So what happened at the 2nd Murchison Falls International Invitational Fishing Competition held in Uganda on 10th, 11th and 12th March 2006????
Last
Friday, Saturday and Sunday saw 43 anglers of 14 different nationalities
converge on Red Chilli Rest Camp, near to the Paraa river crossing.
At 6-30am on the Friday morning, armed with fishing rods, lures, gaffs
and bait, they set off up river the 13 kilometers towards the Falls.
Dodging the crocodiles, hippo and elephant that adorn the river banks
and waters themselves, in 15 motor boats, ranging in size from small,
four seater aluminium craft with 15 and 25hp outboards to one monster
30ft long vessel with twin 200hp four stroke outboard engines.
And the purpose of all this frantic fishing activity? To contest for a first prize consisting of a brand new, locally assembled 15ft aluminium Workboat and 25hp Mercury engine, the elusive winners trophy and the right to compete in the prestigious International Game Fish Association (IGFA) World Inshore fishing finals (of which this event is a qualifying round) in Florida in the USA next year. Last years inaugural tournament was won by Briton, Tony Cockayne, soon off to the USA for the 2006 finals, and he was back in the fishing fold again this year but would he be able to defend his crown?
This
is the second year that the Murchison Falls International tournament,
organised by the National Lake Rescue Institute (NLRI) of East Africa
has taken place at Paraa and is also only the second time that an IGFA
inshore tournament has ever been staged in the whole of Africa. Not
only did two Lake Rescue operational staff manage the organisation of
the event but Lake Rescue also provided two safety/filming RIB’s
with crew, a fully-equipped ex-UK military paramedic, a standby Cessna
210 fixed wing aircraft (courtesy of UWA and waiting just 10 minutes
drive from the river) and a full SAR-spec Balkow twin-engined helicopter
was on pre-financed standby in Kampala if the worst had happened. A
detailed pre-departure brief was given to all boat captains and fishermen
with their tournament manuals the night before the tournament started
with the usual small-craft, inshore safety requirements being reiterated
(and physically checked the following morning before departure up the
river). Life jackets, anchor and rope, paddles, sufficient fuel for
1 day plus 25%, fully charged mobile phones (with numbers lodged with
lake Rescue) and sunscreen and hats plus drinking water being the minimum
expected of everyone. A further brief on the real dangers to be encountered
when up around the violence of the river at the Falls plus wildlife
threats from croc, hippo, elephant, buff and lion were also covered.
Other than a fish hook through a finger there were no physical injuries
to fishermen, so a 100% safety record was again achieved. A couple of
bods we think did wish they had drunk more water…………….
Friday was Day 1 and it saw a fairly quiet start to the fishing, with South African-resident-in-Uganda Tony Wales' 23kg Vundu catfish being the pick of the days catch. With our three professional Ugandan cameramen scattered up and down the river on boats, itching to film ""the big one"" on someone's line.
Friday
night saw much talk about what Saturday would bring, with throats being
massaged by a can or two of Castle Lager, courtesy of Nile Breweries.
A similar pre-dawn start on Saturday had competitors rotated in strict
order to new locations on the river, ensuring that no-one could monopolize
the so-called ""good spots"", particularly if they
happened to have a larger, more powerful boat and could thus “beat
the gypsies to the tip”.
That day, just after lunch, came the cell phone news everyone wanted to hear. Jinja-based rafting company boss John Dahl had hooked into a monster and was drifting free down river in his boat fighting it. A support boat with cameraman rushed to the scene and captured all the action, from when the fish was first seen on the surface to when it was finally boated, weighed, photographed and then resuscitated in the water and released alive back into the river, ready to be caught again by another fee-paying sport fisherman one day.
This fish weighed an impressive 69kgs and had taken two hours in all to catch and release. This is a big fish for the Nile River at Murchison Falls and thus no-one could believe the mobile phone call that followed about an hour later that ex-professional South African fisherman Mark Wals had caught, weighed and released a 75kg specimen.
By chance a cameraman was right nearby in a Lake Rescue support boat and again filmed the whole sequence. The actual fish can be seen in the photos. The verbal tempo was raised in the bar that night after Day 2 had closed at the customary 6-30pm, with frantic fisherman’s talk of the two fabulous examples of the majestic Nile Perch that had been caught that day.
Day 3 was now wide open, with at least 3 fishermen who with ease could still take the title, with Wals only just in front by a short (fish) head. That was all to change dramatically on a blistering, humid, 40 degree C Day 3, when Wals hooked into and landed a further 56kg Perch. For the others, it was now who was going to come second, with John Dahl ultimately pipping Scottish fishing guide Alastair Brew to the second place slot.
Wals won the main prize of the boat, 25hp Mercury engine, the coveted trophy and a slot in the World Finals, Dahl won himself a new 15hp Mercury engine and Brew a professional Shimano fishing rod and reel. Then the Champagne was cracked open and the party proper began.
This Tournament has been such a success for one major reason and that is Murchison Falls itself. This is arguably the most magnificent stretch of river that can be found anywhere in the world, particularly as it is one that also contains one of the largest species of freshwater fish in the world, as well as 41 other lesser (in size) species.
Uganda
Wildlife Authority (UWA) were totally supportive throughout, being accommodating
and responsive to the tournament organisers requests, demanding little
in return (beyond the statutory Parks payments) other than for the fishermen
to respect and protect the environment they were fishing in. There are
not many National Parks in the world where you can legally sport fish
and provided the UWA continues to jealously guard this incredible asset
including, in my view, making 100% catch and release of ALL big game
fish caught there compulsory as soon as possible, it will continue to
be spectacularly unique (as well as financially self-sustaining and
sustainable). Those who have had the privilege of challenging the magnificent
creatures that live in these waters will know exactly what I mean.
Look forwards to the full set of tournament photos appearing on this
website within the next few days but in the meantime there are a few
“appetizers” on www.fishingmurchison.com.
Tim de Wet, Tournament Safety Officer
Jerry Burley, Tournament Director
A
minutes silence was held before the tournament start in memory of last
years tournament co-director and IGFA co-Rep for Uganda, Steve Willis,
who was shot dead in the Park four months ago, and it is a tribute to
his vision of last year when formulating this event that numbers of
fishermen and boats have trebled since the previous tournament. The
size and numbers of fish caught have also gone up significantly since
2005, though we don’t think even Steve would have laid claim to
this result!!!
