Tracy Hardman

I was a papgooier from a young age as we resided in Gauteng, however when I returned to the coast after school my father decided that we needed to deep sea fish as this is what he did as a youngster from Rocky Bay in Park Rynie. We joined Pennington SBC and made friends with the local fisherman, what wild bunch! I was taken under the wing my Eddie Murphy of the boat Smurfy who taught me the ins and outs of game and bottom fishing. Many a day was spent on his boat and on the water and then I was allowed to go and share my information with my father, because Eddie believed my dad couldn’t catch a fish and needed me on the boat! He introduced me to the world of competitive angling and things escalated from there. Even though I had to cut my fishing escapades short due to health issues, with the help of team mates I am able to gain a world record fish during an interzonal held at Pennington, which also earnt me the SA and All Africa records. The fishing community is one filled with great comradeship and many fishing tales, which makes it the best community to be a part of!

We have a great development going on in our sport and believe more club involvement would only benefit the sport. Juniors are the future of the sport, they need to be developed into competitive angling and to keep their interest in the sport even once they have reached their colours goals. Having more ladies involved competitively is a great vision too and something to strive for. A big feather in the cap for NDSAA would be if we could host international events in our province. Definitely a goal we should be striving for!

Fishing is addictive, it becomes expensive, only because we want all the newest and neatest gadgets and tackle, but the rewards of catches and the time spent on the ocean partnered with the great fishing tales at the end of the day with fellow fisherman, man, who could resist such a sport! Get in touch with your local club, join in on the membership, ask if you can go out with some guys to learn the tips and tricks. There are old salty sea dogs that have a wealth of knowledge of the ocean and fishing that are just waiting to share with someone keen to listen and learn. And lastly enjoy the lifetime of adventures that fishing brings for you!