Age: 53
Hometown: Cape Town
Favourite Fishing Venue: Clanwilliam
Personal Best: 5.276kg
Boat & Motor: Rebel 531 200 Mercury Pro XS
Division Representing: Western Division
Favourite U.S. Angler: Kelly Jordan
Sponsors: Rutherford Marine / Mercury and Quantum tackle
Bass Digest: Hi Richard thanks for taking time out of your day to partake in our “KNOW YOUR PRO’S” article for Bass Digest. We hope to familiarise South African Bass Digest readers with our local pro’s
Richard Watson: Only a pleasure to share what I can about this sport we so love
Bass Digest: Where and when did your passion for bass fishing begin?
Richard Watson: At a competition in Clanwilliam, the Summer Classic
Bass Digest: What are your preparations leading up to an important tournament event?
Richard Watson: Not so easy to answer, it will all depend on a number of critical issues: the distance to be travelled, whether it is in SA or ZIM, the time of the year the tournament will take place, spawn, post spawn, summer or winter. It is also important one to have some info on the venue, water clarity that time of year, type of fodder and bass species available. Once you have knowledge of all the above, you can start with the tackle. You also need to keep in mind that the weather could change and so you need to pack for all conditions
Bass Digest: What has been your most recent tournament success?
Richard Watson: Winning the Zambezi Classic and the Botswana Bream Classic. Third biggest fish at Wriggleswade and coming third overall
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?
Richard Watson: This happens to most anglers, more than once a season. The main thing to remember is that if you are confident that you are doing the right thing to give yourself the best chance of doing well, don’t change anything. This is what we call swinging for the fence. I look at it like this, if I am not doing well and finding the bite difficult, I am convinced the rest of the field is having the same problem so I slow down and concentrate a bit harder so as not to miss the bites that are so few.
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?
Richard Watson: Don’t get caught up in the moment when catching plenty of keepers. Big bass don’t usually shoal like keepers, once you have your bag, you need to pattern bigger bass
Bass Digest: What do you consider to be your primary fishing strengths & weaknesses on the water?
Richard Watson: I am very versatile and can adapt to most situations. If I must give a weakness, it would more than likely be power fishing. I would then say my strength would be plastic fishing
Bass Digest: Do you use your fish finder to find spots to fish? Do you just know where to look for the fish? How do you go about choosing your fishing spots?
Richard Watson: I use my electronics 100% of the time, not just for structure but to find bait, depth, thermo clines and suspended fish. I also look if I see fish on the structure. Don’t fish the structure just because it looks good. I use my electronics to give me the most quality fishing time I can get in a session
Bass Digest/May, 2014