Day 4

Weather again kept the fleet at home.

Day 3

Weather conditions kept the fleet land locked.

Day 2

Team catches:

Border                                 1 BIG Yellowfin
S.Cape                                 4 Longfin
Natal,Zululand,EP.           1 Longfin each
W.P.                                      nil
Sadsaa                                  nil (lost Yellowfin in extra time)

Early reports from the SADSAA Tuna Nationals of a World Record Yellowfin on 10Kg Line Class! 106.8Kg's caught by Frank Scholtz from Border after a 6.5 hour battle.

Lines up extended to 4pm today in view of expected bad weather  tomorrow.

Results to follow this evening.

Day 1

7 teams set out today at the beginning of the SADSAA 2012 Tuna Nationals held in Cape Town.

Only one Yellowfin made it to the scales, the rest were Longfin. Final tally for Day 1 as follows:

SADSAA               3 Longfin
E.P.                        7 Longfin
Natal                     22 Longfin
W.P.                      3 Longfin
Zululand               4 Longfin
Border                  4 Longfin
S.Cape                  14 Longfin + 1 small Yellowfin

Conditions very favorable for tomorrow.

Teams

SADSAA Captain - Dale Hattingh
Angler 2 - Marius Coetzee
Angler 3 - Mike Riley

EPDSAA
Captain - Colin Barris
Angler 2 - Rian Raubenheimer
Angler 3 - Dawie Van Zyl

ZDSAA
Captain - Hein Kohrs
Angler 2 - Jacques Van Wyk
Angler 3 - R Vermaak

WPDSAA
Captain - Nish Ibrahim
Angler 2 - Daniel Hughes
Angler 3 - Leander Wiid

NDSAA
Captain - Ian Murray
Angler 2 - Japie Klienhans
Angler 3 - Nic Nel

BDSAA
Captain - Frank Scholtz
Angler 2 - Kevin Bourke
Angler3 - Gary Thompson

SCDSAA
Captain - Connie J Garstman
Angler 2 - G tanner
Angler 3 - M Hattingh

PICTURE ALBUM...CLICK HERE

28 April - Final Day

Perfect weather conditions dominated the final day of the Tuna Classic. The fleet set off and made fast progress to the Tuna grounds, with some boats running out to the 40 mile mark.

Although there were a few more fish than on Day 2, there were no major surprises at weigh-in with all the fish ranging around the 16Kg mark and nothing larger than 17.8 Kg; a nervous time for the 1st and 2nd placed Junior Ladies as they waited for the last boats to show their catches.

In the end the Junior Ladies showed the men how to do this thing. A BIG congratulations to Carla Schmidt & Melissa de Villiers who walked away with 1st and 2nd place on Sea Devil, skippered by Colin de Villiers.

Joint 3rd place went to Ian Burrel (boat: Fundays Too) & Anthony Muller (boat: The Ghost) with a fish each of 18.2 Kg's.

Top boat was The Ghost, skippered by Tielman Nieuwoudt.

Carla Schmidt (1st), Colin de Villiers (skipper) & Mellissa de Villiers (2nd)
photo by Nich Cadle

27 April - Day 3

Today is a blow out.

The forecast fo tomorrow is ideal with 5 Knot NE swinging to SE with 1.6m swells at 15 seconds.

26 April - Day 2

Conditions perked up overnight and most of the boats made an early start this morning.

Boats ran from 24 to 42 miles to get to the good water with choppy condition in the deep.

37 Yellowfin made it to the scales all between the 15 Kg's minimum to the largest of 19.4 Kg's caught by Junior Lady, Carla Schmidt on Sea Devil.

The Junior Ladies did well all round with a good 18.4Kg Yellowfin landed by Melissa de Villiers, also on Sea Devil

Conditions tomorrow aren't loking good with 26 Knot WSW and a swell of 2.4m at 5 seconds.

Top fish of the day:

19.4kg – Carla Schmidt on Sea Devil

18.4kg – Melissa de Villiers on Sea Devil

18.2kg – Anthony Muller on Ghost

18.2kg – Ian Burrell on Fundays Too

17.8kg – John Allan on Big John

17.6kg – Les Pretorius on Challenger

17.4kg – Phil Kolbe on Levanto.

25 April - Day 1

The 20th Port Elizabeth Deep Sea Angling Club's 2012 Tuna Classic kicked off last night with registration and the skippers briefing.

The 25 boats made their way to Shark Rock pier this morning amid chilly but clear conditions. A crowd of family and friends gathered for the Blessing of the Fleet before the fleet run off into the stunning sunrise.

Late am: Weather out deep picked up and forced the fleet to return. Fishing was called off for the day.

