SA Bass Feb 2018

de i s In

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Contents

SA BASS Magazine

is published monthly (12 issues per annum)

by WJ Lindeque cc t/a BB Print (CK99/23366/23)

Office hours:

Our office hours are Monday to Friday, 08:15 to 16:15

Contact numbers:

Office: (065) 849 3264, Alternative: (083) 306 2718 Fax: (086) 234 5026

Postal Address:

SA BASS, PO Box 24938, Gezina, 0031, RSA

Publisher:

Hannes Lindeque - hannes@sabass.com

Editor:

John Badenhorst - john@sabass.com

Field Editors:

Bennie Wiese, Bryan Leppan, Colin Willmer, Derrek Stewart, Dewald Viljoen, Divan Coetzee, Gary Peter, Gareth Dryden, Gordon Brown, Joe Dreyer, Kevin Lofstedt, Louis Bezuidenhout, Mzi Tyhokolo, Neels Beneke, Philip Kemp, Roger Donaldson, Rowan Zerf, Rudi Dreyer

International Columnists:

Bertrand Ngim, Clint Skinner, David Swendseid, Gareth Rawlins, Matt Williams, Tylor Brinks

Advertising Manager:

Wilma Lindeque - wilma@sabass.com

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Hannes Lindeque - hannes@sabass.com

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Chris Greenland

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Storm Deezigns - dee@stormdeezigns.co.za

Distributed by RNA:

Jannie Junius (011) 248 3536

REGULARS & FORUMS 06

STRATEGY “Sight Fishing for Bass Expounded” Sight fishing can be the most exciting and frustrating fishing of all, but when stalking bass in the shallows it ignites an adrenalin rush like no other – Gordon Brown

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SA BASS

“Backyard Bassin - Bronkies” With the silly season finally over and everyone back at their desks for the new year, myself and fishing partner, Kevin Holm decided to hit Bronkhorstspruit Dam for our first Backyard Bassin session of 2018 – John Badenhorst

About SA BASS magazine: SA BASS, which is editorially and financially independent, is a monthly magazine catering exclusively for the bass angling community in Southern Africa. SA BASS is distributed country-wide by RNA to outlets, not only in South Africa, but also in Namibia, Swaziland and Botswana.

SA BASS is designed as a specialist bass fishing publication and has catered for a well-defined niche market since April 2001.

It enjoys the support and endorsement of non-government organisations, but is not affiliated in any way to these bodies or to any other publishing, environmental or political interest group.

Our mission is to promote bass angling as a socially acceptable and popular outdoor recreational activity, and in addition, to encourage acceptable angling ethics. As such, SA BASS provides pertinent information on a wide range of subjects. These include providing a platform for informed debate on issues affecting the sport of bass angling, providing information on bass angling strategies and techniques, bass angling waters and opportunities, and also creating awareness of new products.

Within this editorial mix, due consideration is given to developing the sport among all the 02 SA BASS February 2018

country’s people (including the youth), and to the practical conservation of the country’s natural resources.

Copyright is expressly reserved and nothing may be reproduced in part or whole without the permission of the publisher. All enquiries regarding editorial correspondence, manuscripts and photographs should be directed to: editor@sabass.com Address contributions to the editor.

Manuscripts, photos and artwork will be handled with care, but their safety cannot be guaranteed. Enclose a stamped, self addressed envelope with all editorial submissions.

The publisher and editorial staff are not responsible for researching and investigating the accuracy or copy right of the material provided for publication in SA BASS magazine. While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the contents of this magazine, the publisher does not accept responsibility for omissions or errors or their consequences. Readers are advised to use this information with the understanding that it is at their own risk. The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher, the editor, editorial staff or SA BASS Society.

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SA BASS “Post Spawn Thermocline Fishing for Big Bass” During the hot summer days, post spawn thermocline fishing can be some of the most rewarding fishing you will experience the whole year.

– Gary Peter

How to use QR-codes 1. Open the QR-code reader/scanner app on your smartphone. Most smartphones models often have an app pre-installed. If not, visit your phone’s app store and download the app.

2. Keep a steady hand while the QR-code is centred on the screen.

3. As soon as it is done scanning, whatever information should present itself for your viewing pleasure.

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FLW “Down, But Not Out” Regardless of whether you consider him a hero or a heel, Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer came up with a gem when he noted that “it’s not how many times you get knocked down that count; it’s how many times you get back up.”

20 darter head with No. 1 hook

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“Sagte Plastiekwurms” Party hengelaars verkies baarshengel met harde plastiekkunsvisse, algemeen bekend as crankbaits en ander met sagte plastiese wurms.

– Hannes Lindeque

FLW “The Greg Shake” California pro Greg Gutierrez didn’t create the Nate Shake technique.

– Curtis Niedermier

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SA BASS “Bass Humour” Humour is an essential part of becoming a better angler. I mean, if you can’t laugh at some guy losing the only fish he caught all day, then what can you laugh at? But seriously, you need to see the funny side of things.

– Kevin Lofstedt

Reaction Innovations The Flirt 6.95

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BASIESE HENGELTEGNIEKE

PRODUCT NEWS >> Garmin® Signs as Title Sponsor

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“Early Season Mid-Depth Deal – (Part 2)” Some of the best conductive areas consist of points leading to sand bottom, flats spawning areas.

– Fishingboy and David Swendseid (DUO Realis U.S.A)

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>> NRF Colloidal Silver >> Quattro Grub: How to...

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INDUSTRY NEWS “Leatherman Celebrates 35th Anniversary” The first-of-its-kind multi-tool returns: The Limited Edition PST.

STRATEGY “Maximising Your Bass Fishing Dinghy” My boat business has been associated with the boating fraternity since 1989. I have noted with keen interest the evolving market trends, new consumer preferences, new products and solutions and the like.

– Carel Scheepers

COLUMNS & DEPARTMENTS

KLASKAMER “Snikheet Warm Somerhengel” Dit is so skuins voor tien-uur die oggend.

Die temperatuur neig gevaarlik in die rooi in. Watervlakke in ons damme sak drasties.

– Philip Kemp

“Hanteer en Vrylaat van Baars” Dit is altyd lekker om ‘n baars aan die hoek te haak en die adrenalien deur jou are te voel bruis…

“Basskingsapp” A couple of months ago, I wrote an article around the latest apps available for download for our mobile devices – John Badenhorst

PRODUCT NEWS

CLASSROOM “Start-up Anglers Best Baits for Bass” Over the Festive Season period I was reminded about how start-up anglers can be swayed into buying lures that are not necessarily the ‘most effective’ choice – Roger Donaldson

STRATEGIE

INDUSTRY NEWS WS

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INTERNATIONAL

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TOURNAMENT REPORT

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MY CAST

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READERS-go-BASSING

“Junior Bass Angling International 2017” A Junior Bass Angling International Tournament recently took place at Witbank Dam between South Africa and Zimbabwe – John Badenhorst

STRATEGY “Light Craft Fishing a Farm Dam” I’ve experienced some incredible fishing around the farm dams of Kwa-Zulu Natal and witnessed so many very rewarding catches.

– Roger Donaldson

ON THE COVER “Post Spawn Thermocline Fishing for Big Bass” Image: Gary Peter SA BASS 03 February 2018

has gone digital !!

GET YOUR FAVOURITE SA Bass MAGAZINE

DIGITALLY The new year and all its festivities has come and gone, some of us made resolutions that will hold for the year while other resolutions might have been brushed aside already.

As in everyday life, we have choices to make. Some of these, we live to regret while others bring us great joy and yet, others are what we would put down to lessons learnt. As anglers, young and old alike, we have a social responsibility to uphold the ethics of our sport and to stand together to continue promoting this thing called bass fishing which we all love so dearly.

Some people have asked me before; “Why do you share so much about your tips, techniques and secret spots with people?” My answer to this is rather simple… We all strive towards goals, and in most cases we all work towards one day being able to retire comfortably and to enjoy what we’ve worked for over decades. However, when you one day pass along, its way better to leave a legacy behind than a good bank balance. I would much rather be remembered as a person that helped someone else grow in this passion of ours than be remembered as a man with money.

We look at international anglers on YouTube and see how they behave with fans and it should inspire each of us to be more like that. Ready, to have a quick chat, to share some info or a helpful hint or two. These are the actions you will one day be remembered for. The sport of bass fishing is growing in leaps and bounds here in South Africa and if you’ve figured out something new, share it with someone. It will only help grow their skills and seeing someone else using your advice and having success with it, most definitely has a “feel good” factor.

Into the second month of the year already and soon the heat of summer will give way to autumn with the bite heating up on those lazy windless days we all love so much. Reports abound of good catches and solid bags from various parts of the country. In yet another bumper issue of SA BASS Magazine you will find articles with information, hints, tips and helpful insights from our writers and staff in the approach to bass fishing. Hopefully these will inspire you to spend a little more time on the water, and where possible to share what you’ve learnt with someone else.

The bite is on at many venues and maybe it is time to grab a rod, some lures and a good buddy and hit the water in search of that ever elusive PB and create your own legacy, oh and don’t forget to send us your pictures.

John Badenhorst/Editor

Y ONL pm R28

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2018 2017 SA baars BASS MAGAZINE

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Contact us: E-mail: hannes@sabass.com BB Print, P.O. Box 24938, Gezina, 0031, Fax: 086 234 5052

04 SA BASS February 2018

>> SA BASS STRATEGY If you are looking for an adrenalin rush, try some sight fishing

SIGHT FISHING ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PIECES OF EQUIPMENT FOR SIGHT FISHING IS A QUALITY PAIR OF SUNGLASSES >> Gordon Brown*

S

ight fishing can be the most exciting and frustrating fishing of all, but when stalking bass in the shallows it ignites an adrenalin rush like no other. Visual fishing has the same allure as top water fishing with one major difference… this game is played out before your eyes from cast to hook set.

I love clear water bass fishing because it’s a challenge, it’s real exciting to see the fish ahead of time, to work the bait just right to get it interested and then watch it charge the bait. It’s a neat feeling to sit there and watch it bite the bait before setting the hook. To me, it’s the ultimate.

There is so much one can write about sight fishing and we have all had our moments and excitement of the rewards of this type of fishing. One myth I must put out of the way is that sight fishing is not limited to spring and the spawn season when fish move into the shallows and are generally easy to catch. Bass can be caught this way throughout the year when certain conditions exist. A case in

06 SA BASS February 2018

point is that in autumn fish return to the shallows to feed up for the winter.

There are some dams that are always clear. A good example is Groenvlei Dam in the southern Cape where one can sight fish all year long. One common denominator of course is clear water.

The ideal conditions for chasing visible bass include a bright, slightly overcast day with enough clouds to hide the sun, but plenty of sunlight penetration for seeing beneath the water’s surface, and little or no wind. Fish are less wary in clear water when there is cloud cover.

One of the most important pieces of equipment for sight fishing is a quality pair of sunglasses with good polarization.

Two pairs are recommended, an amber coloured pair for low light conditions and a dark brown or green lens for bright skies. Another nice to have on a boat is a “Power Pole.” This is a hydraulic pole that is mounted on the transom and with a flick of a switch extends down into the water and anchors the boat.

This keeps you in touch with the fish without having to use your trolling motor all the time.

Things to remember - don’t wear bright coloured clothing; if there is a light wind, always be down wind to the fish; position the boat so that your shadow does not cast across the water you are fishing; and don’t move around the boat unnecessarily. Keep any noise to a minimum. Remember, when you can see the fish; the fish has already seen you. If you have spooked a fish, back off a little and let the fish calm down before casting again.

With clear water low visibility lines are a must. I like to use 100% fluorocarbon or a copolymer in green in 8 to 10 pound test on a 6½ to 7 foot medium action spinning rod.

The most popular lures for sight fishing are include the Zara Spook, Pop-R, Chug Bug and stick baits, while a 9 or 11cm floating jerkbait is great for twitching on the surface and the X-Rap for working just under the surface.

Others are a 5-inch finesse worm on a split shot rig, a 7-inch floating worm with or without a split shot, a tube bait Texas rigged or with a lead head and open hook, a Fat Albert or Tab

Tail grub, and a 6-inch lizard or 3/8 oz jig. All of the above are good baits in their own right, but two baits that stand out are senko type baits and soft plastic jerkbaits. When fishing Senkos I like to experiment using a 4, 5 or 6 inch bait and see what works best on the day. When it comes to using soft plastic jerkbaits, I stick to a Super Fluke using a 4/0 normal off-set worm hook - not a round bend or wide gap as is used by most anglers. The low profile of this type of hook hugs the bottom of the fluke and is less conspicuous to the fish. The length and position of the hook under the fluke acts as a keel. This allows the fluke to swim or glide down naturally. Try it! You will be amazed.

Remember when rigging Senkos or flukes to bring the hook completely through the bait and then lightly skin hook the point on top. Colours can range from plain Watermelon to Watermelon Red, Watermelon Candy, Mardigras and Salt and Pepper. Natural colours will always work best in clear water with the exception of white, pink and pearl. I don’t know what it is about these colours - at times bass go crazy for them.

When you have found a bait that is getting a bass’ attention, whether it be a twitch bait, finesse worm or fluke, do not over work the bait. Anglers tend to move baits too fast in clear water. By moving the bait really slow you will get more strikes, even to the point of dead sticking baits. One time I was hopping a Texas rigged worm along the bottom, but even though I got a fish’s attention it came to nothing as I continued hopping the worm out of the area. With the very next cast back to the fish I let the bait sink to the bottom and let it just lie there, and once again I immediately had the bass’s attention, but the fish just continued to hover over the bait. The waiting game was on - who was going to make the first move? Well, after waiting a minute (which seemed like eternity) I just twitched the bait, the fish’s gills flared out and in a split second inhaled my worm. Striking immediately produced another good keeper.

In some cases, especially in spring, white or pearl baits work very well. I am not sure if the colour just irritates them

or if it resembles a predator after the eggs in the nest or fry. One advantage of this colour is that the bait is always visible to the angler. Often you lose sight of the fish, but when you see the bait disappear, you know the bass has it in its mouth, even when you have not felt the bite, and striking immediately will produce a fish.

Fishing Situations Pre-spawn bass These fish are cruisers and are not holding to any form of structure. You will find them swimming near the surface or along shallow weed lines or objects. They are looking for the right spot to both fan out a nest and find ample forage after the spawning process has been completed. Cruisers are tough bass to catch. They aren’t focussed on eating but on the spawning process. The best way to catch these fish is to make long casts using a small worm and using the dead sticking technique described earlier. If unsuccessful try different types of lures especially a 9cm jerk bait, twitched gently on top.

