Tight lines at bass competition at Dudley Pringle

Anglers and their families came out in force this Heritage weekend to cast a line for charity at the annual North Coast Courier Orphan Fund/ Seeff bass fishing competition.

With the sun rising over a pristine day at Dudley Pringle Dam, more than 200 enthusiastic fishermen eagerly made final adjustments to their rods, lures and watercraft in anticipation of the 5.30am start.

Excitement was running high as it was the first time in many years that the ‘Pringle dam” was opened to anglers and the venue certainly lived up to its reputation as a legendary fishing spot.

The bites were coming thick and fast – keeping the weigh-marshals on their toes and everybody else entertained.

While the anglers were busy from the banks and on the water, the Ballito Lions Club made sure nobody went hungry, serving up tasty boerie-rolls and bacon burgers to hungry fishermen.

Meanwhile Specialised Rescue Unit was on hand in case of any crisis but fortunately they were mostly kept busy diving out a few dropped fishing rods from the murky depths of the dam.

By the time all lines were up a few truly impressive specimens had been caught. In the junior angler category young Ryan van Eeden took first place with a 48cm bass that wowed even the adults while the largest bass caught on the day – and the winner of the senior category – was hooked by Paul Nixon and measured 52cm from tip to tail. The cunning tagged bass, worth a princely R5 000, managed to elude his pursuers for another year.

The event raised a whopping R45 000, every cent of which will go towards caring and feeding orphaned and vulnerable children living on the North Coast.

North Coast Courier Orphan Fund committee member, Pieter Naudé, thanked everyone involved in making the event a success.

“Today everyone walked away as true winners – the serious anglers got to fish at an epic venue, parents and their children enjoyed time in the outdoors while nurturing a passion for fishing and we all made a real difference in orphan lives, what could be better!”

The Fund also extended a special thanks to the main sponsors, Seeff Properties Ballito, Ballito Autohaus – BMW Ballito, Holla Trails and Tongaat Hulett as well as all the volunteers who helped out on the day.

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