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Once the water
has cleared and started to warm up, from August onwards, artificial
lures start to come into their own. Tigerfish are the main target,
but Red Breasted- and Kariba Bream will occasionally take a small
spinner.
For Tiger, a bass rod or similar, about
6 - 7ft long is ideal, anything longer can become a problem as spinning
is mostly done from the boat. The rod must have plenty of backbone
to set the hook and be equipped with a spinning reel capable of holding
about 120 meters of chosen line. Mono filament of about 15 - 20 lb
breaking strain has been the popular choice but the current trend is to
switch to braided line with a higher breaking strain - anything up to
50lb - which still has the same diameter as the old mono filament and
casts just as effectively as the lighter mono. More
important it has the advantage of standing less chance of being
snipped off at the steel trace attaching the line to the lure by a
second Tiger trying to muscle in on what it believes to be the good
fortune of the first fish that has been hooked, and appears to have
something tasty in its mouth, and is now chasing more food in the form of
the swivel joining trace and line. When this second fish clamps
down on the swivel and neatly cuts the mono the story is normally that a
monster Tiger "broke me up". The other advantage of braid
is the lack of stretch, thus improving the hook set.
Many different types of lure have been used with
varying degrees of success over the years for Tigerfish. Proven
lures in the area of the Lodge (and elsewhere) are spinners of the
Willow Leaf type as manufactured by Mepps and Effzet in sizes 3 - 6.
The more robust Tiger Wakker spinners obtainable in South Africa are
also effective. These lures should be fitted with a single hook.
Use a 3/0 hook for number 3 lure and a 4/0 for a number 4 lure and so
on. Color wise, red on a silver blade is very effective, gold and
silver and the fire tiger pattern are also good.
Spoons on various types in silver, copper and bronze,
all with a fleck of red, can be effective. Length should be
between 5 - 8 cm's.
Finally crank baits can produce good fish, deep bodied
bream imitations in yellow and olive work well. Dr Hook
manufacture this pattern type with single hooks especially for Tiger
Fish. Jerk baits made with hard plastic to avoid damage in silver,
gold and fire tiger patterns have been used with success as well.
While not often caught on artificial lures, Red
Breasted- and Kariba Bream, will take a small spinner. A size 2 or
3 Mepps Black Fury or similar spinner in red, bronze or gold has worked.
A short piano wire trace is a good idea when spinning for bream.
The trace does not seem to put the bream off and it will prevent loss of
the lure if a small tiger takes it. A light spinning outfit with 8
- 10lb line is fine for this type of fishing. Lighter line usually
breaks if one gets snagged on underwater obstacles. Crocodiles
make wading in to retrieve a hang up a tricky proposition when spinning
from the bank. |
