Tanus Bot, Actuarial Analyst, Oak Tree Intermediaries
This year’s Annual Fishing Challenge turned into a Biennial Fishing Challenge following the world halting to the Covid-19 pandemic.
We were lucky enough to get a small group together to complete Oak Tree’s 2021 Annual Fishing Challenge. We left early Sunday for the tournament to begin on Monday. All our anglers ended up having the privilege of landing a Tiger by the end of day 2. The fishing was phenomenal. Lake Jozini and the surrounding Pongola game reserve offer some amazing sites in between reeling in the Tigerfish. We arrived at a curious Giraffe at our campsite and on Tuesday morning, we met a herd of elephants at our favourite fishing spot by the water’s edge.
The tournament was held over four days, the winner being awarded based on total bag weight. This year, the competition was tight but Team Guardrisk (Engineering) – formerly C&G, made up of Keith Barlow Jones and Timothy Paramasivan, swept the trophy with a combined bag weight of 11.9 kg’s – quite a bit better than the last couple of year’s bag weight too! There were some consolation prizes for best chefs (won by Osprey Underwriting Managers – Richard Pearson and Colin Moodley – Terra Marine) the largest fish (Tim Paramasivan – Guardrisk Bonds and Guarantees) and even a booby prize for the smallest fish (not to be named, for the sake of embarrassment). All in all, some great memories were made and a good time was had by all. This being my first Oak Tree fishing trip, I wasn’t sure what to expect but an all-boys trip is a good way to get to know some of your clients in a more relaxed setting. If I have learned anything from the trip, it is do not under any circumstances bring bananas on the boat (google it). In fact, don’t bring any fruit on the trip just in case there has been any amendments to the ‘fisherman’s superstitions diary’.
The Tiger fish in Jozini were very cunning and it ended up being quite a rewarding experience to bring one of them on board. The live bait fishing was a lot of fun as you can’t look away from your rod for too long without your name being shouted out! The weather was great and the company was better. On to the next one! Tight lines …