SABAA Western Cape Divisionals

[Navrik]

Hereby a quick reportback:

I did a convoy trip with good friend Flip Opperman to Clanwilliam on Friday afternoon around 15:00. Roadworks around the Malmesbury area proved to be quite a pain and delayed us a bit. After the routine halfway stop at the circle fuel station at Piketberg we headed out and completed the journey to Clanwilliam just before 18:00.

After a quick greet with a few other anglers at the chalets Flip and I proceeded to have a quick cold one and set up the rods. I still had one quick re-spool to do and shortly after that the meat were on the coals. After washing it down with the odd cold one we headed back to our chalet that we shared with Albert Olivier. Around 10:00 we hit the sack dreaming sweet dreams after talking about how nice it would be to get a new PB each....little did we know what was in both of our near futures.

I think a mixture of excitement, trepidation and an unknown bed woke me up at 02:00 and by 04:45 I thought stuff that shower here I come. After a quick coffee we were of to the public slip. Launching of boats were done in relative quick succession in spite of the public slip not in the best of condition. After a moment of silence at the briefing for the passing of Mike Brown of Applethwaite, briefing was done and numbers called. Being number 42 for day 1 we were off.

I decided to hit a rocky bank not very far from the camping site as my first stop. Here I managed to get 3 keepers after testing out a few options and settling into a plastic stickbait pattern for the day.  The 3rd keeper was hooked a bit deep so I decided to weigh that fish of just over 500g to play it safe.

I then headed out to my second spot consisting of a rocky bank. I met Flip and Stephan in this area and relatively quick with the two of them as witnesses managed to land number 4. I then dropped 2 relatively good fish, one came in number plate style not sure if it was foul hooked but the second merely jumped and spat my plastic back at me.

Working done down the bank proved productive and not very long after I had the 5th fish. This was around 11:00 and took a lot of pressure of me. I managed to cull another fish then decided to have a quick look at Caleta Cove as well as the water level around the Rondegat area. I did try and pitch a tree or two without any luck.

Later in the day as the wind picked up I decided to junk fish the rocky area closed to the picnic area with spinnerbait, lipless and a similar but heavier rig to my pattern for the day. I managed another 2 fish one on lipless and one on the heavier plastic rig. Only one of them culled another fish by a few grams.

I ended up the day in 14th overall in the division and managed a respectable 4th place in Category C with a 4.99kg bag which I believe has a bottle of wine coming my way. Flip got bag as well and managed his PB smallmouth, an awesome fish of over 2.6kg. With Albert also getting bag we were all in very high spirits after day one.

After hooking up battery chargers and sharing a story of two of the day and after a quick clean up we headed out to supper. With De Kelder still not in operation we had to settle for our third choice restaurant which we were pleasantly surprised with.

I slept like a log, grabbed a quick shower and off we went. With a better draw of 18 on day 2 I decided to hit the more productive rocky bank first. I arrived with Flip with Stephan and Albert further down the bank.

The pattern for day 1 would not have the desired effect on the now much wiser smallmouth bass. Learning from a mistake I made earlier the year at the Theewaterskloof Classic after leading day 1 there I had to will myself to make the mind-shift to switch patterns for day 2 after trying for over an hour or two on the previous pattern.

Out with the very productive ALX & Powell baitcasting rods of day 1 and in with the  ALX Maestro spinning rod paired with a Lews 300 size reel using 8lb Fluoro. After also changing the bait to a grub, I fished hard until about 09:00 and decided this would be my last cast. I actually said the words: "Last cast", and boom Fish On. Within 15 minutes I had the second one joining the first in my lifewell. I realised I would just have to persist with this pattern.

I slowly and systematically worked my way up and down the bank adding numbers 3 and 4 in the next couple of hours. 3 were descent fish and one a dink of just over 35cm.

After working my way all the way back in the same area I got fish 1 and 2 it finally happened. With the wind picking up slightly I decided to switch to my baitcasting ALX Speed Fury 7'5" Medium Light+ Extra Fast paired with one of my trusty Quantum PT Tours loaded with 10lb Vicious Fluoro. I was using the same rig and grub as I was throwing on my spinning rig. I felt the tap, set the hook and after a brief but exciting fight landed a rather descent looking smallmouth. While picking up the fish I realised that it had bit of weight. I pulled my Rapala tournament scale and quickly the numbers ran past my previous personal best of 1.87kg. Low and behold I had finally broken 2kg and with no more fish during day 2 it finally pulled the weighmaster scale to 2.085kg.

This kicker fish pushed me to a 5.93kg bag good enough for 1st place in Category C with the very welcome prize money of R2000. This also moved me up the Premier League log and I am now lying second in Category B. I am also in 9th position overall in the division after the first 2 events.

Huge thanks to my Heavenly Father, my family, my brother Wilie Jacobs, BWG (Blue Water Gear), Wolf Lures Flies & Feathers, Malcolm Shirley from Ol' Big Mouth & Outdoors,  Hooked on Bass as well as regular boating partners Quinton Venter and Roy de Wet which all had huge impacts on my fishing.

Then as a sport SABAA cannot operate without our generous sponsors ITS Computers, Rutherford Marine (Mercury), Club Marina, Lowrance, SA Sliding Doors & Rapala VMC!