Spawning bass These bass are solely protecting the nest and will very seldom feed, however fish will inhale a bait, swim off the nest and blow it out. The problem with hooking these fish is that most times they will only have half the bait in their mouth with the hook on the outside of the mouth. It may take repeated casts and a very quick strike to catch one of these fish.

Summer and autumn In summer, whenever you find fish shallow, it means only one thing, namely they are hungry and looking for food. Although these fish may be cruisers, they will be much more structure orientated, holding on boat docks, sunken wood, rocks, pockets of vegetation on the surface or submerged and so on. As mentioned earlier fish will move into the shallows in autumn to feed up for the winter. This is a really good time for sight fishing.

When out on the water next time, and you are looking for an adrenalin rush, try some sight fishing. Let’s continue to enjoy our fishing, practicing catch and release. *Gordon Brown is a multiple Protea bass angler and a regular SA Bass contributor.

READERS

GO BASSING

To feature in “Readers go Bassing” send your story and pictures to editor@sabass.com All photos published in “Readers-go-Bassing” are for the exclusive use of SA BASS Magazine. Any photos previously published by other magazines will not be considered.

PASSIONATE I had to share these pictures of my daughter, Haidyn-Grace, who is 5 years old. She loves fishing, so much so that she got a little upgrade in rod and got her very own super styling bass rod for Christmas complete with a frog lure and aqua shoes. She just spent some time with her dad, Gareth, in the Transkei doing some off the shore fishing and had nice pull (so I am told), but didn’t land anything. I took her to the dam behind our home, and she landed this little beauty all on her own, even burying her in the weeds she managed to pull it out – Caitlyn Shewan

HOOKED My son, Drian Venter, and myself went fishing at Homestead Dam during the school holidays and he decided to use a 3” Lusudu in AGT colour from Wolf Lures and managed to get this healthy fish from the bank.

Drian is only 7 years old but now solidly hooked on bass fishing. I’m a super proud dad and it’s great to be able to spend quality time with my boy, doing the things we love.

– Nicus Venter

FAMILY I took the family to Tulbagh for a few days in December and stayed at Reflections Guest Farm. My sister and her family also joined us. We saw on the web site that they have a bass fishing dam, so I bought some fishing gear, thinking that we could just as well try it out. None of us have done any fishing, so after watching a few YouTube clips and some tips from the very helpfull staff at Somerset Sport we headed out for our weekend away. The first morning all eight of us caught our first bass, and many more over the next few days. The kids (5 - 11 years) all had a blast with at least 4 to 5 bass each and our weekend away instantly became a fishing adventure. We all used baby bush pig lures (hot watermelon) as this was all we had, with a Texas rig (only method I knew). We safely released all the bass to be caught again with our next trip. My son, Mark, and I are hooked on bass fishing now, and I agree with what he said: “It’s all about the bass.” Thanks for a great magazine; I’ve learned so much already from my first copy and can’t wait for the next issue – Tony Waldek 08 SA BASS February 2018

SPECTACULAR This fish was caught at GNU Valley Farm in Muldersdrift and weighed in at 1,72kg. It was caught on a hollow body frog and gave the most spectacular top water strike. The fish was successfully released – Kuben Reddy

JEALOUS Luan Thiart is only 7 but already a very keen bass angler and while visiting Murray Park in Springs on the 27th of December 2017 with his dad, got hold of of his dad’s box of plastics, stuck on a 5” Black Senko and made a cast. All hell broke loose when this fish grabbed hold of the lure, giving the young angler the fight of his life. A very proud yet jealous dad took the picture.

– Luan Thiart

EERSTE My pa, Wimpie Hugo, het hierdie pragvis van 5.2kg na drie gooie by Rust de Winterdam vanaf die oewer gevang.

Hy het vroegoggend ‘n silwer kleurige “swimbait” stadig tussen die watergras gebruik. In totaal het hy twee visse vir die dag gevang wat weer vrygelaat is. Wat dit besonders maak is dat dit sy eerste swartbaarhengeluitstappie was!

– Lorinda van der Westhuizen

PB I went fishing at Presidents Dam in Springs when I caught my PB of 2.5kg from the side on a fluke. I saw this fish feeding on smaller fish in the area and decided to stay there until I get her. It was such an awsome experience, I am definitely going back for more – Edwin Johnson SA BASS 09 February 2018

KEEN I’m a keen bass angler and all round fishing enthusiast.

Arriving at Witbank Dam to a cold and windy morning, I decided to take a chance and make a couple of casts from the bank before launching the boat. Fishing a Wolf Lures Seboko in Junebug got the attention of this healthy fish and a huge smile before breakfast – Roche Gates

TAUNG I caught this nice 2.94kg bass at Taung Dam with an 8” grub. It was quite a nice experience.

Thanks for a great magazine – Johan Crause

SELF

CHRISTMAS My son, Craven, caught this 3.84kg bass on a Junebug grub at Taung Dam. He almost jumped into the water when the fish broke the water surface and looked him in the eye. Well done my boy! – Johan Crause 10 SA BASS February 2018

My naam is Seth en ek is vyf jaar oud en het ‘n passie vir visvang. My Pappa is ‘n trotse hengelaar wat my mooi leer hoe om die natuur te beskerm deur vissies wat ons vang mooi te hanteer en weer vry te laat. Hier is ‘n foto van my heel eerste vis; ‘n baars wat ek self gevang het by Inandadam naby Durban. Die vissie is vroegoggend op die 29 Desember 2017 met ‘n Zoom Junior Fluke gevang. Ek sien uit na nog baie meer in 2018 – Seth Herbst

BEAUTY

BRONKIES

I caught this beauty at a private dam in Port Shepstone, Kwa-Zulu Natal. I caught it on a spinnerbait and safely released it afterwards. Although it was a very windy day I would say it was totally worth the catch – Tanisha Parrott

A friend and I decided to head out to Bronkies for some bank bashing and even though it was a rather windy day, still managed a couple of good fish with black trick worms rigged Texas style on the Baja shore of Bronkies during November of 2017 – Tarn Smith

BENONI The boys decided to do some bank bashing at Homestead Dam in Benoni and on the spur of the moment I decided to join them for the sunset bite. On my third cast I felt the tug and waited for the rod to load up and set the hook on this healthy post spawn fish of 1.9kg, showing the boys how it should be done! Thanks for a great mag and good read.

– Valerie Jacobs

SURPRISE Here is a fine bass caught at Bronkhorstspruit Dam using a 9cm Seboko in Junebug. After blanking for most of the day, I made a cast to a weedbed and got the surprise of my life when this feisty fish almost pulled the rod out of my hand. The fish was photographed and then released to fight another day – Zander Young

DOUBLE MONSTERS I caught these two monters at Albert Falls Dam using a small chartreuse spinner with a trailer. First one on 9 November weighing 5.145kg and the second on 30 November weighing in at 5kg. I’ve been fishing over 20 years and never dreamed I would catch these monsters.

Came close but always lost it until now. Thank you for a top magazine – Marlin Naidoo SA BASS 11 February 2018

>> SA BASS

Backyard Bassin Some anglers would agree with my sentiment that nothing smells as good as two-stroke in the morning

Bronkies

With the silly season finally over and everyone back at their desks for the new year, myself and fishing partner, Kevin Holm decided to hit Bronkhorstspruit Dam for our first Backyard Bassin session of 2018 >> John Badenhorst*

I

had fished the venue in the previous two weeks and to say it was slow would be a gross understatement. Due to a massive rise in water levels and a huge amount of boats and water craft out on the dam at any time from sunrise to sunset, the previous two occasions were in the end, not even worth the effort. At one stage, I counted up to 16 boats and numerous jet ski’s racing around and as we anglers know, this is far from ideal. The water was also very much stained from all the inflow and the actual level of the dam increased overnight by around 2m.

We decided to give it another try we set out, relaxed and prepared for the day ahead in early January. We were not in a major rush as wind predictions were a bit high for the morning session and as it was predicted to start dying down around midday, we aimed to be on the water a tad before that.

12 SA BASS February 2018

Upon arrival, we quickly checked gear and got the boat onto the water. Yamaha South Africa has come to the rescue with a brand new 15hp long shaft outboard motor for the Crackleback Lite 360 and this motor started up and ran smoothly from the first pull. Some anglers would agree with my sentiment that nothing smells as good as twostroke in the morning.

The water clarity had improved but not by a lot and where in the previous two sessions you couldn’t see the lure further than about 10cm, it had improved to around 30cm and we felt hopeful that this slight change would make a difference in the bite. I rigged up a 3” Lusudu with my goto for this venue which is a Hillbilly Poisen Oh Ned Rig size 1/0. This was rigged on the Sensation Power Finesse 5.6ft rod matched with the Okuma Ceymar spinning reel.

On my second rig, I put on a 9cm Seboko in Alexander

I rigged up a 3” Lusudu with my go-to for this venue which is a Hillbilly Poisen Oh Ned Rig size 1/0

the Grape colour on a light sliding Mojo rig. Kevin rigged up the same combinations and even had an extra rig set up as drop-shot. Since the two of us are more finesse anglers than power anglers, we opted to leave the cranks at home this time.

On the first spot we stopped, we quickly opened the account with a good fighter of around 600g and a couple of dinks. Moving slowly down the bank, we did manage to find a couple more fish in the 500g class. Something to note is how bass change their colour according to their environment and where these fish were clearly banded and marked on previous outings, they now seemed more pale in accordance with their stained water.

The wind did not die down as predicted and continued to blow from the bottom end of the dam for the entire day, making fishing along the jetties a bit difficult but we did give it a try and only managed one small fish that looked like it had just hatched. Workingg our way around, we b nothing worth mentioning or continued finding fish, but even taking a photo of. d closer closser to the horizon, we decided As the sun moved foun nd while the water levels were to test a ledge I had found t influx of water, this ledge very low and now, with the would be sitting in aboutt 6 to 8ft of water with rocks er. On the very first cast on the and weed close by ass cove cover. oad up p and pulled up into a solid fish ledge, I felt the rod load opped d the hook as we were about to which promptly dropped ood so olid pull and this net it. Kevin got a good solid ding a good fish resulted in him landing parison, of around 980g. In comp comparison, this was way bigger than most n catching catcching of what we had been y. Kev vin’s for most of the day.

Kevin’s h stepson, Zander who had ow been blanking up to no now ite and an nd also dropped one bite htened on his next cast, tightened ich we w into a good fish which landed.

Over the next twoo round d hours we moved around ht this ledge and caugh caught witth around 25 fish with ce fish fish Kevin landing a nice 89kg.. weighing in at 1.89kg. d Soon it was time to head ter forr back and off the water

the journey home after a rather tough day but with some good results to show for our efforts.

Bronkhorstspruit Dam is an incredible venue to fish, it’s close to the business hub and a short drive gets you there. There are ample launching facilities at the dam and here it all depends on your budget. Structure abounds with lay downs, rocks, weed beds and even some old kraal walls sitting in about 10ft of water. In general, the venue fishes very well especially around the jetties but we’ve found this to be mostly with clear water conditions. The entire bank along the Baja side of the dam has weed beds and fishing the pockets along this shore usually results in some good catches. As finesse anglers, baits that work very well here are: Seboko 6 and 9cm from Wolf Lures, Stick baits like the Senko type of baits in 3 and 4inch, junior flukes, thin 5 or 6inch trick worms and drop-shot and Ned rig options.

The colour we found most productive on this outing was the Junebug, Black and Alexander the Grape. With clearer

Kevin Holm with a nice size Bronkies bass

SA BASS 13 February 2018

The author enjoying a peaceful mid-week fishing trip on Bronkhorstspruit Dam

water, RHK371, Watermelon gold and Watermelon red as well as Green Pumpkin seed seems to do the job very well.

What we have discovered over the last couple of months is how well the Oh Ned Rig from local manufacturers Hillbilly Poisen works with a small 3� Lusudu from Wolf Lures in Junebug or Special K. The most popular rig here is a sliding Mojo and the normal Texas rig for the weed beds.

A weightless option is also worth throwing along the top of the weed beds especially on those calm days.

Anglers using crank- and spinnerbaits also have very good results here with more natural colours doing the job. Bank anglers especially on the Baja side of the dam and down towards the nature reserve also have good days getting solid fish.

Bronkhorstspruit Dam is a great venue to fish, but I suggest fishing it during mid-week especially during the summer months as the boat traffic over weekends will probably drive you crazy. Bronkies is a rather small body of water and it can become unpleasant to the point where I’ve called off two previous trips here due to the boat traffic.

With this series of articles we aim to expand your knowledge of local dams and hopefully help you to have better fishing days out on the water. *John Badenhorst is the editor of SA BASS magazine, the Master of Ceremony for FLW South Africa, radio presenter at Platinum Gold Radio and a keen ultra finesse angler.

14 SA BASS February 2018

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>> SA BASS

During the hot summer days, post spawn thermocline fishing can be some of the most rewarding fishing you will experience the whole year. >> Gary Peter

Note the ball bearing size in the crankbait

A

s for me, I even prefer it to spawn as during spawn you catch a lot of small buck fish with the odd, big female in-between. Whereas fishing the thermocline post spawn, you tend to catch mostly large female bass with the odd small fish in-between and the number of big fish you can catch during this time is mind blowing.

What is the thermocline?

The thermocline is the line, in the water column at a certain depth where there is a dramatic change in temperature. If you have ever had a swim in a dam in summer, you may have experienced this for yourself where the water is very warm, yet your feet with touches an area where the water is much colder, your feet had just touched the thermocline.

The hot summer sun, heats up the surface of the water making this very warm, and as you go deeper you reach a point where there is almost a straight line where the water temperature drops dramatically, and can even drop by as much as 10ºF in one foot.

So why is this important? Warm water holds a lot less oxygen and cold water holds a lot more oxygen. Bass need rich oxygen water to flood their bloodstream and muscles with oxygen in order to hunt at an optimum level. Fish in warm water tend to be very lethargic and slow.

Post spawn During spawn, large female bass will go for weeks on end without eating as nature has taken over her reproductive cycle and her only focus is to find a nest, a suitable mate and lay her eggs. Eating is the last thing on her mind.

Spawn consumes a lot of calories and as she is not eating she will lose considerable weight and condition.

