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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