Newsletter Archive of The Hook and Reel Angling Club, Port Elizabeth, South Africa

TIGER TELEGRAPH VOL 1 2007

Yes, once again I am here to plague you with my insensitive comment on fishing matters. Please note I use the word FISHING instead of angling, as I am one of those dinosaurs that believe that if you want to be an angler you will never do well, as the motto of the fisherman is always lie about the size of the one that got away, and always be prepared to sit in the cold and rain in order to catch the big one.

An angler on the other hand is a person who only fishes when there is no wind and no rain, who dumps a piece of cut bait into the river and only ventures out of the cabin when the ratchet is screaming, or wakes up the next morning with an old electric drowned on the hook from boredom. Another characteristic of an angler is the size of the bottle of dop which he takes with when he goes angling

So yes people, make your mind up into which category you fall. Well, enough of that and down to the business of the club:

River League Please note the following changes:

You must attend the pre-league meeting which will be held on the Tuesday prior to the league, so that you can collect your personal weigh-in form from the River Secretary, Mr Bertie Strydom. Remember you cannot fish without it.

Name and address changes

Esmé has asked me to remind everyone that if you change any bit of your current information, could you please let her know on the following telephone numbers:

Home 041-3605325 Work 041-4021931 Cell 0829359065

Come chaps, it is very important to have the correct information in order to let you know what is happening in the fishing circles. By now a lot of people would have found out that if you have not paid your subs you cannot get into the clubs grounds, the price of a disk is R20.00.

A serious problem has arisen. Our poor safety officer has lost his pair of size 13 slip-slop sandals at the club. He says he left them when launching his boat. So what? Here is where the problem lies: it is not every day you can buy a pair of size 13's, these are very scarce. So if anybody out there found them, please let Keith know on 041-5816648.

With regards to the safety inspection, Keith reports that there are still a lot of boats that have not been inspected. There seemed to be a bit of confusion with the late registration of boats last year, however our certification runs from Dec to Dec.

So if you have not had your boat safety-checked please arrange with Keith.

Now for a bit of serious news, the price for the hiring of the hall is being raised to R300.00 with a refundable deposit of R 200.00. I know some people will moan and groan, but where in PE can you hire a hall with all the facilities that we have for this price?

Another item which must be spelt out for all club members is that the hall is only available to club members. If you hire the hall the member must be at the function him / herself. You cannot hire the hall and give it over to someone else. Please good people, adhere to this rule to avoid embarrassment.

Now to leagues, you will notice on the calendar there is a pre-league meeting prior to River and Fresh water leagues. The purpose of this meeting is for many reasons, i.e. first of all to indicate that you will be fishing, to pay your league fees, to pick the various teams, to help our ladies and junior teams with tackle etc, to receive your new weigh in form for the competition as well as to discuss tactics and bait. As you can see there is plenty to discuss, so please people, make an effort to attend. Oom Bertie had to make more than 20 calls to various people during the last River league, and this was out of his own pocket.

The last league we entered 18 seniors, 8 ladies and 11 juniors. Well done H&R! Take a bow for the effort! Not a lot of fish was caught, but the evening was special for Carel Nel who caught a 50 kg diamond to claim his one ton badge. Well done Boet!

Another point is that all weigh slips must be in within 10 days of any league or else you will loose your points. You have been warned! Oom Bertie can be contacted on 084 6082811.

As I sit and look out of my window here at work, I am watching the S.A. Nationals taking place here in the bay, so if you have nothing better to do, pop down to the weigh-in at 4 pm each day.

Here we must congratulate Anthony Miller for his selection to the SALTBAA team. Dammit, I hope you do well!

Feb 20, you will note that there is a rock and surf competition, with a social afterwards. Herewith all the details concerning the event:

A lot of our members have been bragging how good they are when it comes to handling a surf rod, so the powers that be have decided to have a surf competition down at Blue Water Bay from 8 am in the morning until 4 pm in the afternoon. Weigh-in will take place at the venue and the prize-giving will take place at the club house at 7 pm.

A fee of R10.00 per person will be charged and the purse will be split between the heaviest edible fish, and the heaviest non-edible fish. There will also be a prize for the heaviest total edible and non-edible bag, and for the ladies heaviest and the children's heaviest edible fish.

This is open to all H&R anglers and their wives and children. There will be a bring and braai starting from 6 pm with the prize giving at 7 pm, followed by a dance for everyone. Here, friends are welcome, but remember, first come first served.

Persons wishing to take part in the competition can phone me on 0845110648 for details.

The next social will be on the 24th of March and will take the form of a bring and braai, with Bingo and darts for the family. So bring all your spare change for an evening of fun. I will try and arrange for several prizes for the darts.

