Fly Fishing in Malawi

Abes_fly

New member
I recently moved to Blantyre, Malawi but find it very difficult for fly fishing info around here. The info I do get is outdated, since the environment has changed here with dams ect.

Can anyone give some advice on fly fishing spots around Blantyre for day trips as well as spots further up for weekend trips.

Any fish will do at the moment, but I am preferably looking for trout fishing opportunities.

Even if you know of other fly fisherman in the region, that will also do. ANY information would be helpful.

Thank you in advance!
 

Hannes101

Sealiner
Sure there's a lot of cichlids species you can fish for in the lake. Try monkey bay and see what the fisherman get in their nets. Dont think there's any trout in Malawi. Good luck and let us know if you get anything.
 

ripplefisher

Senior Member
Hi There,

I was born and brought up in Malawi and Zambia, so can offer a little advice.

First up, fully agree with Hannes101's recommendation that you join one of the local angling clubs - if you live in blantyre then this will be easy.. You will get a great deal of info from fellow fisherman, and also have an opportunity to fish in the Lake Malawi comps which are a fairly regular event as far as I am aware; they also hold an international Artlure tournament i competed in a few years ago - various teams, including from SA and the region.

Trout wise - there are wild self-sustaining populations of rainbow trout up Zomba plateau - or perhaps I should say there used to be - I used to fish there a fair amount as a kid (not too long ago!) before the creation of a dam on the Mulunguzi river - up to this point the fishing was decent - normally easily picked up 10 plus fish a day - but small, free rising rainbows. There is also a hatchery there, but I didn't get the impression they did much re-stocking of the waters at all! The creation of the dam did lead to a big decrease in the trout in the streams - poaching/fishing by the large work force.. I dont know what the situation is now - worth an enquiry. Chagwa dam also used to offer decent fishing for largemouth bass (not huge, but plentiful) and redbreast tilapia - BUT, this was in the past - i suspect population pressure and the lack of real regulation has put paid to this small dam..sadly..

There were also small wild brownies up Mount Mulanje - worth an enquiry again, as not sure the status there – would guess they have also been hit hard by a growing population..

The best bet trout fishing wise is Nyika Plateau - dams and streams - rainbows, and as far as I am aware still offers a decent fly fishing venue for trout in Malawi.

Around Blantyre / Limbe - head up to Chyolo/tea estates area - there used to be decent bass fishing here - although i know a fair few of the dams are on private estates. You could often take a brace of bass - 2-6 pounds average, when I fished there - again a while back now.

Other option (excluding the lake) is the Lower Shire / Sucoma area - same species as the Zambezi (below Kapachira Falls) - so you could try your hand at tiger on the fly perhaps..!

Hope this is of some help, RF.

 
 

Malgas

Senior Member
last time i trout fished in Malawi was -May 1998 I caught a number of small trout on the Zomba Plateau, Mulunguzi River. About 4 of 1/2 lb all released. Prior to this I went and it was was out of season so I made a deal with Reuben the warden and he followed me with a bucket and re-stocked the hatcheries- great fun and small wild trout. In 1993 fished the River and caught nice rainbows in Mulunguzi Dam -up to 1&1/2 lb and on the Nyika Plateau-the main Dam was the only one that had action. Walkers Killer Nymph and Mrs Simpson worked.I would be interested to know if you have had any joy. The Lake Malawi was largely over -fished with noting much happening? Also whether the Zomba fly-tying company still alive?
 

Kambaku

New member
Sadly there is no fishing allowed in Mulunguzi dam anymore. Infighting between the water board and forestry about who should get the revenue from daily rod ticket. World bank paid for the stocking of the dam again after water board drained it but then the fight started all over again. The stream fish average about 4-6 inches. biggest I have caught was 10 inches. I recently saw a picture of a fish of 15-16 inches but it looks like it was caught in the dam. There are no more tilapia in Chagwa dam only small bass. Poaching is rife. A friend of mine was locked up because his dog swam in the dam, heaps of court cases later and lots of money for lawyer fees it transpired that the water board guard would not give him a receipt for his entry fee to the picnic spot at the dam and then my friend refused to pay the entry fee. The guards pocket the money and do not want to issue receipts.So I suppose the guard thought he would make an example out of the zungu who won't give him what is owed to him(sic).  sorry wandering off the path a bit here. April and may are good months for mpasa and sanjika in the bua river, just be careful, the first time i went there we camped at Bua river lodge. The owner assured us there were no crocs, I found five in the first pool. Caught a few sanjika on fly and one mpasa. Mpasa average 1.8kg but can grow up to 4kg. also caught ncheni at the lake, they come up to the surface at sunset. during the day they hold in deeper water. They hunt in packs and have teeth like Shad. They hit very hard and then give up after about 10 seconds. Liyani are beautiful fish that grow to about 1kg, behave just like bass, hugging structure etc. found them at rocky point close to deep water in the lake. we lalso catch a lot of the smller oreochromis species. Tsungwa (serranochromis robustus) are scarce on the malawian side so the guys normally boat across to fish on the mozambican side for them. Stay in your boat, you might get locked up if you step into-or- onto moz illegally. pm me for my details and we can chat. The Shire is pretty screwed up with over fishing.
 
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