okovango delta for tigers

[Dylan straw]

hi there

i am off to the okovango delta this december holidays to a place called nguma island loge and as i have never been there before was wondering has been there before or even to the delta on a fishing trip, if anyone has some info for me like is this the right time, what colours, what flies, what weight, retrieve etc pls any help wopuld be greatly appreciatted.

[Herman Jooste]

hi there

i am off to the okovango delta this december holidays to a place called nguma island loge and as i have never been there before was wondering has been there before or even to the delta on a fishing trip, if anyone has some info for me like is this the right time, what colours, what flies, what weight, retrieve etc pls any help wopuld be greatly appreciatted.

Hit the search button, type in Okavango / Tiger / Barbel.

[troutmaster]

Vsiti the TCFF website and search for back issues relating to that venue; there has been various articles about it.

TCFF = The Complete Fly Fisherman

[Tale]

hi there

if anyone has some info for me like is this the right time, what colours, what flies, what weight, retrieve etc pls any help wopuld be greatly appreciatted.

Never heard of a WOPULD fly yet Dylan! Maybe have a look at www. wopuld.com

[markdej]

Hi Dylan,

I know the area fairly well so can proffer a bit of input.

Nguma is based on a very large lagoon that produces some serious 3 spot and Nembwe. (Though the best time for theem seems to be the winter months)
There are pretty decent shoals of tigers that rome about too, with the camp rrecord being a bit over 8kg on fly but a #8 should be perfect ITO tackle, but I cant stress that you need a GOOD smooth drag. The best time for the area is during the run in october but there are still very good populations of tigers about if youre willing to be mobile. There are however far fewer sandbanks than around Sepupa (though its about 2 hours by boat to sepupa if youre desperate) December should be a bit cooler as the rains would start to come the downside being the rising water levels dispersing fish. As for patterns, the main food source there are little imberi they are prediminantly silver fish with a vivid lightish green lateral line and are usually no-more than 10cm in length. Other abundant fodder fish are the redbreast tillapia. So a 1/0 clouser with gold underwing and a orange/red overwing works superbly, with a nice addition being either a hot orange or green wire ribbing along the hookshank. Dont be shy of "surface" flies either, Ive had some EPIC action fishing a deerhair mullet on the sandbanks, as it pulls under the takes are usually savage. You can also have alot of fun in the back channels around the lagoon, if you focus on the lilly beds there are usually alot of pike to be found and they have a distinct liking for chartreuse and purple, so pack a #4 for them too. You will almost exclusively fish fast sink though with a DI5 being fine for the back channels and will work for slower retrieves in the main channels, but you may be in a bit of trouble getting down in the flows are up so consider taking a Di7 too. In my experience the fish here tend to prefer a slower retrieve than the usual stip your arse off approach. those are just a few things I think should help but if you have any questions feel free to drop me a PM

P.S. Heres a nice example of a Nguma tiger: