Unprotected Tiger Fishing ...when, where, how and the pros and cons of fishing wireless

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Unprotected Tiger Fishing
...when, where, how and the pros and cons of fishing wireless

By Keith Clover - Tourette Fishing

For the past couple of seasons it has been a buzz word on the Zambezi. Even the sound of it, "going wireless", is appealing in a risky and exciting kind of way. For both virgin and experienced ears alike, the first suggestion of targeting tiger fish "wireless" draws muttered murmurs of impending insanity. The mere thought of targeting tiger fish, gums stacked with razor sharp teeth, without a steel trace to prevent bite off's is more often than not disregarded with out a second thought. But, is there merit in this new fangled tiger fishing technique.

As in all aspects of fly fishing, techniques are dynamic and ever changing. Many technical modifications are gladly accepted and are incorporated into modern fly fishing. Many are rejected out right. And many, although not fully accepted and integrated into modern fly fishing practice, contain aspects which at certain times, and under certain conditions, can be adopted and followed to provide successful results. It is in this light I view tiger fishing wireless. For many anglers however, the issue of fishing wireless is black and white. It is either fully embraced or rejected. My views on fishing wireless, place me in a somewhat greyish shadow. Apart from the obvious goal of drawing more strikes and landing more fish, there are further moral considerations that need to be taken into account when weighing up the pros and cons of tiger fishing wireless.

The art of targeting tiger fishing on fly, over the past decade, has definitely shifted to more imitative fishing practices. In the past tiger fish were often thought to either be in a feeding mode, or not. This is partly true, for tiger fish do behave and feed differently on different sections of the Zambezi through out the year. What we have come to realize however, is that when in feeding mode, often, tiger fish will show a distinct preference to a certain food type. This is not to say that an aggressive fish will not rush a big flashy attractor pattern. It does mean that fly fisherman who make the effort to identify the predominant baitfish the tiger fish are feeding on in any specific location, and match their fly, (colour, length and profile) to the identified baitfish, they will more often than not out fish their flashy attractor wielding fishing buddies.

In keeping with this shift to more imitative tiger fishing techniques, a couple of adventurous (and far braver than I) fly fisherman began experimenting with fishing wireless. By removing the highly visible and ridged piano wire bite tippet, and replacing it with a heavy section of hard mono, one can present smaller imitative tiger fish patterns far more naturally. Not surprisingly the results were most pleasing and prompted more anglers to begin fishing wireless.

What constitutes "pleasing results" you may ask? Firstly, one must look at amount of strikes one attracts fishing wireless as apposed to fishing with conventional piano wire. This must however be weighed up against the number of fish landed and number of fish that swim off with stinger hook in the jaw, when fishing wireless or with piano wire.

In order to gain some inkling of confidence when first fishing wireless, it is interesting to have a closer look of a tiger fish's dental structure when under the water. Fig 1,2,3,4 are 5 useful in this regard. What you will notice is that unlike, say a king mackerel, in tiger fish the apposing teeth on the upper and lower jaw do not, for the most part, fit together precisely. The teeth are large, have rough edges, and on most accounts there is a fairly large gab between adjacent teeth.

Fig 1

Fig 2

Fig 3

Fig 4

Fig 5

This has a number of implications for the angler fishing wireless. Firstly, it suggests that even when a tiger fish is hooked fairly deep in the mouth (i.e. the entire fly inside with the shock tippet running out between the teeth), it is not a given that one will be bitten of. This is obviously subject to the correct striking/hook-up procedure being followed, which I will go into later, as well as a bit of lady luck ensuring that you mono is not caught between the occasional two teeth that do fit together precisely (as in Fig 5. Teeth 2 and 3 on the left from the centre). Secondly, due to a the tiger fishes ferocious feeding method of attacking bait fish side on in a attempt to mortally wound it with their deadly dental structure, when fly fishing, tigers are commonly hooked around the edge of the inside of their mouths, with a portion of the hook shank protruding between their teeth. The result of this being that ones fly bears the brunt of the gnashing teeth, with ones tippet receiving secondary damage which is mostly in the form of abrasion - hence the use of a hard mono for tippet material. Thirdly, it has implication on how one is to fight a fish when fishing wireless. This in turn brings up a few moral/ethical issues surrounding the wireless tiger fishing debate.

Before discussing these points, it is useful to understand a typical wireless set up.

Basic leader set up:

Targeting tiger fishing wireless is the simple task of removing your conventional piano wire bite tippet and replacing it with a heavy mono tippet. A shock tippet, as used in the salt, in essence. I prefer a hard mono such as Maxima Ultra Green in 40 to 45 lb for the job (some go as light as 30lbs). I stay away from loop to loop connections when joining the shock tippet to my leader. When fishing wireless therefore, my basic leader construction is 4 to 5ft of 7kg or 10kg maxima joined via a double uni knot to 5 - 8 inches of 40 or 45lb hard mono respectively. Due to the nature of tying knots with a thick hard mono, I stay away from typical clinch knots when tying my fly to shock tippet which I feel detracts from the action of ones fly. I prefer to use a small free swinging loop, tied close to the eye of the hook.

Striking or lack there of:

There are two striking methods one can follow when fishing wireless. I have yet come to a decision as to which I deem more productive. In any case when a trophy fish smashes your fly, you don't really have time to give either method much significant thought, let alone try and actively implement your plan.

