• Published by Fishermen for Fishermen since 1988 •
Inside the Current Issue
Laying only inches away from the feeding elephant, I wondered if he knew I was there, would reach through the window to grab me, or worse one of my fishing rods... or if he even cared. I needn't have worried, as minutes later...
I have seen the Lower Zambezi on both sides of the divide, that being before and after the birth of all the fishing lodges and camps. When I speak of the Lower Zambezi I mean the stretch of river from the Chongwe...
I must profess I am no expert when it comes to nilo fishing. However I have over the years sunk a line or two in pursuit of these robust bream. During that time I have followed the advice of the experts and with...
Issue 1 of December 2014 features Chewore Lodge and its Marauding Tigerfish by Ant Williams, Circle Hooks and their Conservation Uses by James Blevin and Niloticus, of which we hope to Go Forth and Conquer by Greg Budd.
Issue 2 of January 2015 features Nottingham Estates: Of Elephants, Oranges & Big Fish by Ant Williams, Batoka Dam and its Consequences by Ant Williams and Flying Ants, to be used during the rainy season by Ant Williams.
There is an eloquent poem written about Zimbabwe's southernmost town of Beitbridge. Its hot, arid landscape dotted with semi-desert thorn scrub, countless goats and almost as many Datsun 120Y's inspires little other than...
There has been much talk of late regarding the Batoka Gorge Dam Project. Sitting at my desk researching material and gathering snippets of relevant information I was questioning the pro’s and con’s. Before I could save it - the power went out!
There are few things more tantalizing to an angler, than the sight of thousands of flying ants taking to the still evening air beneath distant stormy skies. Flying ants are an annual occurence in this part of the world, and following the flights of smaller
Any good conservationist will tell you that to protect any species, one must first look to the environment and habitat. Protecting these base elements in the delicate chain of nature, will provide optimum conditions under which all diversity will thrive...
Here, at the African Fisherman, some might think we live on food and drink like all other humans, but it does not prove so, we live on sunshiny fishing trips, like the air at sea level, and we live on stunning landscapes...
After almost a year of tearing the water's surface to shreds, to say I have mastered the art of hooking these toothy creatures on surface lures, would be something of an over statement. In truth...
Issue 3 of January 2015 features Top Water Tiger: Beware Ye Faint of Heart by Ant Williams, Some of our Readers' Favourite Moments and the Difference Anti-Poaching is making on the ground.
Issue 4 of February 2015 features The Mighty Osprey by Ant Williams, Hunters of the Murky Depths and Explosive Frog Fishing compiled by Mohomed Ali.
There is nothing more exhilarating than watching a bass muscle its way through a thick mat of weed to attack a lure. Explosive takes, aerial displays and the fight which ensues. Frogs make up a component of bass’ diet, and artificial frogs have been around for a long time.
Some years ago, I was witness to a strange phenomenon which gives credence to the intelligence of one of our ugliest fish. Maramba, pong, barbel and catfish - names which conjure images of smelly, slimy belching scavengers. It is true that while few anglers revel catching a pong...
Over the years, we have published several accounts of the kind sponsorship of houseboats for the enjoyment of the residents at Sunningdale Old Age Home in Chinhoyi. One of the craft they have experienced has been the Oprey owned and operated by Kariba Houseboat Cruises...
Issue 5 of February 2015 features Changa Safari Camp by Ant Williams, Tigers Exploding on the Surface II and a Ride around Zimbabwe in Aid of Anti-Poaching, Zimboundary.
On 6 July 2014 two cyclists set out from the Honde Valley in eastern Zimbabwe in an attempt to ride around the entire borders of Zimbabwe. After 3763km and 44 days, Ashley King and Linda Davidson completed the journey riding approximately 100km every day...
I have long had a passion for surface fishing. My earliest experiences of explosive surface strikes and the almost intoxicating rush of adrenalin fizzing through my veins, were with bass, and quickly became addictive. Toward the end of the serious bass fishing...
Changa Chariri loosely translated means "Re-awakening". It is the name given to the small peninsular which juts out into Lake Kariba from the Matusadona shoreline, and the namesake of Changa Safars Camp which since 2012 has occupied this concession...
