Th
Tiger
Time in Tanzania… reflections from the season Keith
Clover and Rob Scott - Tourette Fishing "Yes it'll
come back, cast! CAST! Wait. Right, strip now. Faster!
Here it comes… OHHHH On! Stick it, and again. Insiiiiide,
&^%$ it's big! That's what we come here for, yeah!"
I won't carry on with the rest of this recording from
an outing during our recent season in Tanzania. A
dozen or so profanities back to back do not make for
good reading. Suffice to say the fish in question,
ripped 30 meters of line, tore through a fallen tree
and spat the fly out in disgust! The couple of Canadian
clients on the boat were left trembling, shell shocked
and awed, still trying to piece together what had
just happened. A quick glance to Sixbet, our coxswain,
and we shared a knowing grin. Similar moments of chaos
having been repeated many times prior over the course
of an epic season chasing trophy tiger fish in Tanzania.
This year we spent a total of 114 days guiding on
both the Mnyera and Ruhudji Rivers which make up the
Duma Tiger Fishery in Tanzania. Having spent seven
weeks setting up in the area last year, we entered
into the season thinking we had the fishery pretty
much worked out. This was soon to change. Over the
course of the season, we came to understand the intricate
habits of the Tanzania tiger fish and the fishery.
This in turn led to refining our tackle and fly fishing
techniques. In the following paragraphs we look into
these refinements, and reflect on the observations
we made over the season. Firstly, it is imperative
to have an understanding of the waters that are being
fished. Both the rivers flood seasonally, water levels
rising over 2 meters between the dry and wet season.
Much like the Lower Zambezi, we focus on the area
as the waters begin to drop and until such time as
the rains arrive, at which time the water level literally
rises as you watch it! Both rivers are an average
of 50 or so meters wide, with many areas narrowing
down to 30 meters and the widest sections around 100
meters across. Competent fly casters can reach either
bank when drifting the middle of the river. The rivers
are rich in structure - loads of fallen trees and
submerged timber, sand banks and the associated deep
channels and drop offs, rocky out crops offering riffles
and big eddies, deep undercut outside banks and, at
the headwaters, rapids of astounding beauty. What
this means to the fly fisher is simple: no cast is
made without thinking. Each cast must be made giving
thought to where the fish will be holding in the associated
structure. Fishing is done off the drift, and off
anchor when trying to get flies into the deeper holding
areas. The fishing is technical and exciting. Drifting
a productive stretch, planning ones strategy knowing
you have only one shot at the prime lie and possibly
a trophy tiger fish, is fly fishing par excellence.
Evolution of terminal tackle: As with all fly fishing,
to achieve consistent results, one has to adapt to
the local conditions - an evolution of sorts. And
as geneticists love to study isolated populations
for the mass of information they can offer, fly fishing
in new territories provides a completely fresh angle
on how best to target certain species. There is no
doubt that this is the case in Tanzania. We ended
off the season last year using standard 20lb leaders
attached to the fly line with perfection loops, leader
to wire with an Albright knot, and finally a haywire
twist joining fly to wire. June and July's pre season
recci saw the first change to this set up. We were
loosing too many big fish on the take. Most break
offs occurring on the weakest point in the set up,
the perfection loop. Thus after a series of tests,
we began to use Bimini twists as the top loop attaching
the 20l leader to the fly line. This offered far more
strength. We were however still unhappy with the albright
knot joining the #4 piano wire to the leader, as this
became the weakest link. The 'improved' or 'double'
rapala knot was then used (see picture), and we achieved
a breaking strength of around 18lb on this leader
set up. Job done, or so we thought. Late August and
the first couple of days through the season, and guests
were popping this improved leader set up as though
it were 6X tippet. The strength and speed of these
fish, proving too much for many anglers to handle
in the heat of the moment. All leaders were then beefed
up to 30lb test. This is where it stayed for the rest
of the season. Now for those who think this is an
over kill, imagine a 20lb fish hitting a fly, that
is moving in the opposite direction, at 50km per hour
- this translates into 140 lb's of force on the take!
