Gents give me your views on whats the best tiger f
- Thread starter Dirty Harry
- Start date
FREE THE FIGHTER
Senior Member
Mmmm -I have at some stage fished with most of the above rods for tiger. Mostly on the Zambezi where the water is largely free of timber - Kariba a bit more structure - dunno Jozini. Depends on what you using as bait - live bait,spnners/spoons, fillet, kapenta. But Ryan to me is on the money - provided timber is not a problem the lighter the line and the slower the rod action the better. Whilst I have done lots of live baiting I am now avoiding it coz the free spooling gives the fish time to swallow and am not convinced the release is 100% with a hook in its stomach - yes have also caught tiger with trace sticking out their mouths !!
On fillets and kapenta and small livies - now using a 7 ft Berkley Tactix medium spining stick with a Stradic 4000FI spooled with 9lb mono. Firelines etc are out for me - no stretch. Small hooks - 1/0 or maybe 2/0.
The lighter the line the more bites by far and the smaller hooks, light drag ensure very high hook up/landing ratio.
Secret with Tiger is not to force them like we do with Bass on platics for example.
On fillets and kapenta and small livies - now using a 7 ft Berkley Tactix medium spining stick with a Stradic 4000FI spooled with 9lb mono. Firelines etc are out for me - no stretch. Small hooks - 1/0 or maybe 2/0.
The lighter the line the more bites by far and the smaller hooks, light drag ensure very high hook up/landing ratio.
Secret with Tiger is not to force them like we do with Bass on platics for example.
FREE THE FIGHTER
Senior Member
More... the free spool vs not debate. Of interest when fishing smallish hooks with smaller baits there is no need to strike !! The sharp Gamakatsu etc hooks will penetrate the flesh - dont have to get through the bone - keep the pressure on and the fish should stay on. I have seen so many guys free spool then strike like theres no tomorrow - the hook can rip out the fishes mouth. A gentler sweeping pull better IMO. Sorry, but I dont concur with Dodger about the rod being kept low - the rod action and stetch in the mono IMO should be used to absorb the aggressive head shakes and jump of the fish. If rod is down and the fish 30 m or so away jumps, chances are the line will be bowed under the water hence he has no give - result - pulled hooks/ broken line coz your reel drag is effectively nullified by line bow in the water. Yes you will land fish but will also lose fish.
Some guys like to try to prevent the fish from jumping so drop the rod - IMO if rod has nice slow action and drag not too tight he will stay on when he jumps - rod high to absorb all the shock!!! Besides - half the fun with Tiger is watching them jump !!!!! Who wants to keep him under the water !!
Fishing with circle hooks a different set up again - faster action rod ( stiffer) to pull hook through the plate on side of mouth - a good method with structure around as once hes on with a circle he tends to stay on and you can yank him a bit. If anyone interested we can chat about this method !!!
Some guys like to try to prevent the fish from jumping so drop the rod - IMO if rod has nice slow action and drag not too tight he will stay on when he jumps - rod high to absorb all the shock!!! Besides - half the fun with Tiger is watching them jump !!!!! Who wants to keep him under the water !!
Fishing with circle hooks a different set up again - faster action rod ( stiffer) to pull hook through the plate on side of mouth - a good method with structure around as once hes on with a circle he tends to stay on and you can yank him a bit. If anyone interested we can chat about this method !!!
Dirty Harry
Member
Greate post,hope to hear more info and tips.Thanks
FREE THE FIGHTER
Senior Member
Thanks so much Ryan - thanks guys.
I agree on your points re circles - will clarify later when and how I have used them - but YES - not a first choice Tiger hook for sure.
Will post later.....just need to go get my Cholera test quickly ( only joking!!)
I agree on your points re circles - will clarify later when and how I have used them - but YES - not a first choice Tiger hook for sure.
Will post later.....just need to go get my Cholera test quickly ( only joking!!)
FREE THE FIGHTER
Senior Member
Okay... my reason for first trying with circles was simply to see it they could work on Tiger and from a conservation perspective. The lower Zambezi from say Chirundu to Mupata Gorge has seen a huge increase in fishing pressure over last 10 years especially with a host of camps opening up on the Zambian bank. My tryin them was not to catch more fish - the standard hooks we all use work fine !! It was to try to avoid gut hooking - I have heard all the arguments re - " just snip the trace - the fish will survive" " the hook disolves in the stomach". Fact - no scientific research has been done to prove any of it - unlike the Bass guys in the USA.
