Mike Laubscher

So we fished the February BETT and Midmar Dam lived up to its reputation as the Dam to make you cry tears of frustration.

This is one fishing trip I would rather forget as no matter what we tried we came up short and in the end we only landed 2 small Bass which were not even keepers and weighed in nothing. We got hit so many times but no hook ups, there was a lot of Tilapia hitting our smaller lures and I heard of some Barbel being caught.

Many top anglers also struggled and I think that the smallest bag of 5 fish ever recorded was weighed in with only very few teams actually weighing in a full bag.

I saw something very sad when out on the water which makes me realise how important it is that we try leave a green footprint behind ourselves and clean up after ourselves. A large bird had got its feet tied up in fishing line and then caught up on a branch in the tree, where it got stuck until it eventually died of starvation there because it was not able to move and ended up hanging in the tree.

This is so sad and I encourage all anglers out there to clean up after yourselves and not leave big bundles of your line out on the water. This is not the 1st time I have seen birds lives come to a tragic end because of some thoughtless angler, and countless times I have had to stop fishing to rescue our feathered friends.

PLEASE TAKE CARE OF THEM AND THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU DO.

Fish Species: Large Mouth Bass
Bait Used:
Tackle Used:
Method Used:
Water Depth: 2-4m
Water Temperature: 26 deg. C
Wind Direction:
Wind Speed:
Dead Bird hanging in tree after starving to death
Dead Bird hanging in tree after starving to death


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Mike Laubscher

About The Author: Mike Laubscher

Company: Blue Water Charters - Durban

Area Reporting: Durban. KwaZulu Natal, South Africa

Bio: I have been fishing since I was 5 years old in Durban and have fished many places around the world and in South Africa, but Durban is my home waters. I fished competitive for many years and I have been running my own charters since 2008 with 2 companies and 2 boats, fish a variety of styles and target a variety of fish species in both Salt and Fresh water, have many published articles in several magazines on fishing. Love nature and outdoors, Am very conservation minded and have a passion for birds. I am crazy about big Tuna, Marlin Fishing and Game Fishing, and also love light tackle spinning, am a total lure junkie. Represented my province in fly fishing for many years and am also pro staff for Rapala/Shimano. I want to write a book on fishing one day. 3 items left on my fishing bucket list, guess then a new bucket list will be in order. As a writer I have my own quote: \"I love taking people fishing because it releases their inner child, and in doing so keeps my inner child alive.\"

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