Rhinos, Bass and Great White Sharks

Todd Kline heads to South Africa

(Editor’s Note: The writer's opinions and observations expressed here are his own, and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views, policies or positions of FLW.)

My job working with the World Surf League (WSL) as commentator for the Championship Tour takes me to some of the coolest places in the world. Recently, I visited South Africa, and it was a trip I’ll never forget.

Of course, as a competitive bass angler, I couldn’t make the trip without checking out the local bass scene. So before I left, I chatted with a friend of mine named Ryan Rogers, who fishes the South African Bass Angling Association (S.A.B.A.A.) tournaments. He turned me on to a couple of good online resources, including sabaa.co.za, which is the S.A.B.A.A. website, and bassing.co.za, which is the main bass fishing website and forum for the region. Tournaments in South Africa follow the same format as most American events. Each year, the top angler, which they call the Wrangler Angler, competes in the United States at the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship. This November, it’ll be Japie Botha representing South Africa at the championship.

Chasing bass around the world

Tournament fishing in South Africa is pretty solid, with about 500 serious tournament anglers in the country. There are many more recreational anglers in the region too.

As I continued my research, I realized there were a couple of good lakes in the region where I could bass fish on an off day. So I packed a few bags of Roboworms, some ima crankbaits and a few small swimbaits in hopes of having a day to fish.

I was in South Africa working two surf contests. The first event was the Ballito Pro in Ballito, South Africa, which is near Durban. At each contest, we maximize the conditions to get the best surf during the event window. Generally, we have a couple of off days due to the conditions not being ideal to run competition.

During the first event, I took full advantage of my first day off to go catch some bass. My friend Ryan, who I was chatting with prior to my trip, loaded up his boat and took me and another friend to Albert Falls Dam, which was about one hour from the coast where the surf event was taking place. It is wintertime in South Africa, and he mentioned that fishing had been slow, but that didn’t stop us.

We left early in the morning, and upon arrival at the lake, the air was about 42 degrees with a light breeze. As we rolled up to the lake, we were greeted by a few monkeys and about four zebras. I could not believe what I was seeing. I was so pumped to see nature like this at the lake. I live in Southern California, and we very seldom see wildlife and never see a zebra or monkey. If you do, you had better ask your buddy to drive.

After admiring the wildlife and snapping a few photos, we launched and hit the water. This particular lake was a deeper reservoir with some nice outside humps, rock piles and isolated brush. We started out throwing crankbaits in the morning and some small swimbaits shallow in the back of a cut where a river entered the lake. After an hour or so with no bites, we decided to head to the outside in search of structure in deeper water. We metered around a bit in the deeper water and found some fish on a few outside humps. Fishing was slow, but we managed a few bites throughout the day by drop-shotting and a few on the small swimbaits. After we all caught a few fish, we decided to call it a day and head back. We saw more awesome wildlife while we were pulling the boat out of the water. This time we saw a giraffe, about six zebras and a dozen kudu. I was amazed by the beauty of the animals, and it just capped off the day. Despite us only catching about six bass, this was an awesome day on the water.

As we drove back to Ballito, we passed through some townships. These areas of the region are very low income and humbling. Some of the homes were even made of clay. Even though these areas were challenged financially, I noticed that all of the kids were smiling and having fun. I think this was the first time they had seen a boat on a trailer as they were pointing and jumping up and down with excitement. It was really cool to see this, yet made me appreciate all that I have.

Rhino poaching

After the Ballito Pro finished, I took a two-hour flight to Jeffrey’s Bay near Port Elizabeth for the J-Bay Open. This area of South Africa is much colder and is where the majority of the game parks are located. After a couple of days of competition in fun surf, we had a day off. Once again, I took full advantage of the day.

Right now in Africa there is a major problem with rhino poaching. The number of deaths per year is very alarming, and it must be stopped or the rhino could become extinct. In 2007 there were 13 rhinos killed by poachers, and last year 1,250 were illegally killed.

The WSL, which is my employer, has partnered with the Chipembere Rhino Foundation to try and help stop the poaching. On our off day, I joined 11-time world surfing champion Kelly Slater, third-ranked surfer Owen Wright and 1989 world surfing champ Martin Potter to try and help.

We met with Dr. Will Fowlds and his staff. The plan was to dart a rhino and then apply a GPS tracking unit to the animal. It was amazing to see the animal up close and watch Dr. Will perform. I was blown away to see the size of the animal and feel the skin. I was even able to assist Dr. Will and administer one of the vaccination shots. To watch and be a part of the process was so special. The fact that what we did might help save the rhino’s life felt so good. It is sad to think that the Asian market has put such a high price tag on the rhino horn. Some people believe the horn can cure cancer and hangovers, when, in fact, the horn is basically a large version of a human’s fingernail or toenail and offers no medicinal aid.

Here’s a link to the video of our day and the website.

Shark attack!

Once competition resumed at the J-Bay Open, we witnessed the scariest final in the history of the sport. During the final, three-time world surfing champion Mick Fanning was matched up against last year’s pipeline master Julian Wilson. In the beginning of the heat, while we were beaming the live event out to the world via satellite, Fanning was waiting for a wave. While sitting on his board, he began to get pulled under by a great white shark. It was a very scary moment. He was knocked off of his surfboard, and immediately the water patrol sped in and circled both Fanning and the shark with the boat and personal watercraft to scare the shark away. Luckily, Fanning and Wilson were not harmed, but due to the circumstances the event was canceled and the surfers each got equal second-place points. They divided the prize money for both first and second place. This was a surreal moment for me, and I was so thankful that Fanning and Wilson were unharmed.

Here’s some more information about the situation.

It’s always good to get out and explore the world, and this trip to South Africa saw highs and lows for me. No doubt, this trip will go down as one of the most memorable of my life. Next up for me is the final Rayovac FLW Series Western Division tournament in September on Clear Lake, and then the Rayovac FLW Series Championship on the Ohio River. God Bless!

Follow Todd’s Adventures on Instagram @toddokrine