With the economic downturn taking its toll on many satisfaction of every customer they serve. This is the tournamentreadybassboatatapricethatwon’tbreak - Length : 18.8ft consumers, more and more anglers are looking for only boat I know of, which features full aluminium lids the bank. In addition, Tribal Boats offer a host of - Width : 2.25m more economic offerings when it comes to the boat for the storage hatches in its price range. accessories from Jack plates to fish finders and - Power Rating : 115HP to 250HP market. Manufactures alike, have caught onto this, and switches,makingitaone-stopshopforallyourboating - Trolling Motor Rating : 55lb to 80lb as a result, have started to produce boats, which are Theboathasamplestoragecapacityandsportsnoless needs. far more affordable whilst still maintaining many of than 5 hatches, excluding the two massive rod lockers Features: the features found on much bigger boats. which can accommodate 14 plus rods up to 7.5ft comfortably. In addition the Tribal also features a One such manufacturer is Tribal Boats with their Tribal massive cooler box complete with drainage, between - Double Axel custom trailer with LED RXI 1880. So when we were offered a chance to take the seats, which easily holds 2 litre cold drink bottles lighting - Single or double console one of them through its paces, we jumped at the with no fuss. Lastly, the Tribal also features a large dual opportunity. live well, which comes fully plumbed with aerator and - Single or dual fighting chairs drainage pumps. Everything you would require as a - Fully plumbed dual live wells Upon arriving at the factory, the first thing that stood competitive or social angler. - Cooler box out for me was the amazing amount of deck space this - Recessed foot pedal - Top quality carpets medium sized boat had to offer. Although only being Despite its enormous appearance, the boat towed 18.8ft in length, it appeared much larger, thanks to the very easily and I was able to pull the boat with my 1400 - Aluminium Lids width being 2.25m, which also made the boat an Jetta without any hassles. The double axle trailer - Wet and dry hatches extremely stable platform to fish off as we later found ensured that the boat towed extremely well, even at - 2 x Rod lockers out whilst testing it at a recent outing. speeds of up to 120km/h. There were no signs of the boat swaying or bouncing about. Price from R65,000 Ex Vat Launching the boat was also a breeze as the boat sits relatively low on the trailer, ensuring it floats off with minimal fuss. Getting the boat on the plane was a total surprise for measittookonlyafewsecondstogetoutoftheblocks. The hole shot on this boat has to be experienced in order to understand it. It is lightening fast. The boats handling is totally amazing and it seems to glide effortlessly. The ride is pleasantly soft, yet you never feelasifyouarenotincontrol.Thetruetestcamewhen the mid morning wind started to blow whilst we were running from our primary spot into the main dam. Despitetheroughwater,theboatcontinuedtohandle pleasantly and cut through the waves with no side spray from the hull, ensuring we had a dry ride. Fishing off the Tribal is just as stable. The deck has ample space for two anglers and at no point are you worried that you might get in the way of your partner. Wakes from other boats are also not an issue and despite some huge wakes from some passing boats. The hull design ensured the nose stayed dry with no
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