If you think of tigerfish like sex, then former Protea fly fishing captain MC Coetzer has been wearing a chastity belt for several decades. Until very recently he had deliberately chosen not to target them. But that all changed on a trip to Matoya Fishing Lodge on the Barotse floodplains of western Zambia. Photos. Conrad Botes, MC Coetzer. As featured in The Mission Issue 49 (Jan/Feb 2025).

I’ve only ever fished for tigerfish once in my life and for this I blame Jannie Visser. Back in the early 2000s my good friend Jannie went on a cross-country tiger-fishing trip to the Zambezi River. If I remember correctly, he fished somewhere along the Caprivi Strip after driving all the way from Cape Town with a stopover for a few galjoen in Namibia. 

Those were the days before South Africans targeted species like golden dorado, peacock bass, Nile perch or Tanzanian tigerfish. Tiger-fishing on the Zambezi or in the Okavango Delta was the ultimate freshwater destination for South African fly fishers and it received a lot of publicity in the fly fishing magazines. Everybody fished for tigerfish, and everybody made them out to be this mythical beast of a fish that was more powerful and ferocious than anything else that inhabits fresh water.  

Jannie’s experience was however the complete opposite. His opinion was that tigerfish are completely overrated. Sure, you find them in spectacular surroundings, but they don’t take any line; at best, they waddle around on the surface in between half-hearted jumps, and even setting the hook was no problem with 20lb tippet.  

Unfortunately, I trust Jannie’s opinion 100% and, from then on, tigerfish were pretty low down on my list of fishing priorities. In Jannie’s defence, he’d only caught a few three-to-four-pound fish, but my mind was made up. If I was going to travel to fish outside of South Africa, it would have to be for saltwater fish, not for tigerfish. I was not going to waste my time and money. I have fished extensively along the African coast and beyond in destinations like the St Brandon’s, Bassas da India, Seychelles, Gabon, Tanzania, Angola and many others. 

Over the years the focus in local magazines seemed to shift away from tiger-fishing on the Zambezi and Okavango Delta. This was probably due to the “discovery” of Tanzanian tigerfish by Tourettes (now rebranded as African Waters) and due to a decline in the quality of fishing available on the Zambezi River.  

Some of my friends, however, still fished for tigerfish every year, and they simply could not believe that I refused to fish for them. After many discussions with highly accomplished fly anglers like Andrew Parsons and Mike Dohlhoff, doubts invariably started creeping in. If somebody like Andrew, who has literally fished the entire globe, chooses tigerfish as his all-time favourite freshwater species, then you cannot help but doubt your decision not to fish for them as well.   

“The take from any tigerfish over seven pounds or thereabouts is what sets them apart from all other fish that I’ve caught.”

I finally succumbed in August when Conrad Botes talked me into a trip to Matoya Fishing Lodge on the upper Zambezi’s Barotse floodplain. Conrad’s often blind enthusiasm is contagious. He had heard that September was the time of year when you could realistically expect to catch a 20lb tigerfish at Matoya. That was enough to get Conrad sold on the idea and we really didn’t have any alternative fishing options available at the time. We were still stuck in a late-running and particularly cold winter with no fishing in sight for at least a couple of months. It was like selling crack to a junkie. I would have done anything for sunshine and warm water, even if it was to catch tigerfish.  

Because of our total lack of experience, we contacted all our friends for advice about the area, techniques, tackle, fly patterns and generally what to expect. 

The good news was that both Dan Factor of X-Factor Angling and Leonard Flemming (a former guide and regular contributor to this rag) confirmed that the area and the season were indeed when we could realistically expect a 20lb fish. The bad news was that we had picked the worst possible year to go on a maiden Zambezi trip. The region was in the grip of its worst drought in 30 years. Conditions were so bad that there was a national state of disaster declared in Zambia, and fishing all along the length of the Zambezi had been terrible all season. Despite all the negative reports, we convinced ourselves that hard work would get the job done and we started prepping frantically. 

We tied all the “standard” tigerfish flies, like the Clousers and Whistlers, but Dan suggested that we tie a few bigger patterns as well. Conrad chose Jerk Changers and large surface patterns, while I opted for articulated Andino/Puma-style flies that have been good to me in Gabon. As it turned out, these larger patterns produced all our better fish, and our guide, Calvin, would repeatedly point them out when asked for suggestions on fly patterns.  

We started off fishing the Clousers and Whistlers on fast sinking lines. This approach produced a few three-to-four-pound fish, but the bigger fish eluded us. So far Jannie was spot on, and I could understand why he didn’t get excited about tigerfish. When you’re used to fishing in saltwater 99% of the time, a three-pound fish on 20lb tippet doesn’t really impress. However, we knew the bigger fish were there because the other guests, fishing conventional gear, were catching multiple double-digit fish on lures every day. In fact, during our five days of fishing, two 20bl-plus fish came out on lures.  

“We switched over to the bigger six-inch patterns and the results were almost immediate. The average fish size more than doubled.” 

We switched over to the bigger six-inch patterns on the first afternoon, and the results were almost immediate. The average fish size more than doubled and it stayed that way for the rest of our trip. 

