And just like that, the 2019 Lowveld Bass Trail tour is in the books with the eighth event having been hosted at the beautiful De Hoop Dam.
It was day full of surprises as the weather again turned against the anglers.

Post-frontal conditions at a venue that experienced massive fishing pressure in the past months all stacked the odds against the anglers. Despite this, 37 hopeful teams arrived to line the shores in search of that final massive bag that would secure their place among the top 20 teams on the overall log.

Proceedings ran perfectly and teams were willingly helped by Josias and his team at the respective launch sites.
As for the fishing, pre-fishing reports turned out to be true as teams struggled to locate fish throughout the day and bites were few and far in between. It was truly a stage set to test the best of anglers.

On the day, surprisingly, 27 of the competing teams managed to weigh in a limit of fish and only three teams blanked.
One-hundred-and-fifty-six fish were weighed in with a total weight of 112,963 kilograms, an average weight of 0,724 kilograms per fish. Although these figures seem to be respectable, they do not come close to the 2018 results at De Hoop Dam that produced 193 fish at an average of 1,289 kilograms each between only 40 teams.

Nonetheless, it is in tough conditions that true angling prowess is tested. Leading to the LBT final in October, anglers can reflect on an amazing season considering the tough fishing conditions that were experienced. Of the five venues that were competed at throughout the year, Inyaka and Nooitgedacht dams were by far the most challenging for the anglers and crippled many teams’ hopes to perform well on the log.

It would be a tough call to decide between the February Inyaka and April Nooitgedacht as having been the worst event. Inyaka only produced a 0,295 kilograms per fish average and 0,329 kilograms for Nooitgedacht. Amazingly, not one team blanked at either of those events.

Driekoppies Dam has to be a contender to be voted the best venue of 2019. And in particular, the May event. The feeding frenzy was in full swing and 216 fish were weighed in between 47 teams – 42 teams managed a limit.
But Vygeboom Dam has once again proven itself to be one astonishingly good winter venue. The June event at Vygeboom delivered the best results for competing anglers. A healthy 0,9 kilograms per fish average and 68,89 per cent teams weighed in a limit. On a very tough day where bites were scarce, first placed team 5 Limit of Johan de Villiers and Wynand Potgieter targeted a main point with a black/red weightless fluke and managed to fill their limit within 40 minutes.

They moved around in the area and also found fish on a secondary point leading into a spawning bank. They later explored more towards the river section with little success and decided to return to their starting location, managing to cull once more with a solid keeper. All their fish were caught on a fluke and a Texas-rigged presentation helped them when the wind started to pick up. They ended their day with a 7,785 kilogram bag to take the win by more than 1,5 kilograms ahead of the second placed team.

Team Nelspruit Ford of Rudi and Chris Vermaak delivered an outstanding session on the water to weigh in a bag of 6,225 kilograms at the end of the day. Although they only landed six fish, they were the right size. Having struggled to keep fish pinned throughout the day, they managed a kicker fish of 2,340 kilograms moments before the tag board closed. They got fish to react to a lavender shad squarebill crankbait fished through brush in four-metre water towards the back of spawning bays.

They also had great results on abBlack/green fluke bait. Although placing among the top three teams at any event is a thrill, the biggest delight for Nelspruit Ford is the results they obtained on the overall log. Their 6,225 kilograms bag placed them among the top-20 teams to be invited to the LBT final.

Congratulations to defending 2018 log winners, team Thermocline on a solid year with consistent results which had them led the 2019 race from wire to wire to defend their title and once again be crowned Angling Team of the Year. Their victory included seven top 10 finishes and two first place finishes at Inyaka and Driekoppies. They managed to close out the year and win by a mammoth 8,015 kilogram lead.
The top 20 shall also be invited to the prestigious 2019 LBT final and it is expected that the top 10 teams on the log will be invited to the 2019 SABAA Team Tournament Trail Final to be hosted by the LBT in November.

The LBT final is scheduled for October 4 to 6 with fishing taking place on Saturday and Sunday.
The LBT final has always been a prestigious event and teams that have qualified can be proud of their achievement.
As we close off a wonderful 2019 season tour of the Lowveld fishing venues, we would like to thank each and every team and angler for their contribution and helping the LBT grow to new heights.

From the committee side, thank you for your dedication and support. There were times when tough decisions had to be made and we appreciate your understanding in this regard. We can understand that some might not have agreed with certain decisions and respect each angler’s opinion.

Also read: Lowveld Spring fishing guide: Pre-spawn