The annual Mercury OET Bill & Gamefish Tournament is back for the 34th time – proof of its popularity and prestige! It will take place in Sodwana Bay from 7 to 11 November, and Garmin will be there as a proud sponsor. The tournament will be fished on 10 and 37 kilogram lines and will once again have four categories, namely Marlin, Sailfish, Tag & Release and Gamefish. Teams must consist of no fewer than two people and no more than is legally permitted on a boat.

The person catching the most meritorious fish during the tournament will win a Mallards 630 Cobra Cat fitted with 125 horsepower Mercury Optimax outboards on a Trautech trailer and a Garmin mapping unit complete with Garmin’s Waterways Mapping technology. Garmin’s revolutionary Waterways Mapping promises a simplified search for the fishy grail. The electronic mapping data enables your Garmin mapping unit – a Garmin Handheld GPS, Fishfinder GPS combo or any other Garmin unit with a mapping capability – to explore the bathymetric contours of the sea and dam bed.

By studying the shaded contour breaks and depth markers, you can pinpoint drop-offs, river channels and offshore humps with the touch of a button.

One of Waterways’ most beneficial attributes is the software’s depiction of migration routes. Be it daily migration movements or seasonal movements, Waterways is your road map to the highways fish use during their migration. By watching your finder and your position on Waterways Mapping, you can ensure you never venture off the contour you are prospecting and that you stay on target for the big one.

For more information on the Mercury OET Bill & Gamefish Tournament go to www.mdsaa.net or www.garmin.co.za