Once she has spawned the female bass will move off to the nearest drop off, into deeper water where she will spend some time regaining her strength and after a while she will enter the part in her cycle where she will now feed and gorge on large amounts of bait fish and prey to regain her lost weight and conditioning. All she focuses on is gaining as much weight as possible for the winter that lies ahead in a few months’ time.

Her prime hunting strategy will be “riding” the thermocline. As water below the thermocline is cold she can flood her muscles with oxygen giving her the ability to release a sudden burst of speed necessary to chase down bait fish, but she need to find areas where there is shallow water with deep drop offs nearby that she may swim below the thermocline.

Rip rap or rocks along dam walls are prime areas, not only as they offer sharp, sudden drop offs to deep water below the thermocline, but these areas also offer cover

Post Spawn Thermocline Fishing for Big Bass 16 SA BASS February 2018

between the rocks for schools of baitfish and crabs. Kurper breed wildly in warm summer water, and as they are aware of giant bass now hunting they tend to move into this type of cover for safety.

Now, remember what we spoke about with warm water holding less oxygen and making fish lethargic... well the baitfish are in the warm shallow water and yes they are slower and now easier prey for oxygen rich bass sitting in wait below the thermocline. The large female bass ride just below the thermocline in the cold water and cruise the thermocline like a highway to the hunt. When they hear any sounds of bait schools or crabs legs on rocks or pick up vibration on their lateral lines they explode above the thermocline at top speed and ambush their more lethargic prey. Once they have engulfed mouths full of food, having spent the oxygen in their blood stream, they dive to the nearby deeper water to regain that oxygen in the rich water below the thermocline. They will spend half an hour or so regaining strength and repeat the hunt and gorge on baitfish and crab again and again.

During this time they don’t worry about holding to structure and cover a lot of water moving up and down the length of the walls. This also tells you that areas where you catch thermocline bass, will reload and replenish with new fish so find that sweet spot and stay there.

Find the thermocline and you will find large numbers of big bass hunting along it. In clear water, the thermocline will be deeper in around 10 to 16 foot and in cloudy or stained water it will be shallow at around 4 to 10 foot. Find it and you have the sweet spot.

How to fish the thermocline and what baits to use As these large females are gorging aggressively on prey, this is the time of year where you focus on your hard baits and vibration baits. Crankbaits are definitely a go-to bait for this type of fishing as they create noise and can cover a lot of water fast. In my experience, during this time you need to use crankbaits that have large ball bearings as opposed to small rattles, this makes a huge difference. They want that clunking, loud noise as they are maybe not that far away from the rip rap but they are sitting deeper and cruising along and listening for any noise to alert them that it’s time to hunt. I have also found spinnerbaits to be very effective, regardless of water clarity. You need to throw spinnerbaits with large Colorado blades to create big vibration.

Angle of attack is also important, make casts at 45 degree angles to the rocks. This will ensure your bait stays longer in the strike zone and make sure to cast your lure within inches of the rip rap.

Remember, it’s easy to get snagged close to the rocks so your first few turns on the reel should be slow and once you think you are in that strike zone you can work your bait faster and more erratic. You will also find that bass fight a lot harder at this time and tend to dive when hooked as they are trying to get back to that area below the thermocline.

Make sure you set your drag on your reel to release before the line breaks as you will see the bass make 3 or 4

The author with a big bass

dives below the boat when you ready to net them. This will ensure you land them because trust me, there is nothing more painful for you mentally than a 3kg bass jumping around your boat for 20 minutes trying to throw the crank bait he just snapped off.

Another tip is that bass of the same size tend to cruise thermoclines together and it’s not uncommon to catch two or three bass in as many casts of almost the same size. Other key areas will be standing trees with lots of branches in the depth of the thermocline where there is a sharp drop-off nearby. As cranks and spinnerbaits get snagged in this type of structure you should use a Texas rig with a large glass bead to create sound and make sure you throw a plastic with a tail action too.

How long do bass ride the thermocline in post spawn?

In my experience, bass will hold this pattern from end November to around the end of February leading into March. Remember, the hotter the day the deeper the thermocline and as the day goes on the water will get warmer and the thermocline will drop accordingly as it will rise as temperatures cool off.

How good is thermocline fishing really? You may be asking. Well, during December and the first two weeks of January up to writing this article we have been fishing on average four hours at a time on the water catching up to a dozen or so fish over the 2kg mark with a few 3kg and 4kg coming out as well. Dams where you hardly ever catch large bass will produce numbers and sizes that will leave you dumb struck.

All the fish in the pictures in this article were caught in the last four weeks. So, to answer your question how good is thermocline fishing... imagine; it’s your birthday Easter and Christmas all on the same day! So get there, find that thermocline, because your PB is sitting just below and riding it. So bank on that crank and your spinner is a winner!

Best of luck and may you get bent and go tight proper!

SA BASS 17 February 2018

COLUMN

FOR THE RECORD

COLIN MOORE Down, But Not Out

R

18 SA BASS February 2018

not physically – as the confetti flutters down on somebody else.

That’s not how the big boys operate, however. On the second day, Rose returned with 14-3 to finish 36th.

Reehm ended his tournament with a limit that weighed 15-11 and bumped

Clark Reehm

PHOTO BY CHARLES WALDORF

egardless of whether you consider him a hero or a heel, Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer came up with a gem when he noted that “it’s not how many times you get knocked down that count; it’s how many times you get back up.”

Of course, there was that one time along the Little Bighorn River when Custer couldn’t get back up, but that’s another story. His timeless maxim is applicable to anyone with a hard row to hoe, including pro fishermen, who have to learn to take a licking and keep on ticking if they plan to stick around for very long.

At the Forrest Wood Cup in August, a couple of prime examples stood out: Clark Reehm and Mark Rose. On the tournament’s first day, Rose had 1-8, which put him dead last in the field of 53 anglers. Reehm was in 44th place, with a pair of bass that weighed 4-14.

When you’re that far down, it’s tempting to give up and go home – mentally, if

him up to 23rd. It didn’t make any difference in the money they got, but it made a big difference in their self-respect.

FLW history is replete with such comebacks – some of them much more dramatic. There was Brandon McMillan at the Potomac River this year, going from an opening-round 126th to sixth in the final standings; Clark Wendlandt at Beaver Lake in 2009, starting in 100th place and winding up in third.

Remember the 2013 Forrest Wood Cup, when Jacob Wheeler went from 40th place on day one to runner-up on day four and bumped his guaranteed earnings from $10,000 to a cool $75,000 in the process? Or how about the Costa FLW Series Central Division tournament on Kentucky Lake in May 1999 that Bill McDonald of Greenwood, Ind., won? He went from 115th place on the first day with a single bass that weighed 2 1/2 pounds to first in the fourth and final round. It still ranks as the greatest rally for a Costa angler in the series’ history.

Rose and Reehm provided a couple of other examples at the Cup. Put them in separate rooms and ask them how they rebounded there, and it’s as if they were both reading from the same script.

“Herring fisheries are my weakest.

After 18 years of doing this, I still think bluebacks are just crazy,” opines Rose.

“So instead of chasing them around I chose to go upriver and spend most of my practice up there. I found a really good cranking hole upriver where I thought I could do well – maybe 12 to 13 pounds a day. It was the best thing I had going. The first day I returned to that hole, and I never caught a fish. I still don’t understand what happened to them.

PHOTO BY CHARLES WALDORF

Mark Rose

“Going into day two, I said to myself, ‘This tournament is pretty much shot, so I’m fixin’ to learn how to be a better herring fisherman,’” Rose adds. “‘I’m just going to stay out of the way of the leaders, learn to read the water and do my own thing.’ That’s what I did, and I caught over 14 pounds. I could walk away from there saying to myself, ‘Well, it didn’t get the best of me.’ I left on a positive note. And I’m better prepared for a herring fishery the next time we fish one.”

For his part, Reehm is used to making comebacks. Earlier this year, at the FLW Tour stop at Lake Travis, he was in 108th place after the first day, but by tournament’s end he was in fourth. At the Cup, Reehm staked his strategy on a pattern that didn’t pan out any better than Rose’s.

“On the morning of the second day, I’m analyzing what to do. Realistically, I’m out of it. So if I’m not in it to win it after day one, I’m in it for a check,” says the Texan, who recently moved to Louisiana. “Now my goal is to make the top 20 – that’s the next check level. I said to myself, ‘OK, I need to go back and learn how to fish blueback herring.’ I went back to points and places

where I knew there should be herring.

I had an ima Skimmer Grande and a Zoom Super Fluke. I started running a one-two punch. I lost several fish doing that, but ended up grinding out about 16 pounds. I had the bites to have a 20-pound-plus bag, but I lost fish. So it cost me $5,000, but at least I put myself in a position to do some good.

When I decide I don’t have a chance to win, I establish mini goals to salvage what I can, even if there’s no check involved.”

Which brings us to the point of even trying to scramble out of a deep hole: Win or lose, good or bad, every tournament is the building block in a career – or should be. The best don’t spend a lot of time wondering what it would be like to win a championship or what it would mean to their personal circumstances.

They don’t stake everything on winning and then fall apart when things don’t go their way.

The best spend most of their time figuring out how to catch fish when the odds seem against it. The best are consummate problem solvers, and their determination to go around seemingly impassable obstacles ultimately converts them into champions. ■

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MicropterusDolomieu, commonly known as smallmouth,bass are also found in Southern Africa, but ar widespread – Richard Grant

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TAKEOFF

TECHNIQUES

THE GREG SHAKE

GREG GUTIERREZ’S TAKE ON THE NATE SHAKE FINESSE TECHNIQUE

By Curtis Niedermier

PHOTO BY JESSE SCHULTZ

C

alifornia pro Greg Gutierrez didn’t create the Nate Shake technique. That distinction goes to Western pro Nate Lemons, who devised the tactic of snapping a finesse worm through the middle of the water column to target suspended bass.

Once he saw the technique in play and how effective it was, however, Gutierrez put his own twist on it, designed his own tackle for it and learned how to apply it to suspended bass as well as those lurking closer to bottom. We’re calling his variation the Greg Shake. In his eyes, it’s one of the most effective ways of targeting inactive fish.

Targeting a Plane The Greg Shake can be fished two ways: targeting a “plane” or horizontal band of water, or following a contour. The former is Gutierrez’s way of targeting suspended bass that often feed above standing timber in the deep, clear reservoirs near his Red Bluff, Calif., home. The latter gets the call for idle fish situated along points, steep banks and breaklines.

Instead of a straight retrieve, Gutierrez twitches or shakes a carefully matched worm or swimbait and jighead horizontally on a slow retrieve.

20 SA BASS February 2018

How to Shake The technique is all about depth control, which requires a balance of the right fishing line, bait size and shape (which dictates water resistance), head size, and retrieve speed.

Gutierrez uses 6-pound-test Gamma fluorocarbon to get his baits deeper, and 8-pound-test copolymer or monofilament if he wants to stay a little shallower. Eactly how deep each setup will get depends on the other factors mentioned.

Once rigged, he fires out and counts the bait down. Then the key is working the bait so it stays within that zone using a consistent rod shake and slow retrieve.

“Nate would whip the rod – literally rip it – and move it anywhere from 12 to 24 inches in a whip,” Gutierrez says.

“I started keeping my movement tighter, so it added a continuous pulse to the worm versus a long pause and ‘float.’

I’m moving the rod tip maybe 2 or 3 inches.

“I figured out that if the fish were negative and had a chance to bite it, feel it and spit it, with that continual pulse they would feel it, and it would be like a live bait trying to escape. Then they would bite it again and turn with it. I took his long pause and hard whip and changed it to a shorter pulse and had a lot better hookup ratio.”

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Gutierrez says not to shy away from big finesse worms.

Even though the fish are neutral, if they do eat, they’ll often take a bigger forage imitator first. He helped design the Reaction Innovations The Flirt with a flat “planing” bottom and twitching tail bulb specifically for this type of finesse application. The bigger Flirt 6.95 has more drag, and thus can be fished slower.

The pro uses a custom darter head that he designed and unfortunately is not willing to show, but other darter heads will work if you balance head size with speed and depth. For instance, a heavier 3/16-ounce head can be fished 10 to 15 feet deep at a higher speed for covering water, while a 1/16-ounce head can be fished deeper and ultra-slow for truly negative fish. Rig the hook exposed.

For Bottom Fish, Cover or Deeper than 20 Feet 3/16-ounce Frenzy Baits NAIL

Keitech 4-inch Swing Impact Top plastic colors: male perch, crystal shad, smallmouth magic

The flat face of the NAIL, which Gutierrez designed and sells, helps this rig “plane out,” or increase its water resistance, which allows it to be fished slowly just like the standard darter head version. Yet, by rigging it Tex-posed, the combo will sneak through woody snags. Gutierrez says it also crawls over rocks well without rolling and potentially hanging up.

Feeling bites: With any deep-water, light-line technique, In situations where Gutierrez wants to scrub bottom or bites can be subtle. Gutierrez says to focus on the drag and tenfollow a contour, he works it with the same basic retrieve. On sion in the line. If 8-pound-test line suddenly feels like 6-pound steep-falling banks, where it’s tougher to maintain bottom test (less drag) or 10-pound test (more drag), that subtle differcontact, he’ll let it touch down once in a while to ensure he’s ence might have been caused by a fish sucking in the worm. staying in the strike zone and might alter the retrieve to a lift“It’s a very subtle bite because you’re fishing for very negand-fall technique, shaking the bait as it falls back down. ative fish,” Gutierrez says. “You’re not getting that really hard “You’ve gotta have a little belly in the line, or it won’t touch tonk when a fish hits.” ■ the bottom,” Gutierrez adds. “It’ll stay on contour if it’s tight.” p Big worms: To fish accurately, it’s “I prefer a bigger piece of plastic Keys to Success important to experiment with sink that has a slower fall when you’re movRod: Gutierrez uses a 7-foot, fastrates and countdowns to make sure ing it horizontally through the water action, medium-power spinning rod you know where your bait is in the column,” he says. “It has more water with a “really light tip.” To him it’s perwater column. Retrieve speed is also resistance. The way the Flirt worm is fect for making long casts and setting important, with slower usually being designed with the ribbing, it ‘tightens the hook in deep water. better, but the plastic plays an imporup’ my line a little more, so I can feel a tant role, too. little better. I can feel a little bit more tension on the line.”

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>> SA BASS INDUSTRY NEWS

Garmin® Signs as Title Sponsor Garmin International, Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. announced its title sponsorship of professional series angler and longtime Garmin pro, Jason Christie.

