Craig Posted November 10, 2015 Report Share Posted November 10, 2015 One of my goals this season was to get a new PB during one of Kick Boat league events I fish. There are 7 tournaments and the first 2 are done. I places 2nd and 7th - with 2.7kg/6lb my largest fish. Nice fish but 1lb off the PB Last weekend’s tournament was supposed to be at a big fish venue and I was really looking forward to it. The venue is on a private farm and they unfortunately had to cancel. Luckily the manger and I organise a few charity events together and he invited me and my wife to have a morning session on the same venue. We started quite late but I picked up a few good 4-5lb fish on my home made ‘Hippo’ swimbait. Much to the annoyance of the other 2 on the boat who were still fishless. I switched to a Gantarel and pitched it into a small gap in some vegetation sticking off the bank. The Gantarel was a half stuck and a few tugs pulled it loose. Its freedom was short lived… Booom! Water sprayed everywhere as a largie smashed what she thought was a struggling bluegill. A strong but quick fight ensued and I managed to lip land my new PB, weighing in at 3.45kg/ 7.6lb. One of the trebles unfortunately nicked her gill and she was bleeding a bit but after a few quick photos she swam off strongly. I look forward to catching her again. My 3 fish bag would have been in the region of 8kg while the other 2 in the boat would have been lucky with a 3kg combined bag. If only the tourney wasn’t cancelled… TRafferty, LUV-2-CATCH'EM, fishnchips35 and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbass Posted November 10, 2015 Report Share Posted November 10, 2015 Way to go....congrats Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassing305 Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 Nice bass!I have read there are some monster bass in South Africa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Posted November 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 Nice bass!I have read there are some monster bass in South Africa. Thanks Mike. South Africa has got some good bass and our northern neigbours, Botswanasns & Zimbabwe, have some fantastic trophy fish waters that regularly produce fish over 10lb. Our official largie record is 6.45kg/14.2lb. A larger fish of 7.3kg/16.1lb was caught recently but the angler was not a South African Bass Association member it does not count as an official record (bit of a controversial issue at the moment). The Smallie record is 3.526 kg / 7lb 774oz by a junior. I’m from the Cape, in the far south of Africa where the weather is a bit cooler. Our smallies are great but the largies grow a bit slowly. Our largest water in the area is once again starting to produce large fish after a sharp decline. Catfish were introduced about 10 years ago with devastating effects on the bass. Thankfully they have adapted and are back in a big way. Our local Provincial (county/state) record is just on 5kg/11lb, broken this year by a friend of mine on a Big Bite Baits Rojas Fishing Frog. He and his partner had a nice 12kg/26.4lb 5fish bag in a tourney last weekend. Bring some swimbaits and I’ll take fishing while your wife/girlfriend does the touristy thing. jcolo4sho, bassing305 and fishnchips35 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timcauliffe Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 Hell yeah! - Congrats on the PB. I've had the same luck - getting the Gantarel stuck, rip, and boom! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallyc Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 Nice going Craig, you let the "Hippo" out of the bag... , could be time to put the rods down & get into production..? Keep casting, that Record is yours on the next cast... Keep us posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassing305 Posted November 12, 2015 Report Share Posted November 12, 2015 Would love to visit South Africa and is something I have spoken with my girlfriend about.Will take you on your offer if I am able to go to South Africa in the future! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Posted November 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2015 Would love to visit South Africa and is something I have spoken with my girlfriend about.Will take you on your offer if I am able to go to South Africa in the future! It's a great place to visit Mike. PM me if you ever get serious about it and I'll set up some great fishing. We have an awesome bassing community here and there are plenty of guys who are always keen to show off the bass waters our country had to offer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YELOSUB Posted November 14, 2015 Report Share Posted November 14, 2015 Nice fish, congrats on your PB... Just a little tip for you...Next time you nick the gills or anytime you have bleeding from the fish gills, pour Coca Cola into the fish's mouth over the gills...This will stop the bleeding and help the injured gill... Craig and R8R 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Posted November 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2015 Nice fish, congrats on your PB... Just a little tip for you...Next time you nick the gills or anytime you have bleeding from the fish gills, pour Coca Cola into the fish's mouth over the gills...This will stop the bleeding and help the injured gill... Thanks Tim. Coincidental I've just been researching bleeding gills and fish mortality. Apparently it's the Carbon dioxide causes the blood vessels in the gills to constrict and the fact that any liquid helps clotting in fish (opposite to humans). Wish I had known that trick because I always have some coke on board. She was released really quickly and swam off strongly so I really hope she will survive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnchips35 Posted November 16, 2015 Report Share Posted November 16, 2015 Really nice fish. She looks like she needed a snack. Congrats on the PB. You are going to surpass this record in now time. Keep throwing those swimbaits. If you throw them they will come, LOL. Good luck out there and be safe on the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LUV-2-CATCH'EM Posted November 16, 2015 Report Share Posted November 16, 2015 Very cool-Great fish! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeremyW Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 awesome stuff congrats Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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