LOWRANCE SOUTH AFRICA Lowrance 21 | Page 11

Abrie van Vuuren, fishing on boat C-Vanna came in second with 1215 points and John Minnie was there to hand over his prize from Lowrance SA - a Lowrance HDS 12 Carbon unit worth R75000! In fact, John had already been at Sodwana since the OET competition the previous week. Over the years, we have become an institution at these popular Sodwana tournaments and all the anglers know they can depend on Lowrance SA for technical assistance on their electronics. While he had his work cut out for him troubleshooting, giving advice and tips and answering anglers’ questions - John also hooked a ride with Frans Ryneke on the boat Jasper – to test the brand-new HDS Live with a M265LH transducer. He managed to get some excellent offshore deep-water screen shots – reaching a depth of 933m - even though the weather was very bad and the waters were very rough. That day John also took the chance to spend some time in the chair and he was thrilled to catch a 36,7kg Yellowfin Tuna on a Kona lure! (featured on our front cover). The festive briefing of the Billfish 15000 on the Sunday night saw the giant marquee jam-packed with fishermen and this was a fitting occasion to introduce the new HDS Live to South African anglers for the first time – attracting huge attention.