 TIGERS COME OUT TO PLAY —2008 Pongolapoort Tigerfish Bonanza — by Mark Wilson
I HAVE finally come to truly appreciate the wisdom of those fishermen who have gone before me, and hope to impart the same wisdom to all who follow. When some poor angler, despite his best efforts, cannot entice a fish to bite, they calmly state “That’s why it’s called fishing and not catching”.
No, I have not started this coverage of one of South Africa’s premier freshwater fishing tournaments on a negative note, but am rather voicing the feelings of those, like myself, who were not able to boat one of these magnificent creatures — the tigerfish of Pongolapoort Dam.
What can only be described as a armada of vessels of every shape and size made their way to Pongolapoort with high hopes of walking away with the main prize — and Exporer monohull sporting a 130hp Yamaha outboard, sponsored by Yamaha and D7 Boating. Just as the boats I have described vary in shape and personality, so did the men and women who would crew and captain them. Fortunately, this potentially explosive cocktail of personalities never ignited into any problems, and once again the event was hosted brilliantly by the Sodwana Fishing Club.
This year’s Tigerfish Bonanza took place from 25th to 27th September, with the 24th being set aside for settling in, registration, briefing and welcoming by the committee’s tournament diretor, Stefan Kleinhaus. For those who have never visited the vast shores of Pongolapoort Dam, I encourage you to do so. This corner of God’s earth doesn’t only offer the angler a variety of quarry, but is also rich in bird and animal life, both in the water and on land.
The format of this year’s tournament, which included a welcome extra day’s fishing, was briefly as follows — Thursday and Friday lines in at 6am, finishing with lines-up at 5pm, followed by a weigh-in from 5.30pm to 6pm. Saturday took on a slightly different format — lines wet at 5am and up at 4pm, followed by a half-hour weigh-in, culminating in the prize-giving at 6.30pm
Read the full story in the January/February 2009 issue of SKI-BOAT.
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