T

hree-time Elite Series champion and winner of two Bassmaster Opens and ten FLW events, Christie is a leading, and perhaps one of the most recognized anglers on the national bass tournament scene. With 56 top-ten finishes to date, he is currently BassFan’s secondhighest ranked bass fisherman in the world.

“This new sponsorship reaffirms our continued commitment to being a top player in the freshwater fishing industry and we couldn’t be more excited to be all-in with Jason,” said David Dunn, Garmin director of marine sales.

“With a world-class team of nearly 70 anglers and some of the most innovative sonar technology on the water today, the time was right for Garmin to become a title sponsor and Jason is a perfect fit. An avid angler, outdoorsman and family man with a proven track record of success, he represents Garmin’s values through and through.”

“I knew from day one with Garmin that they were a company I wanted to be a part of,” said Christie. “Garmin’s Panoptix™ sonar technology has played a huge role in my recent success, especially my win on St. Clair last year, and I know this opportunity will only push both Garmin and myself further to the top. Electronics have always been

crucial to me on the water, and I’m looking forward to working even closer with Garmin now as they lead the way.”

Christie will kick off the 2018 tournament season at Lake Martin, in February and will compete in his sixth Bassmaster Classic at Lake Hartwell in March. The Garmin logo will have prominent visibility on Christie’s new jersey, boat and vehicle at all of his tournament weigh-ins and public appearances this year.

Additionally, Garmin has four more reasons to be excited about the 2018 season as it welcomes the following professional anglers to its team: Randy Haynes (FLW), Brian Snowden (B.A.S.S.), Carl Svebek (B.A.S.S.), and Jesse Tacoronte (B.A.S.S.). The Garmin team will be equipped with detailed lake maps and best-in-class electronics and technology, including the National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA®) award-winning GPSMAP® 7600xsv series chartplotters ranging in size from seven- to 16-inches, and the Garmin Panoptix PS22-TR all-seeing sonar.

Garmin was the first to bring Panoptix sonar imaging to the water, giving anglers the ability to see all around their boat in real time.

About Garmin Garmin is the world’s leading marine electronics manufacturer1 and was recently named Manufacturer of the Year for the third consecutive year by the NMEA, an honour given to the most recognized marine electronics company for support of products in the field. Garmin’s portfolio includes some of the industry’s most sophisticated chartplotters and touchscreen multifunction displays, sonar technology, high-definition radar, autopilots, high-resolution mapping, sailing instrumentation, and other products and services that are known for innovation, reliability, and ease-of-use.

For decades, Garmin has pioneered new GPS navigation and wireless devices and applications that are designed for people who live an active lifestyle. Garmin serves five primary business units, including automotive, aviation, fitness, marine, and outdoor recreation.

Professional series angler and longtime Garmin pro, Jason Christie 22 SA BASS February 2018

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>> SA BASS CLASSROOM

Start-up Anglers Over the Festive Season period I was reminded about how start-up anglers can be swayaed into buying lures that are not necessarily the ‘most effective’ choice.

Experienced anglers will all have ‘go-to’ lures which they will select from and use for possibly 90% of their fishing day depending on weather, water conditions and the season too.

Best Baits for Bass

Flooded trees could also be accessed from the bank and are an incredibly attractive area to find bass hiding out

>> Roger Donaldson*

A

What structure, or cover is available at the dam you are fishing in? This may take the form of floating and submerged vegetation of some sort (my favourite!), or perhaps the odd flooded old tree. Maybe you’ve simply got open water with absolutely no structure in sight. These are your most important factors to consider which assist you in deciding the lure of choice.

Seasons will make a difference, but let’s chat through all of the above so that you can structure your tackle box accordingly.

clue as to what time of the day you can target this type of area i.e. because there is shade in the harsh sunlight hours of the day you will do well not to ignore these shallow areas at this time.

Hint for seasons: Frogs will also be a great option to choose from when fishing shallow areas around the spring period.

Another lure that will be an easy choice is the stick worm and Super Fluke style of bait. I have often found that it is not necessary to use any sinker/weight of any kind, as this simply hinders your ability to retrieve the lure through the cover without getting snagged.

Depending on how sparsely the vegetation is growing you will do very well casting and trickle retrieving a lightmedium weight (1/4-1/3oz) spinnerbait with willow leaf blades (that’s the spear shaped blade) over, through and around the vegetation. Probably my favourite choice, not only for finding fish, but also for the most amount of catches in a short period of time!

Vegetation: Floating or Submerged

Flooded Trees:

We need to separate floating and submerged types of vegetation as they can require different techniques.

However, there is one lure that will work very nicely for both situations, the frog, whether it’s the Floating Frog or Horny Toad. Bass readily use vegetation as an area to seek out their prey, as a means to camouflage themselves against predators, and for protection from harsh sunlight. This is a

Here we can keep the spinnerbait tied on, as it is very well equipped to move through timber without snagging.

Simply cast directly over your target area and then slowly retrieve the spinnerbait into the tree, making sure you bump a branch or two on the way through! I can’t help imagining the bass ambushing its prey from between the eerie, flooded limbs of timber. What a perfect hideout

good friend of mine wanted his youngest son to enjoy his first day bass fishing and improve his chances of landing a fish. To do this I was going to have to tell him exactly what baits were required for the farm dam on which they will be fishing. Fortunately there are only a few lures that you need to select from and carry with you for all fishing situations no matter where you are in the country.

First things first:

24 SA BASS February 2018

beneath the shady branches. Your blade selection here is not as specific and you can select from any.

I would advise that you take with you some very small (3/8 - 1/4oz) lead weights in order to fish your soft plastic lures around the timber. The weight will help the lure to sink down through the branches without getting hung up. Casting into the tree and letting the bait sink to the bottom is the strategy required. Then simply lift the bait a metre off the bottom and drop it again. Retrieve slowly and trickle the lure though the structure.

Hint for seasons: Deep inside the trees could be the place to seek out your catch in the winter months and then around the trunk and shallower branches in the summer months.

Open Water: This type of dam often requires that you do a lot of searching for your bass, as there is no particular structure which you can highlight that they will locate to. This calls for ‘search baits’ such as the crankbait and jerkbait. Both sporting their hard plastic bodies and treble hooks these lure are designed to effectively and efficiently seek out

27 Colors

The Beast 6.5"

39 Colors

areas where the bass are hanging out. They cast a long way and you can fish them very quickly over an area. I recall a day on Albert Falls Dam when my friend and I landed 30 fish in 15 minutes with a crankbait and jerkbait!

Your choice of lure colour will certainly make a difference to your strike, or catch ratio, but this is a subject we will look into for the next issue.

Note for your trip: Kids and some of my adult friends too, are very impatient and tend to cast and reel in immediately. Although this is generally the technique with frog lures and crankbaits, it is often better to let your plastic baits settle to the bottom before you begin with your ‘pause and retrieve’ technique.

Enjoy your next experience out bass fishing! *Roger Donaldson is an experienced journalist and knowledgeable bass angler who has enjoyed many enlightening hours with many of South Africa’s top, competitive bass fishermen. As a competitive angler himself, he also enjoys sharing his expertise with fellow bass fanatics in the hope that they find the same joy in this unique sport.

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>> SA BAARS KLASKAMER

Snikheet Warm Somerhengel Dit is so skuins voor tien-uur die oggend. Die temperatuur neig gevaarlik in die rooi in.

Watervlakke in ons damme sak drasties.

>> Philip Kemp*

T

erwyl jou bootmaat ‘n sakdoek uithaal en die sweet van sy voorkop afvee, staan jy sonder antwoorde.

Dit is asof iemand die skakelaar net afgeskakel het.

Die laaste baars het meer as ‘n uur gelede in die boot geland, en nou is daar net niks, nie eers ‘n stampie nie.

Die meeste van ons was al op ‘n punt waar ons net wou moed opgee wanneer die temperature tot in die middel 30’s styg. Ons verlang dan na daardie yskoue drankie en ‘n heerlike koeltetjie op die oewer. Ons besef egter nie dat dit juis dan, wanneer die kompetisie onder die baars vir kos nie so groot is nie, die ou grotes is wat geneig is om jou aas op te tel nie. Ons gaan in die artikel ‘n bietjie kyk na wat jou te doen staan om die ou grotes aan te keer op sulke snikhete warm dae.

Kom ons kyk na verskeie somerpatrone wat dalk mag werk in meeste dele van ons land na gelang van die toestande op daardie spesifieke oomblik van die dag.

Vroegoggend Ons weet dat baars gewoonlik vroegoggend in die vlakker water inbeweeg op soek na iets te ete. Hierdie tyd van die oggend is die watertemperatuur op sy laagste en is die suurstofinhoud van die water dus ook hoër. Baars kan vroeg in die oggend, selfs nog voor die son sy gesig gewys het, reeds die vlakwater patrolleer vir ‘n ietsie om te eet.

Omrede baars nie ooglede het nie, hou hulle ook nie van baie skerp lig nie, en verkies hulle dus die vroeë oggendure en laatmiddag om in die vlak water te soek na kos. Plastiesease kan in hierdie situasies gewigloos gehengel word. Dit is ook beter om die aas op die wal te gooi en dan die water 26 SA BASS February 2018

in te trek. Die baars skrik nie as die aas op die wal gegooi word nie en dan kan die aas saggies die water ingetrek word. Indien jy egter ‘n oewerhengelaar is, is dit die tyd om so onopsigtelik as moontlik die oewer te nader. Staan egter eers ‘n goeie tien meter van die oewer af, en teiken die vlak water. Baars voel vibrasie van jou voetstappe as jy die water nader. Meeste van die wurms soos byvoorbeeld “grubs”, werk goed in die situasies. Brush Hogs en ander kreature in die plastiese aaswêreld sal almal goed werk. Plastiese kunsvissies (soos flukes) werk net so goed. Maak egter net seker dat die kleur van die aas die korrekte kleur is vir die kleur van die water en ook goed vergelyk met die kleur van die kos wat die baars op daardie spesifieke stadium jag.

Skielike watertemperatuurveranderinge in die somer kan egter ook ‘n rol speel. Indien daar gedurende die nag reën in die opvangsgebied of selfs in die dam geval het, kan daar ‘n skielike daling in watertemperatuur wees wat die vis daarvan weerhou om fluks te byt. In gevalle soos hierdie is die baars geneig om moeiliker uit die aangrensende diep water uit te beweeg in die vlak water in. Indien die water egter modderig is, sal die baars die vlak water inbeweeg en styf teen die struktuur gaan lê. Sommige hengelaars beweer dat modderwater seker die moeilikste omstandighede is om in te hengel. Ek vind egter dat dit veel maklikker is, omrede die toestande die vis vir jou plaas, en jy dus presies weet waar om die baars te vind. In gevalle soos die, werk enige plastiese aas met baie aanhangsels goed. Hoe meer pootjies en stertjies die aas het, hoe beter. Die baars reageer in vuil water meer op vibrasie, klank en natuurlik donkerder kleure. Gebruik ook ‘n Texas-strop in sulke situasies met

Een van die plastiese-ase wat vir die skrywer altyd baie goed werk in moeilike omstandighede is ‘n Damiki Mr. Jumbo Grub

‘n kraletjie tussen die hoek en sinker. Die geklik-klik van die kraletjie teen die hoek en sinker sal die baars se aandag onmiddellik op jou aas vestig. Die kraletjie is egter nie nodig in skoner water nie. Na die reëns sal baars ook begin soek na kos by die inloop van die dam. Dit is dus nodig om die areas ook te teiken.

Baars is ook lief om op die modderlyn, waar daar ‘nduidelike skeidslyn tussen die modderwater wat die dam inspoel en die skoner damwater is, te soek na kos. Baars sal in die vuiler water skuil en wag dat ‘n niks vermoedende prooi in die skoner water verbyswem.

omrede die hengelaar in vashaakplekke hengel. Na die reëns sal die watervlakke van die dam egter styg en is die watergras gewoonlik ‘n halfmeter of selfs dieper onder die oppervlak. In hierdie gevalle sal ‘n kunsvissie, wat nie meer as ‘n halfmeter (shallow diver) duik nie, goed werk. Indien die wind waai, kan ‘n groot swaailem (spinnerbait) gebruik word. Plastiese-ase op ‘n Mojo-strop, wat jy oor die gras trek, werk ook goed. Probeer egter verskeie tipes plastiese ase. Soms verkies die baars ‘n plastiese aas met ‘n aksie in die stert of pootjies, en op ander dae, veral na ‘n front wat verby beweeg het, verkies die baars ‘n plastiese aas met min aksie; soos byoorbeeld ‘n Senko wat super stadig gehengel word.

Laatoggend

Waterdiepte

Modderlyn

Soos die son egter begin styg in die laatoggend, sal die baars ook die vlakwater begin verlaat en die dieper, donker water begin opsoek. Indien daar enige struktuur in die dieper water is, sal die baars in en om hierdie struktuur gevind word. Bepaal egter wat die diepte van die water is en gebruik dan harde kunsvissies wat tot op die verlangde diepte kan duik. Ek vind dat die groter vis gouer ongemaklik begin voel in die vlak water en eerste begin terugkeer na die dieper water óf ander skuilplekke soek. Die baars sal ook dan geneig wees om in gesonde groen watergras te gaan lê. Die grasbanke kan nou gehengel word deur plastiesease, liplose harde kunsvissies en “spinnerbaits” al langs die kante van die grasbanke af te hengel. Groot wurms of ander plastiese kreature op ‘n Texas-strop kan nou ook in die gate tussen die gras gegooi word. Die meeste van die tyd sal die baars die aas saggies vat nog voor dit die bodem raak.

Dit is belangrik om ‘n sterk stok met ten minste vyftien pond breekkraglyn vir hierdie metode van hengel te gebruik

Nie al die baars beweeg egter na die dieper water nie.

Dit hang ook af hoe diep die dam is waarin jy hengel en indien daar baie groen waterplante in die vlakker water is, sal sommige baars die heeldag in die vlak water vertoef.

