Today we are going to talk about a very particular fish, which is part of the Alestidae family, the “Hydrocynus vittatus”, commonly called “Tigerfish”.
Not to be confused with its big cousin the Hydrocynus Goliath, which is much bigger than our main interested party. Rodmaps went to hunt him down in Botswana, on the Okavango Delta. This delta has the particularity of flowing into the Kalahari Desert, unlike the others which normally flow into the ocean.
It is a magical place that has an extraordinary flora and fauna, hundreds of kilometers of papyrus where dozens of endemic bird species nestle in this region of the world. You will come across hippos, Nile crocodiles, antelopes, elephants etc ...
Our Tigerfish has an impressive four part jaw, a row of canines that fit perfectly into each other, a tapered body built for speed. He also has a silvery robe, horizontal black lines all the way down the body, and orange fins. This species weighs on average between 1 and 10 kilos, but can exceed 15 kilos. It all depends on the geographic region where you will be looking for it.
Like any predator, it spends a lot of time resting and hunting other fish in its ecosystem. It tends to stand in the feet of papyrus, to ambush tilapia (its favorite prey), but also to escape the big African catfish and the Nile crocodiles who are happy to eat them.
Egrets don't hesitate to join in on the feast, which will give you a great visual cue for where to throw. If you don't have any of those things, power fishing is a great way to trigger keystrokes while letting yourself drift down the river, which has earned us some great specimens.
Another way that will help you locate them is the presence of crocodiles. If you see any, fish around as the saurians readily devour them, it is a big part of their diet.
This fish is extremely strong on the “weight / power” ratio. Precise and careful equipment is necessary to fish it correctly. Because of its teeth, we advise you to fish with steel at the bottom of the line because we have been cut from 100 lbs of fluorocarbon resistance. As you can see, you have to go out of your way. Changing the original hooks is also recommended.
We also recommend multi-strand rods.
Enjoy!
Discover our other articles on exotic fish: peacock-bass, golden masheer, snakehead
Choisir le bon leurre pour le brochet en hiver n'est pas un exercice facile tant…
La pêche du brochet en hiver est une expérience unique mais qui s'avère très exigeante.…
Beaucoup de pêcheurs ont tendance à délaisser le leurre finesse pour pêcher le sandre car…
Vous recherchez le meilleur float-tube 2023 pour pêcher les spots inaccessibles depuis la rive ?…
Le nœud agrafe est un nœud de pêche largement utilisé pour raccorder un bas de…
Parmi les éléments cruciaux de votre arsenal de pêche, le choix du leurre occupe une…