Bass Digest/May, 2014
I was a little hesitant at first due to some perceptions from the outside that the anglers competing at this level are an elitist group and that I will encounter a lot of politics. What I have experienced was exactly the opposite. While I knew quite a few of the anglers from other events like the Clanwilliam Classic and the BFSA Money Trail I found 99% of the anglers warm, friendly and accommodating. I also experienced much stricter rules at this level but understand that those are rules are necessary to ensure fairness and safety.
In the Western Cape we have to opportunity not only to compete for Western Division honours but it also the extension to the Divisionals in the form of the WCBAA Elite Series. This allows anglers to win cash and other prize in various categories. Categories are determined by your overall points in the season and allows even the newcomers like
myself to be eligible to place
and win prizes. I was fortunate
enough to win Category C at the
first day of the Theewaterskloof
event and after promotion to
win Category B at the next
event as well which paid our
more than all my entry fees for
the year.
The Future
I really look forward to fishing
my second season and
hopefully to build on the
experience and lessons learnt
this year.
To guys still considering
whether they should join at
this level I would seriously
recommend it. I have learned
more in the last 6 Elite Series
events that I have in the last 4
years fishing the social circuit.
Significant
Fish
I fondly remember catching a
2.5kg largemouth in a farm
dam near Dundee in KZN as a
youngster.
My current smallie PB of 1.87kg while fishing the 2010
Clanwilliam Micro Challenge was a great moment.
My largemouth PB followed on the very next trip to Kwaggaskloof and Brandvlei where I managed to get a beautiful female of 2.6kg in Brandvlei.
My first fish during my Goedertrouw trip last year was very special at it was my first fish using the baits from the Blue Water Gear stable. This beautiful largemouth weighing in at 2.32kg was caught on an Xcite Baits Raptor Tail Junior in Crawdad colour rigged on a Green Pumpkin Moaner Stiffy Jig. This rig seems to produce all over and is now my new favourite rig. It also accounted for at least half my fish during this trip.
I was also fortunate enough to break my PB twice with 2 fish over 3kg on the very last day of this memorable trip.