Sommige plaasdamme waarin baie van ons hengel, is nie so diep nie. Daar moet dan in hierdie gevalle na ander faktore gekyk word. Baars in vlakker damme sal selfs onder waterlelies skuiling soek. Dit is baie koeler daar en die plante verskaf ook meer suurstof aan die water net soos die watergras. Bepaal ook waar die diepste deel van die dam is en hengel die lelies en watergras wat die naaste aan die dieper water is. In die lelies werk Texas-stroppe baie goed. Soms verkies die baars egter ‘n aas wat stadiger na die bodem sak en kan ‘n gewiglose plastiese aas of selfs ‘n Mojo-strop die ding doen. Dit is egter raadsaam om die sinker op die lyn se afstand te verstel om die spoed waarmee die aas dan in die water sak, te manipuleer. Hoe nader die Mojo óf knypsinker aan die aas is, hoe vinniger sak hy, en SA BASS 27 February 2018

hoe verder weg van die aas, hoe stadiger sak hy. Ek vind dat die vis op moeilike dae na ‘n front beter reageer as die aas stadiger sak in die water. In hierdie gevalle werk gewiglose plastiese vissies (soos flukes) en Senko’s baie goed .

Dit is ook belangrik om te kyk watter patroon werk in die dam of rivier wat gehengel word. Die hengelaar sal dan vind dat nege uit die tien keer dieselfde patroon elders op die dam ook sal werk. As die baars op die buitelyn van die grasbanke lê, sal dit gewoonlik orals in die dam die geval wees. Wat ons egter moet onthou, is dat watertemperatuur en waterkleur nie noodwendig dieselfde oral in die dam is nie. Soek dus areas waar die toestande ook ooreenstem met die areas waar jy baars gekry het.

Gedurende die warmste tyd van die dag kan die hengelaar verwag dat meeste van die baars die dieper dele van die dam, gewoonlik die ou rivierloop, sal opsoek.

Hierdie dieper, koeler water is meer suurstofryk en die baars voel meer op hul gemak. Onthou om dan ook na struktuur in die diep water te soek. Harde kunsvissies wat tot die verlangde dieptes duik werk in die omstandighede baie goed. Weereens is dit belangrik om die korrekte kleur te gebruik. Die aksie van die harde kunsvissies is ook belangrik sowel as die feit dat die kunsvissie met die struktuur op die bodem moet kontak maak. Indien jou kunsvissie sou vashaak, is daar oulike herwinningstoestelle op die mark om jou kunsvissie mee los te kry. Indien die hengelaar van sagte plastiese kunsaas soos wurms, grubs, flukes, Senko’s of Brush Hogs gebruik wil maak, is die Carolina-strop die ware Jakob. Hierdie strop kan met groot sukses stadig oor die diep bodem gehengel word.

Barometriese druk speel ook ‘n groot rol wanneer die baars aan die eet gaan. Kenners beweer dat dit iets te doen het met hul swemblase wat die waterdruk voel, en hulle dus gemaklik of ongemaklik laat voel. Net voor ‘n front met reën of ‘n donderstorm wat oor ‘n dam inbeweeg, veroorsaak dit ‘n daling in die lugdruk en baars reageer baie positief teenoor die weersverandering deur skielik te begin eet. ‘n Baie produktiewe tyd van die dag vir die hengelaar, is net voor so ‘n donderstorm. Wees egter versigtig vir swaar weer en bly eerder weg van die water af as daar weerlig in die omgewing is. ‘n Grafietvisstok is ‘n baie goeie geleier van elektrisiteit. Wanneer die wind opkom voor so ‘n storm, is dit die beste tyd om ‘n groot swaailem (spinnerbait) te hengel. Wind en groot swaailemme is amper sinoniem met mekaar. Die rede hiervoor is dat die rimpeling van die golwe op die oppervlak die baars na die oppervlak laat beweeg. Daarom is ander oppervlak-ase ook baie effektief as die wind opsteek. Knalproppe werk ook baie effektief in stil water, maar ook in die wind, en so ook die “spooks” tipe ase.

Naghengel Ek het ook in ‘n vorige artikel aan die lesers genoem dat naghengel gedurende die baie warm somermaande baie produktief kan wees omrede die groter vis dan gemakliker voel om in die vlak water in te beweeg. Van die grootste vis word net na sononder gevang. Hierdie tyd van die dag 28 SA BASS February 2018

werk paddas, wat op die wateroppervlak gehengel word, uitstekend. Baars verkies dan die donkerder kleure, soos ‘n swart padda, omrede die baars die silhoeët van die aas in die donker water mooi kan sien. Dit is hierdie tyd van die dag wat jy die aas tot op die oewer moet hengel, omrede die baars soms die aas sal volg tot teen die kant voor hy eers die aas sal gryp. Wanneer sagte paddas gehengel word, is ‘n swaar-aksie stok met vleglyn baie belangrik omrede die baars jou maklik in die lelies en ander onderwaterstruktuur kan insleep. Nadat die baars die padda gegryp het, is dit ook belangrik om die baars eers kans te gee om te draai en te begin wegswem met die padda voor jy vaskap.

Omrede die baars die padda met ontploffende krag op die oppervlak gryp, is die hengelaar geneig om te vroeg te wil vaskap. Tel egter stadig tot by drie en as jy te groot skrik en vinnig tel, tel tot by vyf,voor jy vaskap. Baarskoors het al menigte hengelaars ‘n mooi groot baars laat verloor.

Onthou egter jou veiligheidsmaatreëls as jy na sononder op ‘n boot hengel. Ek verkies oewerhengel na sononder en hou verkieslik my waadpak (wader) aan. Dit is belangrik om jouself na sononder ook teen die muskiete te beskerm.

Begin ook om soggens vroeg die westelike oewer eerste te hengel, omrede dit die oewer is wat eerste direkte sonlig kry. Die plankton in die water is meer op die oewer en kleiner visspesies, krappe en ander waterorganismes is geneig om hier na kos te soek. Nie ver agter hulle nie, sal die baars wees wat weer jag maak op hierdie kleiner waterspesies. Op winderige dae moet op die oewer waarteen die golwe breek, gefokus word. Die golwe wat klots teen die wal, genereer meer suurstof en lok dus meer visspesies na die oewer.

Onthou egter dat ons ons nie altyd op dit wat altyd gesê of geskryf word oor baars, moet verlaat nie. Daar is altyd basiese riglyne en dit is goed om dit na te volg.

Onthou net dit, baars lees nie boeke nie! Probeer dus ook altyd om dit wat jou instink vir jou sê, te doen, en jy sal altyd sukses behaal. *Philip Kemp is ‘n gesoute swartbaarhengelaar en ‘n gereelde bydraer.

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>> SA BASS STRATEGY

Light Craft Fishing a Farm Dam

>> Roger Donaldson* I’ve experienced some incredible fishing around the farm dams of KwaZulu Natal and witnessed so many very rewarding catches. These fisheries can often require you to apply a little more dexterity and subtlety in your approach.

M The author’s son, John, loving his day in a farm dam together with Clive Harries 30 SA BASS February 2018

y most memorable time was spent on a dam in the hills between New Hanover and Wartburg compliments of a friend, Clive Harries. These dams are relatively untouched (unfortunately for some and lucky for us) and so as one would expect, the fishing can be great! It was going to be one of the very few times I’ve been able to fish together with my son so it was a special opportunity.

Our boat was a good size three seat paddle boat, providing great stability, space for all our tackle, food, refreshments and a sneaker motor to glide us effortlessly through the crystal clear waters of this hidden gem.

Negotiating our way through the cow dung and muddy edges of the shoreline we launched unobtrusively on the water and paddled gently over and between the strands of protruding grass into the open water beyond.

This dam provided bountiful areas and structures, including deep, rocky channels between the matted grass, as well as shallow hydrilla or air grass (Waterthyme), lily pads, reeds, a small water inlet boasting hidden gulley’s, and one large flooded tree in the centre of the dam. What a sight. Each spot was going to allow us to dip into the tackle box and rummage for our next choice of lure to suit. This place was similar to fishing one large outdoor aquarium, it was a dream!

Our first few casts were towards simple grassy areas. It was quickly noticed that the dam was not going to just deliver the bass on a platter. A little more attention to detail and some effort would be required in order to deliver the goods.

Clive didn’t hesitate to choose from his recently acquired selection of Rapala Mini Fat Rap’s. He rigged a colour similar to the resident tilapia, casting straight down the middle of a three metre deep channel between the steep bank and mat of hydrilla. After just four turns of his spinning reel handle the rod bent double as the lure was inhaled by a large bass which was taking advantage of this deep gulley. With only space for two anglers to cast we chose rather to sit back and enjoy the show as another fish around 2kg was landed on the same lure.

Productive fishing spots on farm dams can be numerous, but small in area and with three keen anglers on our boat we shared opportunities graciously. It was John’s turn to target the edge of a reeded bank dotted with hydrilla and lily pads. A weightless Super Fluke in Watermelon colour was his choice of lure. It was a perfect resemblance of the larger tilapia in the small dam and its unimposing colour (with black fleck) suited the clear water conditions. With my polarised sunglasses I spotted his adversary with its tail toward us. We were unnoticed. The lure fluttered through the air and fell hopelessly in front of the bass. His line flicked and we gritted our teeth as John struck quickly. His arms pumped the spinning rod as the fish surged and charged for every lily pad it could find. Some skilful retrieving did us well and in minutes John’s fish was aboard the boat and was proudly displayed for a quick snap, weighed (1,2kg) and released.

As we moved on we approached the only tree which sat proudly in the centre of the dam. The water surface was slick with no wind to disguise our presence. I chose a fluorocarbon line and rigged a small sinker just a few

centimetres in front of my 4” Senko in Watermelon Red fleck. This tackle combination would improve my casting distance, sink slightly faster through the trees limbs and provide heightened abrasion resistance on the rough bark. I made the long cast directly over the trees branches, retrieved the bait toward the trunk of the tree and then allowed the lure to descend, fluttering its way down between the flooded limbs.

Not more than five seconds were counted down when I noticed the marked increase in the speed of my line as it streamed across the smooth water surface. With a quiet grin I dropped my rod tip and hurriedly reeled up the slack line to strike. The fish was charging fiercely for the thickest stem of timber so I applied all the pressure the 12lb line could provide. Thankfully the bass burst through the water surface and I made haste to get it away from any possibility of snagging the tree. Close on a 1kg I was very grateful and Clive allowed me my first refreshment for the day.

The sun was now up and as we approached a shallow bed of hydrilla we chattered around how perfectly a frog lure would have suited the area ahead had it been earlier in the morning. Perhaps we were just making excuses to change lures as this would mean that you’d lose the chance at the first cast. It was fair game. A light breeze had developed and Clive reached for his rod rigged with a spinnerbait. A very crafty move as this would allow him greater chance to cover the open water more quickly and find the next fish.

However, it was on his first cast that the bass gulped at the flashing blades and the lure disappeared.

Whilst doing battle with this larger bass we also had a chance to closely inspect the area. It was clear why this cunning old fish had chosen this particular spot as its hideout. The area boasted a host of advantages; cover from the hydrilla, an inlet of fresh water and current, a gulley for the safety of deep water and an edge to ambush its prey from, and of course…baitfish. The little baitfish were busting around the water surface. We could notice them just as the spinnerbait was being retrieved beneath the water surface. The bass was finally in the boat and after unravelling the weed from around the mouth of the fish we quickly realised it was the largest of the day, a respectable guestimated 2,5kg.

This farm dam had provided precisely what we needed for a brief Saturday morning fishing and all that before we attended rugby lunch at Rob’s Mini Train Station not too far down the country road. *Roger Donaldson is an experienced journalist and knowledgeable bass angler who has enjoyed many enlightening hours with many of South Africa’s top, competitive bass fishermen. As a competitive angler himself, he also enjoys sharing his expertise with fellow bass fanatics in the hope that they find the same joy in this unique sport.

SA BASS 31 February 2018

>> SA BAARS BASIESE HENGELTEGNIEKE

Hengel met selfvertroue

Sagte Plastiekwurms Part hengelaars verkies baarshengel met harde plastiekParty kunsvisse, algemeen bekend as crankbaits en ander met kuns sagte plastiese wurms. Elkeen van die twee keuses het sy sagt eie voor- en nadele, en het beslis sy eie hengelgerei en aaanbiedingstegniek vereistes. >> Hannes Lindeque*

O

Ses duim Senko’s is baie gewild

32 SA BASS February 2018

m suksesvol met sagte plastiese wrums te hengel het ’n hengelaar eerstens ’n stewige stok nodig (in Engels genoem heavy action). Die handelsnaam en lengte van die stok is ’n persoonlike keuse en word in ggroot mate beïnvloed deur ’n pe persoon se besteebare inkomste.

Wat wel ’n feit is, is hoe hoër die getal grafiet grafie molekules (IM-telling), hoe meer sensitief is die stok, maar ook hoe m makliker breek die stok wanneer dit n nie versigtig hanteer word nie. ’n An Ander waarheid is: hoe langer die stok, hoe meer akkuraat kan dit oor ’n groter afstand pitch.

Die meeste hengelaars verkies ’n low profile baitcaster katrol met ’n hoë ratverhouding om onder andere die vis so vinnig moontlik uit die wegkruipplek te kry. Dit is belangrik om die katrol se rem vroegtydig by die lyn se breekkrag aan te pas. Indien die rem te styf is, gaan die lyn met die vaskap breek, en indien die rem te slap is, gaan die hoek nie behoorlik geset word nie en dan word die vis verloor.

Gebruik fluorocarbon lyn, want dit raak feitlik onsigbaar onder die water en het baie min rek, wat dit meer sensitief maak vir bytseine as monofilament of copolymer vislyn.

Die breekkrag van die lyn word bepaal deur omstandighede; byvoorbeeld gebruik tussen 17 na 20 pond lyn wanneer daar in digte struktuur en bome gehengel word. In oop water kan 14 pond lyn gebruik word en in helder, skoon water met geen struktuur

kan selfs tussen 8 na 12 pond gebruik word. Dit is belangrik dat die lyn gereeld vervang moet word. Lyn word beskadig deur sonlig, hitte en van die skaaf teen die bodem, klippe en stompe. Veral die eerste meter op die punt wat maklik verweer moet gereeld gedurende die hengelsessie geknip word en later in die asblik weggegooi word (nie in die wind of water nie, want dit veroorsaak dat die lyn om voëls se bene verstrik raak).

Gewigte en hoeke Twee tipes gewigte word gewoonlik gebruik; naamlik ’n bullet sinker wanneer daar in digte struktuur gehengel word, en ’n Mojo-gewig in ligte struktuur soos watergras. Die grootte van die gewig hang af van hoe diep die water is en hoe sterk die wind waai. Probeer altyd die ligste gewig moontlik gebruik, maar wat nog steeds die aas op die bodem kry. Die hoekgrootte is tussen 2/0 en 3/0 en ’n wurmhoek verskeur die wurm minder as ’n wide gap hoek.

