About ten years ago I was fishing in the upper reaches of a Transkei estuary with a mirrOlure 7M. I twitched it slowly over a shallow mudprawn bank and was rewarded with a swirl in the water below the lure. This happened numerous times, before I finally hooked a fish and on landing it was surprised to see that it was a spotted grunter.I figured that it was a bit of a fluke and didn’t

My favourite species of fish to target on light tackle in estuaries, using artificials has to be the River Snapper. I have the utmost respect for this fish, he is without doubt the most challenging of our estuary species in Southern Africa, and worthy of the respect given to him by anglers around the country. I thought I would write a bit of a tribute to this species, including some of my thoughts on catching

Looking for good areas to fish in an estuary can be daunting to the beginner. Where to start? Arriving at a new estuary is always exciting, and it often takes a day or two to figure it out.The first thing you need to establish is where the deeper channels run and where the shallow banks are. If the water is clear then this is easy. The deep water appears darker and the shallower water appears

On a recent trip to Barotse Tiger Camp In Zambia I decided that I was going to dedicate a fair bit of time to catching tigerfish on surface lures. My mate Gerard Simpson, who is one of the co-owners of the camp told me that they had been having some success with tigers on the surface in the early mornings. This was great news and I rigged one rod specifically for topwater lure fishing. The

While spinning for tigerfish in the Ruaha river in Tanzania near Kilombero, I caught this unusual fish. It took a copper Blue Fox spinner out in the main current of the river, and jumped just like a tiger. It was only when I landed it and saw the head that I realised that it was not a tigerfish at all, but something completely different. Here is a closeup of the fish’s mouth and head area.