Bredell dad off to catch the big ones
He has caught over 100 billfish of which only one has died
A Bredell father of three has left for Hawaii on Wednesday to take part in the 55th Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament.
Dave Martin is part of a four-man team representing South Africa in this deep sea angling competition.
Martin received his Protea colours in 2004 but has been angling his whole life.
“I grew up in Durban, where I fished commercially but in 1998, I started with competitive angling,” he said.
Martin, who has fished all over the world, including places like Guatemala, Hawaii, the Amazon jungle, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Panama, among others, is chairman of Nomads Gamefish Club in Benoni.
He specialises in catching sailfish, which, along with spearfish, swordfish and marlin, are categorised as billfish. He uses light tackle to catch these enormous creatures.
The biggest billfish he ever caught weighed an estimated 300kg. Martin has caught over 100 billfish in his life and only one died.
He has represented South Africa on six tours, this being his seventh. He was captain of three of those teams and will again be captain when the SA team heads to Puerto Rico in August.
Martin says catching billfish is an art. You learn to feel the fish, how its responds, and ultimately wrestle with the giants of the deep.
The winners of this competition will be determined based on the most billfish caught and released. “They encourage releasing the fish unharmed,” said Martin.Fish weighing over 300kg will ensure extra points.Over 30 teams representing more than 10 countries participate in this annual tournament with South Africa always held in high regard.
The SA team also sponsored satellite tracking tags, which will be put on the fish caught. These chips will send data about the fish and its migration patterns directly to Stanford University in California.
