Fly anglers flourish in friendly compo
It was cold and wet, dropping to two degrees Celsius on the Sunday morning, and as a result only 30 fish were caught over the two days.
Five South Coast fly anglers travelled to chilly Matatiele recently to compete in the annual Friendly Compass Compo.
Anglers from the coastal strip, Matatiele and Kokstad took part.
Numbers were down a bit due to the weather.
It was cold and wet, dropping to two degrees Celsius on the Sunday morning, and as a result only 30 fish were caught over the two days.
However, it was still worth it, especially for the individual winner Jaco Strauss, who caught and nearly lost a 70cm brown trout to claim first prize.
He helped his team, the South Coast Fly Anglers, win the competition for the third year in a row.
The team comprised Jaco, Sakkie McKay, Dean Angove, Stan Park and Sean Tharratt.
For Jaco, who is still fairly new to the sport, it was the first time he had caught a fish of this size.
“It didn’t fit into the net properly and I knew I needed to get it measured as soon as possible,’ he said.
He was using a trolling motor on his kickboat for the first time and so turned it up to full blast to get to the boat to where the fish needed to be measured, all the while trying to ensure the beautiful fish did not escape from the net.
When he got there his hands were shaking from the adrenalin rush and he nearly dropped the fish into the water.
His friend doing the measuring then almost dropped his phone in the water while taking a photo.
On top of this his thumb and finger were cut by the fish’s teeth, drawing blood.
In the excitement and urgency to get the fish back into the water, Jaco forgot, or wasn’t able to weigh the fish.
“We’ve estimated that it was about 3,5kg or 4kg, but can’t say for sure. I’ve caught a 2.6kg rainbow trout before which was a highlight, but this was very special and I am extremely grateful and excited to have won,” he said.
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