Mother Duck win sees dramatic end to derby
THE garrick is the noblest and most sought-after estuarine species that is pursued today in our estuaries by the catch and release anglers. It is not such a good table fish which is most probably the one reason that good quality fish are still being caught.
Some will argue that they are excellent on the coals – however, I choose to liberate them.
The surf anglers catch even better specimens that migrate long distances along our coast. It is not uncommon to catch a fish that has been tagged a thousand kilometres away from where it has been re-caught in three weeks.
The mere fact that they can move these distances has allowed them to populate and re-populate areas along the coast and estuaries. The reef species of pelagic fish however, being territorial, are easily fished out and the vacuums that are created are not easily refilled. The fact that reef fish are slow growers also does not aid their existence.
The 26th annual Stock Fish Derby hosted by the Noordhoek Angling Club has this past weekend been concluded and won in dramatic style by the crew of Mother Duck consisting of Alan Truter the skipper, his wife Judy and crew Andy Keun and Gary Poisat.
In the "Eleventh Hour" of the competition their boat's motor died and they had a catch on board that needed to reach the scale before the final weigh-in.
A call was made for assistance and the boat Sea Hawk came to their assistance. At this stage the wind had engulfed the sea which made the recovery of the boat very problematic.
The anchor line of Mother Duck had to be cut as without power it was impossible to lift the anchor in that gale.
Eventually the craft was towed to PEDSAC in the Port Elizabeth harbour and a dash by car allowed the crew to weigh in their catch in the nick of time. Although the total catch of the derby was disappointing, the thrill of the spoils ended with that adrenalin rush to make the scale in time and be rewarded with a new boat, motor and trailer. Earlier in the day Alan Truter stopped to assist another angler who had trailer problems.
After assisting the distressed boat – a welder was needed – the Mother Duck crew only launched at 10am. Their eventual fate in the competition was also saved by the assistance of another angler. This is a wonderful display of camaraderie and what makes anglers the folk that they are.
- Reel Time, with Wayne Rudman
