Tiger
Flies - a selection of go-to flies for the Upper Zambezi
and Okavango Rivers By Keith Clover - www.tourettefishing.com
With the Upper Zambezi Winter Tiger fishing season
fast approaching, followed by the Okavango Catfish
Run and the Lower Zambezi season many lucky anglers
are in the process of preparing tackle. And, as our
collective name sake implies, flies are indispensable
to the fly fisherman wanting to catch fish! With this
profound statement I would like to take a minute of
your time to go through a selection of flies that
have, and continue to produce results on the Upper
Zambezi and Okavango Rivers. With all fishing, it
is crucial to select the correct hook for the job.
Numerous factors need to be taken into account when
making this choice. Size off hook gap, the strength
of the hook, weight of the hook / heavy or thin wire,
chemically sharpened or not, length of shank and the
list goes on. All of these factors, combined with
the physical characteristic of the fish you are targeting,
play a role in hook selection. Over thousands of years
of attacking bony fish with scant regard for their
own well being, tigerfish have developed hard and
bony mouths. Thus when selecting a hook on which tie
our tiger flies, the fly unfriendly environment that
is a tiger mouth must be taken into account. We can
balance the scales slightly by selecting a hook that
helps us overcome these obstructions put in place
my years of evolution. The sharpness of a hook is
non negotiable in these instances. Secondly thickness
of the hook wire must be taken into account. It is
not use having a super sharp point followed by a thick
wire hampering full penetration. Conversely, too thin
a wire will bend; therefore a compromise must be reached.
Lastly, shank length must be considered. Long shank
hooks, although tying very attractive zonker patterns,
tend to offer slight give along the shank when striking,
in affect reducing ones hook penetrating ability.
Using the above three pointers to select a hook, Gamakatsu
B10S and Grip 21711NSL hooks come out tops when tying
all the flies described below. You can order these
hooks from your local tackle dealer. Flies: 1. Black
and Grey Clouser with red tag Hook: #4 - #2 Gamakatsu
B10S Thread: 3/0 black or red for flies into which
I have incorporated lead to distinguish Eyes: 4mm
dumbbell eyes Body: gold tinsel Under wing: grey buck
tail Top wing: black buck tail in a ratio of roughly
3 parts grey under wing to 1 part black top wing Flash:
One stand of crystal flash per side Tail/tag: red
holographic tinsel Extra Weight: Round lead wire (optional)
I prefer to tie this fly on a size 4 hook and fish
it when the fishing is tough. When a front passes,
temperatures drop and the wind picks up, fishing on
the upper Zambezi can prove frustrating. The tigers
hold deep and do not feed aggressively. This fly comes
into its own over these times. Fished deep and slow,
close to the banks, this fly often produces the results.
Slow is a relative term, the phrase best describing
this is a slow "stroking-the-dog" strip. We also fish
this fly when we notice lots of small baitfish holding
around the boat or in the surrounding submerged structure.
2. Black and red clouser (or all black) Hook: #2 Gamakatsu
B10S Thread: 3/0 black or red for flies into which
I have incorporated lead to distinguish Eyes: 4 mm
dumbbell eyes Body: copper tinsel Under wing: Red
bucktail Top wing: black buck tail in a ratio of roughly
1 parts red under wing to 4 parts black top wing Flash:
One stand of copper crystal flash per side Extra Weight:
Round lead wire (optional) Over the past couple of
years we have noticed that this fly is most productive
when tigerfish are feeding aggressively in the main
channel. Bait fish that have been flushed off the
flood plains form loose aggregations in the main channel.
Tigers can be seen slashing the surface and gulls
are often involved picking up injured bait fish off
the water. The black and red clouser is a good option
here. A positive strip retrieve works best. In the
scenarios described above, the fly is often taken
on the swing, so be patient and let you line get down
and begin its swing before commencing your retrieve.