Kleur Daar is drie basiese kleure wat enige sagteplastiekhengelaar met vertroue kan koop, naamlik Junebug, Watermelon Seed en Green Pumpkin.

Die basiese reël is om met die donkerste kleur te begin en dan oor te slaan na ligter kleure soos die daglig al hoe helderder word óf soos die byte afneem. Volgens teorie sal donkerder kleure beter werk gedurende bewolkte weer as die ligter kleure, maar dit is wat die boeke sê en baars lees nie boeke nie! Ook het elke dam se vis ’n ander voorkeur kleur, met die gevolg

dat hengelaars maar al die kleure moet uitgooi en kyk wat werk.

Aas Omtrent elke baarshengelaar het deesdae ‘n pakkie “Senko‘s” in sy sak (Senko is ’n handelsnaam wat verwys na ’n silindervormige wurm sonder ’n stert). Hierdie kunsaas, ook genoem stickbait, kan feitlik dwarsdeur die jaar met sukses gebruik word. Dit is veral effektief in koue water wanneer die visse nie aggressief jag nie en sensitief is vir bewegings. Gewilde lengtes wissel tussen vier en ses duim, maar kan selfs 10-duim ook wees.Gewoonlik begin mens met 6-duim wurms en indien daar groot vis rondswem en lustig byt, kan die 10-duim kanonne uitgehaal word. Maar gewoonlik is die byt maar traag en moet ’n hengelaar afskaal na 4-duim wurms en nog stadiger hengel.

Wurms met sterte word weer in meer warmer water gebruik wanneer vis meer aktief is.

Aanbieding Oor korter afstande kan ’n hengelaar meer akkuraat gooi, het beter kontak met die aas en die vislyn het minder rek wat ’n beter hook-set gee. Die nadeel van kort afstande is dat vis jou maklik kan sien en meer waaksaam gaan wees.

Gooi die aas uit en laat die aas met ’n slap lyn en so natuurlik as moontlik tot op die bodem val.

Moet nie die slap lyn inrol voordat die aas op die bodem is en jy die aas wil laat beweeg nie. Die regte manier om die aas te laat beweeg is as volg: 1. Laat sak die stok se punt in die rigting van die aas, 2. Rol slap lyn stadig op totdat jy die aas voel, 3. Stop en lig die stok se punt om ’n 90º hoek met die lyn te vorm.

Wanneer die stok se punt lig sal dit die aas oor die bodem nader skuif.

Uiters belangrik is om jou lyn fyn dop te hou vir enige veranderinge wat aandui dat die vis die aas opgetel het.

aas kan skielik stop en nie val tot op die bodem nie; óf die lyn twitch, die lyn kan sywaarts beweeg, óf die meeste hengelaars dink hulle sit vas. Wanneer die aas skielik ‘lig’ voel, het die vis die aas reeds opgetel en is besig om nader te swem. Party hengelaars kap dadelik en ander tel eers duisend-eneen, duisend-en-twee en kap dan vas.

Daar is geen vaste reël nie en moet by omstandighede aangepas word.

Hoe ook al, en selfs as jy twyfel, kap eenkeer behoorlik vas. Moet nie aanhou vaskap nie want die hoek gaan die punt van penetrasie oopskeur wat dit maklik maak vir die vis om die hoek te “gooi“. In erger gevalle kan die hoek selfs uit die vis se bek skeur. Nee, kap vas en hou eweredige spanning op die lyn en speel die vis nader. Verkieslik moet ’n skepnet gebruik word om vis uit die water te haal (veral tydens hengelkompetisies), óf gryp die vis aan sy onderlip en tel hom uit die water.

(Moet net nie hierdie metode gebruik indien die vis drieangelhoeke in sy bek het nie). Ook die Yanks se TVmanewales om die vis aan die stok se punt in die boot te swing met ’n groot lawaai word glad nie aanbeveel nie.

Of die stok, óf die lyn óf die knoop kan breek en weg is jou vis wat heel moontlik ‘n persoonlike beste óf dalk die enigste vis vir die dag kon wees.

Of jy nou met sagte plastiese wurms of met harde plastiekvissies hengel, wat ook al… hengel met selfvertroue… is die wagwoord. *Hannes Lindeque is die stigter en uitgewer van SA BASS sedert 2001, die hooforganiseerder van FLW SuidAfrika en SA BASS Cast-for-Cash swartbaarhengeltoernooie.

Verskeie groottes koeël-sinkers

Fluorocarbon vislyn is baie sensitief

Versteek die hoek se punt om te keer dat dit onnodig vashaak

Bytsein Ons almal geniet dit wanneer vis die aas gryp en daarmee wegswem, maar groter vis byt meer subtiel. Die

Verskeie groottes Mojo-sinkers SA BASS 33 February 2018

>> SA BASS

Bass Humour Humour is an essential part of becoming a better DQJOHU , PHDQ LI \RX FDQ¡W ODXJK DW VRPH JX\ ORVLQJ WKH RQO\ ÀVK KH FDXJKW DOO GD\ WKHQ ZKDW FDQ \RX ODXJK DW" %XW VHULRXVO\ \RX QHHG WR VHH WKH IXQQ\ VLGH RI WKLQJV >> Kevin Lofstedt*

R

ecently when my pal Al and I entered a tournament and caught lots of nice fish, we laughed our heads off all day. It was even funnier when some guys that said they were gonna kick our butts, finished behind us again! Bennie asked me not to mention his name, so I won’t. I’m good that way! My partner Al, on the other hand, has of late been catching all the bigger fish – not funny. He thinks it’s hilarious. The really funny part about that is: you must see the lure he’s using to catch them!

Whilst we’re “having a go� I might as well make a few more enemies and tell you a story that was related to a bunch of us at the De Hoop Friendly recently. It pertained to an angler that we’ll call “Humpfree� so that his identity is protected. He has a habit of doing the strangest of things at the strangest of times. He was suggesting to a group of people that it would be a rather splendid idea to make a “homemade cigarette�. During the course of his attempt to encourage support for his idea, he thought it a good idea that he familiarise himself with the crowd that was present.

All was fine until we got to a certain gentleman, who when asked, gave his name and then further elucidated that he was a fine member of our splendiferous South African Police Services, and furthermore that he was a member of the “Notorious Narcotics Division�. There was a very loud silence, broken only by the sound of “Humpfree� poeping in his pant whilst skipping off into the dark.

Then, there was another occasion where two guys were heatedly discussing “their spot� and “Cyril� maintained that it was not a great idea for “Gwede� (Cyril’s partner) to share this info with any third party. “Gwede� disagreed, because he said that in the past, his friend “Jacob� had given him info, which he in turn had shared with “Cyril�. “Cyril�, deeply hurt by these comments, told “Gwede� that he’d had enough, and stormed off and started his own team with a guy nick named “Gigabyte� (because he worked in IT).

The Team was known as “Team In Peach�. This team went on to beat Team “Marie Kana� soundly for the rest of the season. Although there were numerous rumours of bribery which to this day, in spite of numerous commissions and or enquiries, remain unproven.

Then there was the story about the guy with the funny smelling lip ice. No wait, you’ve heard that one.

34 SA BASS February 2018

Lastly there was the one about “knaters in die wind�.

One day I was fishing Rhenosterkop with a friend whose identity I will keep secret for now. (You know who you are!) Well, about an hour into the tourney, I was notified that there was an extremely good chance that he would be needing time for “ablutions�. I told him that I don’t care about tournament rules that say you may not leave the boat for any reason whatsoever, and that he should inform me when removal of such abdominal obstructions would no longer require the help of pliers or a vice grip, that I would find a suitable “beaching area� for him to evacuate such items no longer required for sustaining human life.

Well, the fishing was great, and before long any mention of earlier discussions fell by the wayside, until, I noticed a “small brown sail boat� floating by my Thunderbird.

This little brown boat brought back fleeting, but very vivid images of boats made from ice cream sticks that we used to race down the gutters when it rained. Our “boats� however were not spanned with brown coloured sails. At this point I made one of the worst decisions of my life; I turned around, and found myself staring at my partner in the process of finishing off his rather smelly ablutions. The picture of his legs precariously spread between my hydraulic steering bracket and the corner of my hull is an image I’ve tried for years to have exorcised from my memory.

Not enough was this, there was then the wonderful accompanying aroma, which caused blistering to the inside of my nostrils and an involuntary choking which luckily only lasted for a week. It was only then that I realised that the “Brown Sailboat� was indeed a cappuccino coloured piece of paper usually associated with things best kept in “the kleinhuisie�! but, we finished second in the tourney and all was forgotten until now!

Words of Wisdom Humour is the weapon of unarmed people: it helps people who are oppressed to smile at the situation that pains them. - Simon Wiesenthal *Kevin Lofstedt is a regular writer and a well known veteran bass angler with three times Southern Gauteng Colours since 1985. He is also the main founder of Clearwater Bassmasters Bass Chapter (1994). He can be reached at kevin@sabass.com

SA BASS PRODUCT NEWS/PROMOTION >>

NRF Colloidal Silver

M

any people are still unaware of the astonishing healing and infection fighting benefits of colloidal silver with its broad-spectrum antimicrobial qualities. It is known as “nature’s antibiotic” and the benefits of colloidal silver have been documented since the late 1800’s when it was first introduced and used successfully by health practitioners for a myriad of ailments and infections. Colloidal silver can be used in hundreds of different ways but when taken orally as a mild, powerful and non toxic compound, it helps to build up the immune system and fight off infections like cold and flu. It also assists in the relief of gastric infections like bladder inflammation, diarrhoea and vomiting.

NRF Health has introduced three new colloidal silver products which help build up resistance and protect the body’s immune system and treat all kinds of topical skin problems. When taken orally on a regular basis, NRF Colloidal Silver Liquid can be used topically and also help to prevent and also reduce the length of time one suffers from infections like colds, influenza, pneumonia and Staphylococcus.

NRF Colloidal Silver Liquid-Gel contains Xylitol and when used as a gargle, will help form a barrier, preventing microbial infections, like sore throats and help treat infected tonsils and mouth problems like cold sores and ulcers.

NRF Colloidal Silver Cream is a mild silver protein with avocado oil which treats and soothes many skin ailments from dry, damaged skin to nappy rash. It is completely safe to use on children.

It is notable that various colloidal silver products used continuously over a long period can result in the skin taking on a “bluish tinge”, a condition known as argyria.

This is the result of ingested silver particles that are not able to pass through the body and accumulate as a result. NRF Colloidal Silver products have been specially prepared in a silver complex to prevent this condition from occurring. *Although considered safe, pregnant and breast feeding woman should not use this product without first consulting their doctor or should an allergic reaction occur, colloidal silver must be stopped immediately. If a condition does not improve within ten days, a health practitioner should be consulted.

Quattro Grub How to…

T

he 4.5” Quattro Grub is a smaller profile curly tail grub, for situations where fish are not looking for a chunky meal. These grubs are suitable as trailer baits, but also great for the novice angler fishing Texas- or Carolina rigs.

How to…

Follow the instructions on “How to rig a soft plastic lure”. The same principle applies to all types of soft plastic baits.

How to…

Work the bait on a slow steady retrieve in deeper water, especially on rocky points or cliffs.

Quattro Grubs are available from Gani’s Angling World in Witbank in Pumpkin Red Flake, Junebug, Watermelon Black Red Flake, Red Black Seed and Pumpkin Green Red & Black. Packed 12 baits per packet.

Send a picture of bass caught on a Quattro Grub to editor@sabass.com for our Readers-go-Bassing section and stand a chance to win a hamper, or shop online at www.ganis.co.za, or contact Gani’s Angling World on 013-692-7199.

SA BASS 35 February 2018

>> SA BASS STRATEGY

Maximising Your Bass Fishing Dinghy My boat business has been associated with the boating fraternity since 1989.

I have noted with keen interest the evolving market trends, new consumer preferences, new products and solutions and the like. >> Carel Scheepers*

I

t would appear that species angling and in particular bass angling, has grown in popularity in leaps and bounds. The allure of putting the hustle and bustle of the city behind you and relaxing in the tranquillity and serenity of the great outdoors, has become the stress reliever panacea of the impinged urban dweller. Coupled with the exhilaration of the “hunt” and you have a thriving sport.

With this boom has come a deluge of inflatable products that allows you to get within striking distance of the ever elusive trophy fish. Inflatables obviously appeal to city folk, because of stow ability in constrained spaces.

Specie angling boating has become a substantial part of my customer base and I have deemed it prudent, to elucidate on some Frequently Asked Questions. (FAQ)

How w do o I care e forr my y boa at and exte end the life expe ectancy off my y boa at? ?

1. Nothing has a more detrimental effect on your boat than direct sunlight.

Invest in a 90% shade net and hem in a light chain on the four edges. Drape the net over your boat, when it is lying on the shore and is basking in the sun.

• You do not want the sun to heat up the air inside your pontoons, to the extent that air starts to expand and causes undue strain on the seams (Prescribed air pressure ought to be 0,25 bar) • All your trimmings such as handles, row locks, transom mouldings, grab rails, etc will remain bonded to the pontoons for a much longer time.

(Sunlight and UV exposure causes premature boating problems.)

• Never cover your boat with a dark boat cover (red/royal blue/dark grey, etc) The heat build-up between the boat cover and the boat is so intense, that it could be equated to parking your boat in

Launching wheels fitted to the transom of an inflatable boat 36 SA BASS February 2018

an oven. You are literally cooking your boat to smithereens (also your fish finders transducer cables, fuel line hoses, etc) • Over inflating due to temperature extremes, can be ameliorated with the fitment of a calibrated safety pressure air release dump valve. I should caution against the sole reliance on the safety valve. They are calibrated to prevent premature air dumping and will only dump air once your boat has reached it uppermost maximum air pressure (You don’t want to drive your car with the rev counter in the red?)

• When travelling abroad with an inflated boat on a trailer, you should take cognisance of the departure

Weld a piece of PVC flooring underneath the transom, to dramatically extend the life of your boat’s transom

and arrival altitude. Let me explain; a weather balloon rises and expands until it eventually bursts, because of the lack of air pressure at altitude. The reverse is also true. A scuba diver experiences a dramatic increase in pressure, when he descends.

The prevalent atmospheric pressure will influence your boat’s innate air pressure in the same manner.

