Anglers reel in huge surprises in final round

A total of 34 boats recently took part in the final round of the regular season at Injaka Dam. A total of 145 bass were brought to the scale at an average of 0,867 kilograms per fish. Only the De Hoop Dam tournament in May produced a better per-fish average. Unfortunately two teams were disqualified for basic rule infringements. Of the remaining 32 teams, not one team blanked, which is extraordinary for Injaka Dam.

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In fact, an average of 11 teams have blanked per event for the past three at Injaka. Even more spectacular, team Bucket Mouth’s 10,415 kilograms limit broke the LBT bag record, set by team
Angling & Outdoor World in August.

They broke the current record by 0,065 kilograms. Team Bucket Mouth started their winning effort at a small inlet alongside a small step-down. Joniel Marks fished a SPRO squarebill with a slow retrieve and got their first fish in this area. They then moved off to one of the many islands in the dam – where they lost a massive fish. They tried at the main inlet without success before moving off to fish near the trees and got another fish near another drop, again on the SPRO squarebill. Mark’s boat partner, Dawid Potgieter, started off with buzz- and crankbaits and various plastics without any interest from Injaka’s bass. They decided to return to their first area after not getting a fish for three hours and got another bite, but the catch came unbuttoned right at the boat.

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Potgieter tied on a storm arashi crankbait in baby bass colour and minutes later boated a bass that stretched the scale to over three kilograms. They caught another fish of over two kilograms, left the area for half an hour, went back in and boated another bass over three kilograms.

Second-placed Ambassadors caught most of their fish on weightless flukes and spinnerbaits, targeting spawning areas and their surrounds.

Team Hazyview Midas struggled to get any fish on the techniques they keyed in on during their pre-fishing days. By 11:00 they only had two small bass in the live well and made a call to try a drop-shot rig which produced one good-quality fish. With the wind blowing strongly and 90 minutes left to fish, they homed in on thick vegetation in the shallows and hooked a big bass, with another fish following the hooked one to the boat. As they boated the first fish, they dropped a spinnerbait on the follower, which engulfed it and ended up in the live well too. Two fish in 30 seconds.

The top 10 from Injaka Dam (limit of five fish caught)
1. Bucket Mouth, 17,415 – R3 500 cash LBT, R2 500 cash Subaru Nelspruit and fuel prize for next event
2. Ambassadors, 13,92 – R2 000 cash Venom Lures and R1 000 cash LBT
3. Hazyview Midas, 13,68 – R2 000 cash NTT Barberton
4. Osprey Angling & Outdoor World, 13,36 – voucher and Itty’s Secret Baits hamper worth R1 700
5. Dream Catcher, 13,095 – Bass Warehouse hamper and Sakata hamper worth R1 600
6. Hooked Again, 12,98 – Solly’s voucher and Sakata hamper worth R1 400
7. Thermocline, 12,675 – BWG, Solly’s and Midas hamper worth R1 300
8. Brayshaw Filtration, 12,605 – Midas hamper and Liqui Moly caps worth R1 100
9. Subaru Nelspruit, 12,165 – Midas hamper and Liqui Moly caps worth R900
10. Alligators, 12,14 – Midas hamper and Liqui Moly caps worth R800.

• Biggest bass – Bucket Mouth, 3,225 kilograms: Marine components and Garmin discount voucher valued at R2 000

• Second biggest bass – Hooked Again, 3,210 kilograms: Wittus voucher valued at R700.