During the last couple of weeks of October the weather can be very hot in the Zambezi valley but out on the river the daily cool breeze and the excitement of seeing the tiger on line leaping from the water in a desperate attempt to free itself from your hook, heat is the last thing you think about. The generous application of sun-burn ointment you will have smeared on the exposed parts of your body surface will obviate excessive sunburn and allow you to concentrate on guiding your fish into the waiting scoop net. That surge of adrenaline is so potent it even makes you forget the frosted beers in the cooler box until you have weighed your catch, photographed it shaken hands with everyone within reach. And hopefully, returned the fish unharmed, to the river.

But Tigers are not the only fish you might catch at any time of the day. The strike on you line could just as easily be a 50 or more Kg Vundu which, if caught on line, will give you the kind of fight you will remember for the rest of your life. Or it might be a 15kg Cornish Jack. Or a hefty 3.5kg Large scale yellow fish; an 8kg Eastern Bottlenose; a 3kg Mayami Labeo; a 4kg Purple Labeo: a 7kg Nkupe or a brilliant fighting Chessa. There are plenty of Sharptooth catfish around also, some of which grow to 33kg and when hooked make you wonder whether you have latched onto a submarine, the way they take off when hooked. There is also another, amaller catfish present. It also puts on a good fight but only grows to about 5kg. If you bring one into your net and think it’s just another barbel, take a closer look. If it has a grey back and ugly blotches send for an electrician because that Electric Catfish can belt you with a 400 volt shock, strong enough to knock you senseless or kick you out of the boat. Fortunately these are seldom if ever caught in the day time.

Very few people seem to fish at night but that is the time the biggest specimens of practically every species are hunting for food. Possibly nobody fished at night because the long day on the river and the enormous supper they had eaten, all they could think of was BED. Here I’m thinking mainly of Cornish Jack and Vundu and the best place to fish for them is in the quietest and deepest water you can find. Good angling shops carry all sorts of exciting looking fishing lures and gadgets that cost a small fortune but I believe fish of every species go mainly for the natural foods they know, like worms, frogs, grasshoppers, grubs, insect larvae or possibly the best of all; tiddlers, known locally as Mberi.

While resting in the shade on the Mvuu deck overlooking the great river I leafed through the black covered book labelled ""Mvuu Fishing Records (lies-lies-lies). This is what I found:

30^th April Tim Featherby (Pietermaritzburg) 9kg Tiger
July Michael O’Brien (Gauteng) 4kg Tiger
July Bertus Vlok 12 years old 4.8kg Tiger (Fishing from canoe)
4^th August Sylva (Belguim) 7kg Tiger
6^th August Amanda Lopez (Lusaka) 6 to 8kg Tigers
23^rd August van Pletsen (Gauteng) 40kg Vundu
September Ronel Turpin (Lusaka) 4kg Tiger
10^th September Anne Tweedie (Mvuu Lodge) 5.2 kg Tiger
8^th to 13^th October John and Ingrid Ferguson & Grant and Cherie Webster & Gavin (Nobby) Tripp:
John 16 fish. Biggest 7kg
Ingrid 15 fish. Biggest 6kg
Grant 14 fish. Biggest 6kg
Cherie 10 fish. Biggest 6kg
Nobby 23 fish. Biggest 5.9kg.
85% of catch released. Other fish caught: 2 big unrecorded Cornish Jack, 1 man-size Bream, 2 Ncupi 1kg and 2kg, 1 Barbel guestimate 4 kg.

Note: Experimenting with inferior French tackle. Lost a few big Tigers, biggest we have seen in 9 years of fishing the Zambezi.

Hannes and Thinus Roux (Louis Trichardt) 14 Tigers. Biggest 5 kg.

20^th October Jake Jacobson and Henry Craukamp (East Rand) 2 reels packed up. Caught 4 Tigers caught on hand line. 3.5kg caught on fly rod. 2 other 2kg Tigers kept for fillet bait. All other fish caught were weighed, photographed and released.

21^st October 1 Vundu 12.5 kg: 2 x 2.5 kg Tigers: 1 x 3.5 kg Tiger

22^nd October Henry 8 Tigers, Jake 3. (Henry) 2 x 2 kg Tigers and one of which was cut up for fillet bait, the other released. 6 x 3.5 kg Tiger and 1 x 4 kg Tiger. All released.

Jake: 1 x 1.5 kg Tiger, 1 x 3.5 kg Tiger, 1 x 4.2 kg which was badly hooked and given to the boatman for food. All fish released unless otherwise noted.

23^rd October Henry: 1 x 2.5 kg, 1 x 3.5 kg, 1 x 4 kg (all Tigers)

23^rd October Jake: There was a bit of confusion here as I thought Henry caught the 6kg Tiger which was kept to be mounted as a trophy:
1 x 2 kg (used for bait), 1 x 3.5 kg, 1 x 10 kg Vundu caught on fly rod

24^th October Henry: 1 x 2.5 kg (used for fillet bait), 2 x 3.5 kg, 1 x 4 kg (all Tigers)

24^th October Jake: 1 x 2.5 kg, 2 x 2 kg, 1 x 20 kg Vundu

25^th October (My note. The fishing was lousy due to additional water from Kariba causing the river to rise slightly and carrying floating vegetation to wash downstream past the lodge) Jake and Henry only caught one 4 kg Tiger and 3 small ones which were given to the boatman for food. These two guys are real ethical anglers.)

Note from Henry (This was his first visit). "Please practice catch and release".

Note from Jake. "This trip may have cost me three reels but the rumour has proven correct: once you have caught Tigers there is nothing that compares. Thanks to MVUU LODGE and all the staff for the memorable stay. See you next year".

25^th October (Anthony, Alfred and Vaughn)

Highlights. Vaughn: Nothing caught in any morning session. Caught and released 4 Tigers.

Alfred: 8 Tigers, biggest 5.5 kg plus 1 x 11 kg Vundu. All fish released except for 5 small Tigers used for bait.

General:
Great food – great accommodation – super company – superb game viewing. Been to a number of places and this rates with the best.

My personal comment is that beside the great food, the super company and the superb game and bird viewing, the fishing is out of this world and the whole camp rang with laughter all day and every day. An added bonus was the almost daily visit by enormous elephants which, although completely wild, behaved as though they had been hand reared. I have returned from a holiday I will never forget. Possibly the owners Lyn and Johan could consider removing their MVUU LODGE signs and replace them with a new sing – ‘HEAVEN’.

THESE RECORDS ONLY GO FROM APRIL TO OCTOBER BUT GOOD FISHING IS AVAILABLE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.

REPORT COMPILED BY BILL RUSSELL