Your pontoons will deflate when you descend to your coastal holiday destination. On your return leg, you should manually dump ±30% of the air, when you pass through Van Reenen’s Pass toll gate, at the foot of the escarpment.

• Seasonal changes also dictate what time of the day you should inflate your boat. When you have to contend with day and night temperature extremes, it would be best to inflate your boat in the heat of the day (at noon) The hot air in your pontoon, will not expand any further, because of the highest ambient temperature of the day (providing you do not inflate and then park in direct sunlight!)

2. Clean your boat twice a year with a normal vinyl kitchen floor cleaner such as Pledge or One Step.

• A vinyl kitchen floor cleaner (polish) will firstly clean your boat, nourish the PVC fabric and finally add a lustre and sheen (polish) to the pontoon.

• Also spray some Q20 into the valve orifice. This lubricates the valve mechanism and keeps the valve diaphragm soft and supple, ensuring an air tight seal.

3. Do not drag your boat onto the shore… especially by the bow tow point, while the outboard is mounted on the transom.

• Not all transoms are manufactured from marine ply; the dragging causes the material under the transom to become threadbare, exposing the raw wood.

Water ingress into your boat’s transom, induces wood rot. o This can be prevented by lifting the boat at the transom, or by fitting “Inflatable Boat Launching Wheels”. o If your transom is already scoured underneath, you can weld a piece of PVC flooring underneath the transom, to dramatically extend the life of your boat’s transom.

o When drilling holes in your transom to fit transducers etc, make sure that you have used ample Marine Silicon to seal the holes and cover the stainless steel screws. o Water tends to accumulate, under the floor board, in the port and starboard corners of your transom.

Prevent this by turning the boat on its side and allowing all water in the boat to drain out. This will go a long way in preserving your transom. o Marine ply floorboards should be sanded down biannually (every 2 years) with a fine grit sand paper and receive a fresh coat of Marine grade outdoor polyurethane varnish.

4. Take care that your boat is stowed away properly out of season • Make sure that the boat is bone dry, before you roll it up and stow it into its storage bag. Mould fungus contains chlorophyll that will permanently stain the pontoons, with a big dark green stain. Expect the same dire consequences if you leave your boat outdoors, full of rain water with a couple of leaves in it. (The green/brown water acts as a dye).

• Before rolling up your boat, sprinkle some talcum powder (baby-bum talc) over the entire pontoon.

Poorly designed trailers can incur unnecessary damages to your boat

• Store your boat at an ambient temperature. Leaving it in the hot corrugated iron garden shed, or in your weather exposed holiday trailer, will have the same consequence as leaving the boat under a dark coloured boat cover, basking in direct sunlight.

• Rodents love to nest inside a rolled up inflatable.

Every year I have a couple of forlorn looking burly farmers at my workshop, with rat eaten boats, that were stored in a farming warehouse.

One could invest in armouring the bottom pontoons with PVC flooring cladding SA BASS 37 February 2018

How do I selectt a boa at that com mplies with my specific need ds?

5. Do you intend to deflate and stow your boat in the boot/caravan after each successive trip? Are you going to invest in a trailer and keep your boat permanently assembled and inflated?

• Deflatable boats ought to be small, light and easy to assemble. Some floorboard assemblies will leave you tired, perplexed and with a new unsavoury vocabulary. Personally I favour the intuitive fit, aluminium floors. I have to stress, that I do not have any qualms with a well-designed marine ply floorboard.

• A 2,5m long boat will allow a maximum two person complement; a 3,5m a maximum squeeze with three crew members and the inflatable standard at 4,2m will even allow the intrepid angler to fish offshore.

felt and glue this onto trailer slides, by so doing preventing your boat’s floor from chaffing through.

• I prefer trailers with a metal beam that runs from port to starboard at the back of the trailer. Your transom should always be supported by the trailer, in case the pontoons deflate whilst in transit (which will happen on a cold winters’ night!)

• Ensure that your trailer supports the boat over its full length. Some trailers do not support the bow, which leads to complications when it rains and the bow is water laden, without any trailer support.

• Poorly designed trailers can incur unnecessary damages to your boat. Buy some thick proper trailer 6. The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) has certain rules and regulations that all boat owners must adhere to. Contact your nearest accredited SAMSA surveyor for further elucidation.

7. In essence the rule of thumb is; you get what you pay for. “El-Cheapo” has the reputation of coming back to bite you.

• “El-Cheapo” no name brands are a huge no-no. If the manufacturer does not want to be identified, that ought to evoke some apprehension from the buyer. (Isn’t brand building vital to the success of any reputable company?)

• Local is “lekker” providing that you stick to tried and tested reputable brands. Example: The NSRI only uses local brands.

• The oversupply of amazing looking imports, do not always equate that they are superior in quality.

There are a couple of brands out there, with transoms manufactured from Supawood. Social Media and Chat Forums fortunately has the knack of weeding out these “denizens of ill repute”.

• The quality of the fabric should also be considered, before making your purchase.

Pontoon-to-transom turnbuckle brackets will also ameliorate “porpoiseing” boats, when floorboards tend to bend upwards 38 SA BASS February 2018

A quick guideline: o Jumping castles are manufactured from 550 gsm2 cloth (grams per square meter) o Truck tarpaulins are manufactured from 700 or 800gsm2 PVC cloth o Inflatable boats are generally manufactured from 1050gsm2 imported PVC o Racing pencil ducks use a lighter fabric to save weight and gain speed… but they are normally replaced by their sponsors after a season or two. o To my knowledge 1450gsm2 is the most expensive/ durable cloth available in South Africa, but is too heavy and expensive, for the purposes of this article.

Install an outboard support pole to provide extra support when transporting a boat fitted with a heavy outboard engine

How do I enhanc ce or im mprove my y rig?

Obviously the owner wants to contend with as few maintenance issues as possible • As mentioned before. Invest in a 90% shade cloth cover. That should be your first priority.

• If your fishing pursuits compel you close inshore, where branches and other “puncture dangers” lurk, you could invest in armouring the bottom of the pontoons with PVC flooring cladding.

• Transoms tend to pull loose when outboard motors are left hanging on them, this phenomena is exacerbated, when the boat lies unattended in direct sunlight. Pontoon-to-transom turnbuckle brackets will virtually eliminate this problem, because they negate the “pull” of the outboard motor on the transom.

• Pontoon-to-transom turnbuckle brackets will also ameliorate “porpoiseing” boats, when floorboards tend to bend upwards. This occurs when the propeller thrust forces the bottom of the transom forward, which in turn causes the floorboards to buckle upwards. Pontoon-to-transom turnbuckle brackets hold the transom in place, preventing the outboard from pushing the transom forward.

• While transporting inflatable boats on a trailer with the outboard motor in a raised position, heavy outboard engines may provide extra strain on a boat’s transom. When a moving trailer hits a bump or uneven pavement, heavy motors are capable of damaging the transom. You can install an outboard Easily convert a ski-handle rope into a boarding ladder

support pole - adjustable, spring loaded from the bottom end of the trailer (vicinity of centre mounted number plate) to the rear end of the outboard motor gearbox casing (V-on pole end) in order to provide extra support for the motor’s weight. These supports are available at most boat shops.

• Consult your local knowledgeable boat shop to determine the correct angle of the propeller shaft on the transom. If the propeller is tucked in under the transom, the boat’s bow will plough into the water when you accelerate, this induces the uncomfortable “porpoiseing” ride, as the bow digs in and boat decelerates; followed by a release jolt from the bow and a whip-lash forward lunge.

• Trimming the outboard too far away from the transom, causes the bow to lift and the boat struggling to get on the plane.

• You could increase deck space, by having stowage bags slung underneath your seating benches. This liberates a considerable amount of deck space.

The benches that mount onto the pontoons with a velcro strips has become popular, because you can adjust the longitudinal seating arrangement to your preference.

• Intex manufactures a bow transom, that is ideally suited to mount electric trawling motors.

• Easily convert a ski-handle rope into a boarding ladder.

That’s it for this month. Trust you will be able to add one more camp fire fishing story to your list of favourites.

Next month I intend to share some thoughts on the kickboat and float tube fraternity. *Carel Scheepers is from www.rubberducks.co.za

Scan this QR code and see an overview of the pressure relief valve

Increase deck space by having stowage bags slung underneath your seating benches

See this video how to get your boat ashore when you have a major cut in the pontoon and suffer catastrophic air loss

A custom bow transom is ideally suited to mount electric trawling motors SA BASS 39 February 2018

>> SA BASS TOURNAMENT NEWS

Tournament winners: An elated junior Protea team

Junior Bass Angling International 2017 A JUNIOR BASS ANGLING INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT RECENTLY TOOK PLACE AT WITBANK DAM BETWEEN SOUTH AFRICA AND ZIMBABWE.

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arly December the junior anglers that would compete against one another in this tournament lasting three days got together at the Witbank Yacht Club for a meet-and-greet and for tournament director, John Wickham, to run through the rules and clarify any questions from the local boys and the visitors. After the official raising of the flags of both countries and the playing of their national anthems, it was time to get down to business. It

40 SA BASS February 2018

>> John Badenhorst* was also a time for the boys to meet their skippers and to start getting boats sorted and loaded. The boys would fish in teams of two per boat and skippers were not allowed to share information about their experiences on this body of water as part of the rules. They were there, merely to drive the boats and get the young anglers to the spots they wished to fish. Big thanks must be given to these dedicated skippers that not only donated the use of their boats but also took time out from their busy personal and business schedules to help make a tournament such as this possible.

After an early evening with everyone having had dinner together, it was off to bed and for some to discuss plans and strategy for the following morning’s practice day. At 5am the following morning, skippers together with the junior anglers got their boats onto the water and quickly got together for a breakfast and hot

cup of coffee. Practice day officially kicked off after the playing of the national anthem and the boys would be on the water from 6am to 4pm on a day that saw a lot of good action from the resident bass population.

Since Zimbabwe isn’t just up the road, this was a crucial day for the visitors to familiarize themselves with the dam and its fishy residents. After the 4pm cut-off time, most anglers were full of smiles and confident about the two days of tournament fishing which lay ahead. After a quick supper, everyone was off to get ready for the next morning. During the evening of the practice day, heavy clouds with rain and lightning moved in over the area and this would in many ways change the game for the following morning.

The first day of the tournament saw partly cloudy skies with a very light mist drifting over the dam in places and after a quick bite, chased down with a hot cuppa, the national

anthem was played and the 6am start got under way. For observers and parents and supporters of the young anglers, the hours between the start of the tournament and the official weigh in time of 4pm would be spent chatting and catching up on some sleep and making new friends. The wind did pick up around mid-day and everyone on shore were speculating as to how this would change the approach for the anglers out on the water. Just before 4pm, the boats all came through the gate for the weighin and soon a group of spectators had gathered to watch the events unfold.

Respectable bag weights of between 4 and 7kg were weighed in with most anglers getting limit and being able to upgrade during the day. A total of ten fish would be weighed between a two-man team and the biggest fish on day one was a healthy specimen of 1.72kg. Only one team didn’t manage to get their full complement of ten

R.R.P.

fish and at the end of day one, the scores between the hosts South Africa and visitors Zimbabwe was very close with managers on both teams rather nervous for the following and final day.

Day two of the event dawned clear with prediction of some rather windy conditions out on the water for later during the day. The last day of the tournament was kicked off with a live broadcast with Internet Radio Station, Platinum Gold and presenters, John Badenhorst, Steven and Corbyn Schwartz playing loads of feel good tunes while updating listeners from around the globe on the events as they unfolded. As another stunning day wore on, it became apparent that the strong wind predicted for the mid part of the day would stay away and this made even spectators and supporters feel positive for anglers toiling out on the water. Although AndrĂŠ Senekal was on-hand during

R899.90

both days as weigh master, none of the boats returned during the day to bring turning fish to the scales. By the end of the tournament, heavy rain clouds threatened the weigh in and with reports of hail in the vicinity it was quickly taken care of.

The initiation ceremony was something else to behold and mopani worms and sour milk had a very serious role to play here.

The boys all left to get into their smart clothes and then it was time for the official prize giving ceremony.

Based on performance and points gathered over the two days, the SA Junior team came out with top honors. *John Badenhorst is the editor of SA BASS magazine, the Master of Ceremony for FLW South Africa bass angling tournaments, radio presenter at Platinum Gold Radio and a keen ultra finesse angler.

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MH Spinner Bait

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TT-C-701 MH - Finesse Worm 7'0"

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Spinning Reel :

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Actions | Type MH - Finesse & Dropshot M - Top Water, Jerkbait Finesse MH - Mojo, Texas & Spinner bait

The Dark Shadow rod & reel setup is designed to hunt Lunker bass in the thickest structure,, where theyy lurk in .... . thee

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SA BASS 41 February 2018

>> SA BASS INTERNATIONAL Some of Swendseid’s best haul of the day came on mid-depth crankbaits

I had a blast catching quality smallmouths on crankbaits

Most of my quality smallmouths were caught on Daiwa RPM Crank

Early Season Mid-Depth Deal

(Part 2)

Columbia River Smallmouth Adventure: Lake Bonneville (Hood River, Oregon) >> Story and Images by Fishingboy and David Swendseid (DUO Realis U.S.A)

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ome of the best conductive areas consist of points leading to sand bottom, flats spawning areas. Some of those areas may contain multiple points and bars that serve as high percentage spots. We fished the top of those points and worked our way drifting downwind.

Importantly, multiple casts were crucial to getting a school of smallmouths to fire up.

Bottom contact is not necessary The majority of anglers like to dig the bottom with their crankbaits, myself included. For mid-depth cranking, however, bottom contact may be crucial in certain situations but it is not a necessity.

I am a believer that the crankbait should be in contact with emerging vegetation. Sometimes, your bait will get hung up in grass. Popping and ripping your crankbait free from vegetation will usually generate bites, just as you would a lipless crankbait.

42 SA BASS February 2018

My bait of choice My bait of choice for mid-depth cranking on the west pool was the famous Daiwa RPM Crank. Primarily due to conditions where I do most of my fishing, the crankbait is not a regular feature in my tackle box, and I am not a seasoned smallmouth angler by any means. What I am sharing here are the stuffs I learned fishing the Daiwa RPM on a variety of conditions.

