South Africa holds the lead

Protea Captain, Justy Varkevisser and Craig Fraser (SABAA President) arriving back at Emerald Casino with a Vaal River Mega Bag weighing 8,8kg. Gray skies shroud the Vaal River as 42 teams of international anglers await take-off on Day 2 of the XV Black Bass World Championships. Top anglers from around the world make up for the absent sunrise with radiant enthusiasm. A strong finish from any team could shuffle the leader board. After two practice sessions and one full scoring day, competitors know a lot about the Vaal. It’s a temperamental river . . . stingy, technical and reluctant to cough up fish. The mid-summer rainy season maddens the difficulty with fluctuating water levels, turbidity and passing fronts. Kwak Min Keun (left) and Park Mu Soek, The KVD of Korea, weigh in a full bag on day Two. Park My Seok, known as the KVD of South Korea, winner of six KSA (Korean Sportfishing Association) Bass Classics sums it up best when tells me the fishing is a challenge for every angler and the Vaal an excellent testing site. Day two began under steely skies and ended in a deluge, with more rainfall predicted for the final day. So far, the inclement weather has done nothing to weaken the competitive spirit of the world’s finest anglers. Team South Korea earned an 8th place finish after day one, but made a monumental jump by the end of day two, climbing into the 5th place position. Each South Korean team weighed a full, five-fish bag. South Africa maintains the lead but does so by tight margins in this highly contested match of elite world anglers. Justy Varkevisser and Craig Fraser of South Africa presented to the weighmaster a mega bag of 8.8kg, largest of the tourney so far. “Its tough out there. We are finding fish, but it will only get harder as the tournament continues,” says Justy. Kris Hickson (left) and Tom slater of Australia await weigh-in on Day two. Hickson hints that finding hidden structure has been a key to their success. Australia maintains second place after day two with all three teams filling a five fish bag. Two Australian team members, Julian Smith and Dave Boyack are former South Africans now living Down Under. Australians Kris Hickson and Tom Slater approach the weigh station enthusiastically but remain silent regarding technique. Hickson quips that using fishfinders to detect hidden structure is a big help. Two European teams round out the top five. Team Germany sits in 3rd place after day two followed by Italy, a team known for refined skills in finesse fishing. Team USA drops to 8th place. Ron Colby (left) and Gene Covello of Team USA discuss the fishing on South Africa’s Vaal River. To understand results, spectators must familiarize themselves with the unique international scoring system, called a Reverse Grand Prix. Fourteen countries provide three boating teams of two anglers. At the end of each fishing day, the two-man teams present the weighmaster with a maximum of five fish, 30cm or larger. The weight of the bag determines overall placement. As an example, the heaviest team bag will be awarded one point (called a penalty point). The lightest bag will be awarded 42 points. Penalty points for each of the three country teams are added for an aggregate country score. The lowest number or penalty points at week’s end will be awarded a gold medal.