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: I value the divisional
circuit as my main focus. I do fish
“money” tournaments but for me
qualifying for my division and hopefully
country is my main focus for now. I
enjoy setting myself goals and trying
to achieve them. I recently got a call
from Albert Olivier (SABAA President)
asking me to represent the Protea Team
at Maguga in September, so I’ll definitely
say that’s my most recent goal and
achievement.
As for tournaments over the last season,
I had a little bit of a monkey on my back
at Theewaterskloof coming second place
in a few events, but in the last divisional
I ended up winning the day and ending
off the season well. It was nice to finally
get a win at that venue.
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: I think all anglers have their bad days and I’m certainly no different. In the recent season we had some really tough fishing at Clanwilliam with temperatures in the 40s. This was not pleasant mentally and physically. The fishing was tough and guys battled to get the 5 fish limit. I was no different and knew that I needed a good finish on the Sunday after a poor finish the day before. I knew there where fish around in the area I was fishing, and it was just a matter of timing and persistence. Its tough to keep yourself mentally focused when the fish are not biting, but sometimes the best thing to do is stick it out and persist on what you know. I luckily remained in the area that day, made a subtle difference to my presentation, and the fish turned on and I limited in 20 minutes.
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: That’s a tough question and one that I’m not really sure I can answer. In my mind when I start off a tournament, especially divisionals, I’m always aiming for a 5 fish limit. Size of course matters, but for
Represented S.A. in 7 Internal Tests
Member of the Protea Team from 2004-2010
Bass Federaton Nation Alabama S.A. Representative
Currently Fishing Y-Bass
Bass Digest/July, 2014