FIREHOOKING BUBBLES

An Okavango Odyssey

Written by Graeme Field Photographs by Graeme Field and Neil Ford

"Eh man, if you casting dere you gonna fire-hook de bubbles!" reprimanded Adam as another fly landed perilously close to the tightly packed school of feeding barbel. The result of such a mistimed cast, if not a legitimate strike by one of these aesthetically unpleasing creatures, is often an annoying tussle with a foul-hooked specimen instead. Either result was deemed to be "frowned upon" and "not in the spirit of the game" by the dry witted occupants of our particular boat – purely because it detracted from our primary mission of catching tigerfish. Fortunately we had the company of local guide and skipper Adam to continually remind us, in his local native accent, that we don't want to catch the "bubbles", especially if we "fire-hook" them. This was however often easier said than done, considering we were swinging flies through an incredible feeding phenomenon known in the area as the annual barbel run.

A rich cacophony of noise surrounds a Botswanian barbel run in full swing. The papyrus rattles, the hippo grass shudders and rustles and herons hop and squawk above the runs as they scavenge for baitfish - dead, injured or stranded by the unrelenting attacks from below. In the main channel tigers splash and swirl, and occasionally a croc explodes from the undercut bank and causes a huge commotion as it feeds on the barbel. But mostly it is the phenomenally loud snap, crackle and pop of the barbel as they feed on the hapless baitfish sheltering along the banks. The combined noise of their mouths snapping closed, their tails slapping the water and hundreds of bodies packed together causes a huge commotion along the normally peaceful and tranquil banks of the Okavango River. It is an annual congregation of such unbelievable proportions that it just has to be witnessed first hand to be fully appreciated.

Late every year, in the panhandle of the mighty Okavango Delta, the waters recede from the flood plains and gravitate back into the main channel of the Okavango River and its tributaries. As it disappears, so does the last remaining shelter for the hoards of baitfish and juveniles that have been living safely in the shallows during the winter months while the high water is spread out across the wetlands. Forced to drop back into the deep channels that meander southwards towards the distant desert, these small fish huddle together until the last minute and then enter the main rivers en masse, triggering a massive feeding frenzy of barbel and tigerfish that lasts for a few chaotic weeks. The barbel pack together into schools ranging from a handful of fish to shoals of hundreds of tightly packed fish that surge up river devouring everything in their path. They head under, through, around and even over the reeds and grass that line the banks, flushing out the petrified baitfish as they go.

Following these runs and feeding off anything that gets chased out by the barbel, are the ferocious freshwater denizens of Africa – the mighty tigerfish. These Okavango tigers hang slightly away from the main action, preferring to stay in the deeper channels where they pounce on any hapless prey that attempt to flee the mayhem taking place along the banks. When it is these fish that the intrepid African fly angler is looking for, there is no better place to enjoy this natural marvel than in the Nxamaseri area in northern Botswana.

Each year myself and fellow guide James Warne take our regular clients to the delightful Nxamaseri Island Lodge for two weeks of tigerfish fishing that is simply out of this world. Accompanying us on the most recent trip were my British regulars Neil Ford and Dougie Taylor who have in the past fished with me in the Seychelles, Mozambique, South Africa and Tanzania. Flying out all the way from the UK for five days of fishing was a big ask, and I was holding thumbs that the weather, water and fishing would all collaborate and deliver the goods for Neil and Doug as they have become good friends and loyal clients over the years. Fortunately Nxamaseri did not waste any time in proving just what a world-class fishery exists in these waters, and we dived headfirst into the action.

Our trip was made that much more enjoyable by the company of Adam – the good natured, friendly and knowledgeable boat skipper, guide and bird expert. Adam worked tirelessly for the full 5 days and his humour and intricate knowledge of the area was much appreciated by the three of us. Together we formed great team, and soon got into a rhythm that resulted in endless action and some truly memorable fish and fishing.

Not only did Adam bring great local knowledge, but he also managed to describe mundane things with such passion and flair that he had us in stitches of laughter on numerous occasions. Fluent in English, his local accent often brought a smile to our faces. "You hear that - klump, klump, klump, gca gca, gca?" he would say as the noisy barbel runs approached us, "the bubbles is coming!"