The black and red clouser is also a good option to
fish in discoloured water, low light conditions, and
in the rapids on the Upper Zambezi. 3. Copper Clouser
Hook: #2 Gamakatsu B10S Thread: 3/0 black or red for
flies into which I have incorporated lead to distinguish
Eyes: 4 mm dumbbell eyes Body: copper tinsel Under
wing: Orange kinky fibre Mid Wing: Red Bucktail Top
wing: Black bucktail topped with peacock hearl (layers
in the ratio of 3:1:2 - orange:red:black) Flash: One
stand of crystal flash per side Extra Weight: Round
lead wire (optional) The copper clouser is great early
season fly. Eighty percent of the trophy fish landed
pre "feeding frenzies" are taken on this fly. Where
ever one finds the river bed comprises of a rocky
substrate (as on certain parts of the far upper Zambezi
in western Zambia) this fly is a good choice. Often
these rocks are a mottled light brown to coppery colour
forming a band across the river. The bait fish which
seek shelter in this structure are similarly coloured,
hence the productiveness of the copper clouser in
such circumstances. 4. Scoobi-doo clousers (colours:
Yellow and Grey, Grey and Olive, White and Pink) Hook:
#4 - #2 Gamakatsu B10S Thread: 3/0 Red (for yellow
and pink versions) and olive Eyes: 4 mm dumbbell eyes
Body: Scoobie-doo wire Under wing: yellow, grey or
white Top wing: grey, olive or pink for respective
under wings above, in a ration of 1:1 Flash: One stand
of crystal flash per side Tinus, a client from the
Eastern Cape convinced me of this style of clouser
on a Upper Zambezi Float trip in 2006. He tied all
is clousers this style. The pink and white version
he used exclusively to target king fish in the Eastern
Cape estuaries. I tie this fly in the three colour
combinations above. This fly is fished in similar
situations as the Grey and Black clouser, close to
structure when one can see bait fish milling around
and birds feeding on the margins. In size 2 these
flies are also very productive when fished mid current
to feeding fish. Tied in size 4 and fished relatively
slowly, it is also a good fly to go to when the fish
hold deep during low pressures situations. 5. Fire
tiger clouser Hook: #2 - 1/0 Gamakatsu B10S Thread:
3/0 chartreuse Eyes: 4 mm dumbbell eyes Body: florescent
orange dubbing or chenille Under wing: chartreuse
bucktail Mid wing 1: green bucktail Mid wing 2: red
Bucktail Top wing: black bucktail topped with peacock
hearl (layers in a ration of 2:2:1:1 - chartreuse:
green: red: black) Flash: One stand of crystal flash
per side Extra Weight: Round lead wire (optional)
This fly is an all round attracter patter and can
be used in most scenarios on the Upper Zambezi and
Okavango Rivers. I prefer to fish this fly as a last
resort and only in bright/clear water conditions.
This fly is a productive nembwe fly. 6. Hitler's Moustache
- Palmered zonker with sequence head (Black, Brown
or Olive) Hook: #2 Gamakatsu B10S Thread: 3/0 in colour
to match zonker Tail: section of zonker strip length
of hook shank Body: palmered cross-cut rabbit zonker
in colour of choice Collar: red hackle Head: two sequence,
concave surface facing forward Flash: One stand of
crystal flash per side of tail Weight: +/- 10 raps
of round lead wire I prefer to tie this fly in black,
followed by brown and olive. Due to lack of black
zonker at the time of writing I have only an olive
version to show. The combination of rabbit zonker
and sequence eyes give this fly an incredible amount
of inherent movement. With the slightest current or
movement this fly comes alive. Although it looks bulky
dry, it slims down significantly when wet and is easy
to cast. The weight is crucial to give added movement
to the fly between strips. This fly produces throughout
the upper Zambezi and on the Okavango season. It can
be fished at any time any place. I prefer to fish
it early morning and late evening and in discoloured
water. We let this fly sit stationary for a minute
or two after ones line as swung down stream and sunk.
We are often treated to massive hits when fishing
this fly "static" (static in quotations as this fly
is never static - just holding in a minor current
it ripples and pulsates with life). 7. Bead-head rabbit
zonker Hook: # 4 or #2 Gamakatsu B10S Thread: 3/0
in colour to match zonker Tail: section of zonker
strip length of hook shank Wing: tail extended over
the body to the head Body: tinsel or fine cactus chenille
in gold, copper or yellow chenille Collar (optional):
red chenille Head: gold bead or cone Weight: lead
wire (optional) Tag: red holographic tinsel Tied in
brown with a yellow or gold body this is our number
one fly on the Okavango River. It has a profile and
colour very similar to bait fish on which the catfish
and tigers feed during the runs. Due to the movement
this fly displays as a result of the rabbit zonker,
this fly can be fished relatively slowly. It does
not last long, but is an easy tie, which can be made
even easier by leaving out the tag and/or bead head.
A note on tying: use super glue or varnish after laying
the body and eyes on clousers. This will give them
some extra life. Also, rather tie your flies too sparse
than too full. Sparsely tied flied will always out
fish the bulkier flies. Less flash is better. If you
are getting follows, but not takes, pull out the flash
from your flies. Well that in a nut shell is a brief
overview of our favourite flies used on the Upper
Zambezi and Okavango Rivers. The list is by no means
complete, merely an indication of what has been working
for us over the past handful of seasons. Different
guides and fisherman will have their own favourites,
after all confidence in ones fly is half the job done.
Should you have any questions pertaining to fishing
the Zambezi or Okavango rivers don't please feel free
to contact me on 084 622 2272 or via email at keith@tourettefishing.com
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