EBASS BANK ANGLING LEAGUE: A New Chapter For Passionate Bass Anglers
WORDS: Hazel Hockly & Andrea Dugmore IMAGES: Supplied
At Ebass, our passion for growing the sport of bass angling drives everything we do. We are committed to making this thrilling sport accessible to everyone, ensuring that every angler, regardless of their resources, has an opportunity to participate and thrive. Recognizing a need within the community, we saw a unique opportunity to create a league specifically for bank anglers, those who fish from the shore rather than from boats. Through this the Ebass Bank Angling League was born.
OUR FIRST EVENT:
On Saturday 18 May this year, the Ebass Bank Angling League hosted its first tournament event for the year at the beautiful Rietvlei Dam on the outskirts of Pretoria. As the first of three tournaments for the year it was much anticipated and well supported with almost 100 bank anglers entering this event, including 5 ladies and an amazing 9 juniors.
The response to our inaugural tournament was overwhelmingly positive, with the dedicated anglers all eager to showcase their skills in a competitive yet friendly environment. The enthusiasm and energy at the event was palpable, underscoring the deep rooted passion that bank anglers have for this sport.
The late sunrise and signs of the first early morning winter chill were not going to deter any of these anglers, who were kitted up and ready to fish. After the anglers’ briefing at 06:35 the siren sounded for lines-in at 07:00. Excited anglers and families made their way to their chosen starting spots, with many deciding to make their way into the deeper water clad in their waders, and hoping for an early morning deeper water bite.
The morning was quiet with the first fish being weighed just after 08:00, followed by the biggest fish of the day coming to the weigh station at 08:35. It was going to be a tough day for the anglers!
Patience was the order of the day, with many anglers deciding to slow their fishing down and to try more finesse fishing in the tough conditions.
As I walked along the banks chatting to everybody what I saw were smiles and conversations amongst the anglers, swapping big bass stories, giving advice to each other and to the many juniors, and in general helping each other to figure out some kind of pattern. This made me realise that even though the fishing was anything but explosive, these men, ladies, juniors and families were having fun.
There was a technical desk available throughout the day, with loads of support and advice from our well-seasoned and experienced anglers, with our very own Darryn van Heerden, Victor Bridger, Johan van Veelen and Andrea Dugmore assisting with years of knowledge and ready to lend a helping hand. Darren Hockly, our junior development mentor assisted the juniors with their set ups and practising their casting as well as answering any questions their inquisitive minds had. David Nunes from Nunes Bassin also spent the day at our event, capturing our event video and assisting the anglers with advice and getting some amazing footage from the day. There was also an on-site store courtesy of our partners from Tackle Cabin, where the anglers could stock up on some tackle and have a chat to Rob about everything tackle related.
What turned out to be a beautiful winter’s day, however proved to be a very hard day of fishing, with only 13 fish being caught for the event and only 9 anglers managing to catch the elusive green bass.
The winner of our first tournament and taking home R10 000 was Mico Prinsloo who also caught the biggest fish of the tournament, weighing in at 1,75kg. Mico’s fish gave him the overall win and also the big fish prize of R1500. Congratulations Mico!
In 2nd place was Graham Spowart who walked away with R5000, and in 3rd was Jordan Bridger who won R2500.
Unfortunately none of our juniors managed to catch a bass but they never left empty handed as each junior left with two packets of plastics sponsored by the awesome guys at McArthy baits, and a rod each sponsored by Rockblend Ready Mix.
Feedback from both participants and sponsors has been incredibly encouraging. Anglers praised the organization and structure of the event, noting how it catered perfectly to their needs and preferences. Sponsors also expressed their satisfaction, highlighting the event’s professionalism and the opportunities it created for brand engagement.
The success of our first bank angling league competition marks a significant milestone for Ebass. It reaffirms our belief in the potential of bank bass angling and our commitment to fostering a supportive and inclusive community. We are excited to build on this success and continue to grow the league, providing more opportunities for anglers and juniors to engage with the sport they love.
Thank you to everyone who participated, supported, and believed in the vision of the Ebass Bank Angling League. Our gratitude also goes out to the City Of Tshwane who worked alongside us, ensuring the areas where we were hosting were cleared and cut back for our anglers. We look forward to working together with you and hosting many more events at your beautiful venue.
Together we are creating a vibrant and accessible future for bass angling in South Africa. Thank you to all the Ebass committee members who worked tirelessly to make our first tournament a success.
A special mention and thank you to all our sponsors, without them this would not be possible:
Our National Sponsors:
- Victron Energy South Africa
- Garmin
2024 Sponsors:
- Tackle Cabin
- The Cube
- McArthy Baits
- EBS Security group
- Googan Baits South Africa
- Doors R Us
- Boston City Campus
- Mega Paints Lyttleton
- Rockblend Ready Mix
See our Facebook page – Ebass Bank Angling League, for more competitions, more excitement, and more opportunities to share in the passion that unites us all. Our next event, Leg 2 will be held on 17 August at Prime View. You can enter on our website, just follow the link.
The latest digital edition of THE BANK ANGLER / DIE OEWERHENGELAAR is now available!