When sight-fishing for GTs or pretty much any other aggressive gamefish, you see what’s coming your way. You anticipate the take quite a long time before it actually happens, and the result is that it never really surprises you. It’s pretty easy to deal with. Set the hook, clear the line, don’t do something stupid and let the reel do its job. 

“That first double-digit fish that ate my fly on day one of our trip changed my fishing life.”  

In blind fishing situations, especially at a distance, the take is completely different. You realise there’s weight on the end of the line or you get that bump-bump, but the fish almost always gives you a moment to react while it is trying to figure out what’s just happened. There’s never any real chaos. Tigerfish are very different. That first double-digit fish that ate my fly on day one of our trip changed my fishing life.  

The take from any tigerfish over seven pounds or thereabouts is what sets them apart from all the other fish that I’ve caught. It’s as if the fish lines up the fly from 20 metres away, accelerates to top speed and then attempts to rip the fly, the line and rod from your grip. There’s no other fish that consistently eats a fly with such destructive savagery. The take is all power and complete chaos. There is no time to react between the eat and frantically trying to maintain contact while the fish stays airborne for what feels like an eternity. It is completely addictive. Unlike Jannie’s smaller fish, it doesn’t stop there. They don’t take lots of line, but they are like a street brawler that fights low and dirty. They simply don’t give up. 

Unfortunately, our inexperience got the better of us. We must have jumped 10 fish in that 14-to-18-pound range, but we somehow made a complete hash of every single big fish. We were definitely our own worst enemies, but we’ll have another crack at them next year. A bit older and a lot wiser.  

Tigerfish are all that they’re made out to be. They’re beautifully brutal and they inhabit one of the most spectacular parts of the world. What a fish! 

We started planning next year’s trip to Matoya even before we got off the boat at the end of our first day. With a bit of luck, Jannie will get a pink slip so that he can also start catching up on all those wasted years without proper tiger-fishing.  

THINGS I LEARNED AT TIGER SCHOOL 

Setting the hook 

You read a lot about the strike and how to set the hook into that bony mouth. I don’t think it’s really up to the angler, but more a case of luck. As long as you maintain firm contact with the line at all times, it doesn’t matter what else you do to set the hook. The take is so fast and hard that there is simply no time to react in any meaningful manner. The hook sticks or it falls out. All you can do is to keep the line tight and hope for the best.  

Reel, what reel?     

We quickly learnt that the biggest sin when fly fishing for tigerfish is to reach for the reel. This is especially true during that chaotic period after hooking a fish, when every bit of focus should be on controlling the fish on a tight line. It’s simple. Forget about absolutely everything else and keep the line tight. We are so used to relying on the reel that it’s almost instinctive to want to get the fish onto the reel as quickly as possible. This approach cost us many very good fish with flies flying harmlessly over our heads after the first or second jump.  

Articulated flies 

Conrad caught most of his fish (including a very good humpback bream) on Blane Chocklett’s Jerk Changers. Almost all my better fish came to the articulated Puma/Andino Deceiver. There’s nothing new about articulated flies, but they’re not something you see a lot of in South Africa. During the Covid lockdown we started experimenting with a few Gamechangers, but it soon got to the point where almost every single fly that I tie now incorporates multiple links in the design.  

The most obvious advantage to articulation is that it gives the fly added movement through the length of the fly, as opposed to only a tail kick or jerk action. This is especially true with slower retrieves typically used for tigerfish. Depending on the placement and number of articulations used, there are a number of other advantages, like being able to extend the size of the fly, the ability to place the hook/s anywhere along the length of the fly and increasing the available gape on the hook while still being able to incorporate a head design that displaces a lot of water.         

Stripping basket 

You don’t see a lot of stripping baskets being used by guys when they fish for tigerfish. This is probably because the boats we were fishing from were perfect for fly fishing. There’s a lot of space on the deck with absolutely nothing for the line to get tangled on. We weren’t sure about packing stripping baskets but threw them in anyway. I didn’t need the stripping basket until I lost my stripping basket overboard. When the wind picked up, I quickly realised that the stripping basket is an indispensable piece of kit, even on a perfectly laid out boat.  Never leave home without one. 

Lure clips 

I hate any kind of clip when fly fishing, but when I saw what the Scientific Angler’s Predator Knottable Wire cost, I realised that I needed to find a way to make the wire last longer. Mustad’s Fastach Clips made it possible to save on the wire while being able to change flies as often as you wanted to. I am now completely sold on these clips and will definitely use them a lot more in other fly-fishing situations. 

Lodge hospitality  

Most fly fishing operations are slick and smooth with great food, friendly staff and comfortable lodgings and Matoya Fishing Lodge is no exception. I have never come across friendlier people than the lodge’s Zambian staff. The owner Marvin Sissing is a natural host who seems to truly enjoy making people happy. After a very long day on the water, the first person you see when you step into the lodge is invariably Marvin with a “How many fish over 10 pounds did you get today?” greeting. Before you can even sit down, the lodge manager is there with two ice cold Mosis. Life doesn’t get much better.   

This article first featured in The Mission Issue 49 (Jan/Feb 2025). Read the whole thing below, for free, forever.