Well, there you are, a short and sweet and to the point newsletter, and now that the fishing season is starting I am sure there will be a lot more news next time, so if I don't see you shortly, may all the fish be big ones this year.

Regards

Terry Tiger

Here are the names and telephone numbers of the 2007 committee members, please do not hesitate to phone and voice your problems.

POSITION NAME TELE (H) CELL

Chairperson Stephan Strydom 041-4562527 0825545970

Vice Chairperson Mark Nel 041-3682650 0827262368

Secretary Elizabeth De Vry 041-3682441 0825705325

Treasurer Esme Verwey 041-3605325 0829359065

PRO Ronnie Scheckle 041-3733167 0845110648

Club Captain Anthony Muller 0721351178

Facilities Manager Kobus De Vry 042-3682441 0824925120

Safety Officer Keith Schmidt 041-5816648

Development Officer Gary Botha 041-4660277 0843000399

FACET SECRETARIES

Bay Anthony Muller 0721351178

River Bertie Strydom 0846082811

Freshwater Stephan Strydom 041-4562527 0825545970

E.P. Delegates Mark Nel 041-3682650 0827262368

Stefan Strydom 041-4562527 0825545970

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HOOK & REEL ANGLING CLUB

TIGER TELEGRAPH VOL 2-07

Hi there fellow anglers,

Yebo its me again, and I don't know where to begin as it has been one hectic past 2 months, with all the competitions and projects. So let me start at the project which still leaves me speechless "TIGER BAY 2007".

What can one say when a team of dedicated anglers puts a project together with such a minimum of moans and groans. Everyone who had to organize something did it and did it well and nothing was left to chance, I don't recall one single hitch. The whole weekend flowed past like a well oiled machine.

HOOK & REEL ANGLING CLUB take a bow for a truly wonderful and memorable competition. All the other clubs who were present could only stand and be amazed at true team spirit, dedication and organization.

To all our members who collected all the prizes from the different sponsors and to our sponsors, thank you for making it possible to hand out 120 prizes during the draw. Our estimate of the total prizes outlay is in the region of R 15 000.00, truly a magnificent effort. Without your input a club would not survive.

To single out individuals is always difficult as one sometimes tends to forget someone and then he/she feels left out and forgotten To our hard working committee, stand up and take a bow for a job well done, whether it was bar duties, ticket collection, coffee making or cleaning it was done with the absolute minimum of fuss, once again well done. If I have forgotten anyone please excuse me, but I am sure that somewhere along the line your effort will be remembered and acknowledged.

A final word to all of our anglers, we are going to leave the list of sponsors in the club. Let us support them as they supported us during Tiger Bay, and if you do use their products tell them that you belong to the H&R and you are supporting them. You don't believe the amount of goodwill this generates amongst our sponsors,

Enough of Tiger Bay and down to the serious sport of angling. It would appear that the last newsletter was not read by our club anglers, as the results coming in from the different competitions show a serious drop.

Another worrying factor is the negativity towards registration of our club boats, I realize that it costs a lot of money nowadays to fish light tackle competitions, but somewhere along the line something has got to happen or else our sport is going to die It does not seem as if EP cares as they are not doing anything to help improve the situation.

The local stompie competition takes place on the 30 th of September and we are looking for a sponsor, here I would like to propose that prizes be awarded for both Seniors and Juniors as this will stop the fathers moaning that all they do is become a driver for the day, something to think about.

Another date to remember is the 3rd of November which is now the date for the Annual Prize giving function, so please make a note and don't forget that there are only 80 tickets available, and these will be dealt with on a first come first served basis.

Now down to a serious problem, and that is the attendance of the functions, a sop and dop evening was arranged and only one person bothered to phone to book his place, come good people just imagine that I had made soup for 100 persons and only I person came, who would have had to carry the costs for the food, surely people should have picked up the phone and enquired.

EP and the club is looking for a development officer, if anyone is interested please contact Stephan.

Now to Tiger bay: the municipality intends to upgrade the walls of the bay, this will result in the bay being closed for a short period so please check with someone before planning an outing as you may have to use the municipal slipway in the village.

The last river league was a bit of a disappointment with only 10 seniors, 5 ladies and 2 juniors registering, however the Ferreira family did us proud with dad catching a 4,1 cob and mommy catching a 3,2 cob. Well done to both of you.

A project has been started on the buy a brick board, this is for building funds to enclose the stoep area, a long awaited project. So please speak to Kobus in this regard.

At the next meeting I am going to suggest a special meeting to discuss the way forward for the club as everything appears to be slowing down and nothing is going forward, I don't know if it is a sign of the times or what, but something must be done to get our club back on track.

