Hooked on the Big Catch

Plans for South Africa’s biggest and most exciting shore and deep sea angling competition, boasting a cash prize incentive of R1 million, have been announced.

The Big Catch, which is strictly a “tag and release” competition, is set to hook the interest of experienced fishermen, women and juniors all along the country’s coastline with regional entries leading up to national finals taking place on KwaZulu-Natal’s pristine north coast at Fairmont Zimbali Coastal Resort.

In the picture: Ray de Bruyn provides a wealth of experience and expertise.

The idea of creating the biggest shore and deep sea angling fishing competition originated through a combination of Ray de Bruyn’s extensive knowledge and experience of rock and surf fishing, coupled with business and sponsorship opportunities to promote the hugely popular angling industry in South Africa.

“The Big Catch will be used as an education platform on the art of angling, fish species, environmental issues and overall conservation and the protection of our ocean to disadvantaged communities along the coastline. As a ‘tag and release’ competition we will also secure sanctioning from the Oceanic Research Institute, Marine and Coastal Management and the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism to ensure that we support environmental and conservation objectives and assist in oceanic research with the collection and documentation of all catches,” says Craig Clay-Smith of The Flagship Communications Group.

Expertise

Ray de Bruyn provides a wealth of fishing knowledge and expertise to The Big Catch competition. His passion for the sport started as soon as he could walk and by the age of 24 he represented Central Gauteng in the South African national championships and then went on to represent the South African President’s team for two years. Through his 6-year association with the first televised rock and surf fishing show, ESA (Extreme Sports Angling), Ray gained further valuable knowledge of offshore fishing as well as being one of the founders of the now called dropshot fishing facet.

Ray de Bruyn explains the mechanics of the competition, “Regional eliminations will take place at nine zones along the South African coastline. Each zone will be ruled and regulated by categories of fish which will be scored for points on a catch and release basis. The entrants’ fish which score the highest points will proceed to the final and can enter at as many locations as they wish by paying the entry fee.”

The criteria for advancement are to score the highest points from ranked fish during any of the elimination competitions. Size of the fish is not the only factor; other factors such as species and difficulty of catch also determine the score.

Uniqueness

“The uniqueness of the show will be how we integrate the skills of shore and ocean anglers, but that is a secret we will only announce later,” says Clay-Smith.

All regional winners move to the next round at Fairmont Zimbali Resort near Ballito on the KZN North Coast. Elimination rounds will leave 10 final fishermen who will fish for the highest score to determine the winner.  The Big Catch Final will be held over a number of days to become the greatest fishing weekend ever.

“We are thrilled to be able to bring an event of this magnitude to the north coast and host some of the best anglers in the country,” said Wessel Witthuhn, President IFA Hotels & Resorts Africa and Indian Ocean.
Negotiations are underway to include a first-ever reality televised show of the competition.

For info: Contact Lee Jarrett on 031 202 8401.