Myself and 3 guys headed for Jozini on our first shot at tiger fishing , two of us are serious fly fishermen and the other two guys have hardly fish before.
We had planned to go with two boats and 5 guys but the other person with a boat pulled out at the last minute so it was 4 guys on my boat
We left at 2 am and arrived at the gate just before it opened at six .
It took us and hour to get organised before we hit the water.
We started with two live baits and one person fly fishing , after a few minutes the fly got some attention but no hookups were made.
The two non fishermen were given the option of first hit on the live bait we weren't 20 minutes into the trip and the live bait rig screamed off , after a serious fight some good jumps a 4kg tiger was boated.
What a way to start the trip.
We continued down the weed line and I took out the fly rod for the first time.
After some time with nothing happening I got hit by a small tiger which went mental and almost landed in the boat.
The wind really picked up so we moved to a sheltered area below some cliffs where I picked up quite a few small tigers and a decent one of 1,2kg all on my fly rod .
Friday Just the two fly fishermen went out in the morning and we caught plenty of small tigers on fly and two of 1,5kg on live bait , at midday the other two guys joined us and we did some live bait & sardine fishing .
We had a hookup from a good fish in the 3kg range but it through the hook after a short fight and some acrobatics.
Shortly after that we had a serious thunder storm so we headed for the lodge.
Saturday was another early start for fly fishing and the action began on the first cast , I hooked my first tiger on top water fly.
Tiger take top water very differently to bass they hardly ever hit the popper hard , just a small swirl and you are on , well not really the hookup rate on top water proved to be terrible you were lucky to land 1 in five fish.Tiger are difficult fish to land no matter what type of fishing you do. The jaw is just bone so its luck of the draw whether you get a good hook set or not .
Later that day we did a bit more bait fishing and it was the other non fisherman's turn to take the rod , the sardine was picked up at speed and after a very long fight on my bass setup he landed another monster of 4,5kg.
At this point the two gilleys were giving us a fat carrot in the size department so Sunday morning would be our last chance to get big tiger on fly.
We woke up early on Sunday morning and headed strait for the area that had been producing some bigger fish while we were there.
I got a nice 1,5kg on top-water strait away and my mate got a few kg numbers on sinking line.
Next thing my mate screams big fish on and all hell breaks loose a monster does two jumps next to some trees before heading for deeper water. After a 10 minute fight he landed a fat 3,5kg tiger .
Just after that I got picked up by a big fish only to have it through the fly back at me. I was starting to think I was not going to land a decent tiger on this trip. How wrong was I , for the next 30 minute my 4/5wt fly rod was bent silly by 3 big tigers the first being a 3,2kg followed minutes later by a 2,8kg tiger and my biggest of the trip a beast of 4kg .
I had spent the last 45 minutes fighting and photographing tigers and I could see my boat partner was getting a little impatient with me I don't think he had had a chance to through his fly in the whole time.
Luckily it was his turn for a monster next when he boated another 4kg tiger.
We fished from 5am till 10pm boating 5 big tigers and another 15 smaller ones in between with myself getting a good 1,5kg in the dyeing seconds before we had to get of the water and pack for the trip home.
I cant believe I have lived in KZN all my life and this is the first time I have been to Jozini I have really been missing out on something special .
You have not fished untill you catch a big tiger on a fly rod
We had planned to go with two boats and 5 guys but the other person with a boat pulled out at the last minute so it was 4 guys on my boat
We left at 2 am and arrived at the gate just before it opened at six .
It took us and hour to get organised before we hit the water.
We started with two live baits and one person fly fishing , after a few minutes the fly got some attention but no hookups were made.
The two non fishermen were given the option of first hit on the live bait we weren't 20 minutes into the trip and the live bait rig screamed off , after a serious fight some good jumps a 4kg tiger was boated.
What a way to start the trip.
We continued down the weed line and I took out the fly rod for the first time.
After some time with nothing happening I got hit by a small tiger which went mental and almost landed in the boat.
The wind really picked up so we moved to a sheltered area below some cliffs where I picked up quite a few small tigers and a decent one of 1,2kg all on my fly rod .
Friday Just the two fly fishermen went out in the morning and we caught plenty of small tigers on fly and two of 1,5kg on live bait , at midday the other two guys joined us and we did some live bait & sardine fishing .
We had a hookup from a good fish in the 3kg range but it through the hook after a short fight and some acrobatics.
Shortly after that we had a serious thunder storm so we headed for the lodge.
Saturday was another early start for fly fishing and the action began on the first cast , I hooked my first tiger on top water fly.
Tiger take top water very differently to bass they hardly ever hit the popper hard , just a small swirl and you are on , well not really the hookup rate on top water proved to be terrible you were lucky to land 1 in five fish.Tiger are difficult fish to land no matter what type of fishing you do. The jaw is just bone so its luck of the draw whether you get a good hook set or not .
Later that day we did a bit more bait fishing and it was the other non fisherman's turn to take the rod , the sardine was picked up at speed and after a very long fight on my bass setup he landed another monster of 4,5kg.
At this point the two gilleys were giving us a fat carrot in the size department so Sunday morning would be our last chance to get big tiger on fly.
We woke up early on Sunday morning and headed strait for the area that had been producing some bigger fish while we were there.
I got a nice 1,5kg on top-water strait away and my mate got a few kg numbers on sinking line.
Next thing my mate screams big fish on and all hell breaks loose a monster does two jumps next to some trees before heading for deeper water. After a 10 minute fight he landed a fat 3,5kg tiger .
Just after that I got picked up by a big fish only to have it through the fly back at me. I was starting to think I was not going to land a decent tiger on this trip. How wrong was I , for the next 30 minute my 4/5wt fly rod was bent silly by 3 big tigers the first being a 3,2kg followed minutes later by a 2,8kg tiger and my biggest of the trip a beast of 4kg .
I had spent the last 45 minutes fighting and photographing tigers and I could see my boat partner was getting a little impatient with me I don't think he had had a chance to through his fly in the whole time.
Luckily it was his turn for a monster next when he boated another 4kg tiger.
We fished from 5am till 10pm boating 5 big tigers and another 15 smaller ones in between with myself getting a good 1,5kg in the dyeing seconds before we had to get of the water and pack for the trip home.
I cant believe I have lived in KZN all my life and this is the first time I have been to Jozini I have really been missing out on something special .
You have not fished untill you catch a big tiger on a fly rod
