SAFFA B-Nationals - Barkly East

ANDREW "OTTER" CLARK

A very successful B National event was held in Barkly East from the 12 th to the 15 th of February 2020.

We had a lot of rain the week before and many of the rivers were not fishable. Barkly East however is a natural beauty with a lot of available w a t e r a n d w e a l w a y s h a v e something to fish. Two days before the event we were still changing beats and rivers.

The Barkly East Angling Society has over 450km of water to choose from a n d t h e r e i s s o m e t h i n g f o r everybody. You can catch five different species of fish in one day. We have rainbow and brown trout, small and large mouth yellowfish and the mudfish in our rivers. You can decide what you want to fish for and what type of fishing you feel like; dry fly, euro-nymphing or old school streamers in water that ranges from easy to very technical.

A total of two thousand and forty eight fish were caught by fifty five anglers in three days of competition comprising five sessions of three hours each session.

T h e r i v e r s f i s h e d w e r e t h e Saalboom, Vaalhoek, Ruitjisvlakte, Karenmelkspruit and the majestic Kraai River. The Kraai lived up to its name as everybody kraaied (cried) because it was so full and dirty.

Wednesday evening was the opening ceremony at the local golf club. This was the base camp for the whole event. Everybody got together there every morning and had supper every night after a wonderful days fishing in our area.

Thursday morning was hectic as everybody needed to be sent out to their beats. I had the honour and privilege of fishing with a disabled guy in my group. Douggie Wessels from WP has fished national events before, but was never allowed to fish a river session due to safety reasons. The Barkly East Angling Society saw this as a challenge and accommodated him the whole weekend. He got to fish every session on the rivers and never blanked once.

I have not seen a guy enjoy himself so much in a long time as he caught wild trout and yellowfish out the river from his wheel chair. A local, Cameron Cronje, became his personal assistant and had to carry, wheel and pull him around where ever he wanted to go. Luckily they breed them big in our area.

Thursday was about serious fishing and I won my sessions and placed well. Due to the time you spend with your group traveling and fishing personal ambition fades away and a fishing fellowship evolves amongst the competitors. Friendships are made and we will always look forward to meeting up again. Lunch packs are eaten under trees in the most beautiful settings and laughter echoes down the valleys as fishing stories are told.

Friday and Saturday are more about fellowship with your new friends and offering encouragement to the few that are struggling. Every night flies are swapped and advice is given to each other over a few beers and a couple of Jagermeisters. After sessions a few beers and biltong next to the river with the local

The local Eastern Cape first team won gold on their home waters. Gauteng North thirds took silver and the Eastern Cape seconds won bronze. Eleven teams took part and a fantastic time was had by all. We had a great turnout and it was a great event. Honours in positions four through eleven were as follows: Gauteng North 2, Western Province, KZN, Gauteng North 1, Mpumalanga 1, individuals, Central Gauteng and then Mpumalanga 2.

The Barkly East Angling Society with the Eastern Cape were privileged enough to host the junior national event in September last year. The Czech team was here and members caught their first yellowfish on fly. Those kids can teach us a lot about fishing. The tournament was a huge success and a total of nine hundred and eight fish were caught. On just the first day of fishing all five species of fish were recorded.

The A Nationals will be held in Barkly East in March of 2021. We look forward to accommodating them and sharing our beautiful waters and area with all of the teams and their supporters.