Tigerfish

Africa’s No1 freshwater game fish has to be the tiger fish. These native African fish are found in many rivers and lakes over the continent.

The hard-fighting species we fish for is Hydrocynus vittatus and is commonly found in the Okavango Delta, the Zambezi River and its tributaries, in some rivers in Tanzania, in the two biggest lakes along the Zambezi (Lake Kariba in Zambia/Zimbabwe and Lake Cabora Bassa in Mozambique) and also in the Jozini dam in South Africa. It can also be prolific in Lake Nasser in Egypt.

The tiger has an elongated silver/gold body with stripes running horizontally along its flanks. In clear water, it has red/orange tail and fins. BUT, the most striking part of a tiger fish is its jaws. With 10 upper and 8 lower interlocking, razor-sharp dagger-like teeth on an outwards-hinged mouth, it is truly a sight to behold.

Tiger fish are incredibly fast-striking and hard-fighting. They can be caught on streamer flies, jigs, lures and even cut bait and whole dead bait.