In addition to his colourful description, he would often pick up on an English word that he would pronounce slightly incorrectly and give the word a completely new meaning….for instance when a fish was hooked anywhere but the mouth, it would be "fire hooked"… a "bus" of a fish would be a "boss". Needless to say, a number of "bosses" were caught during the trip.

A day's tigerfishing starts before 7am, and after a light breakfast the boats head both up and down river in search of the barbel runs. As is so often the case with fishing, finding the birds means you also find the fish. The wide flat bottom boats meander through a dizzying number of bends and corners searching for the flocks of herons and egrets that converge on the action each day. Depending on the proximity of the runs to the lodge, the search for the barbel can take some time, as they always seem to be fairly concentrated in one area. Although the boat trip can sometimes take up to an hour, finding the runs pretty much guarantees that the fishing is going to be happening. Once the run is located, the optimal way to fish for tigers is to anchor the boat upriver of the runs in the middle of the river, a cast length from the bank and wait for the feeding frenzy to move past the boat.

Using an 8 or 9 weight and 350-grain sink tip lines cast across and down, the fly is delivered close to the bank and allowed to sink and drift down the edge of the papyrus. Throwing some big mends in the current to ensure the fly stays close to the bank, the extra line is fed out and then the fly is then stripped back fast, in a way that imitates a baitfish fleeing out from the bank into deep water. It is here that the tigerfish wait and usually hit the fly in the first couple of strips. 2/0 Clousers minnows in colours such as chartreuse and white, red and black, orange and white or purple and black with a short light wire trace is usually all that is required to elicit a ferocious take from the aggressive tigers.

Tigerfish are widely regarded as one of the most powerful freshwater fish, and they do not disappoint with savage takes, burning runs and acrobatic leaps once hooked. For all their power and aggressiveness, they do seem to tire fairly quickly after the first crazy runs and jumps and can be boated reasonable fast. Most of the fish in this system average at around 5lbs, but we took numerous fish over 8 lbs with a good number reaching double figures.

Neil and Dougies trip ended with a bang. The runs that day had been quite concentrated in a fairly small area and a number of boats had converged on the fish. In these instances it becomes a case of leapfrog as the boats try and stay ahead of the runs. Unfortunately some of the local fishermen are used to fishing for tigers by tying their boats up against the papyrus tight against the banks. While this is the usual and preferred method for fishing for bream and tigers during the remainder of the year, parking a boat right in the path of the moving barbel totally disrupts the runs and the barbel tend to break up and disappear somewhat. Staying in the middle of the river allows boats to cash in on the runs for a much longer period of time

On this particular day a number of boats had been following the barbel and the runs were beginning to break up. We decided to hang back and let the other boats get a head of us, as there were signs that a run may be starting lower down. This decision turned out to be a wise choice as we were soon the only boat in the area and the runs were slowly starting to build.

We managed to find a perfect little bay alongside a long stretch of hippo grass, and couldn't believe our luck when a run moved into the area and didn't leave for the rest of the day. The barbel moved up and down that stretch, and each time they would move into the bay we would get strike after strike, and hooked into tigerfish after tigerfish. We never even lifted anchor the entire day, and enjoyed red-hot fishing completely on our own for the entire day.

We as anglers often spend a lot of time flogging the water with little reward, and when faced with conditions such as we had that day, there was no holding us back as we cashed in on superb fishing. The fish were big too, and it wasn't long before some competition crept into the equation and we started counting fish caught in order to add some more fun to the day. There were challenges to see who could catch the 10th, then 20th then 30th fish, the biggest, the smallest and the most. The banter, laughter and constant chirping added to a memorable day. As dusk settled on the river and the other boats appeared upriver of us on their way home, our tally had reached 64 fish for the day, most of which were between 6 and 12lbs – a great days fishing by any stretch of the imagination, and a great memory for my British friends.

With a healthy competition also existing between the local skippers, Adam was quick to gloat as his fellow skippers putted past us after a sketchy days fishing. It was a fitting end to a great trip, and Adam had the final say on Dougies home video camera: "I tell my friends I anchor here from 9 o'clock till 6 o'clock and we catch seexty four tigerfeesh. I am de champion!"

For guided tigerfishing trips during the peak of the barbel run in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, contact Graeme Field on 072 203 7633 or email graeme@upstreamafrica.co.za