From World Class Jockey To The Western Cape’s Rising Star

Andrew Nienaber is one of those people that will “go fishing” for any fish for any reason, be it salt or fresh water. He has always fished, be it for carp, trout or even klipvis in the tidal pools at the beach – if it had gills and it swam he wanted to catch it! That is something his brother Ryan, myself and him have always done. He is also by nature one of those very competitive people, which trait was compounded even more in his former profession as an International Jockey. Unfortunately he had to retire from that demanding profession, which was when his competitive focus fell on bass fishing. In high school Andrew was scouted to go to jockey school in KZN and that was when the bass bug bit him because there was a dam on the school grounds and numerous farm dams nearby. From there he came back to Cape Town to race as an apprentice, and thereafter he moved to Johannesburg where there were more opportunities for a young up and coming jockey to make a name for himself. While in Johannesburg he got into the float tubing scene and fished the odd Bass Challenge competition when he could. After a couple of years he moved back to Cape Town more or less the same time that the BFSA Kick Boat Trail started. Being a full time jockey however he could only fish the odd competition but made up for it when he had the odd off day the in between racing. A few years later he had the opportunity to live in Dubai to look after a very good local race horse, basically making sure it was fit and well looked after. While there he managed to pick up the odd race even though he was not there to race, but such is his competitive nature he just had to race. He even won a race over there, which ranks right up there with all his other achievements as a jockey. Unfortunately this was also when he found out that the hip problems he was having would be the cause of his retirement. He finished his contract in Dubai and returned home where he partnered with his brother at his company, Greenfish.co.za A quality Loskop bass taken during interprovs. Andrew has fished Divisionals for two seasons and is now in his third and has always been right up there mixing it up with the big names like the Fraser's, Watson's and Britz's of the world. So far this season Andrew has three 1st places, a 2nd and a 5th, and with only one blip on the radar with a 16th place, to say that Andrew is having a good season is a slight understatement. He is currently leading the Western Cape Division with 580 points with second place having 568 points. Here are his results for the season and bear in mind that in between all that he went to Wriggleswade to fish in his first Nationals where he finished in a most credible 13th place. [Q] What would you say is the key to your success this season? Probably just hard work; what you put in is what you get out. Time on the water and pre-fishing, but the most of it is preparation at home. [Q] Did you set yourself any goals at the beginning of the season? My main goal for this season is to make Nationals again. [Q] With water levels permitting there are two more Divisionals left this season. What would you like to achieve from them? Simple, I want to win both! I want to have 599 points at the end of the season. This may sound cocky but this is what I want to achieve. I want to win Angler of the Year! [Q] Is there anything that you have learnt from the season so far that would change anything? I have learnt a lot this season! I’m always a student of my craft... one of the biggest lessons this season is to adapt to the conditions in front of me. In one Divisional I discarded everything learnt from my pre-fish to adapt to the conditions on the competition day. [Q] Do you think that fishing from a float tube has helped you with competing in Divisionals? Yes, it has definitely helped me. What it has taught me is to fish spots within spots and find small spots in an area that might look barren, because on a float tube you are forced to fish the entire bank and you can’t just hop from spot to spot like you do on a boat, which is almost like a lazy way of fishing. And I think being very much self-taught has helped me to have confidence in what, why, where and when I am throwing it. [Q]Which dam is your favourite to go fish socially or for a competition? Clanwilliam is a lot of fun but I really enjoy fishing Bulshoek. I’m happy fishing anywhere - as long as I’m fishing! A white Spro Bronze Eye frog ranks as one of Andrew's favourites. [Q] What is your favourite tactic to catch bass? Topwater! You just can’t beat topwater! Any style as long as it’s on top. [Q] What other fishing do you do? Any fishing, but a lot has taken a back seat because of the bass fishing. I do some inshore fishing for yellowtail with rod and reel. Sometimes if the water is right I jump in and spear a couple. I also go to the deep sometimes to target yellowfin tuna. [Q] What is you all time favourite fish to catch? Smallmouth bass on topwater! Hands down my favourite! On light tackle you can’t beat it. [Q] Your bucket list for bass fishing? To fish competitively in the USA! And I’m not going to stop until I get there!