Angling Times Weekly Issue 61 SA Bass Comps 2017 | Page 5

HISTORIC EVENT
The very first official FLW South Africa
Championship took place at the Vaal River,
Vanderbijlpark where one hundred of the best
local bass anglers competed to see who the
very first FLW South African Champions would
be.
get a head start on the rest of the teams.
At 07:30 the boats were pushed off for an
orderly start and many teams decided to
race downstream towards their honey
holes.
The weather was great and not as cold as
expected to be this time of year.
Unfortunately, the pre-frontal conditions
played havoc and the anglers had to fight
consistent winds.
The championship was held over three days
and the anglers had to rely on their skills
rather than luck. We started off with an official
registration and pre-tournament meeting
where tournament officials were introduced
and each sponsor was thanked for their
valuable assistance. The tournament rules and
procedures were explained and all questions
were answered.
Back at the weigh station our tournament
weigh master, John Bulpitt, made sure that
no short or dead fish were weighed.
Every morning the boats had to be lined up
and ready for the start at 07:00. The master of
ceremony, John Badenhorst, kept the anglers
informed and entertained. We also had live
coverage on social media to keep the families
and friends updated. Although everything
seemed to be relaxed, the anglers were
anxious to get a kicker on the scale.
Pretending to be all okay their nerves were
shot. Winter fishing is tough and a good bag
on any day is just what everybody needed to
John himself is a legend in the bass
fraternity and was the very first South
African who represented our country in the
USA.
On day one the leaders were Michael
Matthee & Wayne Louw with a 5 fish bag of
6.23kg followed by Frans Swanepoel &
Lesley Montgomery with 5.435kg
Day two also turned out to be difficult and
nervous anglers were driving up and down
the river looking for hidden spots. There was
a sombre atmosphere at the weigh station
SA bass competitions 2017 | 05