Pongolo River Tigers: Budget fishing style.

[edd]

I have even had my line nailed by a tiger while it was splashing up and down on the surface during the retrieve. That really peed me off... one perfectly good line... destroyed.

That sucks, and those shooting heads are damn expensive (Yep I am assuming you where using a shooting head).

[tombosis]

My last trip to Jozini in April this year was the first time I fished without wire for Tigers. I only had 2 bite off's in 3 day's fishing (around 30 fish to 3kg).
I used 30lb Maxima Ultragreen shock tippet straight to the fly and fished mostly with Flippers. A key to fishing like this is to use a non-slip loop knot to the fly, not sure why but it results in fewer bite off's. I got smoked by one double digit fish in the weed (as usual), but interestingly it was the 7kg tippet that parted, not the shock leader. Next time it will be straight 30lb to the fly!

Anyway I am converted as far as Jozini is concerned, and as it sounds like the river has similarly sized fish I'm sure it would be just as effective. You definitely get a lot more bites without wire, I observed this while fishing flippers, with wire I had a lot of follows that just didn't commit. Also takes the hassle out of changing flies, twisted wire etc.

[Korrie]

Honestly
Nylon coated is a waste of money rather use your bucks to buy a fly or something or add it to the money for the SWAMBO's convincing prezzie, even small puppy tigers will kink it on the first couple of hits, its just going to frustrate the piss out of you. And don't bother with the Nickel Titatanium stuff either not worth the high price either.
Up to November will give you plenty of time to pre-rig your flies and learn how to make the haywire twist and break of the tag so that it doesnt leave a sharp bit to stick you when you least expect it. The method I use to accomplish this is to follow the description in Lefty Kreh's Fly Fishing Knots and Connections pg118

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This is just my opinion on the water but small swivels sometimes form a bubble trail in the current or when fighting a better sized fish, being bitten of by a rat is even more frustrating than the torn up flies, kinked wire and 50% drop.

I Use to think like you, until I did a trip to Jozini, where the fish DID NOT TOUCH flies on normal Piano wire, every single fish came out on the coated wire.

[Andre]

Hmmm....Im not convinced that fishing for tigers without wire, is a responsible practice. There has been quite a lot written about the advantages of fishing for them without wire, and I'm convinced that there are advantages in increased hookup rate, however, its not a technique that I would advocate on an open forum, due to the possibility of "less than experienced" anglers wanting to try it, for fear of leaving several fish behind, swimming around with flies in their mouths. Tigerfish are easy enough to fish for at the best of times, so very seldom is it necessary to do away with the wire. Im quite happy to get a few fewer fish, than to take undue risks that they will break off and leave the fly stuck in their mouth.

My last trip to Jozini in April this year was the first time I fished without wire for Tigers. I only had 2 bite off's in 3 day's fishing (around 30 fish to 3kg).
I used 30lb Maxima Ultragreen shock tippet straight to the fly and fished mostly with Flippers. A key to fishing like this is to use a non-slip loop knot to the fly, not sure why but it results in fewer bite off's. I got smoked by one double digit fish in the weed (as usual), but interestingly it was the 7kg tippet that parted, not the shock leader. Next time it will be straight 30lb to the fly!

Anyway I am converted as far as Jozini is concerned, and as it sounds like the river has similarly sized fish I'm sure it would be just as effective. You definitely get a lot more bites without wire, I observed this while fishing flippers, with wire I had a lot of follows that just didn't commit. Also takes the hassle out of changing flies, twisted wire etc.

[Scythe]

Well there is a fairly large difference between Tigers up to 3KGs on flipper and deep fishing baitfish patterns, in how the Tigers hit the fly.

Tombosis I'm sure you will agree they tend to take flippers quite delicately, relatively speaking.

When you start hitting the bigger fish consistently they inhale the fly and more often than not even 15cm of trace is not enough to keep your mono/fluoro outside of their teeth.

I have started fishing even longer traces now...

