CoMPeTITIoN CoMMeNT
BY aNT WIllIaMS
Nwanyi Angling Club International
Zambezi Classic 2009
The Nwanyi Angling Club has hosted the International Zambezi Classic during the last
couple of years, with the 2009 tournament once again staged from the Island View Lodge on
the Upper Zambezi in Namibia. Over the years, the event has grown considerably, and was
once again covered by a film crew for a production aired on M-Net Supersport.
H
eld from the 26 - 29 August 2009, participation by 61 teams
ensured an enjoyable and competitive few days of fishing,
though overall, fishing was generally harder than last year,
with many teams battling to fill their quotas.
The tournament was fished over three days starting at 6am with
weigh-in at 6pm daily, except on the third day to allow time for score
tallies and prize-giving. The event’s rules are strictly governed by
conservation and aimed at limiting the overall kill of fish. To this
end, catch and release is enforced and aside from minimum lengths
for some species, and bag limits of three fish per species (per angler
for the whole three days), the biggest fish of each species is worth the
most points according to the points factor set by the Nwanyi Angling
Club. Fish not meeting these strict criteria received penalties for
the teams, while the team releasing the most fish received a bonus
prize. These rules did ensure most fish were released before getting
to the scales, and only the three biggest fish for each angler over the
Island View have proved themselves a worthy venue for this
annual event, transforming into a mini city for almost a week.
Congratulations to Mike and Steph and their team, as well as the
organisers for a well run tournament and superb venue.
The event’s rules are strictly governed by conservation and aimed
at limiting the overall kill of fish. To this end, catch and
release is enforced.
P a g e 38
The biggest fish of a species overall scoring the most points on the
factor system, won the grand prize of a boat and trailer sponsored
by West Coast Marine, fitted with a 50HP outboard motor. This
was won by Deon de Waal with a catfish weighing 16kg.
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