COMPETITIONS
By Helen Fenwick
A
NUMBER of years ago Meirion Williams, Traill Witthuhn, Gawie Bruwer, Hannes Schreuder, Gerard de Kock, Johan Jooste and Johan van der Walt thought it would be a good idea to investigate the numbers and sizes of the marlin swimming in the Agulhas area, and so the first TOMT was held in 2006. Now, 15 years later, it still draws many anglers to test their skills at catching the elusive monster of the sea. The
52 • SKI-BOAT May/June 2021
2021 event, held in early February, was an exceptional one by any standards.To start with the weather was near perfect, and anglers were able to fish for a full six days which some of them found quite gruelling. Then there were the high numbers of marlin — over 50 marlin strikes were recorded by the 23 participating boats — the most marlin seen around this area in many years. As always the fun and camaraderie is also noticeable, with much sharing of information among the competitors. The opening function was held on Friday 5 February, and although Day
One was actually only on the Sunday, the Saturday dawned bright and beautiful, so an informal competition was held amongst the boats that decided to go out. Kevin Swart from Kinda Magic was thrilled when he successfully released a black marlin and was declared angler of the day. DAY ONE The sea was a tad lumpy on the first official day of the tournament, and some of the smaller boats had a less than comfortable ride, but otherwise conditions were good. At 8.30am Mojo
