Tigerfish - Botswana, Namibia, Caprivi Strip, Zambia and Mozambique

The tigerfish is a native warm water African fish rated as one of the best fighting freshwater gamefish in the world. Fishing for tigers is from a boat and as you drift you will see hippo, crocodile and other game, possibly including elephant.

The river systems that tigerfish frequent are large, fast moving bodies of water with some tigers in the smaller river systems, off shoots and rivulets.

To provide an idea of the waters tigers frequent, consider the Zambesi River where the main river may be broken up by a numerous islands with channels flowing in between these islands. These channels can vary from 50m to 2 km's wide, and this is strong flowing water.

The opportunity for catching tigers varies from area to area and you may wish to target a trophy tiger with an eight or nine weight or catch smaller fish with a six weight.

A 2-3 kilo tiger on a six weight in snag free fast moving water is a force to be reckoned with, from the arm jolting strike to the fast runs into the backing and jumps along the way, the fight is on till you subdue the fish and pump it to the surface. Or target an absolute beast of a tiger fish with an eight or nine weight and possibly capture the tiger of a lifetime.

The tiger season varies from area to area and some of the locations can be inhospitable weather wise during certain times of the year. Along with tigers comes the chance to catch other species in the same waterways including Nembwe and Barbel.

Tigerfish have a bony and hard mouth structure which can be difficult to set a hook in. When choosing fly patterns and presentation methods it is important to consider the conversion ratio of strikes to hook ups and select hook styles and lines that will improve chances of a good hook set.

To demonstrate this point please consider the following example. I was fishing the barbel run on the Okavango and had tied on a standard saltwater deceiver fly pattern tied on a regular saltwater style hook. I cast the fly into the feeding melee and hooked a tiger which took off, the fly came loose and while stripping in I hooked another tiger which ran off and then came loose, stripping the fly in I hooked another tigerfish which also ran and jumped before coming loose. This is the only time in my life I have hooked 3 fish in one cast and landed none.

There are many lodges on the upper and lower Zambesi River offering a variety of services and tiger fishing experiences for varying costs. The best operators will offer fly fishing for trophy sized tigers in remote areas.

The Okavango provides some very fast tiger fishing during the barbel run for small to medium sized tigers. The Okavango pan handle barbel run is best targeted in a group of 3 or 4 from a logistics perspective and booking well in advance is recommended. To fish the Okavango with a boat and driver can be very cost effective.

To fish the okavango, Chobe, Kwando, Upper or Lower Zambesi and other locations for tigerfish please contact Travelling Fly Fisher.

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