International angling contest in town

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MOSSEL BAY NEWS - An international fishing competition is taking place in Mossel Bay from tomorrow, 11 March until 18 March.

It is the FIPS-M Light Tackle Boat Angling Championships in which South Africa, Luxembourg and Gibraltar are taking part.

FIPS-M stands for Fédération Internationale de Pêche Sportive - Mer.

South Africa has six competitors, Luxembourg four and Gibraltar, six in the competition.

These are the countries that entered for the competition, which will be held from the slipway in front of the old Mossel Bay Yacht Club building.

Team SA has a manager at the competition, but the other countries will not have managers.

The national public relations officer for the South African Light Tackle Boat Angling Association (SALTBAA) Lizet Strydom said a competition was held in Mossel Bay in 2019.

"The venue worked well. There were good catches, with many species caught, so Mossel Bay was seen as a favourable venue for this year."

Team Gibraltar arrived in South Africa on Tuesday, 7 March, and team Luxembourg yesterday, Thursday 9 March.

Opening ceremony

Tomorrow, 11 March, there will be an opening ceremony and photograph session at the town hall in Marsh Street.

The anglers will also be having supper at the town hall.

The Protea team comprises three anglers from Gauteng and three from Port Elizabeth.

The anglers compete individually and also as a team. Because of the different numbers in the competing countries' teams, the best four anglers' scores will count for the team scores.

Because it is a light tackle competition, the criterion for the anglers is a line breaking strength of 4kg.

The 16 anglers competing will go out one nautical mile from the shore, on motor boats. There are only two anglers per boat, so there will be eight skippers.

The manager is allowed to go out with the South African team on practice day, but not on competition days.

Monday, 13 March, is official practice day and the start of the angling. Tuesday to Thursday are competition days. Friday, 17 March, is left as a reserve day, in case the anglers cannot go out one day because of bad weather. The prize giving is on Friday evening.

Weight

It is a catch and release competition and scoring is based on weight only. FIPS-M rules are followed. A fish must be a minimum weight of 1kg to be counted. Each boat skipper, who is issued with a camera, identifies the fish species.

The active angling time is eight hours, from 07:00 until 13:00.

Bait - pilchards, squid and mackerel - will be provided to all the anglers. Some common fish species which were caught in a competition before were: spotted grunter, catface rock cod, cob, eagle ray, butterfly, blue stingray, spotted gully shark and smooth hammerhead.

PHOTO GALLERY: Competitors in international fishing competition

The South African team consists of Clint Spamers, Dean Meintjes, Mike Babich, Ockie Theunissen (captain), Darren Wright and Francois Blom. Joseph le Roux is the team manager.

For more information on the competition, contact Lizet Strydom (084 734 9778).

Boats used in the competition in Mossel Bay in 2019 (right and below).