Tiger Fishing

Fly-fishing Techniques:

Strategies for trophy Tiger Fish on fly!
Many articles have been published on the tackle and methods used to catch the formidable Tiger Fish. Whilst these methods will work for most fish in most destinations, a different approach is needed when targeting the larger Trophy's of ten pounds and up. In this article Barotse Tiger Camp guide Nick Clewlow will go through the different strategies, methods and tackle needed to regularly and successfully land the bigger Tigers. These methods will help you to keep up a better conversion rate when fishing for our ever evading African Tigers.


Tackle Requirements
The first thing you need is a decent casting rod in the 8 or 9wt class. We use and recommend the Sage TCX or Xi3 and G.Loomis Cross current rods. When targeting these larger Tigers the rod is really only used to cast out heavy large profile flies so find one that best suits your casting style and budget. You'll then need a decent cork drag reel with a minimum of 150 meters of 30lb dacron backing..A perfect reel is the Shilton SL5. As far line goes you'll need a 300-350 grain sinking line with a shooting head. The only ones we use are the Scientific Angler Tropical Express and Streamer Express lines. These lines are easy to cast and wont leave you untying endless knots. Avoid using thin full sinking lines! For leaders we use 5-7ft of 25lb Maxima ultragreen mono and join it to either 40lb knotable trace wire or 63lb piano wire. We use a perfection loop to join the leader to the fly line, an Albright knot to the trace and the Haywire twist to join the fly. We have found that only a couple of flies are really needed to successfully catch large Tigers. A heavy large profile fly is your best answer here. Big Clousers with large dumbbell eyes and heavy copper wire body’s in Bleeding Black SF blend and Copper and olive SF blend in a length of 10-15cm are what we've been using with great success! Otherwise similar large weighted Whistlers and Brush flies will work. These flies are tied on a minimum of 2/0 or 3/0 Gamakatsu B10S or Grip hooks. Most of the commercially tied flies are to small for trophy fish so tie your own!

Methods and Strategies
Larger fish prefer to roam the middle of the river ambushing their prey on and around the drop offs. To target these fish we drift the middle of the river and search for these drop offs and areas where current changes such as eddies and structure are found. We have found that a depth of between 3m and 6m with a drop of half a meter or more yields the best results. Here you would cast your line upstream at a 45 degree angle and allow it to sink down to the bottom as its going over the drop off. Getting your fly down as quick as possible is the key to success! A traditional single handed strip will not work with the Trophy Tiger! You will need to put the rod under your arm and use a double handed strip. This will ensure that you have contact with your line at all times. We have found that this technique allows you to better retrieve line and to be able to set the hook better on strikes. Once a fish is hooked leave the rod under your arm and keep stripping the line at a faster rate as this will help to drive the hook through the Tigers boney mouth. Keeping a direct line to your fly and maintaining pressure will result in more fish being landed! The rod is then kept under your arm during the fight as often the fish will turn and run towards you causing slack line allowing it to expel the fly. By doing this you will be able to retrieve line at a faster rate. Very few of these fish will take you onto the reel however if this does happen feel free to grab your rod and to try and get it back on the reel but beware of the fish turning and running back towards you as this will cause the same slack line scenario. During the fight the fish will probably want to jump and try throw the hook, to stop this try and keep the rod pointed down. If it does jump keep pressure on the line and if possible twist your body to pull the fish off its jump(not the easiest task)! Only grab the rod once you feel the fight is nearing its end and you are sure you have control of your fish. You can then easily steer it around the boat as it tires. Carefully net your fish and be careful with it as Tigers stress easily once landed. Take a couple of quick pics and get the fish back in the water as soon as possible. Do take a little time to revive your fish before letting it swim off.

The Trophy Tiger
Catching a Trophy Tiger is no easy task and requires a great deal of patience. The reason we have to use stronger tackle and larger flies is due to the nature of these apex predators. These fish are extremely powerful and hard hitting. They have ferocious razor sharp teeth and a powerful boney mouth. Using the traditional tackle and methods results in popped leaders, bitten through traces and bent hooks. These larger fish also eat larger prey so using a big profile fly will ensure more double digit fish being hooked!

Where to find them
In all honesty there are only a few select destinations where you can properly target the big Tiger.. If its a real trophy that you are after then only one destination can promise you a shot at that Trophy fish. Barotse Tiger Camp in Western Zambia is the headquarter for double digit Tiger fish with at least one being caught every day if not more! The Barotse flood plain holds a phenomenal amount of large tigers and it is on this part of the mighty Zambezi River that you’ll be looked after and guided into these beasts. The season runs from April to November with your best fly fishing months being around June and July over a dark moon period.

Last Cast
Whilst targeting these large tigers you also have the added benefit of landing several species of Bream and Yellow Fish. Tiger fish are found in remote and wild places so be aware of your surroundings. When targeting these fish you will be spending many hours on the water so be patient, relax and take your time. Fish hard but fish smart! Listen carefully to your guide and keep your ears and eyes open. Leave the environment as you found it and of course take care of and release these beautiful fish that we pursue! Finally at the end of the day don't forget the "Gerry Can" experience and to update the record book!