Fishy festival reels them in

THE popular annual Paddock fishing competition took place last weekend and, as usual, generated much excitement.

Held for the 31st time, the fun family event was well supported and saw competitors of all ages sharing in the fun, which was complemented by great weather.

With R70 000 worth of prizes to be won, the good turnout was hardly surprising. Many lucky draws, together with a silent auction, proved very successful.

Over 40 of the local Paddock and Oribi dams were open for fishing, from which a total of 380.375 kg of fish were caught.

The main prize was shared between Ian Kelly and Joggie Strydom after both caught a fish weighing 3.7kg.

Ian and the Yoyo (young, old, young, old) team comprising his son Dean, John Styles and Antonio da Silva won the team event with a total weight of 16.615kg.

Dean actually thought he had bagged the heaviest fish, but although it was similar in size, it wasn’t quite as fat.

Gordon Scholtz had the heaviest tilapia, weighing 1.82kg.

Dam number seven (Oasis), belonging to Eric Dunstone, had the most fish caught at 63.85kg. The best prepared dams went to Conrad Buhr (numbers 23, 24 and 25).

Many anglers took advantage of the opportunity to enter as a team and this year there were more than 180 teams.

The organisers of this popular event wish to thank the dam owners, the generous sponsors, all the helpers and of course, the public for their generous support.

Bass:

Overall – Joggie Strydom and Ian Kelly.

Men – 1 Joggie Strydom/Ian Kelly; 2 Krish Govender; 3 Dean Kelly; 4 Kevin Freeman.

Women – 1 Tessa Ribeiro; 2 Lana van Zyl; 3 Ingrid Beetge.

Junior – 1 Blaine Joubert; 2 Juan Dixon; 3 Tristan Roberts.

Tilapia:

Overall – Gordon Scholtz.

Men – 1 Robert Scott; 2 Freddie Badenhorst; 3 Schalk Nichols.

Women – 1 Daphne Scholtz; 2 Karen Snyman; 3 Nadine Nichols.

Junior – 1 Carla Scholtz; 2 Nico Hartslief; 3 Kara van Vuuren; 4 Preston Nichols.

Other:

Overall – Wian Jansen van Rensburg.

Men – 1 Sbonelo Ngidi; 2 Schalk Nichols.

Team:

Women – 1 Wrinkles and Pimples (Lana Vosloo, S Kramer, K Snyman and L Mazzaro); 2 50 Shades of Bass (Elenor Hansen, Eloise Fischer, Tracey Thiele and Debby Steyn); 3 MSD (Melanie Graham, Shirley Bower and Denise Graham).

Men – 1 Yoyo (Ian Kelly, Dean Kelly, John Styles and Antonio da Silva); 2 Firehouse (Noel Pieterse, Kevin Clarke and Tim Gibbs); 3 Henry’s Diesel and Turbo (Hannes Botha, Shawn Stewart, Boet Stewart and Lance Botha).

Juniors – 1 Ganga Boys (Riaan Brookes, Justin Ashington and Kelli Ashington); 2 Kiss My Bass (Josh Fischer, Ryan Hansen, Bradley Steyn and Richard Bormann); 3 The Tiddlers (Matthew Ball, Jared Stedman, Travis Ball and Emily Stedman).

Mixed – 1 Dam Good (Kevin Freeman, Jeaan Freeman, Gareth Freeman and Gareth Dewinnaar); 2 Weapons of Bass Destruction (Mary Lourens, Mandi Prinsloo, Drew Connor and Chantal Connor); 3 Missing T (Lydia Shipley, Ken Shipley, Ryan Pollock and Ethan Pollock).

PHOTOS BY DELLA ROW PHOTOGRAPHY AND DESIGN