Another point which has been raised is the cost of the skippers license which currently stands at R 650.00. The committee has decided that this is a joke and that someone is making money out of an essential item, therefore we are going to put a group together and get someone to hold the license at the club, by doing this we intend to try and half the current price. So if you are interested contact Stephan so that we can sort this problem out as fast as possible.

Once again I am going to put the calendar and a list of the committee and phone numbers in with the letter, so please good people if there is a date for a function please phone one of the committee members and book your place.

Another date is the 18-19 August which is the inter-club competition here at the Swartkops River. Please let Bertie know if you are fishing.

Another point is the new EP records list which is now available, please check it as there appears to be some records which have been left off. If this is the case please contact Mark Nel.

Well that is enough of my moaning, watch this space for developments.

Regards Terry Tiger

Here are the names and telephone numbers of the 2007 committee members, please do not hesitate to phone and voice your problems.

POSITION NAME TELE (H) CELL

Chairperson Stephan Strydom 041-4562527 0825545970

Vice Chairperson Mark Nel 041-3682650 0827262368

Secretary Elizabeth De Vry 041-3682441 0825705325

Treasurer Esme Verwey 041-3605325 0829359065

PRO Ronnie Scheckle 041-3733167 0845110648

Club Captain Anthony Muller 0721351178

Facilities Manager Kobus De Vry 042-3682441 0824925120

Safety Officer Keith Schmidt 041-5816648

Development Officer Gary Botha 041-4660277 0843000399

FACET SECRETARIES

Bay Anthony Muller 0721351178

River Bertie Strydom 0846082811

Freshwater Stephan Strydom 041-4562527 0825545970

E.P. Delegates Mark Nel 041-3682650 0827262368

Stefan Strydom 041-4562527 0825545970

Hook & Reel Angling Club News Letter 01/2008

Hello to All Fellow Anglers & Members

I hope you are all well! Yet another year is drawing to a rapid close and the holidays are upon us. With that been said - a BIG thank you to the 2007 committee for all their hard work and support. There have been some good people lost from the committee due to other commitments and thus they have been replaced by other willing & able suckers who will serve you for the year of 2008. Jokes aside, thanks in anticipation to those who have made themselves available for the next year. The committee is as follows:

Chairman : Stefaan Strydom 082 554 5970

Vice Chairman : Mark Nel 082 726 2368

Treasurer : Esme Verwey 082 935 9065

Secretary : Kerryn Wentworth 072 2394512

Club Captain : Eugene Verwey 082 837 1197

Bay Secretary : Eugene Verwey 082 837 1197

Freshwater Secretary : Stephaan Strydom 082 554 5970

River Secretary : Belinda Zeelie 084 506 4473

Development Officer : Neville van Niekerk 084 550 2323

Entertainment : Ronel van Niekerk 084 550 2323

E.P. Representative : Stefaan Strydom 082 554 5970

Safety Officer : Keith Schmidt 041-581 6648

PRO : Mark Nel 082 726 2368

Facilities : Tony Harth 082 487 3149

Bertie Strydom 084 608 2811

Congratulations to all and my condolences to some as they will be pulling there hair out at some time in the next 12 months! On to the more serious content of this letter:

Subs - Annual subscriptions for those of you that have not yet paid are due by no later than the 30 December 2007. Pleeeeeeez make the job of the committee easier by paying on-time so that they can concentrate on more positive things in and around the club . If you are going to pay by cheque or electronic transfer , here are the Club's details : Hook & Reel / ABSA / Newton Park / 01-02-8761194 / branch code 63-2005.

***please make sure you attach your name etc as reference with payment!!!

The Kiddies Christmas Party will be held on the 09 December 2007 with Father Christmas arriving by boat at about 11.30am. It is requested that parents who buy a gift for their children do not exceed R 50.00 as some of the kids feel a little let-down if they receive something of lesser value. Folks can come down to the club earlier to make sure they give the gifts to Santa's helpers before they go and fetch him. Please note that you MUST let Ronel van Niekerk know telephonically if your children will be attending as there are catering needs that need to be taken into account for the day. For moms & dads there will be fires for that lunch-time braai and the pub will be open for all your liquid refreshments. Please make an effort to attend and enjoy a few hours of socializing whilst the kids get treated.

Boat Inspection: Our Safety Officer Keith will be surveying boats at the club on both Saturday 08 December from 8am to 4pm as well as on the Sunday of the Kiddies Christmas Party 09 December from 8am to 12pm ONLY (the big man also needs to have lunch). The cost of the S&R survey inclusive of the disc is R130.00 only. Please make use of these 2 days & do not waste Keith's time as this is a great service he offers to our club.

