What are the best months of the year for fishing for tiger fish on the Zambezi River? And what are the best lures/baits to use? And any other advice is most welcome!

July to early Sept before the big rains starts and the river starts flooding....

You could use fly, lures or live bait for tiger fish...

Thanks, Gerhard.

We have an opportunity to go at the end of August, so I think we'll pursue it since that time should still be good. We prefer to fish with baitcasting or spinning gear, and we're looking for some lure recommendations from anyone with experience.

Late September and October are great, with Bait fishing with fish Fillets working the best.
Let the fish run, then eat and then run before setting the hook.

That's a nice Tiger, Oz! 6kg+ Zambezi? Where were you on the river?

Ozhunter is correct, August is okay but water a little cool for serious action. Late Sept thru mid November are best, water is warm but still clean. Once it rains hard (+/- mid Nov) the river gets dirty and its not much good.

Lots of different baits and lures work. Live bait is very effective, but I prefer to spin as well. All sorts of shiny bass type lures work, red and silver are good colours. An old favourite is a large silver and red spoon with some fillet on it. The Mepps giant killers are very good as well.

Only problem with using good rapala plugs is that they get hammered by the teeth of the fish, can get expensive.

Best ask your hosts what they are finding most effective right now.

I use 12lb line on a normal bass spinning rod. As long as you have good quality line and rod/reel it works fine and you get a lot more hits than on heavier tackle. Decent copper coloured wire leaders as well. Don't use shiny silver swivels for making up leaders, as tiger bite above the trace this way. Be sure to get bronze coloured swivels.

Have fun - they're great fish.

I took some Bomber Long-A, 7/8 Oz., in gold/black and chartreuse, and got plenty of strikes; but I like Ozhunter's advice on fish fillets and the run-eat-run-set approach.

Oz, that is a super fish mate! Yes, tiger are probably pound for pound one of the best fighters around. They certainly don't mess around, and you certainly know when you have had a bite! As others have said, you can catch them on all sorts of lures/fillets/live bait, even worms some times, although if you are not using a wire trace.....sorry for you! The big wise fish are probably easier to tempt with the real thing, live bait, but anything small (or large) and shiny moving in their vicinity is not safe.

If you can get your hands on some fresh Kapenta/Tanganyika sardines, which can usually be bought cheaply in a local supermarket then this saves having to go catch live-bait, or waste using a nice eating size fish for fillets, and catching livebait will often not take long and is easy to do with a small hook and a few earthworms in the shallows.

A word of warning though too; if you are using expensive rapalas around shoreline vegetation for other species lke robbie/nembwe, just remember that tiger don't always just patrol the deep channels.....an easy way to lose lures, even a small tiger will cut through your line no problem and yes if you thought bass left teeth-marks on your rapalas, wait till you see what a few tiger will do! Rapalas are just too expensive to use on tiger I am afraid, although they can be very effective. large spinners and spoons are great, especially with a good, big, strong single-hook with an optional fish fillet attached. Silver and bright red/orange are supposed to be the most attractive colours, and I would avoid dark-coloured lures, although they would probably still work ok, probably just not as fast as shinier models. Tiger will also almost always jump clear of the water at some stage, shaking their heads, and unfortunatly they will often spit the hook out if there is any slack line, although this is an awesome sight.

The bonus of drifting with a fillet or live-bait is (depending where you are along the Zambezi) catching a vundu, which can grow huge (100+lbs). I once hooked into a decent one at Chirundu, but unfortunately never landed it using live bait whilst fishing for tiger.

I figured I should probably post a long-overdue update.

We fished the Zambezi above Victoria Falls at the end of August. Our guide was a local named Massau, who guides out of Russ Caldecott's Ultimate Lodge in Vic Falls. The action was fast and there were plenty of fish to keep smiles on our faces for the two days we fished. We prefer casting to baitfishing, so we used Rapalas and Storm lures and had a fantastic time! The tiger fish were not as big as Ozhunter's beauty, but I also caught a big nembwe on a Rapala. By the way, a beat-up, battered Rapala that's caught a few tiger fish makes a nice little souvenir, especially when you display it next to a picture of a tiger fish with it's toothy grin! Or better, a tiger fish replica mount! Anybody know where to get one of those?

My wife and I had a spectacular time on the river, which is just simply a beautiful place to fish! We are looking forward to going back for more in 2011.

Thanks to all for your advice!

I have also had the pleasure in fishing from one of Russ's boats but only caught small Tigers and some nice Bream.
Fishing bellow Kariba during October is just great.

i can organize that for you and ship it to you.let me know how big you want it.mail me on russcaldecott@gmail.com we will take it further, i will make a plan for you!!!!!!! my very best to you

quote:

Originally posted by kaizer:
I figured I should probably post a long-overdue update.

We fished the Zambezi above Victoria Falls at the end of August. Our guide was a local named Massau, who guides out of Russ Caldecott's Ultimate Lodge in Vic Falls. The action was fast and there were plenty of fish to keep smiles on our faces for the two days we fished. We prefer casting to baitfishing, so we used Rapalas and Storm lures and had a fantastic time! The tiger fish were not as big as Ozhunter's beauty, but I also caught a big nembwe on a Rapala. By the way, a beat-up, battered Rapala that's caught a few tiger fish makes a nice little souvenir, especially when you display it next to a picture of a tiger fish with it's toothy grin! Or better, a tiger fish replica mount! Anybody know where to get one of those?

My wife and I had a spectacular time on the river, which is just simply a beautiful place to fish! We are looking forward to going back for more in 2011.

Thanks to all for your advice!

i can organize that for you and ship it to you.let me know how big you want it.mail me on russcaldecott@gmail.com we will take it further, i will make a plan for you!!!!!!! my very best to you

You cannot ask for a better man than Russ to set up a fishing trip for you while visiting the falls. His equipment is top nothch and his guides know the river well. Be sure to take a camera with you. After fishing I have been able to take some great pictures of the wild life that frequents the river and some of the most beautiful sunset pictures you can imagine. Only problem the banks are a litte short on bathing beauties.

"Fillet-ing" in the Rain for Tiger Fish on the Zambezi above the Victoria Falls now in November 2009 with Ultimate Fishing. The river is amazing and there is no carbon copy of another day on this the Mighty Zambezi. African Fresh Water Fishing at its Best!

I stopped into Vic Falls on my way to an elephant hunt. Russell, our host and Ultimate Lodge, suggested a tiger fishing trip.

Great Fun!! We took a bass boat up the Zambezi past hippos, crocs and various creatures. Tiger fish are fun to catch and seemingly abundant. If you have the time, Ultimate Fishing (Russell) can set you up with a nice trip and a reasonable cost.

Good luck, Great fishing

To all fellow hunters, fishermen and outdoor enthusiasts. Here at Ultimate Africa Safaris & Lodge we have started our season and is looking forward to receiving all our guests and friends this year. For all we have our News Letter posted and invite you to have a look, keeping all informed on the happenings here at Ultimate. Feel free to take a look.

http://www.ultimatelodge.com/N...Letter/NewsMain.html

The Team at Ultimate

What's the set-up with a fly rod?

Are there any places to fish for tigers around the SAVE conservation area?
I will be there in August

To all Tiger Fishing Fans here is our 4th Issue of the Ultimate News Letter that is out and you can find it here. Enjoy and lets us know what you think and when you are planning your next trip.

http://www.ultimatelodge.com/N...Letter/NewsMain.html