American Sportfishing Association News Release

For Immediate Release

Mary Jane Williamson, Communications Director
mjwilliamson@asafishing.org, 703-519-9691, x227
www.asafishing.org

Alexandria, VA – April 18, 2012 - On April 17, by a wide bipartisan margin, the House of Representatives approved a bill that contains language that would block ongoing, unjustified efforts by anti-fishing groups to ban lead fishing tackle by petitioning the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) using a provision in the Toxic Substance Control Act. The Sportsmen's Heritage Act of 2012, H.R. 4089, establishes an exemption for traditional fishing tackle under the Toxic Substances Control Act and clarifies the exemption that already exists for the shooting and hunting sports. The EPA has been petitioned three times in the last 18 months to ban ammunition or fishing tackle containing lead and the agency has rejected all three petitions.

"We applaud the House members for passing this legislation that will protect the sportfishing community from unwarranted and unjustified restrictions on fishing equipment," said Gordon Robertson, vice president of the American Sportfishing Association. "Time after time the EPA has ruled that the petitioners did not demonstrate that such a ban is 'necessary to protect against an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment.' The House-passed provision supports and reinforces the EPA's numerous decisions. The petitioners' continuing efforts, through petitions and lawsuits, demonstrated a clear need for this legislative solution."

"Our thanks go to the thousands of anglers who voiced their support for this legislation through KeepAmericaFishing™, and to the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus' leadership and members who piloted the measure through the House of Representatives," said Robertson. "We also want to recognize the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the National Rifle Association and Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation for their leadership on the bill."

"There is no scientific evidence that the use of traditional fishing tackle is having an adverse impact on loons and other waterfowl populations, the reason groups most often cite as the reason for a ban," noted Robertson. "The fact is that our nation's waterfowl populations are healthy. The most recent population study by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service states that loon populations are either stable or increasing throughout most of their range. It is a shame that these groups have chosen to focus their efforts against recreational fishing and hunting, which support healthy resources, instead of the more significant threats to waterfowl such as habitat loss, gill nets, predation by domestic and feral animals and water quality problems."

The Sportsmen's Heritage Act of 2012 also contains several provisions addressing other concerns. Among those is angler and hunter access to federal lands. With expanding land development and growing regulations restricting angler access, federally owned lands are more important than ever for recreational fishing opportunity. The Sportsmen's Heritage Act of 2012 promotes increased and more consistent access for hunting and fishing on federal public lands by directing public managers to facilitate recreational fishing and hunting on public lands and waters through their agencies' land management plans.

"We are grateful that the House has worked in bipartisan fashion to address some of the major concerns of sportsmen and women, and we look forward to working with members of the Senate to ensure that the issues of greatest importance to the sportfishing community are addressed there as well," concluded Robertson.

The American Sportfishing Association (ASA) is the sportfishing industry's trade association, committed to looking out for the interests of the entire sportfishing community. We give the industry a unified voice speaking out when emerging laws and policies could significantly affect sportfishing business or sportfishing itself. We invest in long-term ventures to ensure the industry will remain strong and prosperous as well as safeguard and promote the enduring economic and conservation values of sportfishing in America. ASA also gives America's 60 million anglers a voice in policy decisions that affect their ability to sustainably fish on our nation's waterways through KeepAmericaFishing™, our angler advocacy campaign. America's anglers generate over $45 billion in retail sales with a $125 billion impact on the nation's economy creating employment for over one million people.

Album...click here

U 16 Angler Leaderboard :
U 16 Overall Team Leaderboard:
U 16 Skipper Leaderboard:
U 19 Angler Leaderboard:
U 19 Overall Team Leaderboard:
U 19 Skipper Leaderboard:

This years under 16 and under 19 Nationals kicked off on the 27 March 2012 with a Development Seminar at Knysna Angling Club.

30 Juniors spent the day learning regulations, knots, rig and baiting techniques at a very well organised coaching seminar hosted by Southern Cape Deep Sea Angling Association & SADSAA is Association with SASACC and the National Lottery.

Two teams of 3 development students per day were treated to a days fishing held seperately from the Nationals.

28th March 2012 - Day One

Very good weather conditions dominated the first days angling and the fleet left safely through The Heads and held the Blessing of the Fleet before heading out to the fishing grounds.

Cool water conditions contributed to reduced catches but a good spread of species and some nice sized fish including a few Santer over 3Kg made it to the score sheets.

29th March 2012 - Day Two

AM - The fleet were again blessed with excellent weather conditions and got underway early this morning.

Weigh in from 14:30 to 16:30

Weather forecast for tomorrow is not looking good with heavy rain and 4m swells predicted.

30th March 2012 - Day Three

Due to bad weather the angling for today was called off.

31st March 2012 - Day Four

Weather again put an end to any angling today.

Prize giving will take place this evening.

This event hosted by SCDSAA & SADSAA in association with SASACC & the South African National Lottery will take place on 27 March 2012.

INVITATION: