Having a fishing TV show is not all glamour and fun. Sometimes we find ourselves in some difficult dilemmas, where it is necessary to hurt people’s feelings. We get a lot of applications for jobs, some want to be co-presenters, others just want to carry tackle, clean fish, generally help out etc. We can’t employ everybody that applies, as we would have a massive entourage, and even though many are prepared to work for free, we would just have too many people around getting in the way.

I though that to help give some guidance and direction to those who are looking at applying for a job, I would put in some of the common errors in applications, and the reasons that they weren’t accepted. Please note that all applications have accompanying photographs. If you pay attention to the below mistakes that others have made, then perhaps when you apply you could better your chances.

Application 1. Jeannette Jenkins 21 years old, from Amanzimtoti, wants desperately to join the company, prepared to do any tasks required.

We looked carefuly at Jeannette’s application and found that she was lacking in the correct attitude and commitment. We are a catch and release series and feel very strongly about this. The fact that Jeannette is about to fillet an undersized perch counted against her and she didn’t get the job. We found that these factors were so serious, that they nullified her qualifications as a PHD in Marine biology, fully qualified aerobics instructor and part time erotic novel writer.

Application 2. Sue-Anne Dawson 24 years old, from Blythedale. Keen on a position as co-presenter.

We looked very seriously at Sue-Anne’s application, as she is highly qualified, with experience in television presenting and a very good resume’. She has worked on various liveaboard boats and has a yacht skippers ticket and is a qualified scuba instructor.Unfortunately it is clear from the photograph that her hand is actually in the gills of the king mackerel that she is holding and this shows a lack of respect and care for the fish. This counted aginst her and we didn’t accept her application, even though she clearly stated that she would do absolutely anything to get the job.

Application 3. Kelly Gardener, 21 years old, from Port Shepstone. Looking for any position, prepared to be a general dogsbody.

Kelly is full of enthusiasm and her application was very good. She is clearly somebody that loves the outdoors and the sea in particular. Her father is a well known marine scientist and Kelly has been accompanying him on field trips for many years. She knows the Latin names of every fish found in the Indian Ocean and has a National Diploma in Nature Conservation from the Cape Technikon. She was unfortunately not considered due to the fact that she was carrying the sandshark in her picture by the tail. This is very bad for the fish, as it can dislocate the spine and cause serious injury to the fish. Such blatant disregard for the welfare of her fish made Kelly an automatic non starter in our views.

Application 4. Giselle van Reenen, 23 years old from Van Der Bijl Park. Looking for a job as a co-presenter, but happy to do just about anything to get her foot in the door.

Giselle sent us this picture of her with her personal best Common Carp. She is an expert freshwater angler, with national colours. She also does volunteer work for SASSI on the weekends and is currently involved in Vaal river yellowfish research. She also has an Olympic gold medal for floor gymnastics and has been around the world with her sport. Sadly we do little freshwater fishing and Giselle wasn’t considered as she has little salt water angling experience.

Application 5. Sarah Cunningham, 19 years old, from Port Elizabeth.

Sarah accompanied her application with this really nice bonefish picture. She has a BSC in Marine environmental studies and has been fishing all her life. She has won numerous fishing tournaments and writes fishing articles for international fishing publications, we thought that she might be a keeper. It turns out however, that she caught the bonefish on a live molecrab, and we found that to be unacceptable. We pride ourselves in catching our fish on artificials and felt that Sarah just doesn’t cut it.

Application 6. Mandy Foster, 20 years old, from Empangeni. Looking for any job within the company.

Two things counted against Mandy. Firstly we felt that it was poor form sending us a picture in her application that doesn’t show her face. It is hard to judge somebody’s character and potential without seeing their face. Secondly we felt that she needs to work on her fishing technique. It would be better to follow the fish around the boat, rather than hang over the gunwale. This shows some inexperience on her part, even though she has been fishing most of her life, has a valid skippers ticket and a number of IGFA ladies records, we felt that it shows that she is a slow learner.

Application 7. Belinda Ward, 22 years old from Plettenberg Bay. Wants a job as a fishing show presenter.

Belinda has a very impressive CV, with three years work experience at Two Oceans Aquarium as a specimen collector. She is busy writing her Doctorate thesis on pelagic fish migration and has some experience doing television ads. We seriously considered her application. One point against her was the fact that the barracuda in her picture had been gaffed in the jaw, but this wasn’t a deal breaker, as these fish are difficult to handle and at times it is necessary to do this in order to get the hooks out before releasing the fish. Unfortunately we felt that Belinda was not in peak physical shape. Television is not kind and to be a presenter one needs to be in perfect physical condition, otherwise the cameras can be very cruel and she could end up looking a bit frumpy next to someone like Tommo. We felt that if she shed a couple of kilo’s she could possibly reapply.

Anyhow, as you can see from the above examples, we have a tough time going through job applications, and it is never nice to dissapoint anybody by turning them down, but we have to be very careful about who we employ. Please, anybody considering applying for a job, go through the mistakes made by those above and try not to repeat them. It is a very competetive industry and you need to really get it right first time!