Liquid Horizon : Fly Fishing : Cape Town
March of the Bearded Army
May 2009
Written by Graeme Field
The birds. It's all about the birds. More specifically it's about those lazy and annoyingly common white-feathered egrets (and their various cousins) that can generally be found looking rather smug as they hitch a free ride on the hump of your local Nguni cow. Usually, in this part of the world, they seem to be everywhere you look and much of the time you would seldom pay them a second glance. But if you're an adventurous fly fisherman and you are out on a river in this area in October, I'm willing to bet that you would happily pay top dollar for a tantalising glimpse of this sweet white gold.
Because for a month or so each year those egrets living in the very top left corner of Botswana tear themselves away from the attractive humps of the tick infested local cattle and transform themselves into the most effective fish finder / GPS combo south of the Sahara. Along with an array of other birds, they head en masse for the waterways and can be found hopping and scrambling around in the papyrus and hippo grass on the banks of the twisting Okavango River.
The trick is to find them. Because if you do, you will find yourself slap bang in the middle of an annual fish feeding frenzy that every fly fishermen should be witness to at least once in their lifetime. Joining forces with other egrets, herons, cormorants and more fish eagles than you can shake a pair of binoculars at, they gather together in loud squawking concentrated flocks in certain areas of the river - twitching, squealing and flapping in anticipation.
Find these birds and you will find the cause of their excitement – big marauding armies of barbel marching relentlessly up river, devouring everything in their path. These aggressive fish plough under, through and even over the riverside foliage in search of prey, splashing and slapping and snapping their jaws shut as they hunt. But it's behind the barbel that the ultimate prize lurks – Hydrocynus vittatus ,the infamous African striped waterdog. Like a pack of hyenas following a pride of hunting lions, the ferocious schools of big aggressive tigerfish trail the feeding barbel, pouncing on the hapless panicked baitfish that are flushed from under the river banks.
For the fly fisherman this is about as exciting as it gets. Hunting the river in search of feeding birds, the thrill and relief when you find them. The cacophony of noise, the phenomenal sight of hundreds of barbel with their heads out of the water and the tantalising glimpses of bright red fin tips slicing through the water behind them. The excitement of positioning the boat up current of the hoards of hungry fish and watching in anticipation as the mass of hunting barbel and tigers move into range of the fly. The pressure of casting accurately, knowing that if you get it right you will feel the finger-burning take of a big tiger hitting the fly at full speed. Then the whoop of excitement as the tiger takes to the air, droplets of water flying in all directions as the fish cartwheels and crashes into the water. Man, what freshwater fish in the world can put on such a display?!
It all begins in mid September each year, high up in the panhandle where the waters of the Okavango River glide and wind their way through Angola and Namibia and finally into the heart of the Delta. Once the high waters begin to subside from the flood plains, the endless shallows that have provided shelter to a myriad juvenile fish suddenly begin to dry up and the baitfish are forced nearer and nearer to the deep channels of the main river. It's here that the big predators wait, hungry and aggressive after a long winter.
Holding out for as long as possible, the baitfish group together in the shallows until the last minute, then pour into the main channels en-masse, immediately seeking shelter beneath the floating grass and papyrus and in the shallow muddy bays. But there is nowhere to hide once the barbel arrive on the scene, and very soon they are under vicious attack from below and above. Although the tigers tend to stay out in the open water, the barbel are not afraid to swim deep under the floating foliage to reach their prey and they chase them out to where the tigers are waiting. As if that's not enough, the birds clamber around in the low brush, picking off any fish that stray too close to the waters edge or leap onto the grass as they flee the attacks from below. Basically, it's not a good time to be low down in the food chain!.JPG)
The "runs" begin up north near the town of Shakawe, on the border of Namibia and gradually move south over a period of about 6 – 8 weeks, before finally petering out south of Sepupa. On a localised scale, the barbel upriver move upriver as they feed, sometimes heading in one direction for a few days before turning around and dropping back downstream and starting all over again. Each time they start a bit lower downriver, so over an extended period they gradually move further and further downstream. They tend to come past the Nxamaseri area around early to mid October, and each year Liquid Horizon takes clients to Nxamaseri Island Lodge – on an island in the Nxamseri River, a tributary of the main Okavango River. Here we intercept the runs when they are at their peak, and enjoy absolutely mind-blowing fishing for tigers ranging from 2 to 12lbs.
Each morning the runs need to be located, and sometimes this is quick and easy as they may be close to the lodge, but some days a lot of driving round is required in order to find them. The local guides generally have a good idea of where the fish are as they are able to track the progress of the runs on a day-to-day basis. There are telltale signs that assist in locating the runs - birds flying over head are a good indication of which direction to head, and finding bits of broken reed and grass or patches of muddied water drifting downstream are good indicators that you are nearing the action. Whether the fish are close by or far away, whether you have been on the water for 5 minutes or been driving for an hour, nothing beats that feeling of relief and excitement when you round yet another bend in the river and find the river banks dotted white with feeding, happy birds!
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Once you find the runs the most productive method of targeting the tigers is to position the boat upriver of the run, anchor a medium cast away from the bank and fish across and down with sink tip lines and weighted flies such as Clousers minnows and whistlers. Often the main school of tigers will be just ahead or just behind the main pack of barbel, and this is where your good strikes will come. It is imperative to land your cast tight to the bank and throw big upstream mends in your running line so that the fly sinks close to the banks and underneath the tightly packed barbel. That way, when you take up the slack and start your strip the fly shoots out into the deep water like a fleeing baitfish. And if the tigers are there they will pounce on it.
While this is regarded as the most effective method of fishing a barbel run, a really exciting way of hooking a big tiger is on a floating line and a surface popper. Occasionally you will find a school of baitfish and resident bream cornered in a shallow bay bay, and fish are literally flying in every direction. The barbel surround their prey, and then gradually tighten the circle around them, forcing them to leap for safety. In a fascinating hunting display, the barbel stick their heads clean out of the water and open their mouths wide – and the leaping baitfish land right in them. The tigers swirl around the edges, and if you cast a popper into this melee, you are almost guaranteed a smashing surface take. Even if you don't get a strike, just casting into water that is frothing with chases will get the adrenaline pumping. And that is what tigerfishing is all about!
Combine this amazing piscatorial phenomenon with fascinating scenery, hundreds of bird species, crocodiles, hippos and long, pastel coloured sunsets and you have the perfect blend of beauty and excitement, which makes for a truly African fishing adventure.