MAN AND machine combined last weekend at Rocky Bay where the Park Rynie Ski Boat Club hosted the first drone fishing competition in South Africa – and possibly even the world.
The Sky Anglers Drone Fishing Tournament kicked off on Saturday morning with more than 70 anglers, of whom 65 had actively made use of drones in order to carry their bait offshore, competing for more than R100 000 in prizes.
Spectators looked on in amazement as catch after catch was landed, while also ducking for cover thinking drones were flying a bit too close for comfort when, in actual fact, some were just noisier than others.
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Competition organiser, Yugen Govender, said this event is a world first and that the use of a drone to aid in fishing almost guarantees catching a fish.
The competition was completely catch and release based, with no anglers taking their catch home.
Mr Govender has more than 20 years of fishing experience and explained that his recent additional two years’ experience with the use of a drone has had him successfully catch a fish weighing in at an astounding 230 kilograms.
The Mail spoke with a few other anglers, all of whom agreed that the use of drones certainly helps, especially in rocky areas.
Many catches were made during the day but most impressively, Reservoir Hills resident Viren Raju landed a blacktip shark which weighed in at an impressive 95.4 kilograms.
Mr Raju was awarded first prize for the largest overall catch.
Check out these awesome clips provided by Drone Fishing South Africa to get an idea of how amazing the day was.
Jacques Venter of Drone Fishing South Africa even managed to capture some footage of two whales just off the coast of Rocky Bay.
Aerial footage capturing the moment a rock cod was caught and released.
For more photos check out: www.facebook.com/DroneFishingSA/posts/1567242183334260
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