Your catch of a lifetime could be a small species
SPECIES angling is rather extreme when you consider that, unlike the open observation you have when hunting on land, you can’t engage directly with your prey and observe it in detail prior to the catch.
Every angler prays for the catch of a lifetime, however, there are species that do not grow beyond a few kilograms in size that are nevertheless quite significant.
Today’s photo is of a river bream of 3kg, caught by Christo Koekemoer this past weekend at Gamtoos.
This is a notable catch considering how close to the South African record it is! The SA record of 3.2kg has stood for a number of years. I quote Edward Truter, a renowned angling guide: “Interestingly, that spectacular specimen is a real great-great-great-grandpa of the river and could be older than the guy holding it.
“River bream have exceptionally slow growth rates. I’d be surprised if that fish was younger than 25 years-old.”
Here is some food for thought as regards the allocation of points in a unique concept for angling when it comes to a different yearly fundraiser.
Points could be calculated as a pro rata of the SA records rather than the total bag weights. This would encourage the targeting of other species rather than the vulnerable species that get the sharp end of the hook?
This would be a great idea for estuarine angling. Even with the new concepts of catch and release, it would add another dimension to angling.
In the US, red fish may not be weighed at competitions if it exceeds 71cm. This is to protect the breeding stock. Slot sizes have also been introduced in Australia for that purpose.
Of great concern to me is the blatant bragging over fish excesses that are being paraded on social media. A photograph unfortunately cannot be evidence on its own to take action against these indiscriminate people.
All they are doing is creating a platform for the policymakers (usually non-anglers) to further restrict our sport.
Species like kob and pig-nosed grunter, which have reached threatened levels, are popular angling species with strict bag limits as a result. The end result is they will be removed from the list of recreational angled species in time to come.
This past week I witnessed two social media postings where excesses were openly displayed and I question these people’s motives as they are clearly dedicated anglers.
As an angler I want to protect my rights as well as those of other ethical anglers and behave accordingly. We need not provide ammunition to our regulators by being arrogant and out of line.
This weekend’s weather: The moon phase is waning towards full moon on Tuesday the 11th. The easterly prevails throughout the weekend turning westerly in the early hours of Monday morning. The easterly is not the preferred wind for angling as the water becomes clearer and hence colder. This is ideal diving conditions, mind you. Low tide is at 8.29am tomorrow.