After two months of no fishing allowed in Botswana we went out for a mornings fishing to Chenoga, a stretch of wide, flat, slow flowing water about 30km out of Maun on the Boteti River.
We were the only boat on the water, that's why we chose the venue as the other rivers around Maun would have been like a freeway with the first weekends fishing being open. Skies were clear with zero wind. We caught in excess of 40 fish for the morning. Most of them were 3 Spot Bream (Oreochromis andersonii) in the one to two kilo size range. We also boated a few Purpleface Largemouth Bream (Serranachromis macrocephalus) and one or two Thinface Largemouth Bream (Serranachromis angusticeps). From the time we launched the fishing was wild with fish taking most of the popular lures offered like Mepps spinners and small crankbaits. Then as if someone flipped a switch, the fish just went off the bite around 13H00. The No 2 and 3 Salmo Hornets worked particularly well.
It was great to finally get to try out my new ultra light setup, a Fenwick ultralight five foot rod paired with a 500 series Shimano Sedona reel spooled with 12lb Berkley Nanofill line.
I am super impressed with this rig and actually prefer it to my conventional spinning outfits. Ill just have to get another one. The Berkeley Nanofill line has a pronounced memory of the reel spool but I didn't find it to be a problem with casting.
Most of the fish were caught trolling at the slowest speed the boat would go. All in all a great mornings angling.
Looking forward to next weekend, choices, choices, where to go?
