The African Fisherman Magazine Volume 24 # 6 | Page 12

Osprey eloquently kitted out for a wedding cage which is lowered into the water for those wanting to get close to nature when swimming. Our cruise took us across the lake to the Gache Gache river where we hoped once again to catch the tigerfish running up river to spawn. Early February was wet across much of southern Africa and Kariba was no exception. Low scudding cloud and afternoon thunderstorms swelled incoming rivers, littering them with muddy water, floating logs and other debris. We saw plenty of tigerfish jumping and swirling on the surface, but had limited success. The hits we did get had no real pattern to them - some in open water, others along the banks or old river course, but the upper reaches of the Gache Gache were far from ideal. Fishing from the pontoons offered a great and very stable platform as they are large and robust and very stable. Poking our way up-river, dodging logs and pods of hippo, I never once felt threatened, simply due to our imposing tenders. Admittedly, they did not go anywhere fast, but then they are not supposed to. Our return journey to Kariba met with a stiff westerly which had been blowing since early morning. Quite a swell had some of us feeling more than a little seasick,