Hi There everyone, if anyone is coming to jozini a

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Tiger Hunters

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0/8 Diatchi Octupus hook trough back of talapia, best method and most hookups and the bait will stay alive as long as its in the water, also get the most distance to cast when hooked this way
 
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Tiger Hunters

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Hey Everyone, who has been out fishing lately, ill post some more photos of past weeks fish!!! heading back for some more tiger action on monday!!
 
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Tiger Hunters

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Fishing been great this september, and with the Tiger comp just around the corner, you can expect some big fish to come out this year.
 
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Tiger Hunters

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Magnificent Lake Jozini Home Of The Tiger – South Africa It’s fair to say that every true angler out there has a bucket list, and there are many great fish to include in this list, but there is one fish that I’m sure tops many anglers bucket lists, and that is the Tiger Fish (hydrocynus vittatus). The Tiger Fish is regarded as the hardest fighting fresh water fish in Africa which makes it such a popular trophy, these African fish are found in many rivers and lakes on the continent and are fierce predators with distinctive, proportionally large teeth, making it particularly prized as a game fish. Whenever the subject of tiger fishing comes up one starts dreaming of far off remote corners somewhere in wildest Africa drifting along unfished waters, surrounded by nothing but wilderness, mother nature and the call of a African fish Eagle in the distance, any true anglers paradise. But then the reality sets in and one starts thinking about the logistical nightmare involved in these trips and the fortune it’s going to cost in the end, and soon your dream starts fading and you are back in the state where the tiger fish of your dreams is just a thought. Well, prepare to have your thoughts on this subject changed and your dreams made into reality. Everyone thinks that you have to travel to all these distant remote countries to target these fish, but very few anglers know that this spectacular fish can actually be caught right here in South Africa at a fraction of the cost and travel involved in any other Tiger fishing safari, let me introduce to you Pongolapoort Dam, or as it is better known, Lake Jozini. The Lake sprawls itself across Maputuland in Northern Kwazulu Natal nestled between the Obombo and Lebombo mountain ranges. Built as a dam in 1972 to be used as a holding reservoir for water desperately needed to irrigate the surrounding areas. This is also the only lake in South Africa where the Tiger fish Naturally occurs, making it a popular destination for angling enthusiasts in search of the ultimate freshwater fishing experience. Today the lake is surrounded by game reserves, teeming with life on the shores of the lake making it a spectacular place not just for the fishing but also for water based game viewing and birding, with regular sightings of buffalo, elephant, rhino, waterbuck, tsesebe, wildebeest, giraffe, zebra, kudu, bushbuck, duiker, nyala, impala, warthog and even the occasional sighting of leopard, which roam the Lebombo mountains, as well as over 350 species of birds. If you have to compare the quality and quantity of fish in Jozini to other places such as the Zambezi, I would personally say that it is up there with some of the best destinations, with average size fish of 5-6lb and regular catches of fish over 10lb and the dam record at 21,12lb its fair to say that there are some real trophy fish in this lake. Lake Jozini has an amazing climate with warm to extremely hot weather all year round, winter temperatures averaging 25C and summer 35C, making it ideal to target tiger fish all year round unlike other destinations where the fishing is limited to rainfall and water colour , Jozini always has a pocket of clean water somewhere in the lake to go fish. Personally I have found that if you are after Quality fish then the winter months between Mid-march - End August are the best, and if you are after Quantity and not Quality then the summer months is best where you can someday expect to catch up to 30 fish in a 2 hour session. Methods of tiger fishing vary all over Southern Africa with each place having its own best method, these methods range from fly fishing, spinning and trawling with lures and spoons to dead bait and live bait fishing with fillets and live tilapia/bream. When looking at Jozini as an individual tiger fishing destination there is only one super bait that has the best results all year around and that is Live Tilapia/Bream, other methods such as spinning and trawling is more affective in the warmer months when the fish are more active on the surface. The tackle we use in the lake varies from angler to angler, and in the 22years I have been fishing the lake I have found that the best is a round profile bait caster with 16lb monofilament line on a 7ft Med/Heavy rod, do NOT use braid when fishing for tiger fish, as this line has no stretch in it at all and the force and speed that the tiger hits the bait at it WILL break your line, and I have proved it over and over, Monofilament is the best to target tiger fish with, so avoid disappointment and breaking the bank and don’t use Braided Line for tiger fish. The Rig I personally use consists of +- 12inch black carbon coated steel trace with a power swivel on the one end, I then like to slide on about 3 orange or red beads on the trace between swivel and hook just for colour, then at the end a 7/0 hook which I then hook the live bait trough the tail. When fishing with bait, always remember to fish free spool, never set the drag these fish are very sensitive to any tension, and if you get a strike and they feel the tension they will immediately drop the bait, but when on free spool they don’t feel any tension until you engage the spool to strike. Always make sure that there is absolutely no slack in the line when you strike or fight the fish or they will trough your hook. The Tiger fish is not the easiest fish to catch with a hook-up rate of 2/10 strikes it is a fish that takes some patience, but if you stick to the tips above you will be sure to bring out that Dream Jozini Tiger Fish. Tight Lines (Philip Van Wyk)
 
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1969

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Hi Philiph am going to jozini next week , some advice please on where to fish we are staying on the river and taking livebait , also do you use a bung with livebait . Many thanks in advance Les .
 
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Tiger Hunters

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Hi Les,Fishing is amazig at the moment most of our fish have been coming out the river on the bend across from nkwazi lodge, we fish in around 6m of water at the moment, dont use bung, we have been bitten off couple times due to bble line it makes under water when a fish picks it up, best mothod, live bait kooked trough the tail with a 0/8 big gun mustad, this goes on black carbon coated steel, not piano wire or silver steel, most strikes are on black i usually also add a bright bead for extra attraction, tis works very well, cast livie out as far as possible and be very patient, also leave reel on freespool and what ever you do do NOt use braid!!

sit atleast 3hrs on a spot and wait before giving up they feed in shoals and eventually they will come past.
 
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1969

New member
Thanks Philiph , hope your not getting to much rain , be their next thursday hopefully see you on the water .
 
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cookiemilo

New member
Hi There,

Anyone been fishing at Jozini dam recently and hows the weather,are the tiger biting.

Will be heading in two day time. Thks
 
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Clayton Wallis

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Hi guys

8m heading fot jozini 17 October. Staying at nkonkoni. Can anyone advise where I can get live bait in that area.and some general tiger tips:dban:
 
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Ivo Azevedo

New member
Thank you Tiger Hunter , we had an awesome trip between 18 anglers we caught & released 112 Tiger's ,+- 20 were above 2kgs.
::tight:
 
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Kleinbul

New member
Hi Tiger Hunter. Hope you are well?
I paid Jozini my first visit 2 weeks ago and was very impressed. We caught 6 tigers from about 30 takes on sardine. Next time we will spend more time and get livebait.
Some questions:
What months of the year are best as we are travelling about 700km to get there?
Why do you say NO braid?
When fishing with livebait/freespool method. How long do you allow a run before striking?
 
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Knorhaan2

New member
Hi,Kleinbul, ek was DA gewees vir 9 dae, ons het
300 tiere geland op die boot, meestal op sardien en hoenderharties. Enigste
Gedeelte waar jy goeie vangste key is in die dam gedeelte. Op pad na die Swaziland grens by die
Klomp boompies wat uitsteek of by westelikke order so 500m om die draai, 2m diep water.
 
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