Renosterkop dam

[Icepack]

Hey there guys!

 

I went through to Renosterkop on Saturday with 2 other mates. It was our first outing there and we were all very impressed with the dam on most levels. However, when we got back to our car at around 4.30pm we were shocked when we saw one boat throw roughly 16 bass from their livewell on to the floor. These individuals stood there very proud of themselves and their catches of the day.

I have been bass fishing for about 20 years now, and my two mates have been fishing for around two years, and I have emphasised to them the importance of catch and release to ensure that we maintain the few good fisheries we have left in the country, yet after seeing this boat I am starting to worry that I may be one of the minority that share these sentiments.

I chatted to our car guard Daniel and he said that there are many other clowns that take home in excess of 10 fish at a time. I tried to explain to him that if people continue to take fish out like that, the fishing will get worse, and people will stop going there and giving the local community money. I know this is a long shot, but I hope if they hear that enough they will hopefully limit the amount of fish coming out of the dam.

 I understand that I have not been fishing much in the last few years, but since when did this become acceptable amoungst fellow bassers?

 

[siocnarf]

Icepak

I am also a firm believer in catch and release. I think the removal of bass from Renosterkop stems from the believe that the bass is getting overpopulated in the dam and is ruining the Kurper population.

Renosterkop has been known for great kurper catches.

I think the problem is twofold concerning the kurper. Both the bass and the anglers are the culprits in the sense that the anglers have removed thousands of kurpers from the dam. Surely the bass are also feeding on the kurper's fry as well. Gill nets also used to be a big problem in the dam. I have heard od a guy that catches small kurper there every weekend and then sell them at his shop in one of the townships. He boasts that he is making more than a thousand rand every week from his kurper catches. Most probably this is also happening to bass.

I have no problem with an angler that removes 3 or 4 fish for the pan. After all bass is a nice fish to eat but then do it selectively and do not take the big ones and also limit this practice.

It is a lovely piece of water.

 

[siocnarf]

Double post.

 

[Icepack]

I understand what you are saying, but these muppets were on a bass boat, meaning that they surely also would surely want the fishing to remain great at the dam. Fish should not be removed from a dam during spawn  as this is a crucial time for the future of the species. I also posted this on bassing.co.za and someone replied saying that they too have seen these same muppets taking in excess of 40 fish home. If this carries on this dam is surely going to go south along with many other dams where this has happened

 

[Little Green Fish]

Right, now here's the ironic part of this, (BTW I ONLY CATCH AND RELEASE) but, since the declaration by the political idoits sitting behind a desk listening to the fake (thumbsucked info) report that the ill-educated, promotion hunting and utterly corrupt official is selling to him/her to score some brownie-points, that bass is a NO NO and should be erradicated with immediate effect, so that the carp (also an alien species) can feed the poor masses and the trout (again an alien species) (which they themselves prefer to go fish for as part of sucking up to the Idiot on top) can enjoy the freedom, but bass, oh no.

Now this is were it gets strange (we all know it's corrupt along time ago, but strange), the poor mullet that hauls these bass from the water is actually acting like a good Idiot (i mean citizen) cause there's a moderatorium on bass, catch it and you have to kill it, if not you're liable to be prosecuted for breaking the law. 

Whats worst is the fact that these good idiot (i mean citizen/s) are stuffing themselves around, cause sooner rather than later they'll swear at the carp etc etc that just refuses to grab their senko without dipping it in almond or banjo,or it being too big for the kurper as there won't be any bass left.

IDIOTS, aag skuus man, I Mean Citizens!!!!

 

[Droomvanger]

The same thing happens with blue kurper. During summer time when the blues are hot you can see how some fishermen pocket the dozens of blues, to sell it for petrol money afterwards!
I also found plenty of gillnets filled with blues in the dam - poaching is the order of the day at Renosterkop.

 

[sustan]

They can not force you to kill the bass by not releasing them again...All they can do is make it illegal to transport bass and introduce them to new waters...else the bass comps would be illegal :/

Where are these gill nets? iv only ever found one (and i pulled it off the bottom of the dam because my lure got stuck on it) iv never seen one actually working. I have also seen one on the shore at the launch. I have no idea what they were planning on doing with it though. I have heard of locals shooting at fisherman because they were trying to pull the nets out but this might be a lie

All you can really do to these okes is throw a couple of swear words at them and dirty looks or explain to them that they screwing the fishing up for everyone else and the fishing is going to die just like what happened at RDW

 

[sustan]

repost

 

[Jafta1]

I might be mistaken, but it is only in Western Cape where all bass and trout caught should be taken, thus no catch and release for them. For all the other provinces you can still catch and release but you are not allowed to transport any live bass and/or trout. In fact, you are not allowed to transport any live fish with the intention of restocking without a permit.

 

[Icepack]

Yeah its dangerous messing around with gill nets. We used to travel up to the Zambezi often and we were confronted often by the locals asking if we removed their nets, and there were plenty people shot at for removing nets.
I agree with sustan, we need to tell these clowns exactly what we think and that we wont stand for it if they are going to mess up our dams by fishing them dry.

