Stirling High’s Slater Webb ranked SA’s best junior angler

Stirling High’s Slater Webb was named the top junior angler at the recent South African Deep Sea Angling Association (Sadsaa) junior nationals in Port Alfred. The event was hosted by the Eastern Province Deep Sea Angling Association and the Port Alfred River and Ski Boat Club from July 8-12. The 18-year-old matric pupil, representing the Border Deep Sea Angling Association, ended the tournament with a perfect score of 400%.

Ryder Barclay and Aiden Herselman were the other anglers who represented BDSAA. Reflecting on the event, Webb said: “This was my last year at the nationals as a junior so it was quite special to end with a bang.” He managed to overcome seasickness during day one and managed to end the day with a score of 100%. “One of the most difficult moments was the first day we went out and I forgot to take tablets and ended up being seasick the whole day, but I kept telling myself that I had to keep going,” he said.

Webb added that during the weeks heading into the junior nationals he had spent several hours fixing errors and familiarising himself with the knots and baits permitted when fishing with a 10kg line. “I also spent about 10 hours tying traces and weak links in preparation for the nationals. I also received lots of guidance from many people in my home town and the Border committee.” Webb said the conditions during the four days of fishing on the Kowie River were similar to his usual fishing grounds in the Border area.

[paywall]

“The conditions were relatively good throughout the competition except when the wind picked up on the first day and made the sea a bit choppy. “There was still stuff to be learnt as I found most of the fish were biting on bigger baits than normal.”

[/paywall]