A ‘reel’ good time for anglers at Bivane Bass Challenge
Anglers launched their boats at the Bivane Bass Challenge and rumours that Moby Dick would be caught at this competition were heard from all corners of the dam.
Issued by Vryheid Luremasters
ANGLERS travelled from various destinations to participate in the annual Bivane Bass Challenge, which was held at Bivane Dam on June 4 and 5.
Registration commenced on Friday evening and anglers were later treated to a complimentary sheep on the spit and cold beverages. This allowed them to settle in and become acquainted with other participants, where they eagerly discussed tactics for the weekend ahead.
On Saturday morning, anglers launched their boats and rumours that Moby Dick would be caught at this competition were heard from all corners of the dam. This set the tone for a superb day on the water, despite low water levels.
Early morning reports suggested that fishing was tough and that only a few small fish had been caught, but this did not deter anglers. At the end of the day a few larger fish were caught, which still left the competition wide open.
Sunday morning brought less enthusiasm due to the difficult fishing conditions of Saturday (bearing in mind that, in general, fishing conditions on day two are often more difficult than day one). Paradoxically, in the history of the Bivane Bass Challenge the winning fish has usually been caught on day two and this kept the anglers hopeful. However, the difficult conditions prevailed and no larger fish were caught.
Heaviest bass overall was caught by Noel Seager at 2.720 kg. Noel won a cash prize of R25 000. The second heaviest fish was caught by Shane Estrane. His 2.540kg catch landed him a second place cash prize of R7 000. The first lady was Corzelle Viljoen, who won a bar fridge, ice machine and R2000 cash for her 2.160kg catch. Heaviest bag was won by Shane Estrane and John Kirk with a weight of 9.200kg and they won R5000. In second place was Tim Williams and Shirril Jameson with a weight of 8.320kg and they won R2000.
A special thanks to Siyaxhasana Construction, Wayne and Sanjay, who annually organise the admin, logistics and support of the Bivane Bass Challenge. They are one of our biggest sponsors. The bass fishing community greatly appreciates the time and effort that these two gentlemen put into this event. Without their contribution this event would not be of the caliber that it is today. A special thanks to Miles Wood for always going the extra mile when arranging this event. Thank you to Vaughn from Newcor for the annual sponsorship of the first prize. His loyalty to the competition is highly valued. Thank you to, Davie and management of Bivane Dam and Impala Irrigation for their sponsorship, improvements of the facilities year after year as well as their effort to accommodate this event.
A heartfelt thanks to our additional sponsors for their generosity. We urge the public to please support our sponsors as the Bivane Bass Challenge will not be possible without their contribution. We would like to acknowledge: Newcor, Siyaxhasana Construction, Bivane Dam/Impala Irrigation, Braytons Dundee, Northern Natal Catering Equipment, Mascor, Vital Signs, Vinko Enterprises, Ace Hardware, Liberty, RF Gevers Sawmill, Pick n Pay Vryheid, Glasfit Vryheid, Glasfit SA, Abaqulusi SuperSpar, Meadow Meats, AutoZone, Promac, Brent’s Auto Engineering, DC Sand, Sandiso Plumbing, Auto Electrical Wholesalers, Mac McArthur, Distel, Topsport and Miles Wood.
Heaviest Bag: 1 – Shane Estrane and John Kirk, Boat 1 ‘Venom’ with 9.200kg, 2 – Tim Williams and Sherril Jameson, Boat 7 ‘Honda Marine’ with 8.320kg, 3 – Noel Seager and Willie Jacobs, Boat 21 ‘SKF’ with 7.620kg, 4 – Christo van Outshoorn and Louwtjie Joubert, Boat 34 ‘ 2 Boeps’ with 5.430kg, 5 – Grant Hills and Craig Da Sousa, Boat 9 ‘Skills Cheese’ with 3.700kg, 6 – Miles Wood and Theo Jordaan, Boat 18 ‘Bass Hunter’ with 3.610kg, 7 – Hannes and Corzelle Viljoen, Boat 2 ‘PTY Limited’ with 3.450kg, 8 – Tiens Cilliers and JD Kruger, Boat 19 ‘Whisperer’ with 3.120kg, 9 – Zane Formo and Kelvin Bland, Boat 3 ‘Promac’ with 3.100kg and 10 – Norman Hills and Wayne Janse Van Rensburg, Boat 10 ‘Nor-van’ with 2.790kg.
Heaviest Bass: 1 – Noel Seager 2.720kg, 2 – Shane Estrane 2.540kg, 3 – Corzelle Viljoen 2.160kg, 4 – Tim Williams 2.000kg, 5 – Tim Williams 1.990kg, 6 – Willie Jacobs 1.960kg, 7 – Tim Williams 1.640kg, 8 – Noel Seager 1.540kg, 9 – JD Kruger 1.500kg and 10 – Shane Estrane 1.450kg.
Stats: The total number of boats that took part was 34 and the total fish weighed was 83kg at an average weight of 0.784 kg. The heaviest fish weighed in at 2.740kg and the smallest fish 0. 180kg. The total number of fish is down from 232 in 2015 to 83 in 2016. This indicates how difficult fishing was this year.
Club members are reminded of the annual fly fishing weekend which will take place between July 1 and 3 at Balele Mountain Lodge. The cost is R200 per club member and R350 for non-club members. Please contact Paul Steffenson at Vital Signs or 079 057 5519 for more information.
