Nikao Fishing Adventures went up to Lake Jozini also known as Pongolapoort Dam to scout the dam and then for some Tiger Fish fishing with 2 clients from the USA.
I love Jozini and the whole Maputuland area; it is one of those places where you can get back to your roots in Africa and just replenish yourself. With the lake surrounded by Game Reserves you can get in a good days fishing, whilst watching some game in front of you, and it is far away from the rat race. It is one of those places you've just gotta go to.
I stayed at Shayamoya Game Lodge, and as usual the accommodation and service is really first class. These guys know how to look after you, make you feel comfortable. I really recommend them if you are ever going up to that area.
Day 1
I arrived at Lake Jozini around 15h30, and immediately launched my boat to take a quick look around the dam, It was cold and there was a light rain, the wind was pounding and the waves were about 0.5m; it was very choppy. I then had problems with my sneaker motor which had wound up someone's line, and this was frustrating as I had just repaired it from damage like this from Midmar. This time the damage is bad as the line wrapped up was so much it got in under the shaft seal and the motor took water, so it will be an expensive repair. Anyway I was on the water and had to make the best of it.
I went searching for the fish and had pre-set up 12 rods with different lures and I started throwing them, and very quickly found the pattern and got 3 small tiger fish of around 800 grams in less than an hour. I found all the fish right up in the weeds, and a weightless fluke fished topwater style with a jerk pause retrieve in the Baby Bass colour produced the fish. By that time I had to leave before the gate closed.
Day 2
I met my clients at the gate at 06h00 and we then proceeded to the launch site and put the boat in the water. My client gave me a real treat with a gift bag full of hard and soft plastic lures that he brought over from the US, I was so stoked about this and nearly fell over. Thanks Dave.
It was overcast and there was no wind and so the dam was like a sheet of glass, and the water was very clear. Luckily as it made fishing without the sneaker easier.
We immediately started with the pattern that worked the day before and it was within minutes that my client hooked into a nice Tiger, but unfortunately the fish came over the line and we lost him. Shortly after that my client got another one. It was a very frustrating day as the fish were biting short, and I wanted to use stinger hooks, but could not as all the fish were taking by the weeds. We must have had 20-30 hits which missed or it was an on/off. We found that whenever there was a gust of wind we got hook-ups, and when the water was glass the fish were biting short. In the end we boated 6 fish with the smallest around 1.2Kg (1 ½ lbs) and the largest around 2.5Kg (5 ½ lbs). The largest fish was the last fish we caught and was the only fish caught on drop shot, all the rest we caught on weightless flukes.
All these fish were safely released.
Whist fishing at Jozini we also had the privilege to see Giraffe, Rhino, Hippos, Water Buck, Nyala, Springbok, Buffalo, Elephants, Warthogs and many, many birds as well as a huge Iguana sun bathing on a rock. I was most surprised that we did not see any crocs, as I know there are some huge ones there.
We finished at around 14h30 I think, and I spoke to guys from 4 other boats that were all preparing for the 2009 Tiger Fish Bonanza, and they were all fishing with baits and had caught very little fish with most the guys reporting 1 or 2 small fish. These guys need to learn about soft plastics for Tigers as it is extremely effective. I wish all the guys luck with the competition and I hope that this competition becomes a catch and release competition like the bass guys do in the future as I can imagine that 100's of fish will be killed over the 3 days, and we really need to start preserving our resources.