Facilities - ongoing abuse of the kitchen facilities has forced the committee to keep the kitchen locked permanently other than for functions or rentals. My apologies to those who have been inconvenienced but this has become necessary. Members are please to remember that if the hall has been rented out for a function, this will include the ablution facilities as well as the Braai Area. Tony can be contacted if you would like to know ahead of time if the facilities are rented out. It has become apparent that some people are lending their access tags out to family or friends to launch boats and make use of our facilities. This is not permitted and the tag holder must be in attendance at all times or will be held responsible if found guilty of this transgression. Please co-operate here. We would like to improve the appearance of the Pub by making use of the Store for what it was intended. We have plans to knock a doorway through from the hall's side and secure this room for the safe-keeping of certain items. If anyone can assist with a hardwood door frame, door, bricks, etc. please contact Tony or Bertie.

Open Bar - Members have requested that the bar be opened on a more regular basis and thus we have set aside Friday 30 November for you to come along for a sundowner or two as a trial. The bar should be operational from approx. 4pm onwards so get mommy to butter you 6 rolls in the morning, pack in a half-kilo wors and head on down to the Hook & Reel.

In closing please remember to support as many of the social events on the calendar as possible as well as the committee in any way you possibly can - it will be appreciated. This is the 50th anniversary of the club and we have some interesting plans for the next year including a memorable Tiger Bay in May which needs the support of more than just the normal handful of people.

To all of our members, may you and your families have a safe and blessed Christmas and I hope that the New Year of 2008 delivers all that you wish, hope and pray for!

Regards in Angling

Mark

Hook & Reel Angling Club Newsletter 02/2008

Hello to All Fellow Anglers & Members,

I hope you are all well! Let me start where I ended off in 2007 by hoping each and everyone of you and your families had a safe holiday and are ready for whatever 2008 may throw your way!

Secondly, a report back on the contents of the last newsletter:

Subs - To all of you that are up to date, a big thanks as those funds are needed for the existence of the Hook & Reel Club! To those who have not paid yet, here are the Club's details: Hook & Reel / ABSA / Newton Park / 01-02-8761194 / branch code 63-2005. ***Please make sure you attach your name etc as reference with payment!!! Thank you in advance.

The Kiddies Christmas Party was held on the 09 December 2007, with a brilliant turn-out and lots of fun had. A huge thank you to Ronel and all her helpers who lent a hand on the day, making it special for the youngsters. There was, however, a request from some chaps that you bring less meat to braai next time, as they were "cooked" themselves before they got a chance on the braai-grid! Some people I know should rather consume cooldrink in the hot sun.

Boat Inspection: To those that made the effort, a big thanks. Keith is still available to survey the boats of members who could not make it on the prescribed days for whatever reason. He can be contacted on 041 581 6648 if you wish to make an appointment with him. Thanks again, big man, for your time & efforts!

Facilities - Please, folks, leave your club and the grounds the way you would like to find it and not necessarily the way the last ignorant person left it! (in some cases one is astounded that an individual can have so little respect for the rest of the members).

Open Bar - Members requested that the bar be opened on a more regular basis and thus we set aside Friday 30 November as a "trial", but unfortunately we were in competition with the cricket as well as those year-end functions. We will discuss future open evenings and social dates at our first meeting of the year on Monday evening, 4 February, and enter these dates onto the calendar.

Genoeg van dit wat alreeds geskiedenis is and on to the future (no it is not the title of a new science fiction movie… certain members complained they did not get to read a single Afrikaans word in the last newsletter except for all the committee members' surnames!).

A big welcome to all the new members and their families. I am sure you will enjoy both the competitive and social side of the club as well as the facilities. If there is anything you are not sure of or would like to be addressed, please contact the Chairman or Secretary for clarity.

Attached, you will find the combined E.P. and H&R angling calendar for the year. Dates that still need to be added are socials, open bar nights etc. Please attend as many of the social events on the calendar as possible as you will benefit from funds raised in the end.

This is the 50th anniversary of the Hook & Reel Angling Club and we have to plan a memorable Tiger Bay, 24th May, which needs the support of more than just the usual handful of people. We are still in need of a "Main Sponsor" for the event, who will enjoy some good advertising as well as VIP treatment, I am told. If any member knows of such a person who would like to sponsor the event, please contact our Chairman, Stephan. Pleeeeeeeez make an effort to support the club in organizing prizes, sponsors or donations as early as possible to avoid the committee having to run around 2 weeks before the big day begging & pleading. I know every year the same request has gone out with not much response from the "average member" but please make it a personal effort this year to contribute in some or other way even if it is selling a few tickets for the compo. I can assure you that it is greatly appreciated from the committee that has so much "behind the scenes" logistics to arrange for that particular weekend.

