The Sunday Mail
Prince Mushawevato in Kariba
FOR the fifth year running, no single angler managed to catch a tiger fish weighing 10kg or more to land the grand prize of a brand new Isuzu KB250 Fleetside truck at the annual Kariba Invitation Tiger Fish Tournament (KITFT).
At 6,17kg, Daniel Donohue of team Hyeana Sunrisers had the biggest catch of the 58th edition of the tournament. A few others averaged 5kg.
Some of the anglers attributed the drop in fish weight to a massive decline of water levels in Lake Kariba.
Pat Driscoll of team Charter Africom was the last to win the grand prize in 2014 while Andre Barnard of Fisherman’s Friend narrowly missed the grand prize last year by a mere five grammes.
His catch weighed 9,995kg.
The total number of fish caught this year stood at 926.
“This year was a bit different. We tried our best but the fish just did not bite.
“It would have been good to win the top prize but lady luck was not on our side.
“The lake is not in a good shape with regards to water levels. That affected us big time,” said one of the anglers in an interview with this publication.
KITFT director Rod Bennett said he hopes next year’s tournament will be better.
“We faced serious challenges in this edition and we hope these will be addressed so that the event keeps running.
“A good rain season will also do well for the tournament,” said Bennett.
Sixty-nine teams participated at this year’s edition of the tournament, which was a 10-team drop from last year.