We would quite happily beef the leader up to 40lb
if the risk of loosing fly lines when snagging on
structure was not a constant threat. Even while using
30lb mono, snapped leaders were a constant reminder
of the size of the tigers we were targeting. Flies:
As with any new fishery, you always start with what
you know about a species. With decoding the feeding
habits of the Tiger fish of the Mnyera and Ruhudji
Rivers, we started with all the firm tiger favourites
from other tiger destinations. Black clousers, whistlers
and polar fibre baitfish patterns worked well early
season, due to the discoloured nature of the two rivers.
Black Whistlers, with their ability to push water
were a firm favourite throughout the early season,
especially in the late evenings. With lower than average
water levels, clarity on both the Mnyera and Ruhudji
Rivers increased substantially over the first few
weeks of the season. This gave rise to more thought
on fly selection. More imitative patterns became the
name of the game. We concentrated tying flies based
on the most prominent bait fish in the two rivers.
These small fish are called Red Finned Barbs, and
closely resemble the Imbere found on the lower Zambezi,
just a lot bigger. The biomas of this species in the
river is astounding. At times they can even be seen
jumping clear onto the river banks in an attempt to
get away from aggressively feeding tigers. One of
the most prominent features of this baitfish, when
viewed in the water, is its large conspicuous eye
as well as striking black spot on the base of its
tail. These along with red tips on the fins and tails,
were some of the strongest triggers for the tigers.
With these in mind, Steve Farrar Baitfish patterns,
with large eyes, and red tips proved extremely successful.
A number of natural brush flies specifically tied
for the Mnyera and Ruhudji rivers proved deadly with
the increasing water clarity. As with other systems,
the choice of fly colour varied throughout the day.
Plain black, and black/grey patterns dominated the
fishing in low light conditions, and natural colours
such as olive, rainbow, and tans produced the goods
through the middle sections of the day. What is very
important to note was that SF blend bait fish patterns
tied over and under the shank, to give a stronger
profile, out fished those tied only above the shank.
Also, flies with large eyes whose pupil was dead centre,
produced better than flies with pupils off centre.
The lack of penetration when hooking trophy tiger
fish, results in a lot of pressure put on the hook
curve due to the pronounced lever effect. Grip's short
shank stinger hook (21571-BN), was the only hook that
consistently stood up to the task. Fish habits Fishing
rivers so rich in structure presented two unique hurdles
on the path to 20 pound success. First was the problem
of actually getting the fly into the strike zone of
fish holding deep and tight to the structure. Secondly,
and more obvious, was the problem of the physical
obstacles in the water once a big fish was hooked.
These tiger fish don't necessarily fight dirty, but
with the first run of a trophy fish often covering
substantial distance, the probability of getting hung
up was great. Over the course of the season, the above
situation pushed many men to the brink of tears. On
more than one occasion fish launched themselves through
overhanging branches, and sometime even onto the banks,
on their first hit. The outcome was always the same.
For the most part, it is almost impossible to turn
a large fish if it happens to head for structure on
the take. Later in the season we had some success
landing fish in this situation by quickly releasing
the drag to almost free spool. This allowed the fish
to carry on running through or around the structure,
and gave us chance to get the boat into a position
to un-snag the fly line. There were some interesting
lessons to be learnt about the structurally oriented
habitat of the tigers. Naturally the biggest fish,
as in any system, occupy the best territorial niches
within any given area. These being areas that offer
the most cover, the strongest eddy from the current,
and the optimal position from which to ambush prey.
In most situations, these areas are the deepest parts
of the river with related structure. In adverse fishing
conditions, such as a drop in pressure or water temperature,
the largest tigers hold tight in these deep holes,
behind or underneath structure. This makes fly placement
and presentation a very tricky affair. In such times,
when fish are reluctant to actively hunt and feed,
the only path to success is to cast tight, and let
ones fly sink as deep as possible - a tricky affair
when casting flies while drifting! There are two angles
of attack when attempting to reach fish holding deep
and tight. The first is to fish a longer leader (9ft
or more) with heavily weighted flies. The flies mentioned
above, tied with ample lead wraps, heavily weighted
clousers, and even tungsten beads slid onto the wire
above the fly helps to achieve the desired results.