The committee meets on the first Monday night of every month at the clubhouse with the exception of Public holidays or if the Sharks are thrashing some up-country rugby team (nou geniet ek dit eers om die brief te skryf). Every second month we have an "open committee meeting" where you, the members, are more than welcome to join in. Our first of these is Monday, 04 February 2008, followed by April, June, August, etc. The starting time is anything from 7pm to 7.30pm - depending on the barman getting to the club on time (oh yes, & the rest of the committee too).

Wel, mense, dis seker tyd om te groet en ons hoop om julle binnekort op die water of onder by die klub te sien. Keep well and we hope to see many more of both the old and new faces during 2008.

Kindly note that not ALL views expressed in this bulletin are those of the committee or mine! (Ok maybe the Sharks thing). I do however try to keep the newsletter as informative and as accurate as possible. If you would like me to add a piece of news during the year that might not make it to the next committee meeting in time for the next letter to go out, please feel free to contact me on 082 726 2368.

Regards in Angling

Mark

Tiger Bay News Special!

The Hook and Reel Angling Club

Schooner Crescent, Swartkops, South Africa

Hook & Reel Angling Club News Letter 03/2008

Greetings to All Fellow Anglers, Members & Families,

I hope you are all well & safely back home after the Easter Weekend! A big welcome to all the new members and their families.

Since I last sent out correspondence sooo much has happened, like petrol & electricity going up and of course the inevitable Sharks eating up some prime Northern Transvaal Rump Steak…! (Stephan, die jaar trek ek en Keith nog vir jou 'n Sharks trui aan terwyl jy by Tiger Bay slaap - Ronnie, don't forget the super-glue).

Congrats to the Freshwater teams of our club who "klapped" the others at the last dam. Between our Seniors, Ladies and Juniors we managed to weigh in 3 724.5 kg of fish!!! And if that wasn't enough, the H&R produced 9 of the 15 E.P. team members who went to represent the Province at the recent Freshwater Nationals! Well done to Lance, Stephan, Bruce, Maryke, Nicole, Brandon, Anthony jnr. & Graham and Neville as Skippers for the Ladies and Juniors respectively.

Our River Secretary, Belinda Zeelie, seems to be wasting her time and money going down to the club on a Tuesday night prior to a league competition as only 1 or 2 people pitch up to enter. Either we must get anglers to pay up front for the year or we need to introduce a bit of development together with these entry nights. Here some of the club's 'Pro's' can come and teach us a trick or two. Belinda's contact number is 084 506 4473 and I am sure she is open to suggestions from the Anglers themselves. Come on chaps, it is only 4 evenings in a year.

Bay boats will have to be equipped with VHF radios later this year as the old 29 Meg will not be recognized anymore.

Boat Inspection / Safety: It was reported back from the E.P. table that random safety checks would be carried out at league competitions, so please make sure that your vessel is compliant at all times!

Tiger Bay Saturday 24 May 2008!!!

With things getting tighter in the Eastern Cape, we are still in need of a "Main Sponsor" for the event who will enjoy some good advertising as well as VIP treatment. If any member knows of such a person who would like to sponsor the event, please contact our Chairman, Stephan Strydom at 082 554 5970. Once again, please make an effort to support the club in organizing prizes, sponsors or donations as early as possible. Please make it a personal effort this year to contribute in some or other way even if it is selling a few tickets for the compo.

A Social Evening will be held on 12 April at the Clubhouse. The bar will be open with a D.J. providing music. There is no entrance cost, so come along and enjoy a night down at the club. Bring a plate of eats, or make use of the braai facilities if you like. We need to clear out the stock in Tony's Pub to make way for the Tiger Bay stock!

At last - A Social Angling Competition amongst ourselves! We are looking at the date of 28 June to be fished from boats and banks with a braai afterwards. Times will probably be from 7am to 2pm. A small "kitty" fee of R10 or so will be finalised for Senior, Lady & Junior Bag or Heaviest fish (no gentlemen, you may not weigh in your wife for heaviest BAG!). This will be open to all families of the club whether H&R members or not. The reason for this is that we have some families that support more of our Club functions than our own members. Hopefully once the Angling Bug has bitten some of these Juniors, we can get mom & dad to sponsor their subs and develop some of the young talent. The idea is to compete on a social level and enjoy the day together. Ronel will have tickets made and it is asked that all interested parties contact her before the end of May at 084 550 2323 to purchase tickets. Come people, you have asked for this to be arranged so get in early and support this. I am sure that there will be a Lucky Draw/Raffle on the day as well. It is not worth it carrying on with the organising of this compo if we do not have the numbers at least a month in advance. Ronel assures me that she will have the tickets in her possession at the next 3 dates that we come together, namely 07 April, 12 April and at Tiger Bay 1000.

