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An overcast, gloomy and wet morning greeted us at Amanzimtoti on Saturday the 19th December 2009. A measure of disappointment had seeded itself within the KZN Fishing management, and we wondered if we should go ahead. But as fate would have it, we were not allowed to make that decision. The countless number of anglers that began arriving predetermined our day. After all, they were the reason we had put together this event.
And so with excited anglers on our heels we began preparations for the largest Shore Angling competition held in KZN. The KZN Fishing Summer Showdown 2009 had begun and as stated registrations got under way at 5:30AM. There was an endless stream of anglers arriving at the Registration desk, and our team managed to get everyone registered in good time. Anglers soon began taking to the beach and at 7:00AM lines in was called.
With great anticipation and eager expectations the 229 anglers began their fight for top honors and a piece of the R35 000.00 prize pool. As early as 7:15AM the measure officials were put to the test as the competitors started producing the results. An early morning Shad, and a few Blacktails, brought excitement and frenzy to anglers fishing close to the rock ledges at the Northern Boundary. With anglers lining the beach as far South as the Amanzimtoti River Mouth, some 2.5km away, we were guaranteed to have a bumper day.
The morning wore on and several fish had been landed in the form of Blacktails, Banana Fish, Wave Garricks, Shad and a few smallish skates, which enticed the competitors to try even harder. However the big fish had eluded us, with a large amount of the competitors targeting the larger Summer specimens, one would have imagined that at least a few of them would be engaged in a tussle with a monster of the deep. Sadly this was not the case, and anglers began to consider alternative measures. As the tide got lower and the weather improving, more fish began to materialize, and Shayne Thakurparsad landed a monster shad of 39cm. With the sandbanks becoming more evident and looking easy to get to, anglers opted to wade onto the banks and get their baits in deeper waters.
The first of these anglers was Mark Mellan, who threw out a Red Eye belly into the backline from his position on the sandbank. He didn’t have to wait long upon returning to drier land, as his rod was pulled flat by a Natal Stumpnose of 40cm. Mark managed to land this fish within minutes, and was all smiles, at landing one of the bigger catches of the day. Other anglers soon followed Mark’s strategy of wading out onto the banks.
As the day wore on, Imtiaz Khan, went tight with a fantastic 3 Spot Pompano (Wave Garrick) that measured 35cm. Other anglers began racking up the points as well, with a few Lesser Sand Sharks and some small skates being taken. Donovan Naidoo who walked a distance towards the Northern Boundary to have a go at a possible edible, got stuck into the largest fish for the day which was a Lesser Sandshark of about 80cm.
The excitement was mounting, even though there was a lack of fish, anglers still kept hard at it, trying all possible baits and traces in order to get the big one. However time was not on their side as at 2:30pm Lines Out was called and scorecard were collected. As the anglers started arriving at the main stage, the KZN Fishing management team began totaling up the scores and double checking them to ensure all prizes would be awarded to the rightful winners.
The crowd of competitors and spectators were then addressed, by the KZN Management team, and the Prize Giving got under way. The results of the competition can be found at the end this article. KZN Fishing then thanked its sponsors for the event for without them this would never have been a success.
The Summer Showdown 2009 was certainly a fantastic success with a massive crowd participating, and the largest Prize Pool being up for grabs ensured that this was an event to that will be remembered for a long time to come.
KZN Fishing would like to extend its heartfelt appreciation and gratitude to the 229 anglers that supported this event, as well as its sponsors and Management Team.
We would also like to thank the following Sponsors:
Cheapest Fishing Tackle
High Tide Fishing Tackle
Rock Hustlers Fishing Tackle
The Fishing Shop Warner Beach
Teza Tackle
Coca Cola/ABI
Summer Showdown Results:
Spot Prizes:
1. Biggest Blacktail – Michelle Moodley
2. First Shad – Avesh Kuwar
3. First Blacktail – Michelle Moodley
4. Biggest Shad – Shayne Thakurparsad
5. First Fish – Avesh Kuwar
6. Last Fish – Indran Pather
7. First Female Fish – Michelle Moodley
8. First Flat Fish – Dam van Dyk
Juniors:
1. Jaco Henning
2. Ozar Khajee
3. M. U. Khan
Females:
1. Michelle Moodley
Males:
1. Donovan Naidoo – R 10 000.00
2. Mark Mellan – R 5000.00
3. Shayne Thakurparsad – R 2000.00
Summer Showdown 2009 Gallery
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