Age: 31
Hometown: Cape Town
Favourite Fishing Venue: Clanwilliam
Personal Best: LM 3.8kg - SM 2.97kg
Boat & Motor: Ranger 178vs / Yamaha 200hp
Division Representing: Western Division
Favourite U.S. Angler: Brandon Palaniuk / Gerald Swindle
Sponsors: Outdoors 365
Bass Digest: Hi Marc, thanks for taking time out of your day to partake in our “KNOW YOUR PRO’S” article for Bass Digest. We hope to familiarise Bass Digest readers with our local pro’s.
Marc Bywater: Thanks for the invitation
Bass Digest: Where and when did your passion for bass fishing begin?
Marc Bywater: I started out during my final year of matric enjoying fishing. I mainly fly-fished as it was more accessible at the time. Shortly after that, I visited my uncle’s friend Keith Tait at the Fishing Specialist in Cape Town, and he invited me along to fish in the Summer Classic at Clanwilliam. After that I joined Bergvliet Angling Club and fished as a “guest” with guys like Mike de Wet. At club level I made friends with people that shared the same passion for fishing as I do. From there I purchased my first boat and never looked back
Bass Digest: What are your preparations leading up to an important tournament event?
Marc Bywater: Oh wow how much time do we have ??
This for me is an extremely important topic, I don’t think I’m the most talented angler out, but I strive to be the most organised. Preparation for me starts weeks if not months beforehand. For divisional fish offs I always try to fish the venue at least once before the tournament. My preparation for a “major” tournament such as nationals will definitely begin the week I find out I made the team. I start off with the Internet, as now days there is more and more information online. I will read and make notes of everything I can find online pertaining to the dam and the way it fishes. Of course a map is the first place to start. Its pointless reading up on a dam and the author speaks of a specific spot and you do not know where on the dam it is. Maps are key to understanding the “lay of the land”, Google earth is also a great source of information and points of interest can be transferred via Google Earth to your GPS.
Once the maps and information online are done, I’ll start with my boat. Any repairs, servicing, bearings, COF, COCs and all those items are taken care of, then it’s onto the tackle. Before nationals I’ll completely empty my boat. All my tackle has been moved around during the past season so I will reorganise and label EVERYTHING. I sort through all my baits that have not been used over the last 2 seasons and replace them with some new exciting baits, and ones that I’m more confident in using. While doing this as it seems like and is a lot of work, I get to see everything I have and decide, based on the venue I’m going to, what takes my interest and what I believe could work. These specific baits get placed in a separate “go to box” and are kept upfront for tournament practice. This way I don’t have to dig through mountains of tackle to find what I’m looking for. It also makes me more efficient on the water.
Rods will be cleaned and all reels checked. I label all my reels with the line strength and a date it was spooled so I know what is “old” and what is still good for the tournament. I generally re-spool reels throughout the season so there is no big re -spooling during this time. I usually spend a rainy day tying up all my rigs as needed and preparing them for practice day. I try preparing well in advance; as rod tying is not my favourite thing to do, especially not the night before a tournament. This time is best spent catching up with friends and enjoying a beer.
Once the tackle is all done, the boat repacked, refuelled and ready to go, I’ll start with the logistics. Accommodation is something I always focus on. Sleep is very important to me and I like to be as comfortable as possible and feeling strong for the days ahead. I will plan all my meals and have everything bought and ready. I definitely do not want to come off the water after a tough days fishing and have to still worry about lunch or dinner. This time is for sorting the boat and resting. I try eat as healthy as possible especially foods high in energy, I’m lucky to have a loving and supportive wife that takes care of this for me.
Coming from the Cape we generally have the longest drives to the dams, so I’ll usually take 2 days extra and split the journey up, so I’m not too tired when I eventually arrive.
The rest is just about fishing. Usually I will have a “game plan” of which normally is based on the amount of days I have to pre-fish. If it’s multiple days I will divide the dam up into various sections, and tackle each of those as the days go on. I write down EVERYTHING that I see, good or bad. You never know what happens in tournament day and even years later. I also do not have the greatest memory so writing it down helps.
Fishing spots will be dissected by side scanning and gathering as much information as I can. Temperatures, water clarity, water quality, weather conditions and influences all these are factors taken into consideration.
If all else fails after preparation I just trust my gut and enjoy the time on the water.
Bass Digest: What has been your most recent tournament success?
Marc Bywater: Coming 2nd at the Y-Bass final at Woodstock Dam along with Julian van Zuydam
Bass Digest: All Anglers experience bad
days on the water, days when things just don’t
seem to go your way. Was there any point in
the last season when this happened to you
and what did you do to overcome this?
Marc Bywater: Yes, during one of the Y-Bass events we lost a giant fish at Albert Falls. I caught the same fish on the same spot the next weekend and it weighed 4.95kg. This fish would have easily pushed us into the winning position. I think we had to settle for 5th place. When one is having a tough day on the water the best way to overcome it is to maintain a
positive mindset, put your head down and fish through it. In the end, the bites will come
Bass Digest: Catching the heaviest 5 fish in every tournament is always the goal every angler hopes to achieve. What advice would you offer to any angler wishing to increase the size of fish they wish to catch?
Marc Bywater: When competing on the Divisional Circuit catching your limit every day is critical. If you could be consistent with this throughout the season, even if the fish are average size, you should walk into most teams. To consistently catch your limit, you should focus on techniques that get keeper bites. This means that downscaling tackle and lure size might be a good option in getting a few more bites. Mojo Rigs and Dropshotting come to mind. When you have your limit you can start focusing on techniques that could get you a few bigger bites. When fishing team events with a 5 fish limit between 2 anglers, it might be sensible to fish big techniques from the start. Jigs, Zara Spook, crankbaits and spinnerbaits are known big fish producers
KZN Overall Champion 6 Times
3 Times National Champion
Bass Digest/July, 2014