"Nestled in Eastern Central African Republic (CAR) in a war-torn region plagued by instability and deadly ethnic violence, lies a wildlife refuge called Chinko. Despite decades of civil war, intense poaching, illegal grazing and heavily armed herdsmen, remnant populations of key wildlife species have persisted, and vast swaths of wooded savanna and rainforest have remained [...]
Forget (almost) everything you know about fly-fishing for Zambezi tigers, they said. Pack your trail shoes, they said. On a recent mission to Siona Falls in Western Zambia with Wildman Fishing Co, Ewan Naude and Jazz Kuschke did just that, and burned more than holes in the soles of their feet and grooves into their [...]
It’s an outdoor affair. The floor is wooden decking, the low walls traditional Zambian reed-work. A mokoro – planted upright – provides the perfect vehicle for the shower head. Warm water is from a fire-fuelled 'donkey' set a few metres back in the Mopane bush. Shower views That gloriously epic warm water is [...]
“I’ve just tied up 10 more mega clousers, bru,” came Ewan Naude’s words late last week, following a phone call to James Williams from Wildman Fishing co. Ewan's mega clousers “Basically, like I would be tying if I was fishing for Geets off Mozambique - I wrapped the shanks in copper wire, plus [...]
The Harley Shakes is a fly created by Stuart Hartley, a guide for Tourettes Fishing, designed specifically for the Tiger Fish (Hydrocynus Tanzaniae) of the Mnyera and Ruhudji Rivers in Tanzania. It's a surface fly that is very productive and a favourite for these rivers. You can see the fly in action in The African [...]
As explained in the original post (Terminal Tricks for Tigers) this piano wire trace setup (or single stranded stainless steel trace) was still regularly used when the Tanzanian tigerfish played 'hard-to-get' and it is also very useful for Zambezi tigerfish. Orange Dacron was used to demonstrate the double Rapala knot (which will be tied at [...]
A whenwe is a former British settler or expatriate who talks nostalgically about their former homes in colonial Africa, i.e.: "when we lived in..." (the origin of the term). In my case "When we were in Rhodesia...". But I’m Zimbabwean and do sometimes harp on about the fishing in Zimbabwe and would love to go back to some old haunts [...]
I’m busy prepping for a trip to the upper Zambezi with the enigmatic Ewan ‘Ethan’ Naude and his famous Loomis hat. We’re heading to Wildman Safaris and Royal Barotse Safaris in mid October to target Tigerfish and Upper Zambezi yellowfish, Labeobarbus codringtonii up near Sioma Falls. To say I’m frothing is an understatement... Having had [...]
In a small dam in the Limpopo Province of South Africa, a rather unique and unexpected hunt occurs. The Schroda Dam is nothing special; a small storage reservoir in a the Mapungubwe National Park. Build in 1993, it was stocked with Hydrocynus vittatus, the Southern African Tigerfish, in 2003. The stocking was part of a drive [...]
There are five tigerfish species that live across Africa and you may find that when you gain experience in catching each of them your techniques will change and your tackle preferences will also differ slightly for each species. I noticed this when I compared notes after fishing for tigerfish in the Zambezi River in southern [...]
