Since then it has enjoyed considerable publishing success, with its circulation jumping from only 880 copies for its first issue to 20 000 in December 2009! It has also had its share of tragedy, with the untimely and tragic death of Kevin Downey in 2006.

Since its inception the magazine has progressed so well, and found so much favour with its readers that it was expanded into a bi-monthly publication, and in 2007 it went to eight issues a year, namely published monthly during summer and bi-monthly in winter. In 2008 it saw 11 issues and in January 2009, it became a fully-fledged monthly publication!

After the loss of Kevin , Annetjie, who was the magazine’s Managing Editor and Business Manager, bravely took over the reigns as publisher, and has achieved considerable success. She has fished for the Central Gauteng Association ladies team on no fewer than 15 occasions, was a member of the SA Federation team seven times and also has ten caps for the national Protea teams. She remains heavily involved in the development strategies and actions of the sport, and obviously places emphasis on the involvement of ladies and juniors. Annetjie is the managing member of Annecat Print & Publishers cc, a successful printing and publishing firm headquartered in Kempton Park on the Witwatersrand, Gauteng. She is ably assisted by her daughters Sonja and Anel.

The staff of The Bank Angler received a boost when well known freshwater bank angler Werner Lubbe joined the management team as General Manager: Corporate Affairs in December 2006. Werner has a distinguished angling and corporate career behind him, having represented North East Mpumalanga at provincial level several times, both as a senior angler, and has been the manager of the ladies Protea teams, and also a full member of the senior Protea team at world championships. Qualified in Analytical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, he joined the magazine from Eskom, where he held senior positions as Production Integration Manager. Werner is the current convenor of the Match Angling facet within the South African Freshwater Angling Federation, and also instrumental in the establishment of SAFBAF Plus, an added value option for all freshwater anglers.

In December 2007, Werner and Annetjie, got married and makes a formiddable team in managing this very successful and growing magazine.

Well known veteran angling journalist, Eugene Kruger, joined the magazine in November 2004 as Consulting Editor, bringing his considerable journalistic skills and angling knowledge to the publication. In addition to the millions of words on angling related subjects he has contributed as a fulltime freelance angling journalist to a host of local and international magazines, radio and television programmes, he was instrumental in establishing the concept of open angling tournaments as fund raising events for organised angling. He is a member of the International Committee of the International Game Fish Association, and holds the IGFA World Record in the All Tackle Class for Blue Kurper, for a fish of 3,11kg caught at Lake Loskop in 2003. He is now the editor of the magazine.


LEST WE FORGET…

Kevin Downey

 

Kevin Downey, the founder and the magazine’s first Publisher/Editor, started his fishing life doing excellent fund raising work for the National Sea Rescue Institute, and in the late eighties and early nineties wrote a monthly “Boat Safety” column in the old “Hengel/Angling” magazine.

He strongly supported wife Annetjie in her competitive angling and so became ever deeply involved in the administration of the sport of freshwater bank angling. He became the Chairman of the Central Gauteng Association and is credited with introducing Match Angling as it is practiced in the UK and Europe using the Pole and Match Rods and Waggler floats to the country. In 2005 he was elected as manager of the National Ladies Protea team that participated in the World Match Angling Championships in Croatia.
Kevin also strongly supported the fledgeling Carp Specimen facet, and the first national Protea team to participate in the world Carp Specimen Championships, in 2003, achieved a laudable third place, the best ever that a South African freshwater team has performed. South Africa is now accepted as a strong contender on the international Carp scene.
Kevin had a printing background, and for several years operated a plastics company, supplying a unique plastics detergent to an international clientele. As such he traveled the world, always with an eye open for angling opportunities!

He never regarded himself as a journalist, and referred to himself as an “apprentice editor”! Until his untimely death he certainly achieved excellent results!