Passion has nothing to do with it; we love fishing! No more so than the teams of the Joey’s Towing Bass Tournament Trail that we had the privilege of fishing for the second year running.
Although our tournament days normally start at around 1am, depending on where the next leg of the tournament is being staged, nine hours of fishing coupled with six hours of travelling is nothing when you’re chasing your dream around this beautiful province.
Having only confirmed attendance on the Wednesday prior to the comp, we had high hopes for this one. The fourth leg of the tournament took us to Albert Falls Dam. With Inanda, Woodstock and Midmar having already been fished, our points average needed a big score to get us closer to the elusive top 10. Knowing Albert Falls and its reputation for monster bags, we knew we had a chance to cash in big if we played our cards right.
Having not pre-fished the dam for this comp, we knew it was going to be challenging, but Rajen’s heroics a month earlier while fishing a Northern KZN club competition gave us confidence. He bagged 16.07 kilos in a session, a remarkable achievement by him. Our frantic quest for some intel came via some reliable sources, but not the info we had been looking for (you will never get the correct information, even from your closest friends). A big front with lots of rain made landfall two weeks prior to the comp, wreaking havoc with the conditions. Steadily rising cold water put the fish on lockdown, especially in the river section, which had been our main target area for this tournament. The teams that had practiced prior to the front boasted 10kg-plus bags, but just a week later, the same teams struggled with little or nothing to show for their efforts – a clear indication of how the elements influence these temperamental green fish that we love.
But even in tough conditions, somebody will catch the fish – the good teams always do. They find a way, no matter the conditions, water colour, temperature, etc. If it’s talented anglers you’re looking for, you don’t have to look far, as the Joey’s Towing Bass Tournament Trail fields some of the most talented anglers in the country – anglers who will never give up and will always find a way to bring in the fish.
On the day, we drew no. 32 (low down in the start) and we watched 70% of the field heading towards the bottom part of the dam. This was also the area we had decided to start at, but after seeing the rush, we decided to take our chances up in the river. Sometimes being last off the starting blocks has its advantages. Seeing where all of the other boats were planning on fishing made our plan simple – find structure in deep water and fish it!
The area we chose was close to the river… The temperature on the day was around 23 degrees, which came as a big surprise. After all the bad reports we had received, this was good news. This area was not shy of activity; shoals of carp rolled and jumped in all directions around the boat – clearly an area where the fish population was good.
Rajen started off with a jig and dragged it slowly across the bottom. My point of attack was to target the surface. Using my favourite top water lure, I threw my hands off, trying to get a surface smash. The conditions for top water were perfect – overcast with a drizzle… It just gave me the feeling something was about to happen. After throwing top water for a while, I changed over, looking to target what looked like flooded grass in and around 10ft. I decided on a ½ ounce drop shot, rigged with a 6” finesse worm.
20 minutes into the comp, Rajen shouts out and I look up to see a fish jumping 20m out and knew it was a good one! After a nervous fight and some prayers, I netted it and we were on the board with a 2+ kilogram fish. “Hit that floating lily pad,” he said, and so I did… Before I could take up the slack, my bait started to swim away and I reeled in, fought it for a few seconds and it was off. Before I could recover from that miss, “ON” Rajen goes on with another fish. This time, the fish stayed down for most of the fight and I prayed it wasn’t our mate, the ‘Kalahari Cuta’. The way in which the rod was loading, I estimated the fish to be bigger. A few seconds later, the fish jumped up close to the boat and straight into the net. This fish looked good – considerably bigger than the last one, so that was at least 5kg with two fish.
I could barely even recover when, on my next cast, my drop shot is nailed by a fish. I set the hook properly this time… The fish pulled so hard that I was caught trying to loosen my drag, which was set quite tight on the grinder after the first miss. As the fish came to the surface, it threw the hook – so much for the wide gap drop shot hook. But in hindsight, it was my fault, as I was really out-gunned with the lighter spinning tackle. I should have changed up, but I didn’t, which cost us. I could hardly believe my luck and it took me a while to recover from that one.
After a frantic period, the action slowed down with not a bite, so we decided to go look for some fish in the grass. But after a short while in the ridge area, we returned to the river. ‘They must come around again’ was the thinking. Come 2.46pm and Rajen picks up the famous jig from the morning, makes a long cast and allows the jig to go down… From the corner of my eye, I see his rod loaded.
“ON” he shouts and I look up to see this monster fish doing its dance quite some distance away.
I grab the net and start praying the jig does not come off, as this fish could be the game-changer. After a tough fight, I net this beauty. No need to remove the jig hook; it literally falls out the mouth. We need to go – trolling motor up, life jackets on, we head to the weigh station and we get there with about a minute to spare!
What a day! Probably the most thrilling day I have spent on a bass boat. We eventually placed third with a bag of just over 10 kilos. The monster weighed in at 4.6 kg, so we did not get 5, but the 3 was enough to place in the prizes. Looking back, I can say that the most important lesson here is: never to give up! Whether it’s a life situation or a fishing one, never give up until the end, as you will never know what will happen if you keep on believing.
Stay strong and stay safe.
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