Accurate casts to the structure, mending upstream
as the fly sinks, and a super fast strip out of the
structure produces strikes. Not surprisingly, most
hits in these situations come in the first couple
of strips. Line control in these situations is crucial.
Secondly, anglers can focus their efforts on structure
which is suitable for tigers to hold on the upstream
side of. Such structure is very specific. It has to
be sufficiently large enough to cause a small upstream
bow wave, creating a buffer in which the tigers could
hold out of the current. Log jams and large boulders
provided perfect examples where tigers would hold
on the upstream side of the structure. In these instances
casts are made four to five meters above the log jam.
Flies were allowed to drift back and sink into the
log jam. Interestingly, most fish caught using this
technique, tend to be smaller. Over the course of
the season, some interesting observations were made
on the different sizes of feeding fish, and how that
effected the fishing. In the cases when the larger
fish were off the bite, we generally caught smaller
fish between the 4 and 8 pound range. This was a consequence
of the smaller fish being able to move and feed more
freely in the absence of larger hunting fish. A reduction
in feeding activity by the smaller fish, more often
than not, signalled that the larger specimens had
come out of the structure and were actively feeding.
During these stages, when intervals between bites
increased, keeping ones focus, for that one big hit,
was paramount. Explaining that fewer bites was in
fact a promising sign, was often met with scepticism.
Thorough thought given to each cast, and concentration
on every strip is vital. We always advise guests,
to be prepared for a hit each time they strip their
line; this, a measure to prevent the angler from getting
a fright on the strike, and either jamming up on the
fish, or loosing all coordination failing to set the
hook. When the tigers in this system are feeding aggressively,
a good proportion of tigers bought to the boat would
have other fish chasing them. We witnessed tiger fish
steal the flies out the hooked tigers mouths, taking
bites out the tiger and on occasion cutting the hooked
tiger in half. Even fish in the 8 to 10 pound range
were not safe, and a few of these fish got "taxed"
by huge tigers on their way in. Once an intimate knowledge
of the rivers was acquired, one could accurately predict
areas and structure that would hold trophy fish. The
aggressive response triggered by a hooked tiger could
be used to good effect in those situations. If a smaller
fish was hooked while drifting into a promising stretch
of water the small fish was not bought to the boat
immediately. Instead it was left fighting in the current,
about 8 yards from the boat. Often this would lure
the bigger tigers from their lies, into the main channel,
and into a feeding frenzy. Although very frustrating
for the angler who hooked the smaller tiger, it is
extremely exciting for the second angler on the boat.
The fly fisherman lucky enough to be in the casting
position, has to then cast his fly directly at distressed
fish and strip it back as fast as possible. Casting
in the mere vicinity is not enough, as any tiger triggered
by the hooked fish will quite literally be trying
to steal the food out of its mouth, or make food out
of the tiger. This technique was most productive when
a shallow section holding smaller fish dropped immediately
into deeper water. Fighting the fish Fly Fishermen
tackling the tigers on the Mnyera and Ruhudji Rivers,
have to be prepared for any manner of strikes. Although
most fish hit hard and fast, leaving little doubt
as to what just happened, we witnessed a significant
amount variance in behaviour of the strike and initial
run (or lack there of) of some of the really large
tiger fish. There were many occasions when "I think
I am stuck on a snag" quickly changed to "its moving
slowly, is it a croc?" Even with a guide shouting
commands to the angler to point the rod at the snag/croc
and give a solid strip, most of these situations ended
in tears when the said snag/croc had enough hanging
around and took off like a bat out of hell, trashing
tackle and leaving all on the boat shell shocked.
