WINDHOEK, FEB 24 – The Namibia Bass Angling Association (NBAA) hosted two Bank Windhoek National Tournaments at the Sartorius von Bach Dam near Okahandja on Saturday, 19, and Sunday, 20 February 2022. The participating anglers weighed in 48 fish with an average weight of 0.796 kilograms during the two-day tournament.
On Saturday, 20 seniors, three juniors, and one lady angler participated in the first tournament. They were eager to find the elusive five largemouth bass that every angler strives to catch. The day turned out to be a tough one for most anglers. Bass under 300 millimetres (mm) is a dime a dozen at Von Bach, as most anglers caught them. There were also reports of dozens of African sharp tooth catfish caught, but the elusive 300 mm bass were scarce.
Richard Grant was the only angler who managed to catch five bass over 300mm. James Van Rooyen saw four legal bass for the day. Van Rooyen took the gold medal, Grant won the silver medal, and Neels van Tonder claimed bronze at the end of the day. As a lone participant, Madri Opperman claimed the gold medal in the lady’s category. Amongst the juniors, Bian Coertzen caught a limit of five fish. Aje Engelbrecht claimed the silver medal.
There was a buzz in the air on Sunday as anglers hoped the rain would get the fish on the bite. The second day of the tournament turned out to be more challenging than expected, with no anglers managing to catch their limit of five. Johan Coetzee managed to find some bigger fish and took home the gold medal for the day. James van Rooyen managed to scratch out four keepers to take home silver, with Max Pieper close behind taking the bronze. Opperman took gold amongst the ladies, while no juniors caught anything. Johan Coetzee caught the biggest bass of the day, weighing 2.399kg.
“Congratulations to all the competitors. We look forward to an action-packed year,” said NBAA’s Public Relations Officer, Richard Grant. “Thank you to Bank Windhoek for being the primary sponsor.”
Next on the bass angling calendar, is the Bass Nations Qualifiers taking place from Friday, 11, to Sunday, 13 March 2022. – NDN Staffer