Facilities - Please folks, FOR THE LAST TIME - clean up after yourselves and take your angling litter and soiled disposable nappies home with you. We are unfortunately not in a position to have a 'sleep-in' Club Manager to tidy-up on a daily basis and it makes the life of the Facilities Manager a nightmare! The litter that is being left at the club is not from functions being held but by anglers amongst us. We have purchased a petrol-driven High Pressure Cleaner which you will see is being put to use on the club's slipway. This became necessary as a result of injuries due to a green slip. You will notice that the floating jetties are being removed for some much needed maintenance. Please be patient during this process and we apologise for any inconvenience.

I know the Angling calendar for the year is rather busy (for those of you who still do not have a copy, please contact Esme or myself) but please make the effort to support your club at as many of the engagements as possible. I will advise on upcoming social events in newsletters to come like perhaps a lekker Sop & Dop or Bingo/Darts evening during winter. There are still a number of bricks available on the Hook & Reel Supporters board in the club at R50.00 a brick.

The newsletter will be sent out every second month by e-mail and posted to those whose e-mail addresses we still have not received. If you now have the facilities to receive this vital piece of info over the net, please forward your details to the committee as the saving on postage over a year is substantial. The next committee meeting will be held on 07 April 2008. This will be an 'open committee meeting' so members are more than welcome to join in. Starting time is anything from 7 pm to 7.30 pm.

Finally, we have had excellent ongoing response to the Hook & Reel website and a special thanks must go out to one of our members, Leon Kok, for the design, development and maintenance of the site. Leon, you are an absolute legend Sir! I have personally had phone calls from anglers from the North West and Namibia wanting to plan angling trips down here and Stephan has had ex-South Africans in France even getting into contact with us.

Tight Lines has been used too often, so I will greet with an exclamation that an older angler I knew used to use when there was something sampling his bait on the end of his line and the ratchet would start to scream: "Break it - it's not yours!"

Regards in Angling & Keep Well!

Mark (082 726 2368)

Hook & Reel Angling Club News Letter 04/2008

Greetings to All Fellow Anglers, Members & Families! I hope you are all well.

Well, the annual Tiger 1000 has come and gone once again. And just when I thought there was time for a breather, there is yet another meeting, a newsletter and sponsorship thank you letters to go out!

As most of you were aware we did not have a main sponsor for the event this year and had to bite the bullet and continue with this, the main fundraising event on our calendar. The committee put heads together, scratched for support in the strangest of places and surprisingly we pulled off the best paying Tiger 1000 over the last 4 years - by a figure of R4500! We were blessed with great weather and a total of 196 tickets sold with 61 fish being weighed at the scale. The biggest tiger for the day unfortunately only weighed 2.05kg compared to some of his bigger cousins that we have seen over the years at 3 or 4 kg's, but still worth R1000 in the end.

To the committee - a HUGE thanks must be said for all your effort and time spent on the organization of the event. To the spouses & families of these folk we must also say thank you for affording the club the time for your loved one's to carry out their duties. To one of our non-committee members Vinash Indanjee who is an executive for Distell, probably the biggest contributor to the success of the competition this year, we appreciate every last effort you and your company made - Thank You.

The weekend seemed to have gone off smoothly and without any casualties on or off the water. I was asked by members to please offer thanks to a well stocked and run bar as well as a special thanks to the ladies who worked really hard in the kitchen. Thank you to all of the other unspoken heroes including our resident musician Ralph who ensured that the bar kept ticking over until the early hours of the morning! Seriously, I was selling braai packs at 2am and manning the bar till about 5.15am. No sleep at all and of course once again did not have a fish in the ring …note to self: sleep at home next year!

With June being a non-competition month when anglers traditionally do maintenance on their boats, there are only two dates to remember, which is firstly, our interclub competition on 28 June to be fished from boats and banks with a braai afterwards. Times will be from 7am to 2pm. A small "kitty" fee of R10 or so will be charged for Senior, Lady & Junior Bag or Heaviest fish. This will be open to all families of the club whether an H&R member or not. The idea is to compete on a social level and enjoy the day together. All interested parties can contact me on 082 726 2368 to purchase tickets before or if you are a "fair-weather fisherman", I will have tickets with me on the day.

The second date in June to remember is Saturday 21 June at 7pm, on which the E.P. Prize Giving will be held at the Diaz Club in Newton Park. The cost is R70/head including a 3 course meal and a dance. Interested parties must contact the Chairman Stephan Strydom on 082 554 5970 by 12 June.