As tigers do, many swam directly up stream on the
hit causing ones line to rooster tail towards the
boat as the fish jumped behind the angler who had
no chance of keeping up with the fish. Other fish
fought beneath and around the boat from the start,
never running far, just heavy head shaking. No matter
how the fish strike and ultimately fight, one rule
remains constant. Be rough and fight as hard your
tackle allows from the start. The objective is to
hook, and hold onto, a fish with jaws an inch thick
and made of bone. No hook can penetrate this! Period.
The single most important thing to keep in mind and
implement from initial strike and through the fight
is consistent smooth pressure. Side pressure away
form any structure goes with out saying. These fish
are not forgiving. The slightest bit of slack, and
they spit the fly. The smallest jerk and the 30lb
leader snaps like cotton. The balance between too
rough and not rough enough is fine! Countless dropped
fish or broken leaders resulted in a serious decline
in angler confidence. In many instances over the season
fly fisherman couldn't understand what they were doing
wrong. The fact of the matter is merely that this
is the nature of the beast. The massive jump from
the tiger fishing most fly fisherman have experienced,
to targeting fish of such speed, power and size, combined
with the impenetrable jaw, and river full of structure
seems often insurmountable. Another point to consider,
and this is something we feel holds true for all tiger
fishing, is for anglers to not attempt to get the
fish on the reel if it has not run the line off itself.
Trophy fish that didn't initially run onto the reel
were often dropped when anglers shirted their focus
at staying connected by reacting to the fishes movement
when trying to reel loose line back onto the reel.
We find it far more successful to take the fight as
it comes, keeping 100% focused on the fish. Lastly,
and again this holds true for tiger fishing anywhere,
many big fish are lost close to the boat during the
prolonged head shaking fight just before landing.
This can be avoided by doing ones best to keep the
same angle on the fish. What this means is no sudden
left to right movements of the rod and line which
changes the angle of your line from rod tip to the
fish. Anyone who has been hung up on impenetrable
structure (hard wood or rocks) when fishing can understand
this principle; very often, when you get closer to
the snag, or even above if (as when you are landing
a fish), your fly pops free. This exact situation
occurs with trophy tiger fish. Apart from when you
get a solid hook set through the scissors, most of
the time your flies only purchase on the fish is the
sharp point holding somewhere in the hard mouth, not
unlike when you test a hooks point for sharpness against
your nail. A slight change in angle here will release
the hooks purchase. When the fish is close to the
boat this is greatly pronounced. Other Species: Apart
from tiger fish, fly fishers managed to land a couple
of new species on fly over the course of the season.
The first and most exciting being what the locals
call a 'Gundu'. This fish has a body that closely
resembles and tiger fish, a mouth shaped like a milk
fish, and a set of teeth that closely resemble a human's.
We are working with ichthyologists at the moment on
their exact classification, but it seems to belong
to the same family as the red finned barbs and imbere.
Over the season four of these fish were landed on
fly when targeting tiger fish, all between 3 - 6lbs.
One fish of 12lbs was landed on artificial lure. Their
dental structure suggests they are omnivorous. We
also noticed them rising under fig trees and have
come to the conclusion that these are the fish splashing
around late evening during caddis hatches. Next year
will definitely see more time dedicated to decoding
these fish. The other interesting fish landed on fly
was a yellow catfish, which seems to belong to the
Bargus genus. The fish resembles the sharp tooth catfish
but with far more developed whiskers, a fish tail,
longer slender head and pale yellowish skin. The couple
that were landed weighed between 6 - 14lbs. We did
however witness a 40lb plus fish in the headwaters,
which is promising. Fly fishing is a wonderfully dynamic
and integrated pursuit, and fortunately so. For although,
the above reflections and insights were made on a
wild river thousands of kilometres from where many
fly fisherman regularly target tiger fish, many of
the underlying principles hold true regardless. It
is through such endeavours, when ones paradigms are
shifted, that we find ourselves adapting and developing
new techniques and methods. This has definitely been
the case when targeting tigers in Tanzania. I personally
cannot wait to put to test some of these tactics when
targeting tiger fish closer to home. We hope you do
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