Tiger fishing on the Kariba Dam. How hard can it be? :)

While we were staying at Rhino Safari Camp https://rhinosafaricamp.com/ 2018 on the shores of the Kariba dam, the family and I went fishing for the Kariba tiger fish.  We are not a fishing family, but we thought it was an activity we would never have a chance to do again.

I decided I would fish for the bait, bream, and let everyone else go for the tigers. Majority of the tigers were released due to their sizes.

I’m still not sure how but I landed up with a fishing line to catch tigers in my hands. If something tugs someone else can take over, I muttered. What are the chances an 8kg one would hook itself on my line? Anyway, when I felt the first tug, I was told by the ranger that under no circumstances can I hand over the rod to anyone now. I had to bring it in. 

The ranger started getting excited when he realized I had a fight on my hands.  “We need to tire the fish out before he gets to the boat”. We will see who is more tired once the fish is on the boat. Then the tug and war started between me and the fish.  This reminded me of my kids’ sports day when I used to be the anchor for the mom’s tug of war with cheering all around.  It took me a while to tire him and myself out before the ranger was able to get him into the net. 

That night we ate the catch of the day, and I slept very well.

Whose fish is bigger?

• Mom
• Tristan

The next morning the kids and hubby went on a walking safari with Peter.  I hopped on to a boat with a ranger and met them a few kms along the bank.  Again, we went fishing and that day my teenage son caught a similar size to mine, but slightly smaller than my catch of yesterday.

Tristan reeling in the catch of the day. He was so chuffed with his achievement.

Finally, the Wood family has a few successful catches under our belts.