Something different...

[Bergievisserman]

Hi all


So I recently moved to Botswana, to the North West of this arid country to be exact, living in a town called Maun which is the gateway to the Okavango Delta. Being a saltwater fisherman, and last throwing a bass lure in Grade 9 I knew that this change of lifestyle would have its challenges. Armed with knowledge from the internet, five boxes of carefully selected lures and five different rod setups I made my way North to the unknown...


They say fishing is in your blood, but that doesn't mean if you try different things you'll catch. On arrival I'm surprised to see that I live next to the river in town, good for winding off in the afternoon with a cold beer and a couple of spinners. First cast I made into this river delivered a pike, and another and another, but now after living here for 6 weeks that's the only fish I've caught in the Thamalakane. It soon became aparent that we would have to drive out of town, as netting is a reality in these waters.


The decision was made that barble would be the first target species, as heading up North for the mighty tiger is not yet an option. After speaking to some locals we decided on the Boteti river, at a small village called Samedupi. It has an old bridge that would protect us agains hippo and crocodile, as this would be a night excursion. Armed with prime A-grade steak from Spar, we made our way to Samedupi. Little did we know that this would be the first of many visits.


The Boteti...

[WalkersKiller]

Awesome stuff bru! Keep us updated on the fishing please!

Have any pictures of the Pike? Those things are beautiful...

[Bergievisserman]

The mission was simple. Cast some meat and see what bites. In the next couple of weeks we managed to catch some nice barble ranging between 3-7kg. Here is some pics...

[Bergievisserman]

And as requested the pike . These fish love surface lures. This one was caught on a chug bug...

[Bergievisserman]

We soon figured out where the river runs deep(this is also where Frikkie lives, our new hippo friend) and where we got most of our big barble. According to some of the more local guys the barble here can get to the double figures, so we will continue to look for that 10kg + fish. Its alot of fun on the light tackle and can be a real challenge in the rapid running water as they head straight for the reeds once hooked.


It also seems like we started a new culture, as more and more guys got themselves some rods from the local tackle shop and the ''competition'' seems to tighten up a bit..

[Bergievisserman]

After a couple of weeks I decided its time to try for bream, as the delta should start dropping and fish should start moving into the main river systems again. We fished on a couple of occasions and got nothing, and just as I really thought this will be a tough code to break Carel managed to get a bream at Waga Waga about 15km out of town on the Ghanzi road. Here the biggest challenge was to find a spot where crocs wont eat you, as this is close to an old croc farm.


Armed with gopro's this was a fun day indeed with some nice footage in the clear water...

[Bergievisserman]

The bream mission continued the last couple of days and I finally got my bream two days ago. Aparently these fish tastes good, so I think a bream braai should be in order soon. Getting to know these waters is the most fun I've had in years, as we literally just scan google maps and start driving. There is pleny of water to choose from in this unique fauna and flora...

[Bergievisserman]

So for now we are still getting to know the water around home. Hopefully soon my workers permit will come through and I can use some of my bednights to visit some awesome camps. We have four ''water'' camps in the Delta and as staff its obviously an advantage. Work is great and for now I can only stare down and hope soon i'll get to pack the rods in the back of the plane for an overnight. Here is some pictures of what we call work...

[Bergievisserman]

I will try and keep this post updated as I go along, or maybe start a blog. There is still quite a few species on our wish list as well as a barble run ofcourse. Thanks for reading!
Cheers!

[Lofty]

thanks for sharing,looks awesome and a lot of fun.. Must be awesome working out in the wilderness like that...

[CarelVisvingers]

Lekker!

[Lenny]

Lekker thanks q for something fresh "

[WalkersKiller]

Absolutely amazing!!!!

[Homie]

 Awesome post !

Going to be following this with great interest  !

[L Hooker]

Great report thanks for sharing looking forward to your future posts.

[colin]

  enjoyed reading .

[Charles]

Great post Wynand! Thanks for sharing. Awesome work you have!

[Tommo]

Very nice reports! I lived in Maun for 5 years and loved it. There is some good fishing to be had in the delta. The catfish run should be under way soon, you will have some fun if you can get into that!

[sardinella]

Awsome post, awsome pics
Thanks, have some cred

[REEFMAN]

Great thread Bergie....