General description and habitat:
The tigerfish is widely recognized as the hardest fighting freshwater game fish on our planet. Its stream lined body, deeply forked tail and adipose fin all indicative of a supreme hunter. Rightly it is top of the food chain in the rivers and lakes it resides in, and a sought after quarry for fly fisherman. tigerfish have a large head with prominent eyes and strong bony jaws, each with 8 large sharp protruding teeth. Their colour is silvery with a bluish to dark green tinge on their back and a series of parallel longitudinal black stripes. Fins vary from yellow to blood red with black margins. There are distinct coloration changes in different locations subject to the diverse water conditions. They can grow up to, and over 20lb, with a females (larger than males) achieving a fork length of over 70cm.

All but the largest of tigerfish form roving shoals of similar sized fish. They prefer well oxygenated water. They breed during summer when they will migrate up or down stream to suitable spawning sites in the shallows of river and lake shores. They are ferocious hunters and will prey on fish up to 40% of their own size. Slender bodies shoaling fish such as robbers, minnows and sardine are preferred fodder.

tigerfish are found in most east flowing rivers north of Pongola in South Africa. Through years of research and countless scouting trips, Tourette Fishing has identified the finest stretches of tiger fishing waters on the Zambezi River (Zambia), Okavango River (Botswana) and Mnyera River (Tanzania). Tourette Fishing has an intimate knowledge of these fisheries, when they ‘fire’ and what works best, thus ensuring you are fishing the best tiger fishing waters at the optimum time of year.

Angling Tackle and Tactics:

Fly:
Fast action 9ft 9wht rods, matched with a large arbor direct drive reel is the standard set up. Using the appropriate fly line, matched to the waters and method you are fishing is crucial. On the upper Zambezi (winter tiger fishing) and the Okavango (spring tiger fishing) where the majority of fly fishing is down-and-across, off anchor, full length DI-7 lines are the most productive. The fast sink rate of this line allows you to present your fly to bigger fish which hold deeper in the fast flowing waters of these two rivers. This full length, low diameter, sinking line allows the angler to keep in contact with the fly, no large bellies forming as ones fly swings across and down, this in turn aids in a more positive hook set. When fishing off the drift as is often the case on the Lower Zambezi and Mnyera Rivers in Tanzania, 300g shooting heads matched to intergraded running lines are most productive. The set up allows one to mend the running line after the cast as you drift, giving time for your fly to sink to the desired depth before commencing your retrieve. Again this aids in keeping in direct contact with the fly on hook set. Occasionally there are times when an intermediate or floating line is needed, but these are not common, and in most cases an intermediate will cover the few occasions a floating line is needed.

The hard, boney and toothy mouth of tiger fish, combined with the aerial antics are a cause of much frustration when tiger fishing. Setting a hook and staying connected to a trophy tigerfish is a real tough job! High quality stinger hooks, with super sharp point and strong yet fine wire are crucial. Most flies are tied in sizes varying from #2 – 2/0 with 1 and 1/0 being most commonly used. Productive patterns include clousers, SF baitfish imitations, whistlers, and polar fiber minnows. Natural colours and flies with distinct lateral line work well. Matching a fly to light conditions is almost as crucial as matching it to the prominent bait fish in the area. Productive colours include black, grey and black, black and red, grey and olive, white and yellow, white and olive, blue and white, fire tiger and olive.

Leader set up is simple affair of 4 -6 ft when fishing sinking lines, and 9ft when fishing intermediate or floating lines, of 15 – 20lb fluorocarbon or standard monofilament (depending on water conditions). Wire bite tippet is necessary. Number 3 and number 4 size piano wire is perfect for this application. A 5 – 10cm piece is attached to the fly using a haywire twist. There are a number of knots that can be used to join the wire bite tippet to ones leader. A correctly tied Albright knot is far and above the best knot for this join. Swivels, and bulkier knots, create bubble trails and will result in small fish attacking this join either while you are fighting a fish or on the retrieve which will part your bit tippet from the leader.

Comprehensive tackle lists, compiled for each unique tiger fishing area, will be sent out on request to keith@tourettefishing.com or on booking.

Also have browse through the following articles for more on the subject:

• Tiger Flies
• Mpata Mayhem
• 20lb Tigers
• Copper Clouser
• Wireless Tiger Fishing

For details on the areas Tourette Fishing targets tiger fish, go to the following pages:

• Duma Tiger Safari
• Upper Zambezi Island Tiger Safari
• Okavango Catfish Run Tiger Safari
• Mpata Gorge Tiger Safari

Conventional:
For those wishing to rest their fly fishing arms, or focus on spin fishing, 6’ to 6’6” medium to heavy spinning rods, matched to suitable reel holding 150yards of 15 – 20 lb braid will do the job best. 30lb swivel clip traces will come in handy for ease of lure change. For full details on conventional spin requirements and productive lures please send an email to enquiries@tourettefishing.com requesting such information.