100 000 Reasons to catch a tiger

2022 Tigerfish Bonanza

By Mark Wilson

FOR various reasons I have not been able to attend and fish the Jozini Tigerfish Bonanza for some years now, and to say that I was excited to be part of this year’s event would the understatement of all understatements. Sodwana Angling Club hosts this event each year, and they have never failed to make it a success despite the enormous logistics involved. As a result, anglers return year after year and it’s one of the most popular fishing events on our calendar.

Our team this year consisted of Erwin Bursik (skipper), Eric James and yours truly. We fished off Mr SKI-BOAT, a Z- Craft F200, and CMH Nissan Pinetown kindly loaned us a Nissan Navara 4x4 to tow and launch her with.

This year’s Bonanza took place on 23 and 24 September, giving anglers two days to catch the heaviest tigerfish, get it to one of the appointed weigh stations on the dam and win the R100 000 cash prize on offer.

Last year a very successful app was used to capture proof of the anglers’ catches and make the leaderboard standings immediately available, ensuring the fish were returned to the water as quickly as possible. However, because of loadshedding this option was not viable this year and set weigh stations were re-employed.

The committee had set up a Whatsapp group to keep the skippers informed of the top ten places as fish were weighed in. This meant that once you were aware of the weight tenth heaviest fish weighed, you could avoid having to run to a weigh station if you judged that your fish weighed less than that. This also meant the fish could be safely returned to the dam sooner rather than later.

Any fish that was unable to be revived had 500g deducted from its total weight as an incentive to get boats to the weigh stations as quickly as possible, and further ensure a high release survival rate.

This year the massive responsibility of organising the event fell squarely on the shoulders of the Sodwana Angling Club chairman, Simeon van Heerden, and his more-thancapable committee. Putting aside the sheer logistics of managing such a massive campsite for anglers and their families, making food and libations readily available, and not forgetting the critical big screen to show the Springboks playing Argentina in the final game of the Rugby Championship, a committee’s success is measured on two things.

Number one — the entries they manage to garnish; this year 185 boats entered which translates to around 600 anglers. Number two — the sponsorship in the form of prize incentives they are able to secure. At the 2022 event all the top ten anglers received a generous hand out of prizes culminating in the R100 000 cash prize for the heaviest tigerfish. I can quite confidently say the committee ticked both boxes.

Now to the fishing... Over the years this particular dam has provided numerous challenges to anglers, the greatest being low dam levels. However, this year at the time of the Bonanza she stood at 78% of capacity. This not only vastly improved the water clarity, but also allowed anglers access to favoured fishing spots not available at the last few Bonanzas. This also made for much improved launching and retrieval of the armada of fishing vessels off the slipway.

With the rivers flowing healthily into the dam, this also meant prime spawning conditions for the tigerfish, which tend to put their heads down ignoring everything except for their spawning nests. The general consensus was that, even though the water conditions were almost optimal, catching these wily predators was going to prove challenging.

A skipper’s briefing took place in the massive central tent on 22 September where all were warmly welcomed and all the rules clearly explained to a very attentive audience chomping at the bit to get onto the water the next day.

Early on the Friday morning the campsite was a hive of activity with the anglers preparing to tow their boats to the launch site. Lines in for the day would commence at 6am after a flare was set off to start proceedings, with lines up at 4pm.

It’s always an amazing sight to see the fleet of boats racing off in every direction to get to their favourite spots first, and this year was no exception. It’s even more exhilarating to be part of the fleet, with anticipation running high for what the day held.

As predicted, fishing proved to be exceptionally challenging, but by the end of the day we were all able to see the list of the top ten fish which had been weighed and verified. The tenth placed fish on the first day would be the next day’s minimum benchmark, and it sat at 1.73kg.

More excitingly, the leading fish weighing in at an impressive 4.58kg had been caught by Chantal van der Walt, a junior angler. I am guessing her skipper and fellow crew members didn’t have an easy night’s sleep knowing that they were a day away from possibly winning the R100 000!

It would take something special to beat Chantal’s fish, and we all set out on the Saturday morning to achieve just that. We had an hour less to do it in, though, with lines up at 3pm.

Throughout the day there were updates on fish being weighed in, causing numerous positions to change in the top ten placings, but with the top spot unaffected ... until it was. Kobus Meyer, who won the 2021 Tigerfish Bonanza, weighed in a tigerfish of 4.96kg, narrowly beating Chantal’s fish by a mere 380g. That beauty bagged him the R100 000 cash prize and bragging rights for the second year in a row.

Obviously it’s disappointing not winning the Bonanza, but watching the Springboks beat the Argentine rugby team helped lift sprits before the prizegiving that evening.

If you haven’t experienced the Tigerfish Bonanza yet, do yourself a favour and sign up for next year’s event to experience the incredible atmosphere created when hundreds of likeminded individuals chase after the elusive tigerfish. Just attending this well run event lets you leave feeling like a winner. See you there in 2023!