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Limpopo Report
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Article by: Andre van Staden
Limpopo Hot Cars in conjunction with Rock a
Reef Outdoor shop and Cramer dam fishing club
Small craft and bank fishing competition
03:00 AM Saturday 10th May 2014 - My eyes were burning and it
felt like someone threw a fistful of sand into them, irritating them
even more but the excitement level is high and soon the itchy eye
syndrome has vanished.
Final packing has been completed and we finally hit the road together with my wife to a small craft competition at Letaba Estates near
Tzaneen, Limpopo.
I have been eagerly awaiting this comp for a few weeks since the
announcement. As we drove into registration it was still pitch black at
05:30AM and it’s obvious that winter has its foot solidly in the door.
I noticed that it wasn’t as cold as the previous weekend when we
went fishing about the same time, I couldn’t see a cloud in the sky
and there wasn’t even a whiff of a wind blowing.
I didn’t expect great fish to be landed as the season transition times
are sometimes brutal in our valley and can drive even the most Zen
angler to anger and frustration!
The comp was arranged very well and people were in place to help
when needed. After unloading our small craft and stacking on
enough equipment to classify it as a water taxi (all we needed was a
chicken cage) we were eagerly waiting for light to launch and get the
day underway.
Staring into the dark void over the water you could hear the hippo’s
snorting, getting ready for their day as well. At this time I was looking around at our competition, most times you can spot a hard core
angler or a weekend warrior easily by their focus level just before
launch.
I spotted a man looking like a lion zoning in on a kill and I knew he
was focused and ready to slay this comp. “I bet you those guys will
be our greatest competition today” Is what I told my wife. Turns out I
was right but more about that later.