...Insight

ZAMBIA

In Pursuit of the African Tiger

John Buchan: “The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions of hope”

Some of my most memorable experiences have happened on African soil or water – such as living with the Maasai people or diving through the wake of a whale shark as it gracefully navigates the Indian Ocean but there was one experience that would be a dream come true for me – the opportunity to land one of the world’s premier game fish – the tiger.

"The Zambezi is a beautiful river that snakes its way through scenes reminiscent of the Lion King."

Ben Oxley-Brown

Personal Travel Designer

01488 689700 Ben.Oxley-Brown@baileyrobinson.com Read Ben’s profile

THE DESTINATION

Sausage Tree Camp is perfectly located by filtered pools of the Lower Zambezi River in Zambia, famed for its ferocious tigerfish but also arguably the most picturesque stretch of river – bordered by Mana Pools and Zambezi National Park. From the shoreline the forested slopes of the Zambian escarpment rise into the hills where monkeys leap through the verdant greenery and sounds of exotic birds carry across the water.

The Lower Zambezi is also rightly famous for its herds of elephant which congregate to drink from the river and the large numbers of buffalo & hippos – and naturally the predators who are never far away.

LURING THE TIGER

"At Sausage Tree, the river is wider and naturally shallower than further upstream making it ideal topography for tiger ﬁshing, all on a catch and release basis"

Tigerﬁsh are not fussy about time, so this gave us time to head out on game drives at dawn followed by a long lazy lunch in the dappled shade of the ﬁg trees. Later that day we took to the river.

Sand banks provide perfect casting lawns in the centre of the river. A number of ﬁshing methods can be used – either live or dead bait to spinning; and for purists, large salmon-esque ﬂies. Tigerﬁsh are not delicate feeders and their fearsome teeth will often smash the ﬂy a couple of times before running with the line. Once hooked they frequently jump and will use their teeth and submerged rocks and roots to dislodge the ﬂy. Tigerﬁsh ﬁght as hard as their name suggests and most hook-ups do not result in success so be prepared for a battle.

LADY LUCK

Despite this, my wife managed to land a ‘strong 20 pounder’ on our ﬁrst outing, certainly cause for celebration. In between the excitement of this victory and my dogged determination to catch a decent sized one on the ﬂy, we spent several hours on and beside the Lower Zambezi. We were joined by a plethora of aquatic birds such as ﬁsh eagles and kingﬁshers, the occasional crocodile and heard pods of hippo grunt and chortle from afar.

LIFEBLOOD

The more time we spent here, the more we began to acknowledge the diﬀerent personalities of the Lower Zambezi. It is the life blood that ﬂows through this valley and supports the incredible wildlife which makes this such a rewarding safari destination. Combined with the stay at the stylish Sausage Tree ensuring top level safari and first-rate fishing, it was a perfect dream.

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