Three local kayak fishermen from the Helderberg have clinched a decisive victory in Cape Town’s biggest kayak fishing competition, the 2026 Katonkel Ronkel, sweeping both the team and individual leaderboards after a month-long battle on local coastal waters from Melkbos to Hangklip and Betty’s Bay.

Team Bonnie Bandits – comprising anglers Donovan Udemans, Jaco Potgieter, and Johan Potgieter – took top honours in the team division, while also taking home awards for the overall individual champion and the competition’s biggest snoek.

The gruelling tournament ran throughout August (weekends and public holidays only), drawing a field of 158 contestants targeting Atlantic Bonito (“bonnies”). Under the competition’s format, teams accumulated the total length in centimetres of their four largest bonito, with a fifth fish reserved as a tiebreaker.

The road to victory required exceptional endurance and tactic. For most of the month, the Bonnie Bandits trailed in second place during a tight three-way battle for the podium. It was only during the second-to-last weekend of August that the Helderberg trio mounted a final charge to claim the lead.

By the close of the competition, the Bonnie Bandits secured first place with a cumulative total of 713 cm, edging out the second-place team by a razor-thin margin of just 3cm.

Individual achievements among the team members were equally dominant:

• Johan Potgieter claimed first place overall in the individual rankings out of all 158 competitors with an impressive combined total of 240 cm. He also landed the tournament’s third biggest bonito at 63 cm.

• Donovan Udemans, team captain, won the biggest snoek category with a massive 101 cm catch.

• Jaco Potgieter landed the tournament’s second biggest bonito, at 64 cm.

The contest featured high-level performances across the field, with Michael Dean. captain of the runner-up team, taking first place for the single largest bonito caught during the event.

Reflecting on the month-long tournament, the Bonnie Bandits extended their gratitude to the organisers and supporters behind the competition, especially Kowus Pelser and the Kayakfish committee, alongside the event’s sponsors, for hosting a premier showcase.