In 1950, when I was ten, and saw the Zambezi River at Victoria Falls for the first time as an impressionable kid, I knew the river would become a part of my life,drawn inexorably by its aura of history, mystery, fun, and danger. The swirling cloud of spray...
The 2015 Cricket World Cup is underway... And predictably, Zimbabwe is not faring as well as the Zimbos would have liked. While a glimmer of hope existed as they faced South Africa early in the play-offs, this was short lived as South Africa...
Nile Perch are one of the ultimate freshwater species found on the African continent. Likened to the Black bass (similar in appearance), but ginormous by comparison, their explosive, gill flared, head shaking jumps...
Issue 6 of March 2015 features the World Record Nile Perch that has just come out of Murchison Falls, The SA Cricketers Fishing Zimbabwe and A Little Bit of Nostalgia from David Scott.
Many years ago, one lazy Sunday morning, I decided to shake the shackles of lethargy and take a drive. At the time, I had been fishing the Ngezi River quite a bit from the farm in the Beatrice Area, a river which flowed into the relatively new Mamina Dam...
The Victoria Falls has always been considered an impassable barrier to fish moving upstream or downstream in the Zambezi River, thus dividing the river fish into two distinct populations and ecosystems known as the Upper (UZ) and Middle (MZ) Zambezi....
In 1950, when I was ten, and saw the Zambezi River at Victoria Falls for the first time as an impressionable kid, I knew the river would become a part of my life, drawn inexorably by its aura of history, mystery, fun, and danger...
Issue 7 of March 2015 features the A Little Bit of Nostalgia from David Scott, Upper Zambezi Discovery has shown species that have traversed the Falls and the Adventures of Ngezi Dam.
Issue 8 of March 2015 features the The Sound of Silver on the Art of Capturing the Chessa, the case of Sleeping Sickness around us and the third instalment of David Scott's Nostalgia...
With my early love of the Zambezi well established and our failure to gain permission for a lodge on the river, we turned our attention to our now full Kariba. Our company called Zambezi River Safaris, working with Frik and Sue Maas...
African trypanosomiasis is a disease with many names - sleeping sickness, African lethargy - and is as iconic to the Dark Continent as Stanley and Livingstone. It has been present in Africa since the 14th century, but its origins...
We were actually fishing for bream, but my gaze wandered to a distant jumble of a fallen tree whose dying branches resembled probing fingers thrust into the Zambezi perhaps to scoop up a fish or two. I knew the fish would be there, as the branches, far from being...
With my early love of the Zambezi well established and our failure to gain permission for a lodge on the river, we turned our attention to our now full Kariba. Our company called Zambezi River Safaris, working with Frik and Sue Maas...
Most people hate the sight of blood... especially when it is their own! Fishermen however, have long known that predatory fish, and particularly in African waters - tigerfish...
The tuna bite continued until nightfall, so we literally brought in the lines, had a quick bite to eat, and we had 45 minutes or so to re-rig and get prepared before we were slowly trolling over ‘swordfish territory’...
Issue 9 of April 2015 African Fisherman Cloud features The King of the Reef, Marc Towers' adventure to the Tanzanian coast in search of Dogtooth Tuna, whether to use bleeding baits in African water, and the fourth installment of David Scott's Nostalgia.
The Kafue is fascinating in all its variations. Rising at some 1300 feet above sea level and with a total basin area of 157 000km² , it meanders along a relatively flat plateau with gently undulating topography. The river starts as a trickle from marshy dambos...
Our natural response to ‘fix’ a dam that has become over populated with bream is to add a predator or even two. Effectively this only tends to defer the problem to another species. By way of example, consider the potential impact of two commonly stocked predators...
A mere hop-skip-and-jump from our front doors, a sparkling beach washed by azure waters welcomed us. A half kilometer away, bigger waves crashed to roll over a submerged reef, and in the distance the sail of a small dhow rocked violently on the deceivingly rough ocean...
Issue 10 of April 2015 features Skipper's Haven, the closest fishing resort to Latham Island in Tanzania, Notes on Farm Dam and Fish Management by Neil Deacon and the great Kafue adventures explored by Clive Harris and Derek Hinde.
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