Sorry, Ryan, this is a vast topic - am new to this forum so dont want to break the rules - should I start a new thread on use of circles or maye its been done already - await your guidance/editing!!
Just back to the rod up or down question with Tiger - IMO I feel when fighting a fish the more line out the water the better - because he is a fast powerful swimmer we need to keep the line away from his body. Particularly with lighter lines - his tail or body will break it. We all seen the strongest line break when he jumps and lands on top of the line - with rod up try to keep contact with his mouth and stay awy from body !! hope it makes sense !!
Sorry, Ryan, this is a vast topic - am new to this forum so dont want to break the rules - should I start a new thread on use of circles or maye its been done already - await your guidance/editing!!
Just back to the rod up or down question with Tiger - IMO I feel when fighting a fish the more line out the water the better - because he is a fast powerful swimmer we need to keep the line away from his body. Particularly with lighter lines - his tail or body will break it. We all seen the strongest line break when he jumps and lands on top of the line - with rod up try to keep contact with his mouth and stay awy from body !! hope it makes sense !!
FREE THE FIGHTER
Senior Member
Okay will do........ yes,yes,yes - am cholera free !!!
Free - I worked at one of those camps on the Zambian side opposite "H" Camp and also in Cherwore(Spelling) a couple of years back.
In my time there I caught several fish that were gut hooked that still managed to breakthemselves off infact I remember on fish had three traces in the gut and two in the throat and was still swimming around happily - maybe he just liked "Bling".
But saying all this I hear you on the ethical aspect of using circles - maybe we as fishermen should be putting more pressure on hook manufacteres to produce quality hooks that are chemically sharpened.
Another question ever caught a tiger using no hook and using a "mellie" as Live bait - we used to do this quite a bit when we did not have punters........
shamwari - you are making me homesick
In my time there I caught several fish that were gut hooked that still managed to breakthemselves off infact I remember on fish had three traces in the gut and two in the throat and was still swimming around happily - maybe he just liked "Bling".
But saying all this I hear you on the ethical aspect of using circles - maybe we as fishermen should be putting more pressure on hook manufacteres to produce quality hooks that are chemically sharpened.
Another question ever caught a tiger using no hook and using a "mellie" as Live bait - we used to do this quite a bit when we did not have punters........
shamwari - you are making me homesick
FREE THE FIGHTER
Senior Member
Yussus Changamire thats awesome - you probably cussed me a few times for fishing on your side - my apologies !!! Yes, maybe a bling thing - they certainly seem to be tough - please dont get me wrong - I am not having a go at anyone who free spools, gut hooks etc - I've done it plenty too - nor trying to be a holier than though preacher !!! Will chat more re circles another time - they can work !!
You got me stumped !! Sorry - you'll have to excuse my ignorance - is a mellie a bream - or is that a stupid question ? You know up here we change our terms/names every couple of years !! What I can imagine though is with a bream(tilapia) you could catch one quite easily without a hook - if you can attach the trace to the fish somehow - possible with a clip on swivel - let him swallow the bream , which he always does head first and pull him in fairly gently the sharp fins of the bream tend to lodge in his throat/stomach and act as your "hook". A lot of tiger caught on bream are actually caught like that but with a hook in the bream, as you know. Hence the "hook up" rate on a bream livie tends to be better than a chessa livie coz the chessa got no spikey fins !!! Am I close ????
If this is what you did - then this would be perfect for the fish - once you cut the trace he will definitely dissolve the fins and trace will come out somewhere !!!
You got me stumped !! Sorry - you'll have to excuse my ignorance - is a mellie a bream - or is that a stupid question ? You know up here we change our terms/names every couple of years !! What I can imagine though is with a bream(tilapia) you could catch one quite easily without a hook - if you can attach the trace to the fish somehow - possible with a clip on swivel - let him swallow the bream , which he always does head first and pull him in fairly gently the sharp fins of the bream tend to lodge in his throat/stomach and act as your "hook". A lot of tiger caught on bream are actually caught like that but with a hook in the bream, as you know. Hence the "hook up" rate on a bream livie tends to be better than a chessa livie coz the chessa got no spikey fins !!! Am I close ????
