Catfish Chronicles: Part 4 – International Recognition For Our Catfish

With the reputation of the Sharptoothed Catfish (Clarius gariepinus) now solidly embedded in the psyche of South Africa’s trophy fish hunters, it was to be expected that some sort of formal recognition would be sought by anglers who were increasingly launching expeditions to target what had become known as ‘monster’ catfish, or “barbel” as it is commonly (but incorrectly) known, and to set either a new Personal Best or set a new record. The state of the river on the first expedition. The trees are normally 30 meters off the bank. Under normal flow conditions, these rocks are some 20 meters away. So far however, the record of 33,30kg set by Johnny Ward in 1991 (see Catfish Chronicls Part 3. – Ed) enjoyed formal recognition only from his club, his provincial association and the national Light Tackle Boat Angling Association; it was not recognised by the national controlling body of formal angling, the South African Anglers’ Union. Capetonian Andre Havenga registered the world’s very first IGFA Sharptoothed Catfish Line Class record in 1999, a fish of 25kg caught on 6kg line in the Orange River in the Richtersveld National Park. It was left to Pretoria-based angler Hennie Möller to register the very first, formally recognised national record. Having grown up in Upington in the Northern Cape, a village owing its existence to the farmers on the banks of the Orange River, he regarded catching big catfish as quite ordinary – he did it on weekends and every school holiday. He had caught several big catfish during his youth but had never given any thought to actually seeking any sort of formal or even informal recognition for his catches. It was only after following the exploits of “The Famous Five” as reported in the Hengel/Angling magazine, that he decided to register his next big fish, which he did with a fish of 36kg in 1992. As an affiliated club member he was entitled to a formal record application, which the South African Anglers’ Union duly accepted and ratified in December 1992. News of the catch and his record swept through the country and seemingly overnight the previously unpopular catfish was now a prized trophy, which of course it was, and still is! On his visit to the Park in 2001 Andre Havenga caught this 31,7kg Sharptoothed Catfish on 15kg line to claim his second IGFA world record. Hennie Möller’s first record, a 36kg fish caught in 1992 recognised by the South African Anglers’ Union. What this fish, the country’s largest indigenous species, was missing however was international recognition, and for that to happen Hennie needed a record certificate from the International Game Fish Association (IGFA). Founded in 1939 and headquartered in Florida, U.S.A., the IGFA is the internationally recognised record keeping body for all game fish in the world (see www.IGFA.org). The all-time heaviest Sharptoothed Catfish, a 42,18kg (93lbs) ‘monster’ caught by Hennie Möller in his Orange River schoolboy fishing grounds at Kakamas in 2003. In 1984 the IGFA had added all recognisable game fish species in the world to its ALL TACKLE record category, and is one of very few – if any – sport fishing organisations that accept record applications made by anglers who join as members only after the fish has been caught. Soon after and following on protracted negotiations with the IGFA by South African IGFA Representatives the species was also included in the IGFA LINE CLASS record categories, which opened another avenue for record seekers. The fish that gave Hennie Möller a 24kg line class record. It weighed 18,26kg, was quite legal to claim but IGFA has since made the minimum weight of the fish equal to the line class. Cape Town angler Andre Havenga seized on this opportunity – every year he paid a visit to the Richtersveld wilderness area to set up a fishing camp on the banks of the Orange River, and naturally catfish was a target along with Largemouth and Smallmouth Yellowfish. On his 1999 visit he latched on to a 25kg specimen on 6kg line and subsequently was awarded with the world’s very first IGFA line class record for Sharptoothed Catfish! Two years later he achieved two more IGFA line class records, namely a 20,70kg fish on 4kg line, and a 31,7kg fish in the 15kg line class category. Another ‘monster’ caught by Hennie Möller on one of his many sessions on the Orange River – no record claim was made. Hennie Möller meanwhile had become a air traffic controller in the South African Air Force, stationed in Pretoria so his fishing time was drastically curtailed, although he actively continued his search for big catfish at every possible opportunity. His efforts were rewarded in 2003 when he landed a true ‘monster’ weighing 42,18kg (93lbs). As he was using 8kg test line the catch qualified not only for an All Tackle record, but also for a Line Class record. It is a record that to date has not been bettered. Nine years later, in 2012, Hennie once again decided to go for a world record, this time in the 24kg line class, and claimed the record even though his fish weighed only 18,26kg. In 2011 the IGFA instituted an innovative record category, namely Length records. While South African anglers regularly land catfish that would keep the IGFA records officer busy just about every month ratifying Length records, to claim such a record anglers must use only the official IGFA measuring device, which in fact is just a plain ruler but with a fancy head section against which the fish’s head is rested. At a cost of US$40 and the weakness of the SA Rand, local anglers reckon it is just too much. IGFA also maintains fly fishing records categorised by tippet breaking strain test. The first South African fly fisher to gain recognition was Derrick Snyman who claimed the 2kg tippet class record with a fish of 6,40kg caught in Hartbeespoort Dam in 2006. Johannesburg-based fly fisher Terence Babich holds three fly fishing records, two of them caught in 2005. One is in the 6kg tippet class for a fish of 16,45kg caught in BLoemhof Dam, and the other in the 8kg tippet class with a fish of 18,28kg caught in Vaal Dam. His most recent record is in the 3kg tippet class with a fish of 7kg caught in Koppies Dam. Night fishing is an integral part of Hennie Möller’s game plan. RECORDS & ETHICSWith no minimum weight requirements for IGFA line class records, in 2010 an angler quite legally claimed a record in the 37kg line class with a fish of only 9,53kg caught in Zoo Lake in the centre of Johannesburg. And in 2012 Hennie Möller claimed a 24kg line class record with a fish of only 18,26kg, while in 2015 a 60kg line class record was claimed by an angler in Cuba for a fish of only 7,94kg. Although these records were opposed by IGFA Representatives on purely sport and ethical grounds, the IGFA was honour bound to award them. Respectability has however been restored with the line class now being the minimum required weight in each category. Catfish Chronicles part 5