What’s in the TACKLE BOX

WORDS & PHOTOS: John-Henry Sinclair DOMENIQUE SCHOLTZ – TOP JUNIOR ANGLER Domenique Scholtz is a top junior angler who warms our hearts! Not only because she is still a young lady who fishes provincially, or because she is just a nice person, but because her deluxe tackle box speaks volumes about her successes. John-Henry: Domenique, your tackle box looks phenomenal. Tell us who built it? Domenique: On your recommendation, one of the best tackle box builders in the country, Herman Dicks built my box. Ronald Jackson of Souties Tackle Boxes built the shell, and the layout with the 'Hou By Die Blou' branding on it, was done by Herman Dicks himself. John-Henry: Now that I've opened your box, I notice something special. You have six floatie containers on the left and right sides, but interestingly you only have twenty-six dips. Herman's layout usually has three rows of ten dips each, namely thirty different dips. Is there a reason why you asked him to change your layout in this way? Domenique: I have two rows of eight bottles each, which are 100ml, and then only one row with ten 50ml bottles. Because I often fish at Bloemhof Dam, 50ml is sometimes too little, especially if you net 30+fish for the day. The larger bottles mean more concentrate and this assures me that I have more than enough available. My 100ml bottles are mainly dips that I fish harder. To name a few: Legend, Bas van Besie, FX, Perdeby and Turbo Pine. In the 50ml bottles are Twin Series' stronger concentrates that are usually only used in small quantities, typically Vicks and GP Rooi. John-Henry: Speaking of concentrates, what concentrates and floats do you have in your box and what combinations do you fish? Domenique: In the 50ml bottles I have: 20/20 which is a spirits flavour with a lot of fluoro. I love fishing this when it's stormy and cold. Bonnie, which is the equivalent of Ebony. Since I've moved to my new sponsor it was pretty easy for me to fish with Bonnie. GP Rooi is of course a strong bunspice odour that I like to fish with Turbo Pine. I mainly fish Gumtree in the winter with FX. Perdeby, Legend and Bas van Besie are my favourite combinations. I use Senties mainly to flavour my floats or I'll even shake my degie in it if the fish are getting picky. I fish Stuttaford with Banjo. Sweet Gandhi is a new concentrate that I am testing. It has an incredibly strong curry aroma along with something that is a state secret. It is a real 'spicy' dip and one of a kind. To target the muddies I fish Vicks with Captain which is a molasses. Last but not least, XXX is pure Duiwelsdrek under a pseudonym. I have yet to put a spray on it because I love to spray it over my FX. In my 100ml bottles I have: Bas van Besie which I love to fish with Legend and Perdeby as I mentioned earlier. It has a very strong, unique garlic/almond aroma that was originally made by late Uncle Besie Appelgryn. Chakalaka, which needs no introduction, together with TAC is deadly at Bloemhof. I fish Devils Fork with GP Rooi. I usually fish Flash with Turbo Pine for the muddies and with a bit of Perdeby for the bigger carp in the winter. FX and Duiwelsdrek go hand in hand. Has Been is one of my favourite fruity aromas and is a winning summer combination. Kwas which of course has that nice strong spirits flavour, with tartrazine, together with You Go has already showed many dams who is boss. The original Legend recipe, refined by the former three-time world champion, GP Nel needs no explanation. Has Been, like Peach Perfection is a nice fruity aroma and when the sun beats down brightly is a first rate dip. Stinkvoete, which is a cheese, together with Turbo Pine which is a pineapple, are probably the top muddie combinations currently on the Vaal Dam. I fish Top Gun, another fruity flavour with a kick, together with Gumtree. My top six floats are: mixed hard floats (yellow and white), hard Duiwelsdrek (white), soft Bunspice 33 (red), hard Senties (yellow), hard honey (orange), soft Vampire (white), hard Stuttaford (yellow ) and finally mild Aniseed (white). In the rest of my box there are usually poliesmanne, snap swivels, finger cloths, stopwatches, line mates and, of course, the world-famous homemade duiwelsdrek, fluoro brown bread backing that my father taught me. John-Henry: I see here in your crafty drawer you have a few traces, with a large variety? Domenique: Yes, any angler who wants to come out on top has to be ready for a fight. Different circumstances require different traces. In my first box I have 0.5's that I fish at places like Jackie Leonard that are very muddie oriented, and most of my traces' hooklinks are 9-pound Trilene Maxx from Berkley. In my second box I have traces with number one hooks; I don't fish with 0.8 hooks because I mostly fish the Vaal and Bloemhof dams. In my third box I have traces with number two hooks. In my fourth box I have a special trace that has a number three hook at the top for snake worms or flying ants for places that have larger barbel. Its hooklinkis 14-pound from Double X. I put on stronger line for the bigger barbel and even took out my PB barbel of 13kg with this trace. In the next box are my bottom traces. I usually make them 700mm long with a snap swivel at the bottom so I can change between weights faster. In my sixth box are my traces for putting flying ants on. I use a Gamakatsu B10S hook on them precisely because they are so strong (made for fly fishing in the sea). In the seventh box are my worm traces. Eighth box is my traces for when I fish with crabs – typically in the Sloep at Bloemhof – and my last box has traces with a very large hook for when I fish with fish heads. John-Henry: In the bottom drawer I see some Shimano reels – a reel close to my own heart. Tell us a little more. Domenique: My bottom drawer is very simple. I have three different koki markers to mark the different distances on my line. For example, I will mark 60m red, 80m blue and 100m green. I then have another colour marker in case I might want to mark another distance. With my spools, the first row is my XTEA 6000 spools that I fish on my shorter rods, and in the back two rows are my X-Aero spools that I fish on my long rods. I only fish with Shimano reels because they last you a lifetime and because so many anglers in the world put their trust in them. John-Henry: Domenique, is there anything else you want to tell us? What does the future look like for you? Domenique: I think one's bait is very important because without bait you cannot catch fish and, of course, the right distance is just as important. John-Henry: Congratulations, Domenique on a very nice tackle box. I think there are many people who can learn from you. We are proud of you and all the best for your fishing going forward!

What’s in the TACKLE BOX

Another instalment by John-Henry Sinclair about what top anglers keep in their tackle boxes.

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