Tiger Fishing

Conventional Angling Techniques:

I am not going to go into too much detail on the intricacies of the Barotse floodplain and Zambezi River on which we plough our trade as this is covered in more depth in the preceding site header. What I would like to emphasise, is that our practises and methods here are tried and tested, and then revised and perfected to suit our conditions. This is not to say that these methods are gospel, or that we are different to other parts of the Zambezi... it is just that they are effective here... and of course this is the home of the Barotse express... and she is unlike any other!......

As with every facet of angling and their associated destinations, the Barotse has her seasons, and with the seasons come change... Our guides are constantly monitoring these changes and are adapting old and new techniques to suit. In a summary I can put these seasons into three distinct categories:

Mid April - Early June: Receding floodplain
Mid June - August: Mid water
Late August - November: Low water

In each of these seasons we fish with certain constants, the tackle and technique remained the same it is just how we use these techniques to tackle the conditions that are ever changing.

Before I go into tackle required to effectively challenge these apex predators I would like to give our visiting guests an idea of the area that they are going to fish... this can be somewhat difficult however as the beauty and diversity of this magnificent area can only be seen with your eye alone to truly digest this angling garden of Eden.

As Barotse Tiger camp is perfectly positioned to effectively fish an area of almost 80kilometers of river and I will categorise this water into two areas: the floodplain, and everything above that.

The Barotse floodplain is extremely vast... covering an area of almost 15 000 square km at high water. Our area of operation starts approximately 18kms down from the camp where the upper reaches of the plains begin.

In early May this vast amount of water begins to drain from its summer resting place into the main channel of the Zambezi, and coinciding with this phenomenon comes another marvel of this wonderland... the feeding frenzy! To best describe this eternal happening one has to try to picture a myriad of newly spawned bait fish of every description slowly making their way back into the river as the water recedes only to be ambushed by shoals of marauding tiger fish .It is not an exaggeration to say that one can view a bait ball being smashed by tigers as virtually the same as the ocean erupting as a huge shoal of Bonito or Tuna take part in demolishing the smorgasbord on offer. It is then, by casting your lure into and on the fringes of this chaos that "fish fever" can set in as the hungry tiger take the artificial offering with gutsy relish

Double ups and multiple strikes are commonplace. On board the level of excitement soon escalates into a kind of controlled chaos itself, until as quickly as it appeared the frenzy is over and all that remains is a self satiated ,expectant hunger for the next chapter to begin...!

Once the plains and pools have emptied their bountiful foodsourse into the main river the packs of tiger begin to move, although not entirely en mass... to the deeper waters and drop offs that make up a section of the river somewhat closer to our base. It is in mid June that we move our efforts to parts of the river closer to camp leaving behind the floodplain and her islands and backwaters until the next year.

As the main river begins to recede, structure begins to play an important part in the strategy for the days angling. Unlike the mid and lower Zambezi where most efforts are concentrated on the reed structure and backwater channels closer to the side... here we begin to target the drop offs and submerged structure in the centre of the river, and aiding us in this task we have on board a very essential piece of equipment... the trusty Lowrance Gps and fishfinder which allows the guides to have a clear and concise view of the riverbed below.With this aid we can effectively place the angler on productive areas far more quickly than by thumb sucking or looking at the surface.

Once late August has arrived our days are spent almost entirely close to the camp as the river has almost reached its lowest point and new tactics have to be employed in order to effectively fish the clearly defined channels and associated sandbars. Up to now we have been using certain special lures and other artificials... and to very good effect, but now comes the time for live baiting and in the following chapter on tackle and techniques I will go into that in more detail.

The Barotse area of the Zambezi is without doubt the finest destination to successfully target TROPHY tiger fish virtually every day. Fish of 10-12 lbs are commonplace, however it is that fish of 14 lbs and upwards that are known as the “Barotse Express”and trust me, they are going to test your tackle to the limit... there is no fish that is more difficult to hook... and to keep hooked than this fish. We have refined techniques and use tackle that comes from five years of constant experimentation and thousands of hours of angling... just so we can offer you our guest expert and tested opinion that works best in these particular waters. The tackle that we use does not favour any particular supplier; it is just tackle those suites and works very well for this particular game fish.

Tackle Requirments:
Rods:
The rods we use and recommend for our conventional fishing can be grouped into two categories - namely bait casters and spinning rods.

The common denominator between the two is simple, they must be a fast action, stiff rod capable of casting well with the power required to set the hooks effectively in the tiger fish's bony mouth.

For this purpose the shimano Crucial and Beastmaster series would be our best recommendation, however as everyone has a personal choice and we do not want to infringe on this,just try to make sure that you bring along the best quality stiff action 7' -7' 6 med heavy to heavy rod that will suit your budget.

