Palm Lakes fisherman Jonni Wills scoops angler of the year award

Not only has Palm Lakes fisherman Jonni Wills been awarded the title of Angler of the Year (2022) in the KZN Small Craft Bass League, but he also placed second in the final league tournament of the year held on the Mooi River in December.

Of the 33 fishermen who made it through to the final round of the league tournament, Wills secured second place despite going into the competition ‘blind’.

“I had no idea how the dam was fishing since the last competition in October. I decided to just tie on lures that I love and have worked for me throughout the season, keeping in mind not to get stuck on anything for too long if it didn’t attract a bite,” Wills said.

Planning to play it safe, Wills said he wanted to aim for the smaller fish at first and work his way up as the day wore on. Instead, he got off to a quick start and quickly landed three fish, the largest coming in at 52cm. Switching to a mini 1/8 ounce spinnerbait lure, Wills started getting loads of hits and landed his fourth keeper for the day, measuring some 42.5cm.

From that point on it became hectic as Wills continued to reel in fish after fish, but he still needed to land a fish that would place him among the top three.

“Within two casts things had paid off with a 48cm bass,” Jonni said.

His largest catch of the day measured in at 53cm around midday.

“It was such an awesome end to the season,” Wills said.

He walked away with cash prizes, lures and a Victron battery charger.

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