I don't believe that coated wire provides any benefit ito being less visible to the Tigers, even when the water has viz of 5m+ such as it has now... I spent enough time closely observing their rejection of too flashy flies while varying thickness of trace from 54lb down to 25lb to be able to say if you are not getting a commitment from a Tiger on a specific setup, it's most likely the colour, then level of flash,then movement of the fly and only then the thickness of your trace, in that order.

I'll post a picture of how even a small Tiger of 3Kgs destroys trace by inhaling the fly...

[tombosis]

Hmmm....Im not convinced that fishing for tigers without wire, is a responsible practice. There has been quite a lot written about the advantages of fishing for them without wire, and I'm convinced that there are advantages in increased hookup rate, however, its not a technique that I would advocate on an open forum, due to the possibility of "less than experienced" anglers wanting to try it, for fear of leaving several fish behind, swimming around with flies in their mouths. Tigerfish are easy enough to fish for at the best of times, so very seldom is it necessary to do away with the wire. Im quite happy to get a few fewer fish, than to take undue risks that they will break off and leave the fly stuck in their mouth.

Perhaps should have also mentioned that I only fish de barbed flies for Tiggers, easier to set the hook and in the event of a bite off the fly will fall out. I would also mention that I have also been bitten off on steel trace after a solid hook up, what happens is his mates attack the trace during the fight, particularly if you use swivels.

[OliverO]

Scythe
My sentiments too tigers are not to picky you just have to figure out what turns them on, I too vary colour, flash and and then retrieve and most often before i change the retrieve I start picking up fish (mostly the amount of flash in the fly).
I love fishing surface flies to tigers, a visual take is something always etched in the mind, I have tried fishing wireless but I'm back to wire, when it comes to the big dogs one has to go deeper and down there they swallow a fly deep, making wire necessary. In the dam I step up the piano wire to 30 or 40Lb strength and even lengthen the bite tippet to prevent bite offs by the bigger fish.

I grew up not too far from the Makhatini floodplains and really spent a lot of time fishing the Pongola above and below the dam, the dam itself, Van Eck and the Mozambique SA Border section of the Usutu River, still wont go back to nylon coated.

[redhumpy]

Perhaps should have also mentioned that I only fish de barbed flies for Tiggers, easier to set the hook and in the event of a bite off the fly will fall out. I would also mention that I have also been bitten off on steel trace after a solid hook up, what happens is his mates attack the trace during the fight, particularly if you use swivels.

You read too many magazines.
Easier to set the hook on de barbed flies. Please explain this to me.
You talking about a 2mm barb here, Sorry I just don't get it, how is it easier to set the hook?
And how do YOU set the hook fishing for tigers.

[Andre]

Im not sure how you would de barb a tiger fish fly, I have tried to do this unsuccessfully, I think you need some kind of stainless steel file r grinder to do this.. Maybe he can shake the fly out, and yes, I have also lost a wire trace to a tiger, but you must admit, there sure is less of a chance of a bite off with the wire, otherwise they wouldn't be used. Some of the lodges in the Okavango, and chobe where I have fished, don't allow the people to fish without wire, so there definatly is an awareness that the fish are at risk. Hey its your choice, but I wouldn't do it, even if it meant a few less fish, and I wouldn't advocate the practice to as being "ok" to fellow flyfishermen, especially to those of limited experience with tigers.. That's my choice.

Perhaps should have also mentioned that I only fish de barbed flies for Tiggers, easier to set the hook and in the event of a bite off the fly will fall out. I would also mention that I have also been bitten off on steel trace after a solid hook up, what happens is his mates attack the trace during the fight, particularly if you use swivels.

[tombosis]

You read too many magazines.
Easier to set the hook on de barbed flies. Please explain this to me.
You talking about a 2mm barb here, Sorry I just don't get it, how is it easier to set the hook?
And how do YOU set the hook fishing for tigers.

Take two 3/0 hooks, squeeze the barb down on one, now push them both into a piece of cardboard or similar and see which goes in easier. Tigers generally set the hook themselves, they are so bloody fast there is hardly time to react.