Thank you to all who have been cleaning up after a visit to the club as it makes the life of the Facilities Manager a lot easier. To Tony, Birtie and the rest of the crew who lent a hand with the repair to the Floating Jetties - a big thanks. Please members, look after all of the facilities and switch off lights including the slipway light once you leave the grounds.

The fences around the club are deteriorating rapidly and we need to look at replacing them. Fixing is not an option anymore and the committee will have to make a decision within the next month as to how we are going to go about doing this systematically with the funds available. The floor tiles in the hall are also looking shoddy and will require some much needed attention soon. A Wheelchair ramp to the entrance of the club also has to be looked at in the near future. If anyone can assist with materials or contacts with regard to these projects, please do not hesitate to contact the committee.

There will be an E.P. Development session/workshop taking place at the Rod Club 06 September starting at 8am. All are welcome, especially the Ladies and Juniors. Tackle, Baits and skills will be shared with a bit of a "fish-off" taking place afterwards into Tiger Bay in front of the 2 clubs.

A Club Social has been arranged for 26 July. This will take the form of a curry and rice evening with a dance. There will be lucky draw prizes at stake and tickets will cost R25 /person which will cover the food and music. The bar will of course be open so come along and enjoy a non-fishing social.

S.A. Affiliations of R20/angler are due at the end of June. These can be paid to Esme by contacting her at 082 935 9065 OR if you are going to come down to the club on the day of the interclub competition 28 June, payment can be made at the club as well.

Members, please note that one cannot launch or retrieve a vessel from the H&R slipway which is going out the River mouth to fish at sea. This is not a commercial slipway and we could get forced/fined to pay R5000.00 to the authorities. This could also jeopardize the small rebate which we get from the municipality, so to those of you who were not aware please take note .

The News Letter will be sent out every second month by e-mail and posted to those who's e-mail address we still have not received. If you now have the facilities to receive this vital piece of info by the airwaves, please forward your details to the committee as the saving over a year on postage is substantial.

Well that is about all I have had to cover in this edition. To the brave ones who will be going out this winter during the night looking for that 5kg tiger - GOOD LUCK, as I think I will not be one of them on a regular basis judging from the temperature tonight!

Regards in Angling & Keep Well!

Mark ( 082 726 2368)

Hook and Reel Angling Club News Letter 05/2008

Hello to all the fellow anglers, members and your families. I hope you are well.

Firstly, a big thanks to Tony Harth & Oom Birtie who both joined me on the morning of 28 June for the social fishing competition (Belinda did excuse herself & Anton). To all the 188 other "Fair Weather Fisherman" whom I referred to in the last letter, who could not pick up the phone or sms me to say they were dropping me - you missed a great compo! Oom Birtie went home for breakfast at about 10am with a bit of a twinkle in his eye... (ok he got there at 8.30). Tony arrived at 9 am but all was forgiven as he had the keys to the bar and I had been enjoying my very own "works party" since about 6.30am - as you all who were lying in bed that morning will remember, there was a fresh south westerly of about 1250km/hr that morning. Thank goodness for Sedgewick's Old Brown Sherry...! Next time you pay up front so that Tony & I can at least go out for a breakfast.

Since all the "thank you" letters to the generous sponsors for Tiger Bay 2008 have been delivered, it became time for the committee to decide what projects as mentioned in the last newsletter would take priority. The old store at the back of the club has had some work done on it so that we can remove much of the clutter from the bar. We also have 2 ramps at the club now to cater for those with crutches and wheel chairs. One is to access the hall and the other to the Braai Area (I am sure there are many others who will choose to make use of these rather than the steps after a heavy night as well... The broken tiles in the hall and kitchen area are also being replaced at the moment and the braais are also going to enjoy some much needed attention soon. We are currently looking at replacing the fence in front of the club with palisade as well as the fence between ourselves and The Rod Club whose committee has offered to cover half of the costs involved with this particular fence.

The "Curry & Rice Fence Fund" social was well attended and good fun was had by all. Apparently our safety officer Keith has either got Bombay blood flowing through his veins or has spent much time around Curry chefs - thanks again big man.

S.A. Affiliations were due at the end of June. If you have not yet paid these moneys to Esme then please do so as soon as possible.Whilst on the subject of money - please make sure you pay your club fees on time this year as we are going to be spending quite a bit of money on the fencing to secure the premises for everyone's safety and convenience. As you know the running costs of the club are covered by subs and fundraising and unfortunately it is mighty long until Tiger Bay 2009 in May.

