Tough conditions and few fish
STAFF REPORTER
FEW fish were caught at the fifth round of the annual Port Alfred River and Ski-boat Club (PARSC) Rock and Surf GM Kenrich Round Robin competition held at Riet River last Saturday.
According to rock and surf chairman Terry Stewart, conditions were tough with a warm, rough sea, strong westerly wind and unusually high barometer which seemed to combine to put the fish off the bite.
Ten teams of four fished the competition, together with a number of individual anglers. Overall only 37.7kg of edible fish consisting of nine different species were caught, of which 100% were successfully released.
The team with the winning International Game Fish Association (IGFA) points on the day was Team 1 consisting of Neil van der Linde, Dave Kemp, Len Titmuss and Ryan Reeves. Second place went to Team 3 consisting of Paul Knight, Terry Stewart, Don Murray and Iain Stewart, with Team 2 consisting of Darian Keeton, Simon du Plessis, Brian Wright and Roy Labuschagne came third.
In the round robin league, Team 1 beat Team 6, Team 2 beat Team 10, Team 3 beat Team 9, Team 4 beat Team 8 and Team 5 beat Team 7.
Team 1 is first in the round robin at the moment with 828 points followed by Team 4 consisting of Adrian Bezuidenhout, Leonard Bodhill, Jeremy Smith and Niall Borland with 805 points. Team 2 is in third place with 682 points.
The top individual angler was Neil van der Linde with a bag of 8kg and the heaviest white steenbras weighing 3.7 kg. He was followed by Douglas Olivier with a bag of 4.4kg, who also caught the heaviest yellow belly rock cod weighing 1kg. Charl Hurn came in third.
Terry Stewart caught the heaviest bronze bream of 1.7kg, Adrian Bezuidenhout caught the biggest blacktail weighing 1.3kg and Ben Keeton caught the heaviest zebra at 0.9kg. Brian Wright caught both the heaviest shad at 1.3kg and the heaviest black musselcracker, also weighing 1.3kg.
Leonard Bodill caught the heaviest cape stumpnose at 1.2 kg and Ross Bartlett caught the heaviest white musselcracker weighing a hefty 5.2kg. This was the heaviest fish released and also won him the Sotheby's Catch of the Day.
Douglas Olivier won the masters section for the over 55s with a 4.4kg bag and Wade Labuschagne won the u-21 section with his 1.1kg. There was no ladies' section winner and Ross Bartlett won the u-16 section with 5.2kg.
The rock and surf section would like to thank their round robin sponsors: GM Kenrich, Sotheby's, Rosehill SuperSpar, Pick and Pay, Kekkel and Kraai in Grahamstown, Solly Kramers, Feathers Farm, Kowie Toyota, South Seas Butchery, Halyards Hotel, Prestons Liquor Store, Bucklands Private Game Reserve, Sports ‘n All, Sea Star Accommodation, Kowie Remax, Kenton Pharmacy, Ocean Basket, Wimpy, Guido's, Specialised Petroleum Products, Home Essentials, Kowie Automotive, McCallum Brokers, Inso Aluminium, Multi Security, Huntshoek Lodges, Castle Lager, D&A Timbers, SIRAC, The Fresh Fish Market and Frameworks.
The next PARSC Rock and Surf competition will be the GBS Teams of three which will be held in open areas on June 23.
