The Start
I fished my first bass tournament at the Tzaneen Classic,
1998, on a very small bass boat with a 15hp Yamaha hand tiller
outboard and ended 21st out of about 200. It was here that
I decided I liked the  competitive aspect of bass fishing
and joined Pietersburg Bassmasters. I fished my first Northern
Province regional season in 1999 and qualified to fish my
first national tournament that year but couldn’t make it
due to a technicality.
I replaced my tiny boat with a larger bass boat and
equipped it with a 115hp Yamaha outboard motor that was
later placed on a third bass boat, a Rebel VX70 from
Zimbabwe.
At the end of 2004 I sold the Rebel and asked Solly’s
Anglers Corner (Johannesburg) to import a Nitro NX882
for me. This boat has been equipped with a Mercury 225
Optimax. I feel with this rig that I do not have to stand
back for anyone and am able to compete in our tournament
circuit with utmost confidence in my equipment.
The South African National Circuit
For the purpose of logistics South Africa has been divided
into 5 different geographical regions/divisions, and
works much the same as the American B.A.S.S. formula.
During each season anglers throughout the country compete
in 4 different tournaments, within their division,
of which the accumulative results of each angler determines
his/her position in the Divisional ranking system at
the end of the season. The top 10 ranked anglers out
of each division are the ones who qualify to fish in
the South African National Tournament against the other
qualifiers of the remaining divisions. At the National
tournament the competitors are also ranked according
to their results from the current and 2 previous tournaments.
From this list (top 24 anglers - National Ceding) the
South African National Team and the President’s Team
are selected to represent the country each year.
Since 1999 I have fished competitively each year (6
years) and have managed to qualify to represent my region
at the South African Bass National tournament each year
(2000/1/2/4/5) bar 1 (Vaal River 2003). I have also represented
the Limpopo Province (Northern Province) four times (2000/1/2/3).
At the start of the 2004 season I changed clubs from
Pietersburg to join Centurion Bassmasters and qualified
twice to represent my new province (Gauteng North); most
recently at the National/Provincial tournament held at
Inyaka Dam, Mpumalanga -August 2005.
At the Albert Falls National Tournament I managed to
qualify to be selected for the President’s Team for the
first time. We fished against the Zimbabweans at Inanda
Dam (Feb/March 2005) and managed to beat them with a
very convincing margin. At the most recent National Tournament
(Inyaka Dam – Aug 2005) I was selected to represent my
country in the President’s Team for the second time.
I am one of very few lady anglers who currently fish
the National circuit and the only lady to have qualified
to fish the South African National tournament the past
6 years. Our circuit does not differentiate between male
and female anglers and we all compete on the same level.
Achievements
Aside from fishing the National tournaments I have also
competed in several money tournaments since 1999 and
have won several 1st/2nd/3rd ladies prizes in the Albert
Falls and Heyshope tournaments. Other achievements
are as follows:
• 1st Place – heaviest bag. Potchefstoom Classic – 2001
• 1st Place – heaviest fish. 1Mil Vaal Classic – 2003
• 3rd Place – heaviest bag. 1Mil Vaal Classic – 2003
• 1st Place – heaviest bag. Inanda Provincials - 2004
• 1st Place – heaviest bag. Witbank Classic – 2004
• SA Presidents Team – 2004/5
• SA Presidents Team - 2006
Fishing Journalism
 When
I started fishing I devoured any kind of reading material
related to bass fishing in my quest to learn more about
the sport. I discovered a considerable shortage of good
material available in South Africa and had to resort
to reading imported books and magazines. As my knowledge
and experience grew I knew that I had accumulated a lot
of information that I could share with other bass anglers
just starting out in this wonderful sport of ours. This
is when my association with the Tight Lines Fishing magazine
began; my first article was published in the January
2001 issue and since then has progressed to a regular
monthly ‘Bass Sportsman’s Column’. Read some of my articles.
Ambition
When I first started competitive bass angling my main
ambition was, as a woman, to be taken seriously in
this very male dominated sport and to be considered
fair competition in any tournament I may compete in.
Having achieved this to a certain degree my ambition
has evolved to becoming the first woman to be selected
to represent South Africa in the National (Protea)
Bass Angling Squad. Additionally, since the announcement
by BASS/ESPN to host a professional women’s
bass fishing circuit in the United States, I
decided to take a great leap of faith and join
the circuit. I hope to achieve the same degree of success,
and greater, in the United States as I have in my home
country.
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