South African Shore Anglers Association

In one of the most closely contested Nationals of recent years, Southern Cape showed remarkable character and skill in recovering from what must have been a disappointing first two days to claim a dramatic victory in this year's Senior A Nationals hosted by Border.

After the first day's fishing Southern Cape was placed 8th overall, and by the end of day 2 they had slipped to a disappointing 9th overall. From there it surely must have seemed an unassailable task for captain Steven Denny's men to even get into the top 3.

A strong easterly wind on Wednesday had changed conditions from warm, clear water to cooler, coloured water for the final two days of fishing. It was time to put aside the edible tackle and bring out the heavy stuff for the ragged-tooth sharks that were sure to show up given the cooler waters. The Border waters are renowned for being unforgiving, and the fact that Border has never lost a Nationals in their own waters is testimony to the fact that local knowledge is key to producing the results there.

Denny's men did, however, have the advantage of the legendary Pautz family on their side. With Mike Pautz as manager and Andrew Pautz as guide they were guaranteed to have the full advantage of the best local knowledge available for the final two days. Day 3 saw Southern Cape's Neil de Jager take the honours by landing 3 Ragged-tooth sharks for an individual total of 210 points on the day. On a day that was disappointing for most other teams, it certainly was the day that turned the tournament around for Denny's men.

De Jager's performance on Day 3 rocketed their team standing from 9th to 3rd overall, and it was game on for the final day's fishing. In contention for top honours was a strong Central Gauteng team lead by Martin Dowie who was still lying 1st after 3 days of fishing. Donovin Sumner's men from Border were placed 2nd with Wally Watt's Kwa-Zulu Natal team in 4th. With conditions promising for big ragged-tooth sharks on day 4 the game was still wide open for any of the top sides.

Day 4 saw team standings change throughout. Llewelyn Scrooby from Kwa-Zulu Natal was the first to throw a cat amongst the pigeons by landing the biggest fish of the tournament with a raggie of 182kg early on. Next was Martin Dowie from Central Gauteng who hooked into a monster fish only to loose it after a well fought battle of almost 3 hours.

Although manager Ray Kingma and captain Donovin Sumner had their Border men on the right spots, the fish just never came for them. Towards the end of the day it was Hannes Botha of Southern Cape who sealed victory for his team by landing two big raggies for a total of more than 300 points on the final day. In many aspects the 2010 Senior A Nationals were remarkable. Most notable is that it was the end of an era with the legendary Colin Scheepers announcing his retirement from the Senior A Nationals.

After 31 consecutive Nationals, Colin has decided to bid the Senior Division farewell and focus on the Masters. It is a sad, but very grateful farewell to a gentlemen and a giant in the sport. And of course in typical Colin Scheepers fashion he ended the tournament with a top ten individual performance and took the honours as top-ranked angler over 3 years! Also notable was how well the tournament was organized. Graham Kingsley-Wilken and his committee should be commended for hosting a brilliant Nationals.

Their organization was top-notch. The fact that the competition was aired on national TV news is also testimony to SASAA president David Goldberg's efforts to give the sport the exposure it deserves. The tournament was fished in a spirit of camaraderie and sportsmanship amongst the anglers. In all aspects the 2010 Border Nationals certainly was remarkable and truly a showcase for the sport of competitive angling. With the upcoming World Angling Championships being hosted in South Africa later this year the future looks brighter than ever for the sport of competitive angling in South Africa.

TEAM RESULTS

TOP 10 ANGLERS

TROPHY WINNERS