Bass Digest/April, 2014
Do you remember where you caught your first bass? What was it like?
We were at a school rugby clinic when I was small, just outside Marble Hall. My coach left his rod next to the dam while he was coaching (and it was a very nice one too). I picked it up, cast it and retrieved it quickly and BAM! A bass hit the mielie pit.
Wow a mielie pit?
Yes. Actually the biggest bass I’ve seen was caught on a boilie. It was 5.5kg at Loskop Dam at 9pm at night.
Where did you do most of your fishing when you were young?
Most of our fishing was done in the irrigation dams in the Loskop Valley. The canal system that ran parallel to the Olifants River used to feed these little farm dams. We used to ask the “Farmers” if we could fish their dams, and at some dams we needed to be very careful as there were big crocs in them. We used to love it so much; we would tape our rods to our bikes with insulation tape and go fishing every day, before and after school.
What lure/s did you consistently catch fish on in your early days?
I would have to say JIGS was quite a big part of my fishing. You can fish it anywhere, on any dam and in all kinds of places. I’ve used it here in Rusties, as well as Witbank, Tzaneen, Bronkies, all over. I used a ½Oz jig with a NetbaitPaca Chunk trailer in Tzaneen Dam once, in the brush. The fish used the brush piles as ambush points and as the bait balls would come past, they will come out and feed. So I chucked my jig in the brush and I would get the good fish.
Ok, let’s say Rust de Winter. What do you like using here?
Well it’s high summer and there is a lot of topwater growth in the river section, so the frog would be a good bet. But they won’t eat them the whole day, so you have to slowly scale down and slow down. In the grass in the river section, I will use a Texas rigged bait.
I do like to throw the shaky head and drop shot, in fact I’m a big drop-shot fan (and I prefer doing it on a baitcaster setup, not a spinning rig). In the clearer water near humps and stuff, I’ll use a shaky head or a drop-shot, or I’ll go to a mojo rig presentation.
What about spinner baits – do you use them much?
If you don’t know the water you are fishing, a spinner bait is a good search tool to locate the bass. However, if you manage to locate fish during your practice and preparation for an event, you should know where the fish are, and go get your limit in those areas.
I was asked by an anonymous person, to mention the words “dead sticking a rattletrap”.
Hahahaha! The guys didn’t believe me, but that’s the technique that I used at Clanwilliam. In practice there were these huge baitballs all over the dam. I would find a baitball in about 30ft and drop a lipless crank through it, and let it rest at the bottom. You can feel the bottom because the dam is mostly rock. I would then give it a jerk every now and then, and that’s how I got all the fish during practice.