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Maslow, the Lady Jacqueline and a Batonka Stool
By Keith Clover - Tourette Fishing
There are, or hopefully will be, a couple of events in every angler's life that highlight the undeniable privileges we have as sport fisherman. The awareness of these privileges are regularly, all be it momentarily, bought to our attention when on the water. Landing a trophy fish in an exotic location, connecting with our natural surroundings, enjoying a cold beer after a hard days fishing, or watching Openbilled Storks speckle the deep blue African sky are a few such examples.
Recently, while guiding a group of travel journalists on Kariba, a surprising find led to me experiencing an epiphany like realization of just how fortunate we sport fisherman really are. The journalists were out on a game cruise; the banks of the Matusadona National Park are scattered with fantastic assortment of game and bird life. With some free time I decided to work the submerged bank side vegetation with a popper. The previous evening, while fishing for bream, we were frequently smashed up by tigers as they hammered our floats while being jigged slowly back through the submersed grass. It was late February; all the rivers flowing into Kariba are full at this time of year resulting in greenish discoloured water and dispersed food. Not ideal conditions when targeting tigers on fly. While working my popper along a grass bank, a strange shape in the water caught my attention. On closer inspection I discovered an old, weathered, and slightly battered Batonka stool semi buried in the water side fringes. Without much thought I picked it up, grinning at my good fortune. And that was it; my thoughts immediately back to the fishing.
Targeting tigers on fly for me is definitely one of the more extreme angling disciplines. Gut wrenching strikes followed by the all but compulsory aerial display, razor teeth and bony jaw all ensure any angler is kept honest when battling these magnificent fish. Although most of the time tigers are targeted subsurface with streamer type flies, when conditions allow there is not much that beats casting a surface fly, poppers and flippers, to charging wakes as these ferocious predators hunt bait fish in submersed vegetation.
It is useful to understand the distribution of tigers through the water column when targeting this species. Tiger fish will devour any fish up to 40% their own size, including their kin. For this reason tiger fish will generally stick with others of a similar size. African waters, similar to most wild places on our wonderful continent, are a dog eat dog (or more precisely striped water dog eat striped water dog) environment. For this reason one can fairly confidently predict the size of fish most likely to be caught in a specific area. Very roughly, larger fish occupy the relatively safe deeper water. Average size fish, not risking the deep water where there is a chance they will be eaten by their bigger brethren, inhabit the medium depth water. The smallest fish are unfortunately forced into the shallows where they seek shelter from their marauding cousins, while at the same time having to keep an eye out for avian attack from above.
Bearing this in mind, it is not surprising that when targeting tigers with surface lures the majority of fish landed are in the mid size range (2 - 6lbs). I suppose it comes down to the age old debate on quantity versus quality. Now for me any tiger on a surface lure gets a big stamp of quality. As for quantity, at the right time of year under suitable conditions quantity is not a problem. With 10's of kilometres of submersed shore side vegetation at your disposal one can confidently walk a 100m beat with better than average odds of attracting at least a couple of strikes. On most occasions, once a suitable looking area has been identified, one can expect two to three strikes before having to move on. Ideally what one must look for is shallow to medium depth waters of roughly 2 to 3ft containing a healthy spread of vegetation including submersed grass, water plants and timber. This should drop off into deeper water from where tiger fish can launch their attack on the unsuspecting bait fish.
I have found that once your cast has been made it is best to leave your popper where it landed for a good 5 to 10 seconds before commencing your retrieve. Often it is during this wait that you will be treated to a strike. Following the wait, a series of sharp strips, aimed at providing maximum water disturbance and noise from your popper, followed by pauses should provide enough commotion to draw a strike. It is important to resist the urge to strike as the fish hits your popper, rather let the fish re-enter the water with your popper before striking.
The typical leader set up used when targeting tigers with poppers is made up of 7ft of hard 15 to 20lb mono. Attached to this, with an allbright knot, is 5cm of No 5 piano wire. Finally attach your popper of choice with a haywire twist. Most poppers will work; my standard is an all white popper with white bucktail and a splattering of red on the underbelly.
If however you prefer a more sedate Kariba angling experience, fishing baits and artificials off the tender boat provides great sport. Not only will this give you the opportunity to land bigger fish, it provides excellent game and bird viewing opportunities. Again, it is best to concentrate on specific areas. The bigger rivers flowing into Kariba such as the Sengwa, Sanyati and Ume are all good options. Depth sounders will aid in finding the drop offs indicating the submersed river beds of smaller streams and rivers. Another useful indication of old stream and river beds is the abrupt end of timber. This generally marks a sudden drop-off. Trawling or chumming along these tree lines is very productive. Rocky cliffs and boulder strewn banks similarly provide good habitat for tiger fish and should not be ignored. Rapala' Shad Rap range, in particular the Super Shad Rap, are a good lipped lure option. Colours should include fire tiger, all orange and a couple of natural colours. If your preference is for bait fishing, make sure you get a good supply of kapenta before you head out. Chumming from an anchored position will bring the fish up, and at the right time provide hectic action for the fly and conventional fisherman alike.
Now back to the stool...it was sitting down to tie a new trace that really got me thinking. Sitting on the surprisingly comfortable stool, worn smooth by years of "Batonka buttocks" and exposure to the elements, the gravity of the situation struck me. Here I was fishing for pure enjoyment, The Lady Jacqueline (a luxury houseboat) 50 yards away, with a team of fantastic staff, including skipper, deck hand and a wonderful cook awaiting my return. I contemplated what the last owner was up to when last he sat on the stool. With their trademark nose bone and gap-tooth dental work, the Batonka people, resident in the Zambezi Valley for centuries, were moved to higher ground to make way for the dam. Their long-held customs have become all but a thing of the past as they have been absorbed into contemporary Zimbabwean life. Living a subsistence lifestyle of farming, hunting and fishing on the Zambezi flood plains, they were a proud tribe.
Maybe the previous owner of the stool was keeping an eye on his grazing cattle, or could he have been repairing his fishing nets? I suppose I will never know... The one thing I am certain he was not doing was casting a popper at tigers, catching them and then letting them go again before walking back to floating mansion to eat a three course meal.
Now this may sound classist or condescending, but a conservation ethic is most definitely a function of one's living circumstances. As Abraham Maslow's theory on Mans Hierarchy of Needs suggests: as humans meet 'basic needs' they, seek to satisfy successively 'higher needs' that occupy a set hierarchy. Very briefly our first needs are physiological, the need to eat, sleep, breath etc. This is followed by the need for safety and security, emotional, financial and physical. The need to belong and be loved follows this. After which comes our need to be respected, for self-respect and to respect others. If we are fortunate enough to have neutralized our first four basic needs, our final need is for personal growth - the instinctive need of humans to be the best they can be.
We as fly fisherman, or sporting anglers of any discipline, are privileged in that our passion allows for fulfilment, at least in part, of our upper three needs. Being part of a close group of fishing friends, a club, or the angling fraternity as a whole satisfies our need to belong. Landing a trophy fish, watching your buddy tempt a skittish wild brown with a size 18 dry or tying your first fly will at some level fulfil ones need for respect. And finally our need for personal growth, here the opportunities are endless - sharing your passion with those around you, involvement with development and conservation programmes, appreciation of life, and generally being aware of the privileges angling brings to your life. With out doubt, we are a fortunate few. In pursuit of our angling passions, we are lent the tools to help benefit those people, places and organisations we come into contact with. Let's use them.
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