Editor’s note: Japie Botha is a B.A.S.S. Nation angler from South Africa. We encouraged anglers to send in stories of their journey to the Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation Championship.
The water of the Ouachita River is for a peculiar taste – for the angler that likes to be tested beyond his imagination.
Our 18 hour fight from South Africa to Washington was pleasant: good food and enough sleep. A quick stop-over in Atlanta lead the way to our final destination – Monroe, the place that we will call home for the following 3+ weeks. Myself and my wife Elandi arrived at Monroe Airport at 6pm, got a rental car and headed for our motel. In the hours to come we needed to get supper, breakfast and boat lunch for the following day, rig a few rods and close our eyes for a few hours before my 10 day practice period would start early the next morning. Luckily for me I didn’t leave much time for jetlag. I have always believed in 110% commitment to whatever I want to achieve in life.
On the plane, I daydreamed about the Ouachita River and thought that being on such a large accumulation of water could be as intimidating as driving in a big new city on the ‘wrong’ side of the road. The only difference is that with a GPS, you could simply slot in “restaurant”; “gas station”; “accommodation”. Within seconds, a friendly voice would lead you by the hand on your steering wheel to your destination. Perhaps Lowrance and Humminbird should consider such an application for their next upgrade. Voice command: “4 pound largemouth bass” would lead you to the fighter of the day… and then I woke up.
With Halloween in the air, the Ouachita certainly played its trick and treat on me during practice. It presented me with many different species of predator fish. I enjoyed the fights that Alligator Gar, Drum and White Perch put on. But the Bass…well they had a trick and treat of their own to play. For days I have been driving around with Bass-candy on the boat. They would however give me a glimpse of their beauty by showing me that they are there, but would then bite and on the strike they would magically retrieve before I could set the hook. In my imagination I could see their little pumpkin faces on the porch of their laydown-houses.
I do know that Halloween will soon end and the Ouachita River bass might be in for a trick or two.
For now, we are exploring the “Sportsman’s Paradise”, Louisiana. We are driving around and taking pictures of whatever grabs our attention.