If this is what you did - then this would be perfect for the fish - once you cut the trace he will definitely dissolve the fins and trace will come out somewhere !!!
Hiya buddy,
Sorry Dude me Shona spelling is real dodgey - I'm a matabeleland boy.........
Yep you got it edZachery - Mellie -red breasted Bream.
We used to catche them in the quiet backwaters around Chikwenya and then take them main stream.
We would take 50cm of trace - make a loop through the bottom lip of the bream and crimp it with a sleeve - then it was free willy till you got picked up.
Then we would let the tigger run some distance and slowly tighten up on the drag and the fight would begin - now the big trick is to play them gently - pull too hard and the bream pops out.
It was good for shits n giggles and there was much art in catching tigers like this - we used to get radical and fish with 1kg mellies more often than not we got really beaten up when we did this
Sorry Dude me Shona spelling is real dodgey - I'm a matabeleland boy.........
Yep you got it edZachery - Mellie -red breasted Bream.
We used to catche them in the quiet backwaters around Chikwenya and then take them main stream.
We would take 50cm of trace - make a loop through the bottom lip of the bream and crimp it with a sleeve - then it was free willy till you got picked up.
Then we would let the tigger run some distance and slowly tighten up on the drag and the fight would begin - now the big trick is to play them gently - pull too hard and the bream pops out.
It was good for shits n giggles and there was much art in catching tigers like this - we used to get radical and fish with 1kg mellies more often than not we got really beaten up when we did this
FREE THE FIGHTER
Senior Member
Brilliant - I'm am gonna try it next season - those pinkies ( mellies) still there. And yep Chikwenya is. still a great spot. Actually got some really good ones last Sept with small spinners pulling through their nesting areas. Also in the main stream but in quieter "silver" water ! They seem to pop up in the oddest of places. Stop to try catch some chessa.... then that gentle pull/suck of a big mellie and the next think you filled a keep net !! Yep...you got it... I enjoy tiger but the bream on the river when you find gets me very excited !!! And what I enjoy it's still a pure bred indigenous bream - Kariba now full of Niloticus crosses !
Before I left (2003) I pulled a 3.8 nillie on the bottom of Chikwenya fishing for imbiri on a reed stick with a bit of string and a no12hook - gave me the rev of a lifetime.
Like you bru I will pick bream anyday over tigger especially on light line - just got an offer to come do a story on a lodge on KARIBA me thinks I am going to take up the offer and head up north again.....
Like you bru I will pick bream anyday over tigger especially on light line - just got an offer to come do a story on a lodge on KARIBA me thinks I am going to take up the offer and head up north again.....
FREE THE FIGHTER
Senior Member
Yeah - go for it - if you do decide to get up here please send us a pm and will send you my contact details !! Enough to entice you...
Hi guys another zimbo here but in mud island at the mo i went out for a long weeekend for tiger in kariba with Mike Bryant the year they won the top ten we fished a bush cleared area and used a shimano bait runner light which is a limber 9 foot rod similar to a trout rod and we used 8 pound line we were using 3 kapentas on a hook when those fish came on it was awesome and mike landed two over 5 kgs Ian Harrises ultralight team won many of the tiger tourments on 4 and 6 pound line i am not encouraging guys to go so light its just to point out that you dont need very heavy line for tiger.On the river i used to use my 7 foot crankbait rods with 12 pound line on my first trip to Willie Reeds place my mate and i went with a group and and we were the only ones with our own boat and no skipper being new to the river we ddint want go to far so we drifted the island in front of camp with Kapenta trying to catch a few small tiger for fillets and i managed to land an 15 pound fish and my mate landed a 14 pound fish we were lighties those days and the "veterans" were not very happy when they got back from their distant hotspots our catch was witnessed by one of the other boats and both fish were released.Ryan and Free do you guys remember the good old days of catching mellies on flying ants and a quill that was totaly awesome.I miss the the good old days in Zim