IT WAS luck and persistence that led to Ryan Pickering bagging the biggest fish at this year’s Mercury Amatola Bass Classic held at Wriggleswade Dam over the weekend to win a R250000 Mercury boat.
Pickering, originally from Stutterheim, who lives on a smallholding outside East London and has fished at the competition for many years was close to pulling out this time after his fishing partner came down with flu.
“I called my brother Brennand to fish with me,” said Pickering.
The two were then faced with another obstacle – they didn’t own a boat to fish from.
Kind friends came to the rescue, but the weather on Saturday was anything but kind. Fishermen came back with small fish, if they were lucky to get any bites at all.
Brett Edmunds had the biggest catch of the day on Saturday with a 2.8kg bass and was in line to win the Mercury Crackleback 500.
“The first day (Saturday) I didn’t catch a single fish. So on the second day (Sunday) we were quite negative and just decided to fish the bank close to the clubhouse.
“It was just after 10am when, my brother was packing up, I decided to have one more cast for luck.
“I knew straight away it was a monster, but my brother didn’t believe me until he saw it jump,” said Pickering.
It took about four minutes to reel in and some more luck – just as Brennand netted the 3,415kg bass, Pickering’s hook slipped out its mouth.
“We went in straight away and weighed it, but then had to wait for the competition to close at noon before we knew I had won.”
At past competitions Pickering has always looked at the Mercury boat and dreamt about winning it, but this year to avoid disappointment he didn’t even glance at the Crackleback 500. “I can’t believe it’s mine. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before,” he said.
Pickering has decided to sell the boat and put the money into his new business selling catering equipment.
“It’s been a tough decision, but I think it’s the responsible thing to do,” said the father of three.
Over 83 entries, with two anglers per boat, took part in this year’s Mercury Amatola Bass Classic, which is hailed as one of the biggest fishing competitions in the country with prizes in excess of R400000.
One of the organisers, Tyrone Schwartz said: “Without the sponsors this event wouldn’t be possible, so a big thanks to them.
“A great weekend was had by all despite the inclement weather and we hope to see more interest next year.”
All fish caught were released.
All falls into place as Pickering reels it in
Pickering, originally from Stutterheim, who lives on a smallholding outside East London and has fished at the competition for many years was close to pulling out this time after his fishing partner came down with flu.
“I called my brother Brennand to fish with me,” said Pickering.
The two were then faced with another obstacle – they didn’t own a boat to fish from.
Kind friends came to the rescue, but the weather on Saturday was anything but kind. Fishermen came back with small fish, if they were lucky to get any bites at all.
Brett Edmunds had the biggest catch of the day on Saturday with a 2.8kg bass and was in line to win the Mercury Crackleback 500.
“The first day (Saturday) I didn’t catch a single fish. So on the second day (Sunday) we were quite negative and just decided to fish the bank close to the clubhouse.
“It was just after 10am when, my brother was packing up, I decided to have one more cast for luck.
“I knew straight away it was a monster, but my brother didn’t believe me until he saw it jump,” said Pickering.
It took about four minutes to reel in and some more luck – just as Brennand netted the 3,415kg bass, Pickering’s hook slipped out its mouth.
“We went in straight away and weighed it, but then had to wait for the competition to close at noon before we knew I had won.”
At past competitions Pickering has always looked at the Mercury boat and dreamt about winning it, but this year to avoid disappointment he didn’t even glance at the Crackleback 500. “I can’t believe it’s mine. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before,” he said.
Pickering has decided to sell the boat and put the money into his new business selling catering equipment.
“It’s been a tough decision, but I think it’s the responsible thing to do,” said the father of three.
Over 83 entries, with two anglers per boat, took part in this year’s Mercury Amatola Bass Classic, which is hailed as one of the biggest fishing competitions in the country with prizes in excess of R400000.
One of the organisers, Tyrone Schwartz said: “Without the sponsors this event wouldn’t be possible, so a big thanks to them.
“A great weekend was had by all despite the inclement weather and we hope to see more interest next year.”
All fish caught were released.
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