The fist method calls for little pressure applied by the angler on the initial strike. No strip strike or any proactive hook set. One controls the line on the deck with sufficient pressure to keep in positive contact with the running fish. The start up inertia when ones line gets on one reel and your drag takes over is all that is used to set ones hook. The lack of a positive strip strike is to prevent shearing your shock tippet as you rip it against one of the tiger fish's teeth. It goes without saying that super sharp hooks are crucial. Gamakatsu B10s are ideal.

The second method asks for a more positive strip strike; as you would with conventional piano wire, in an attempt to achieve a more positive hook set. Here there is more chance of being broken off on the take, as you could possible strip you hard mono against the rough edge of tooth.

You may have noticed that I refrain from using the term bitten off. This is intentional as with either method one can be unlucky and bittern off on the take. As mentioned this is not very common though. One is more often broken of due to abrasion against the teeth as apposed to a clean bite.

Of interest on my last Upper Zambezi Float Trip, one client, a hardened salt water fly fisherman, employed a solid strip strike on all takes. He was broken off on the take thrice over four days on the river. He did however land more big fish than any other angler in his party, who due to their fresh water (read trout) back rounds were far more genteel on the take.

Irrespective of which method you follow it is crucial to keep you rod down and resist the urge to lift into the fish on the take.

Playing the fish:

Once the fish is on the reel, sigh! The job is half done. If you are still in contact, the chances of a bite off are extremely slim. What you must be aware of is that over the course of the fight, or at intervals within the fight, your hard mono will be rubbing against the rough edges of the tigers teeth. Your 40lb mono shock tippet may well be whittled down to 15lb tatters by the end of a seriously long fight. The sight of ones leader after landing a big fish, pigtails of mono protruding off your shock tippet (not too unlike if you were to take a sharp knife and run it up against a green sapling) will leave you in know doubt as to the abrasive nature of tiger fishes teeth.

This therefore necessitates a change in fish fighting tactics when fishing wireless. One must avoid sudden change if directions at the risk of shearing your shock tippet against the rough outer edges of the tigers teeth. As the fight progresses one must be aware that ones tippet may well be getting progressively weaker. The angler must in turn compensate for this. This is most important when the fish is close to the boat. Here, sudden bursts of speed or jumps may well part a weakened shock tippet if not treated accordingly.

Ethical Implications:

One could write an entire article on the ethical implications of fishing wireless. As in all aspects of fly fishing, ethical decisions cannot be taken lightly, and once made there is definitely room for change as one grows as an angler. I will briefly present some views on the matter which you can use as you will.

Firstly, and probably most often brought up, is the risk of unnecessarily leaving tiger fish with hooks in their mouths. In my experience this is not a significant problem. As mentioned, I have not noticed a significant increase in break offs (if the wireless method of fighting fish is followed correctly) over the past couple of years when fishing wireless as apposed to with piano wire.

For obvious reasons there is a slight increase in the number if bite-offs. These occasions however present little chance for a positive hook set, and therefore a minimal chance of the tiger fish swimming around with your fly in its mouth for any prolonged time frame. Added to this, the extremely hard and bony mouth of tiger fish, combined with there inclination to go aerial while violently shaking their heads, result in flies not attached to a fly line to be easily rid of.

What is a concern to me is the added time needed to land fish when fishing wireless. This, a function of ones potentially weekend leader as a fight progresses. This can in part be negated by using quality hard mono in heavy size, one must however not go too heavy as to nullify the reasons for going wireless in the first place. Correct low impact fish handling, combined with educated revival practices will also go a long way to cancel the potential extra stress placed on a fish when fishing wireless.

When and Where:

This is possibly the hardest question to address on the wireless debate. Should you fish wireless when the fishing is tough and strikes are few and far between? If so, what happens if you are unlucky enough to be bitten off on one of the few strikes you get? Should you fish wireless all the time, but in doing so, risk placing unnecessary stress on all the tiger fish you catch? Should you reject the wireless method altogether, even though the increase in strikes is noticeable when fishing wireless? What about for first time tiger fisherman, will they have the composure to fish wireless, and if so how will they handle if they loose their first trophy fish to a parted leader? These are all factors that need to be considered when deciding when and where to fish wireless.

As a basic rule of thumb, I prefer clients to begin fishing with piano wire, and only switch to wireless when they are confident after landing a couple of fish. Also, if the water is off-coloured, or there is feeding frenzy's taking place such as during the barbel run or certain times on the upper Zambezi, I prefer to fish with piano wire. At times such as these, fishing wireless does not offer significant increases in strikes, and fishing with wire allows one to apply more pressure to the fish and get ones fly and fish back in the water soonest.

In clear water conditions, when you can actively see fish following yet refusing your offering, going wireless is often a trump card. Also, if going for species is your thing, fishing wireless will definitely result in strikes from a wider range of species.

You now have the how, when, where and why targeting tiger fish wireless is becoming more popular amongst certain fly fisherman. Now all that is needed is for you to get out on the water, give it a bash, and see how you feel about it. One word of warning however - do not let the feat of landing a trophy tiger fish wireless stoke your ego. Although a fair amount of skill is needed, lady luck plays a big role in landing trophy tiger fish no matter how you catch them. You angling buddy, who refuses to go wireless at the risk of placing unnecessary stress on trophy fish and does not produce the results may well be a fairer angler. In any event, get out on the water, enjoy, experiment and most of all educate those around you on actively conserving our valuable tiger fishing resources.