Reels:
The baitcaster and spinning reels required must have the strongest,smoothest drags system possible.They must be capable of sustained heavy drag pressures.For this purpose we use the Shimano Stella 4000 and 5000 series spinning reel and the Shimano Calcutta 200 and 250 DC .There should be no compromise in this department... the Barotse tigerfish will destroy any sub-standard reels drag system quickly as you will be fishing for these fish with maximum drag settings.One can not believe how this fish will rip line off a drag set so tight that you can not even pull it off with your hand.

Lines:
There will always be a debate weather to use braid or monofilament.

This debate must end here - there is simply no plan,or place for the use of mono in catching trophy tigerfish. The reason is quite simply this... the reels suited to this type of angling will not hold enough line of a breaking strain high enough to combat the large tiger,and furthermore there is too much stretch in mono to effect a solid hook up.I personally started using 20lb braid,then 30lb ,and only after being given a proper hiding have I settled on a quality 50lb braid,namely suffix 836 or power pro.

One can not believe the incredible force with which the tiger hits a casted efzett spoon or trolled rapalla. Lighter breaking strain braid and especially mono snaps like cotton as a result. This is one area that one must not scrimp in the budget... it will be exploited to the maximum.

Lures:
Much has been written on which lure works best for tigers,and the tackle shops are full of them.We have tried them all and more and have condensed the selection into a few that consistently catch more tiger... on this section of river!

The Effzett copper spoon:
This lure stands out alone, bar none as THE No1... without peer!.Not the silver and gold, nor the silver and copper... just the plain copper in both 20 and 30 gram.This lure comes in both the double clapper as we call it and the single blade spoon ,both are equally effective. Before you set out however one must change both the splitrings and hooks. For this purpose we use spro.60 and 80lb splitrings and we change the standard trebles for two singles,the top splitring carries a 2/0 - 4/0 vmc siwash and the bottom splitring is loaded with a 5/0-7/0 vmc. A 15-20cm nylon coated or piano wire trace is recommended tied onto a 80lb power swivel ,then tied directly onto the braid.

The Lucius black and copper spoon:
This is a new spoon on the market and is somewhat lighter than the effzett,however it has a wonderful action and can be fished slow or fast. Again ,this lure has sub standard trebles and splitrings for tigerfish and you must change them,using the same set up as the efzett spoon.

The Rapala:
This lure needs no introduction,many have tried to copy them-however they stand alone as probably the most successful trolling lure of all time.At Barotse Tiger Camp we use them under certain conditions.. mainly when the wind is too strong to effect a long drift downstream and you are constantly blown to the side.

There are many to choose from ,however our results show that the CD 11-14 magnum shallow diver and DT6 and DT10 are the most effective.Once again, please check the splitrings,change the back treble to a strong single and hang on! The most effective colors by far are the fire tiger and red head.

The top water lure:
There can be no doubt that casting a top surface skitter pop in the early morning or late afternoon and watching the lure getting smashed by a marauding tiger is one of the most exciting facets of this amgling method.You must achieve the desired ‘walk the dog action’ for this lure to be effective.Our recommendation is the zara spook magnum.

Drop shot:
There is a place for plastic on this stretch of river... in deep water and on windy days when the fish are holding in the depths. On calmer days you will be outfished virtually shot for shot by the efzett.But this is not to say that you will not get the pulls.Just remember... you must add a stinger hook to the set up and the best rig to use is the Texas rig as used by the bass fishermen.

Live bait:
What can I say...! this is THE most natural "lure" you can use ,but it is seasonal in its application,mostly from mid September onwards. Small bream and tigerfish up to 1kg are the best,the tiger having the best longevity and action.One has to put a single holding hook through the top lip then one or two singles in the dorsal and tail .Be carefull not to puncture any vital organs when pinning the fish.Tie a patially blown up condom onto the top swivel adjoining at least one and a half meters of min 60lb nylon coated wire and then platted 80lb piano wire as the hook trace... let it swim free to at least 30mfrom the boat wait for the swirl as the feeding tiger lines up the bait,let her run as she takes off,count to at least 5 and tighten up... try not to strike as you often pull the bait out of the fishes mouth... enjoy! Next to top water fishing this for me is the most exciting form of tiger fishing and can be hugely productive for the really big tiger.

Methods:
These are too numerous to put down in this article... I have given a few tested applications in the preceeding paragraphs... please TRUST YOUR GUIDE... he knows what to do and when to do it,and will gladly teach you all the right metods... AND as a bonus HE might learn some new ones from you!

We look foreward to hosting you here at the house of the Barotse Express. In parting …please remember ,if you are unsure of any requirement please contact us before you come... we will gladly discuss these with you as to maximise your experience.

TIGHT LINES
Andre ‘AK’ Kruger