ARTICLES

Southern African Flyfishing
Fishing Southern Africa's indigenous species by Jonathan Boulton

The larger river systems, such as the Zambezi, Chobe and Okavango, are home to some of the most predacious, weird and wonderful fish, very few of which cannot be taken on the fly. Travel and - needless to say - fishing throughout Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia, as well as lodge management in the Okavango Delta, have provided me with some of the most entertaining and challenging sport anyone could ever hope for.

Tigerfish

The mean, lean tiger (Hydrocynus vittatus) of the meandering upper Okavango River provides what must be rated as some of the most thrilling freshwater flyfishing in the world, as hordes of pilgrimaging international flyfishermen can testify.

A standard 8/9 saltwater outfit is necessary to pump out a large weighted fly. Lighter rods can be used, but seeing that the survival rate of released fish is unfortunately low even with conventional tackle, this is not advisable as these fish literally fight to the death. As with saltwater flyfishing, a reel with a mediocre drag system will soon be punished. A standard length of 12-15 lb is sufficient as there are no sharp gillplates or fins to damage the line and the ferocity of the take soon puts knot strengths to the ultimate test.

Therefore, keep it simple.

The most effective flies are simplified Deceiver patterns tied on a size 2 stainless steel hook. A short copper body and lead eyes help get the fly down against the dropoffs and into the channels, as well as giving a lifelike jigging action on retrieval. A steel trace goes without saying. This can be the plastic coated variety, incorporated into the fly, or plain piano wire whipped directly into the eye of the hook.

The problem with the first setup is that, after a few strikes, the trace becomes badly kinked or damaged so the fly has to be binned. With the latter method, however, a battered trace, which is hindering the fly’s swimming action can be replaced within a matter of seconds, with practice. Again keep it simple and don’t bother throwing your overpriced, intricately-tied saltwater flies. They may look good at first, but one or two strikes from those gnashers and they will look as if they have a serious case of the mange…..

Late evening at the height of the floods often finds the "tiggers" smashing fry on the surface and great fun can be had by pushing a wedge of high density foam above the fly. Hey presto – instant popper! Needless to say, a well sharpened point is necessary for penetration into that primitive bony jaw. Once hooked, there is the famous head shaking and tail-walking routine, but the flyfisherman will often boat more fish than the scrap metal throw, as there isn’t the weight of a spoon or spinner to rattle about and eventually dislodge the hook hold.

Kariba Tigers

These are almost a different species all together, as they have adapted to the open water and have become kapenta-guzzling, potbellied monsters. A lot more thought is required, as the size of the lake can prove quite intimidating. Fish river mouths and rocky outcrops push up into old river channels. If the Mepps thowers have some joy, chum with handfuls of kapenta to initiate a feeding frenzy and to hold the fish within casting range.

Bream

This is a very diverse species and includes omnivorous, algiverous and highly predacious varieties. They inhabit the quiet backwaters and lagoons and nearly all can be taken on the fly. The largemouth species will take any fish or large nymph patterns, but obviously these must be fished a lot slower and deeper than when targeting tiggers. The nembwe (Serranochromis robustus), for instance, is similar to the black bass in that it is structure-orientated, lying up in nooks and crannies amongst the reeds and papyrus, waiting to ambush is prey. Accuracy is the name of the game and often the fly will be engulfed on the drop if placed well. The smallmouthed variety, such as the threespot bream (Oreochromis andersoni), requires a lot more persistence, but can be taken on smaller patterns with lots of marabou so that they undulate through the water with a slow, rhythmical retrieve.

The African Pike (Hepsetus odoe)

In the quiet lagoons of the Okavango Delta, during the winter months, the top predator becomes the African pike. It is a very primitive-looking fish and possesses an even meaner jaw structure than the tiger. It unfortunately doesn’t get much larger than one-and-a-half kilograms, but weight for weight, in my opinion, it fights better than the tiger. It is an incredible acrobat and when hooked spends more time out of the water than in. Once boated you will be astounded by the thick, protective slime layer that sticks to everything for a long while after. Don’t ever be tempted to bypass the long-nose pliers when unhooking even the smallest of specimens as one’s nose-picking career may be ended there and then….

Silver/Butter Barbel (Schilbe intermeddins)

These are surprisingly aggressive for their size and appearance and will snap at just about anything from DDD on the surface to a large tiger streamer down below. They provide good sport and there are times of the year when catching them can be less challenging than clubbing baby seals in a bath with a nine iron. Their firm white fillets, although slightly oily, make great eating as well as excellent strip bait for the less civilised tiger fishermen.

Sharptooth Catfish/ Barbel (Clarias gariepinus)

Will often take a fly meant for a tiger, as they are a lot more predacious than our scavenging mudbath lunkers back home, relying far more on their not-so-good eyesight because of the consistently excellent water clarity. They can however, be quite a nuisance during the hectic "barbel runs". When large tigers patrol the edges of the packs of migrating barbel picking up the fleeing juvinile fish, there can be nothing more frustrating than being kept occupied by a 15 kg barbel while everyone else is having the time of their lives with the tigers!

What will never cease to amaze the angler when fishing for these species is not only the pulse-racing sport is he is experiencing, but also the beauty and the diversity of life and scenery than surrounds him. Unfortunately, however, this will not be on the menu forever. Nylon gillnets are being made readily available to many of these waterside communities, sometimes even through government funding. Fishing is no longer subsistence-based and greed results in longer and deadlier nets being strung across river mouths and lagoons as opposed to parallel to the shores. Now whole generations of fish can be wiped out as they leave the floodplains after breeding when the water recedes.

Hippos and crocs get caught up as they move up and down the channels at night and die a slow and lingering death. The tiger, an open water species upon which the sportfishing industries of these areas are based, has little table value and the carcass is merely discarded or fed to the starving dogs back at the village….Hopefully, education and tangible benefits from the sportfishing and tourism industries will not be too late to save and sustain the richness of these flyfishing paradises which, unfortunately, far too few have the chance to experience.

Taken from
Flyfishing: The Official Journal of the Federation of Southern African Flyfishers Vol 10 No. 40 April 1997