***Please note: There will be an E.P. Development session / workshop taking place at the Rod Club 06 September 2008. Times will be 8am till 12pm. Dads bring the youngsters down for only 4hrs where they will be taught a few tricks. I am assured that there will be a few boats launched in front of the 2 clubs on which the youngsters will be taken out to test their skills after the workshop whilst dads can enjoy a cold drink and perhaps a braai. There is no cost involved for the workshop and the youngsters will enjoy a boerrie roll, sweets and also stand a chance to win 1 of 4 trophies. Interested parties MUST, MUST, MUST contact our Development Officer Neville van Niekerk by no later than 17 August on 084 402 5469 as he must have numbers to take to E.P. the following day.

Boat Inspection will take place 06 & 07 December 2008. The Sunday the 07th will be the Kiddies Christmas Party.

The Mackay Bridge Angling Club will be having a compo the last weekend of August out at Sundays River (29 to 30th).

Saturday 04 October is the date set for the next social down at the Hook & Reel Club. This will be in the form of a "Steak & Chips" evening. The cost will be R60 per adult & R40 per child under 13 yrs of age. No doubt there will be dancing involved. For more info and the booking of tickets in advance please contact Ronel van Niekerk on 084 550 2323. Please do not leave bookings until the last minute if you would like to avoid disappointment. Once again the funds raised will go towards the betterment of our facilities.

The Hook & Reel Prize giving will be held at the clubhouse again this year. Please diarise the date of 08 November.

You may have noticed that the reader on the gate has given us some trouble and we have had to revert back to the old lock & chain. The reason for this is that we are waiting on a reader which is of a non-corrosive type and in addition to this, one which is compatible with the software which is currently being used on the unit. Please be patient - we hope to have it sorted out soon.

Last item on the agenda for now is the upcoming AGM in a couple of months for which a reminder and nomination forms will be sent out. So here is your chance if you have missed out all the years which have gone by without sticking up your hand!

Please remember if you would like to get more involved with your club in other ways above just the angling and/or socialising, feel free to contact any of the committee members who will keep you informed as to any upcoming work parties for the ongoing maintenance on the club, etc. Pssst - skinner stories word vir 'n klein bedrag ook ingesluit.

Well, I have just about filled 2 pages after 3hrs of racking my brain and am all out of news and upcoming dates for now so let me be on my bicycle! Please keep well and see you down by the water soon!

Regards in Angling or something like that, because I have not caught anything worth mentioning in a long while, except a cold!

Mark (082 726 2368)

Hook and Reel Angling Club News Letter 06/2008

Greetings to All Fellow Anglers, Members & Families! I hope you are all well.

This letter serves to inform you of the Annual General Meeting of the Hook & Reel Angling Club which will take place on Monday, 6 October 2008, at 7pm sharp. The meeting will be held at the club house situated in Schooner Crescent, Swartkops, Port Elizabeth. Attached you will find a Nomination Form which I hope you will put to good use. Any subject you wish to be added to the agenda of the AGM should reach the Secretary in writing, no less than seven (7) days prior to the meeting.

Whilst on the subject of the AGM, our annual subscription fees are payable on the night. On-time payment of subs will be appreciated as these funds carry the club through to our next big form of income being the Tiger 1000 in May 2009. All trophy winners of last year are reminded to please return Floating Trophies on the night of the AGM as they have to be engraved in time for the Prize Giving in November. Pleeeeeeze people, make a point of attending this meeting as there will be issues discussed and voted on which affect everyone of us. Some of these being subs, boat safety & skipper's tickets.

The "Stompie Competition" will be held between the Juniors on Sunday, 14 September from 8 am until 12 or 1 o'clock. Bring & braai afterwards with the bar open.

A Club Social has been arranged for Saturday, 04 October. This will take the form of a Steak & Salad evening with a dance (Kenny Brown will be providing the music). The cost is R60/adult & R40/child which covers the food and music. The bar will of course be open, so come along and support the fund raising efforts of the club. Please contact any of the committee members for tickets to avoid disappointment.

01 November 2008 is boat inspection at PEDSAC for the 4 or 5 "PEY" registered boats which we have in our club. Gentlemen, Keith reckons you only have this day to attend the inspection, otherwise huge penalties are payable.

08 November is Prize Giving at the H&R Club. Tickets will be on sale and I am sure you can contact one of the new committee members after the AGM for bookings. There is usually space for approximately 100 people and it would be appreciated if all prize winners could attend.

Boat Inspection/Safety for the rest of us will once again be held over two days, being Saturday 06 & Sunday 07 December, 2008. The time for the Saturday will be 8 am to 2 pm & 9 am to l2 pm on the Sunday. Sunday, 07 December is also the Kiddies Christmas Party, so please diarise.

If anybody is interested in doing the Surveyor's course, please contact Keith Schmidt as there will be one run shortly at a cost of R600.00.

For the last time this angling year, from myself -

Regards in Angling & Keep Well!

Mark Nel (082 726 2368)