PRESS RELEASE

Yamaha - Boat, Caravan & Camping HERFS BONANZA 2005

The fourth Vaaldam Bonanza, presented as the Herfs Bonanza at Bloemhof Dam due to fluctuating water levels, took place during the long-weekend at the end of April 2005.

The Herfs Bonanza presented by Eko-Care Trust and Gauteng LTB on both Sandveld Nature Reserve and Northwest Parks Boards shores was held in excellent weather conditions with almost no wind and very good catches were made.

The Bonanza started with the Tight Lines Open Teams Bonanza on 27 April until 29 April.

Teams consisting of shore- and boat anglers, respectively, participate in the Open Teams event. Only carp as species has been allowed and the bags were restricted to four biggest carp per team. EXEL sponsored good cash vouchers for this event. The top teams also received a year’s subscription with the compliments of Tight Lines Magazine.

The top Boat Team, the Venter Team, weighed a bag of 23,58 kg followed by the Breedt WTSS Team with a bag of 23,55 kg and the Badprop Team with 23,03kg in the third place. The Maplotters Team took the honours for the best shore team with a bag of 23,90 kg. This was the heaviest overall bag for the Teams event which is outstanding taking into account that they fished from the shore. Second from the shore was the Bermin Team with a total weight of 21,60kg and third the Roodt Team with 20,73kg.

The big Herfs Bonanza was a day-night fishing tournament and started on 30 April at 09h00 until the next morning 09h00. Many good fish were caught during this individuals fishing tournament. The Eko-Care Fishing tables have been used to determine the winners in the individual competition. Target fish species were carp, catfish and mudfish. No mudfish has been weighed. The overall winner was Tinus Barnard who has won an Arrowhead Motorboat with 40 hp Yamaha outboard on a high speed trailer with the compliments of Boat, Caravan & Camping (Nigel) and Yamaha. He caught a catfish of 25,43kg from a boat which gave him 1052 points according to the Eko-Care Angling Tables. Second overall winner was Dirk Venter who won a Multi Moway trailer with a carp of 8,90kg (1035 points). Dirk was also the captain of the winning team in the Teams Event.

The Top Ten Boat Angler was M Venter, a family member of Dirk, who caught a carp of 7,98 kg (944 points) and won a Navman Fishfinder and Two way Radio sponsored by Pertec International. Bertus Steenkamp was in second place with a catfish of 20,46kg (855 points) and Gino Sada with a catfish of 20,45kg (854 points) in the third place, both artlure anglers.

The Top Ten Shore Angler was P Potgieter who won this category with a carp of 7,17kg (912 points) and received an Aqua Cat Dinglehopper salt and freshwater bait boat, with PS du Bruyn second with a carp of 6,98kg (893 points).

Although the shift of the venue from Vaal Dam to Bloemhof Dam might have had a slight influence regarding the numbers attending the Bonanza it was still an excellent tournament enjoyed thoroughly by everybody at the well organized event. If water levels permit, the Vaaldam Bonanza will be held again at Jim Fouche resort next year. A heartfelt thanks to all the sponsors who made the event a huge success and helped to award the prize winners in all the different categories.

Complete Results

YAMAHA BOAT, CARAVAN & CAMPING HERFS BONANZA 2005

Overall Winner

Tinus Barnard baber 25,43kg 1052 points

Second Overall

Dirk Venter carp 8,90kg 1035 points

10/10 results

Boat anglers

1.  M. Venter carp 7,98kg 944 points

2.  Bertus Steenkamp baber 20,46kg 855 points

3.  Gino Sada baber 20,45kg 854 points

4.  C Esterhuizen carp 6,83kg 839 points

5.  Deon Nortam baber 19,21kg 799 points

6.  E Esterhuizen carp 6,33kg 788 points

7.  A Viljoen carp 6,25kg 781 points

8.  N van Rensburg carp 6,22kg 780 points

9.  W Esterhuizen carp 6,19kg 775 points

10. L Venter carp 6,18kg 774 points

Shore anglers

1.  P Potgieter carp 7,17kg 912 points

2.  PS du Bruyn carp 6,98kg 893 points

3.  G Swanepoel baber 14,44kg 815 points

4.  D Botha carp 5,80kg 780 points

5.  T Kriel carp 5,76kg 776 points

6.  A Prout-Jones carp 5,63kg 762 points

7.  S Opperman carp 5,59kg 761 points

8.  D Harmse baber 12,90kg 745 points

9.  E van Tonder carp 5,38kg 739 points

10. M Laubscher carp 5,35kg 738 points

No Big Bangers have been won this year

TIGHT LINES TEAMS EVENT

Shore Teams

1.  Maplotters Team 23,90kg

2.  Bermin Team 21,60kg

3.  Roodt Team 20,73kg

Boat Teams

1.  Venter Team 23,58kg

2.  Breedt WTSS Team 23,55kg

3.  Badprop Team 23,03kg