LOWRANCE SOUTH AFRICA Lowrance Issue 18 | Page 12

SABAA It’s official governing bodies like SABAA, SADSAA, SAALAA and many others, that make it possible for anglers around the country to enjoy their fishing both socially competitively or competitively - while providing the guidelines to fishing responsibly and protecting our environment. We’ve taken a closer look at some of these organisations to find out more about their function, the advantages of joining them – and the people behind the scenes who put in hours of their personal time and much hard work to ensure the successful running of these sporting bodies. In this issue we focus on SABAA – the South African Bass Angling Association. The first official Bass fishing body was established in Pretoria in January 1983 and was known as the “SOUTH AFRICA BASS CHAPTER FEDERATION”. The name was changed in November 2001 (at the request of South African Sport Fishing and Casting Confederation) to the South African Bass Angling Association (SABAA). Bass fishing and SABAA have grown exponentially with old and young pitting their skills against these legendary fish species. At the helm is Craig Fraser, who served on the executive committee for 19 years before taking over as President 2.5 years ago. His dedicated board of executors com- prises eight provincial presidents (West- ern Cape, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu Natal, Free State, Gauteng, North West, Mpuma- langa and Limpopo) and backed by Wendy Watson (Secretary/Treasurer), Marc Bywater (Conservation Officer) and Wayne Louw (Athlete Representative for angling).