The last time I threw the RPM was November 2013, in Rust de Winter reservoir where I was fishing with S.A Bass Magazine. We were fishing in postfrontal conditions and the bite was tough. I had a solid bite on my RPM but before I could react to the situation, a big bass jumped out of the water and shook the bait off. I ended up catching one tiny bass that day. Since then, I still have some unfinished business to settle with the RPM. The RPM Crank is a stout body crankbait that looks

like a balsa crank but is actually made of plastic, and designed to move like one. RPM in this instance stands for ‘Revolutionary Perfect Movement’. This bait is available in shallow diver MID-4 and mid-depth MID-10 formats. The silent MID-10 was my bait of choice in Lake Bonneville’s west pool.

The RPM MID-10 dives down to about 3m and holds its depth and gets through cover pretty well. It dives deeper on light line. However, if I am fishing near cover, I use 14lb-test Sunline Basic FC and not 100% fluorocarbon lines. The former is actually a copolymer line that exhibits more stretch than 100% fluorocarbon lines, resulting in improved hook up ratio.

The RPM MID-10 is no doubt a crankbait that catches quality fish. It fishes well straight out of the package. The hooks are sticky and they come in a unique front red, rear black color configuration that is rarely found on other crankbaits on the market.

Despite lacking a weight transfer system, the RPM casts reasonably well in ultra-windy conditions but it is not in any way an accurate casting lure. However, it exhibits durability issues. Despite having a durable bill that is designed to take hard beatings, the body is susceptible to fracture and is not designed to collide with hard objects.

The obvious stuffs Whether you are fishing mid-depth crankbaits, lipless crankbaits, soft plastics and so forth, do not ignore the obvious stuffs.

Despite having to deal with high swells, we successfully located areas where quality smallmouths were holding and had a pretty solid day. However, in the name of safety, we had to cut short our river fishing trip and head back to the marina before conditions worsen.

We made it back to the marina in mid-afternoon but I was not planning on calling it a day yet. So, we did the next best thing, kill some time and fish the sheltered marina instead. Fortunately, we were the only bass boat there and had all the areas to ourselves. The only problem was angling pressure because most of the spots are also accessible to shore anglers.

We fished the breakwall to get started, gradually worked our way around the docks and along the perimeter. The fishing was extremely tough but that was not a surprise.

Though we did not get bit fishing most of the obvious stuff, Swendseid was momentarily connected to a giant smallmouth. Unfortunately, the fish came off after putting up an incredibly strong fight.

As you can see, though we failed to catch any smallmouths in the marina, it shows that big fish lurks in obvious locations. As a case in point, we actually fished a lot of the obvious looking stuffs when we were out on the river.

Smallmouths move a lot during the early season. Areas that do not usually hold fish may result in a surprise or two.

A great day and more to come

Most of the shallow areas looked incredibly fishy

days, the fishing in the west pool turned out to be a blast.

The best five smallmouths we caught that day could well be pushing 8kg. It could have been more if Swendseid had landed that giant smallmouth in the marina.

Technique crossovers A fishing buddy of mine once shared his opinion on the many crossovers of smallmouth and butterfly peacock bass fishing. Having experienced back-to-back days catching smallmouths up to this moment, I am beginning to understand the similarities that could be applied to largemouth bass.

When it comes to catching fish in the mid-depth range, I encourage you to give this a shot when you come across similar scenarios in South Africa because I have confidence in this technique. If you cannot get bit fishing shallow or deep, it is time to crank mid-depth.

In the next instalment Check out next month’s instalment to find out more about early season smallmouth fishing as we get set for a full on assault on new water, the Columbia River’s Lake Celilo west pool.

We fished some bridge pilings but failed to catch any fish

Despite having to battle rough water on back-to-back SA BASS 43 February 2018

>> SA BAARS STRATEGIE

Hanteer en Vrylaat van Baars

Dit is altyd lekker om ‘n baars aan die hoek te haak en die adrenalien deur jou are te voel bruis…

M

aar nog lekkerder om so mooi vis te vang en te weet dat jy hom weer veilig kan vrylaat, sodat die baars verder kan eiers lê en vermeerder in ons damme en riviere. Daardeur kan ons beginnerhengelaars ook die sport geniet om hul eie baars te kan vang, vry te laat en te weet dat daar elke keer weer nuwe hengelaars sal wees wat die baars aan hul hoek sal kry.

Maar hoekom is dit belangrik om baars reg te hanteer en weer veillig vry te laat?

Baars broei net eenkeer per jaar en lê vanaf 2,000 tot 12,000 eiers in die nes (afhangende van die wyfie se eie gewig. Groter vis lê meer eiers). Die hartseer hiervan is dat net 5 tot 10 vissies uit die 2,000 tot 12,000 vissies oorleef.

Maar dit is ook goed dat almal nie uitbroei nie en voorkom dat ons damme en riviere oorbevolk raak. Daarom is dit uiters belangrik dat groot teëlvisse vrygelaat moet word.

Daar is ‘n wanopvatting dat grotes uitgehaal en klein vissies teruggegooi moet word.

Daarom is dit belangrik om te weet hoe om die bietjie wat wel oorleef reg te hanteer. Hier is ‘n paar wenke wat in gedagte gehou kan word wanneer ons baars hanteer en vrylaat.

1.

Moet nie te lank wag voordat jy vaskap wanneer jy die byt voel nie, omrede die baars die hoek kan insluk. Sensitiewe visstokke en lyn is dus belangrik.

2.

Kap vinnig vas en katrol in. Na gelang van die grootte van die vis moet die hengelaar nie te lank vat om die vis te land nie. Die baars sal moeg raak en kan dan verswak en dalk vrek as jy hom weer sou wou vrylaat.

Die skryfster met ‘n kleiner swartbaar. Omrede dit ‘n ligte vis is, kan hy aan die kaak vasgehou word, alhoewel dit ook nie aanbeveel word nie 44 SA BASS February 2018

Die skryfster se man, Maurice, wys hoe ‘n groter baars korrek hanteer moet word

Ek hoop dat hierdie inligting beginners sal help om hul vangstes reg te hanteer en vry te laat. Geniet die hengel en onthou om die teëlvisse terug te gooi.

3.

Baars het ‘n slymlagie op sy lyf wat hom teen verskeie siektes en bakterieë beskerm. Wees versigtig om nie die slymlagie te beskadig as jy jou baars vastrek of vrylaat nie. Vat die baars aan sy bek en onder sy stert.

Dit is belangrik om groter baars horisontaal aan sy stert en bek te ondersteun sodat hy eerder lê in plaas daarvan om vertikaal aan sy onderkaak te hang. Die vis se kakebeen kan beseer word. Dit is beslis die geval met swaarder baars, maar selfs ligter vis moet ook so hanteer word.

4.

Wees versigtig wanneer jy die hoek verwyder. Die hoek kan maklik in jou vinger steek en hulp is nie altyd byderhand nie. Hou altyd ‘n langbektang naby, veral as jy met harde kunsvissies en drieangelhoeke hengel.

Die hoek moet ook nie uit die baars se bek geskeur word nie, omdat die baars ‘n harde bek het en dit die bek of die kieue kan beskadig.

Gebruik ‘n skerpbek tang om die hoek noukeurig te verwyder.

Baie hengelaars verkies om die weerhake op hulle hoeke te verwyder.

5.

Moenie die baars te lank uit die water hou nie en maak seker dat die vis mooi regop swem wanneer die vis vrygelaat word.

Deur die baars vorentoe en agtertoe deur die water te trek, spoel daar water oor die vis se kieue.

6.

Dit is veiliger om ‘n skepnet te gebruik. Gebruik eerder ‘n rubbernet en nie ‘n nylonnet nie, omrede drie-angelhoeke makliker vashaak aan nylonnette.

SA BASS 45 February 2018

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Advanced payment can be made into our BB Print bank account at ABSA, account number 404 881 8651, branch code: 334 645 before the 25th of each month to appear two months later.

Proof of payment plus a contact number must be faxed to 086 234 5026 or e-mailed to advertise@sabass.com

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46 SA BASS February 2018

SA BASS INDUSTRY NEWS >>

Basskingsapp a fresh approach to being competitive >> John Badenhorst

A

couple of months ago, I wrote an article around the latest apps available for download for our mobile devices. As technology is constantly being upgraded, there is always something new on the horizon and hitting South Africa soon is probably one of the most innovative mobile apps.

Basskingsapp is unique in the sense that anglers from around the world can compete on one single platform against one another. To put it into perspective here‌ Imagine that you have a few friends spread around South Africa and you want to compete against each other over a period of a weekend. With the Basskingsapp, this becomes possible as you can create a closed group of anglers, put up a prize and go fishing. When one of your friends catches a fish, he places the fish onto a measuring tape and simply takes a photo with his mobile device using the app. (The developers of the app has made it impossible to cheat with rulers or measuring tapes and the app will not allow a photo to be taken, or uploaded on the platform even if the ruler or measuring tape has a discrepancy of Ÿ inch). Then he takes a short video clip showing the release of the fish and uploads it onto the Basskings platform. This catch then gets logged and so do the other catches from other competitors during the tournament. By the set cut-off time of the tournament, the app will do its own calculations and based on the 3, 4 or 5 biggest fish weighed by competitors, give its tally and thereby announcing the winner.

With the Basskingsapp, it’s now possible for small craft anglers to have tournaments without having the headache of using a portable live-well or having to use a “follow me� bag. Fish can be caught, photographed and the fish can then be released unharmed very quickly, ensuring a much better recovery for our olive and gold friends. Developed over a period of years and launched in the USA by pro-anglers,

James Watson and Fred Roumbanis (Boom-Boom), the app has taken those shores by storm and a recent tournament saw in the region of 53,000 entrants. In the USA, sponsors like Irod, River-2-Sea and Lucky Strike are just some of the few that have jumped on board with tournament prizes. App developers and founders, Aasif Osmany and Matt Gounod have worked tirelessly to ensure a super smooth and user friendly app.

The app is available for free on both platforms to IOS and Android and anglers simply have to scan the QR code with this article for the download. There will also be various sponsors of tournaments coming up here on our shores. The first Basskingsapp sponsored tournament has already kicked off and joining with various partners, there are some exciting tournaments on the way. One of these will see the winner of the tournament win a one year subscription to SA Bass Magazine. Watch the press and social media for details. *John Badenhorst is the editor of SA BASS magazine, the Master of Ceremony for FLW South Africa, radio presenter at Platinum Gold Radio and a keen ultra finesse angler.

Fishing League Worldwide, DOVR NQRZQ DV )/: LV WKH ZRUOGȇV ODUJHVW WRXUQDPHQW ȴVKLQJ RUJDQL]DWLRQ )/: FRQGXFWV EDVV ȴVKLQJ WRXUQDPHQWV DFURVV WKH United States and sanctions tournaments in Canada, China, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, South Korea and South Africa.

(DFK \HDU )/: RÎ?HUV DQJOHUV RI DOO VNLOO OHYHOV WKH RSSRUWXQLW\ WR FRPSHWH IRU PLOOLRQV LQ SUL]H PRQH\ DFURVV WKH JOREH LQ Č´YH WRXUQDPHQW FLUFXLWV IRXU RI ZKLFK RÎ?HU D SDWK WR WKH PRVW OXFUDWLYH WRXUQDPHQW LQ SURIHVVLRQDO EDVV Č´VKLQJ Č‚ WKH )RUUHVW :RRG &XS :H SURYLGH XQSDUDOOHOHG Č´VKLQJ UHVRXUFHV DQG HQWHUWDLQPHQW WR RXU PHPEHUV DQJOHUV VSRQVRUV IDQV DQG KRVW FRPPXQLWLHV 7KURXJK D YDULHW\ RI SODWIRUPV )/: LV FRPPLWWHG WR SURYLGLQJ D OLIHVW\OH H[SHULHQFH WKDW LV WKH EHVW LQ Č´VKLQJ RQ DQG RÎ? WKH ZDWHU

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>> SA BASS INDUSTRY NEWS

Celebrates 35th Anniversary

Tim Leatherman

The first-of-its-kind multi-tool returns: The Limited Edition PST

I

n 1975, recent college graduate Tim Leatherman and his wife Chau set off on a roadtrip throughout Europe. Along the way, the unreliable Fiat the newlyweds had purchased for $300 required multiple roadside fixes.

Tim had the right know-how, but not the right tools to fix it. Tim returned home with an idea for a multi-tool to tackle life’s unexpected challenges. He asked his wife if she could support the family while he pursued his idea. He thought it would take him a month to develop a prototype. After eight years of toiling in his garage and multiple rejections, the Pocket Survival Tool (PST) was born. In their first year of business, Tim and his co-founder hoped to sell 4,000 tools; instead, they sold 30,000. And over the next decade, they would sell over one million PST multi-tools.

Today, on the brand’s 35th Anniversary, Leatherman is continuing Tim’s legacy of unwavering perseverance, ingenious design, and

commitment to quality with the revival of the Limited Edition PST. “I’m incredibly proud to introduce a Limited Edition Pocket Survival Tool nearly identical to my original design. Every tool is crafted just like the original, but not in my garage!” said Leatherman, who serves as chairman of Leatherman Tool Group. “Seeing it brings back memories of what it took to launch this company. I’m in awe of how it has grown over the years and thankful for our dedicated employees and faithful fans who helped us reach this milestone.”

The PST is limited to hundred pieces in South Africa and will retail for around R3600,00. Made of 100% stainless steel, the Limited Edition PST has 14 tools in one including: Needlenose Pliers, Regular Pliers, Wire Cutters, Hard-wire Cutters, 420HC Knife, Wood/Metal File, Phillips Screwdriver, Large Screwdriver, Medium Screwdriver, Small Screwdriver, Awl, Ruler (8 in/20 cm),

Can Opener and Bottle Opener. Each PST is stamped with Tim Leatherman’s signature and comes with an Americanmade leather sheath, emblazoned with a diagonal wordmark in gold foil, a throwback to the original. The Limited Edition PST will be available end of January 2018 at select Leatherman retailers.

About Leatherman Founded in 1983, Leatherman is the world’s largest manufacturer of tools that prepare people for both expected and unexpected challenges, journeys and adventures. Co-founder Tim Leatherman’s real life experiences inspired him to build the world’s first multi-tool, and his dedication to his product philosophy of creating multipurpose tools with the highest quality, most functionality, least space, and least weight has driven Leatherman for 35 years. The Oregon-based company distributes its high quality Leatherman multi-tools, manufactured in Portland, in more than 86 countries.

For more information about the original American multi-tool, visit www.leatherman.co.za 48 SA BASS February 2018

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