Mind Your Manner

Largemouth yellowfish is our prime indigenous fresh water sport fish. Anton Hartman explains the correct handling technique to minimise our impact on this valuable resource.

- Anton Hartman

In the past few years, we have seen more and more fishermen starting to target largemouth yellows on the Vaal and Orange rivers. Growing to great size, and for most anglers being at the top of their bucket list, it makes these one of the most sought-after fish to try to catch on a consistent basis. Well-known spots become flooded with inflatables and thousands of casts are made in anticipation of what might happen on the next cast. During ideal conditions lots of big fish are caught, but from what I’ve seen, I find the handling of this magnificent species concerning. I have seen anglers make various unintentional mistakes when handling bigger fish, and when the moment comes, most anglers completely lose perspective of what they’re doing.