 

[zucas922]

Do yourselves a favour and go to the first point just after the dam wall and look at the mountain of scales , these come off of all the bass and kurper that the boat anglers give to the locals during the weekend.Its hundreds of fish a weekend!even in the week its bad

 

[andrewb]

Yesterday i saw a boat remove at least 50 bass from the dam. Apaprently those guys go there once or twice a week and seem to be taking fish for sale. The biggest was about 2.5kg. There are plenty of bass around and maybe it would be a good idea for anglers to remove any bass of under a kilo and leave the bigger ones. Someone told me a friend of theirs once took 120 kurper out the dam in a days fishing. I think the legal limit is 20

 

[SmokingToe]

White hilux with fridge on the back? The culprits we've seen take the most fish out of the dam used to have a white hilux and white boat with blue trimming....

They USED to have a huge blue container to keep the fish in. Since then they have upgraded to a HUGE fridge they keep on the back of their bakkie...

Totally Idiots.

 

[andrewb]

These guys had a land cruiser bakkie. The boat was yellow with a 70hp Tohatsu. People making money selling fish without a license should have everything involved in the capture from boat & engine to tackle conviscated. I think the law allows for that though I am not sure it applies to exotic species?

 

[madporra]

Hi guys,
I have been following threads about these happenings at Renosterkop Dam on another bassing website, and was horrified to hear the stories!

I decided to do something about based on the horror stories, to stop these guys. I hope we have your support by asking you to send your emails to the following guys, with any and all info you have on these guys.

THIS HAS GOT TO STOP!!!

I attach the link here (hope admin does not mind).
http://www.bassing.co.za/bassingforum/general-public-discussions-chat/4494-renosterkop-dam-slaughtering-bass.html

Hi All,

We have read on various reports about the unsavoury witnessing of the slaughter of bass fish at Renosterkop (Mkhombo) Dam.

I am glad to advise that there may be some light at the end of this tunnel. I have contacted a Mr. Kobus Pretorius - the Area Manager for the Dept. of Water Affairs, based in Groblersdal and in charge of around 30 or more dams in the area - he did not like what he heard, and has already escalated my email, along with his reply, to his Directors at DWA.

Unfortunately I am currently posting this from my cellphone on bassing.mobi, so I cannot paste my mail to him nor his reply to me and his Directors on here - I will do so on Sunday / Monday.

What I can do here though, is give you all Kobus' email and fax-to-email number, and ask you all to please start sending him emails with your feelings and concerns, pictures of these guys, registration numbers, whatever you have.

He will then report it to his superiors, who have to take heed of the situation. Had we emailed his Directors, the emails may not be addressed as they are inundated with all kinds of things - at least this way, he can compile all the emails and hand them to his superiors every week during their meetings.

Here are the details, pls send yr emails!
Dept. of Water Affairs (DWA)
Mr. Kobus Pretorius - Area Manager Groblersdal
Subject: (whatever u want, just include 'Renosterkop (Mkhombo) Dam' in it somewhere)
Fax-to-email number (fax which goes to his email) on 0866-332-632.

Email address: (send to both of these)
pretoriusk@dwa.gov.za
pretoriusk@dwaf.gov.za

PS - Can someone perhaps alert the C4C and BETT organisers too, as I am sure they would LOVE to host an event there - and I am sure we would LOVE to fish it - maybe adding their case may help even more?

Let's give this a go and see if we can stop this.

 

[madporra]

Hi guys, herewith a copy of the email I sent them, to which I have already had a reply and a possibility of a meeting date of possibly 22 September. Will let you guys know!



-----Original Message-----
From: Paul [mailto:madporra@yahoo.co.uk]
Sent: 08 September 2010 05:37 PM
To: Pretorius Kobus (GDL) pretoriusk@dwa.gov.za, Pretorius Kobus (GDL) pretoriusk@dwaf.gov.za;
Subject: FW: Renosterkop (Mkhombo Dam) - unneccesary slaughtering of
bass fish

To: Department of Water Affairs
Att: Mr. Kobus Pretorius - Area Manager Groblersdal
Date:08 September 2010
Ref: Renosterkop (Mkhombo Dam) - unneccesary slaughtering of bass fish

Dear Sir,

I write this letter with good intentions.

I am part of a bass fishing community and forum, and bass fishing
(amongst other facets of fishing) is our passion.

Many of our members visit Renosterkop Dam, and always report back on
their awesome fishing experiences. It is a dam that anglers frequent often,
and the funds generated by the anglers must be good for the Park.

However, of late the anglers have seen disturbing scenes at the launch
area of the Nature Reserve.

Our members have noticed anglers catching bass, keeping them in nets,
and upon arrival at the launch, the fish are "dumped" onto the launch (alive!),
given to the car guards, and are gutted and scaled right on the launch. The one
member counted out 43 fish alone in one day - and many of them were very large
fish.

This is gut-wrenching to see (no pun intended), and lately the smell
while launching one's boat is unbearable.

If it were locals catching a fish or two to eat, we have no problem with
that! What upsets us more, is that these individuals are also bass
fishermen with big boats. They are always seen waiting for the fish to be cleaned,
and whilst doing so they apparently consume large amounts of alcohol.

Some of the members have tried to approach them, but as you can imagine,
1 fisherman against 5 or 6 big drunkards are no match! It seems that the
park rangers are either involved, or too scared to do anything about it. Soon
this place will be a lifeless dam.

The problem is that this seems to have attracted more "thugs", as
members are starting to see more and more cars and boats taking loads of fish home.
In fact the "regulars" I speak of above, have even invested in a large fridge
which they keep on their bakkie, to take the fish home in - this needs to be
stopped!

We find this deeply disturbing, and we would like to fish here for many more
years to come. Surely this is also not good for the surrounding environment, and
to deplete the stocks of these fish for their own benefit? What is the
number of fish one is allowed to take home anyway? And is this not a NATURE
RESERVE, meaning PRESERVATION? These are the questions we keep asking ourselves
......

Pls could you contact me to set up a meeting as soon as possible, we
would really appreciate someone's intervention as soon as possible to stop
this kind of thing happening.

I look forward to your response.

Kind Regards
Paul Pereira
011-706-2111
083-637-8084

 

[madporra]

For those of you who haven't read up on all the happenings, follow it on the links below, then come back and rant here! We need your emails to go to DWA!!!!!

http://www.bassing.co.za/bassingforum/general-reporting/4422-day-renosterkop-dam-28-aug-2010-a.html

http://www.bassing.co.za/bassingforum/general-reporting/4452-renosterkop-02-09-2010-a.html

http://www.bassing.co.za/bassingforum/general-reporting/4491-rhenosterkop-09-09-10-a.html

http://www.bassing.co.za/bassingforum/general-reporting/4504-renosterkop-dying-quickly.html

 

[andrewb]

Hi Mr Pretorius

Here is a picture of a boat that apparently once to twice a week removes fish from Mkombo Dam.

I am not sure of DWAF's position on this but may i make some suggestions.

The recreational industry was in 2007 given a value of about R20 billion!  That was research done by Stellenbosh and Harvard.
Mkombo has the potential to become a famous dam attracting anglers throughout the year if managed properly.
Accomodation or at least a campsite needs to be provided for the anglers.
This tourism can result in several permant jobs.
Cattle need to be removed from the reserve.  There are lots of cattle in the reserve.

I worry that bass may take over the dam (at the exspense of kurper) and suggest that locals from the nearby village be encouraged to catch bass but return to the water  any fish over 1kg.  This will serve the purpose of feeding the local angler and stimulate the occurance of "big bass" which anglers will travel far for. 

I also suggest that the anglers who travels from far to the dam not be encouraged to remove the overly generous quota of 20 kurper a day.

If done properly Mkombo and the nearby residents would benifit as would South African anglers

regards

Andrew Bannister

 

[siocnarf]

Madporra and other Sealiners

Please note that it is not illegal to remove fish from a dam and before your blood pressure goes sky high please listen me out.

I have been to the dam in question a couple of times and have been targetting Kurper and Carp. I have never removed a fish from this dam. I  sometimes catch more than 100 Kurpers in one day and they are all released.

I have noticed the following changes at the dam though:

1. Since the beginning of 2010 it was noticeable that the bass population have increased      tremendously.
2. The big Kurper catches have really became scarce and most of the Kurpers are in the
    500 gram to 1 Kg range.

I do not want to outright blame the bass for this happening but perhaps it is part of the problem that bass is busy getting overpopulated in this dam. If some fish is therefore removed, especially those in the 1 - 1,5 kg range it can do the dam only good.

I actually do Carp specimen angling and therefore also target a alien specie and we have been trying to educate anglers for years to catch and release with little success.

Luckily this dam is not close to any big city and is targeted by not that many anglers at all and that is a positive for this dam. If you go and target bass at this dam, even a novice can catch in excess of 20 bass in an afternoon cession which is clearly a sign that this dam is currently overpopulated with bass.

You and me are also culprits in announcing the good catches from this dam to everybody that wants to read about it and these reports draw these funny people that does not believe in catch and release.

Carp specimen anglers are hated for the phrase that their big specimen was caught at a private venue, all for the sake of not disclosing the venue.

Lastly you must realise that a well prepared bass is perhaps the best edible freshwater fish around.

 

[andrewb]

I was wondering how sustainable a fishery it would be if for example there was active promotion of removing all bass under 1kg and carp under 3kg. The local township residents would benifit and the venue would become known for big fish.
I was only recently introduced to the dam (by a angling magazine) and cannot find any refernce to it even having bass in it until a few years ago. I suspect that the bass will soon take over and thrive to such an extent that the dam will be full of smallish bass. I dont believe removing the big bass is an answer.