Cahora Bassa dams off the mighty Zambezi River in the Tete province of Mozambique, It’ a remote destination that is still home to some of the largest tigerfish in Africa. In Cahora Bassa, tigerfish can reach impressive sizes, with fish weighing up to 25 pounds not being uncommon. To target these trophy fish, anglers need to be well-prepared and equipped with the right gear, techniques and guides that know the area at your disposal.

I’ve been visiting Cahora Bassa for the last 2 decades on and off, and what I can gather from my own experience is that Cahora constantly produces more 15lb fish on a regular basis. This is a magical place that has to be experienced first-hand. On all of my visits, multiple 15lb -25lb fish have been caught. The biggest constraints of Cahora are the logistics, accommodation and equipment like boats. However, from travelling all these years to Cahora, we have streamlined all the logistics to make the experience the best possible. You have to remember that this location is still in the middle of Africa surrounded by hunting concessions and small local tribes. The nearest “actual” town is Tete about 200km from the lakeside. It’s only 200km but it take about 4 hours in a shuttle, a bit less in a well-equipped offroad vehicle.

The easiest way to get to the destination is to fly with Airlink from OR Tambo to Tete, its about 1:40 flight, there are 4 flights a week, one flight a day. From there you have to take a shuttle to the lakeside, luckily the shuttle is always well equipped with ice-cold “refreshments”, and a transfer boat will await to take you to the lodge, usually about 40min depending on the weather. There is also an option to fly to an airstrip 30km from the lake-side at an additional cost, you will still need to check through at customs either at Tete, Maputo or Vilanculos.

The lodging is excellent for what you can expect on a freshwater island in the middle of nowhere, with a bar overlooking the dam and its ample majestic scenery, accompanied by an African sunset to leave you in awe every day.

Cahora Bassa is a renowned destination for tigerfish enthusiasts looking to target trophy-sized fish in the waters of the Zambezi River. With its stunning scenery and challenging fishing conditions, this region of Mozambique is a must-visit for any angler looking for a once-in-a-lifetime fishing experience. The 2 pelican boats used for fishing are in excellent condition and the perfect fishing vessel for Cahora, they are fitted with fish finders and spot lock GPS trolling motor, to put you on the fish and keep you there in windy conditions. This is a must, we have to adapt and keep with the times, Tigerfish is mostly fish in deep water where good sounders are a must, and the trolling motors keep you on the spot to make ample casts from multiple angles which sometimes is just what’s needed to entice the bite.

In my opinion, the prime time for fishing at Cahora Bassa is between October to February. Late December to February is the rainy season when the dam and rivers are full and incredibly active. The river inflows during this time are a sight to behold, with muddy water colliding with the clean water of the dam, creating an outer-worldly fishing experience. Slow-rolling big lures and flies on the bottom between the deeper tree lines generally produce the bigger fish, submerged rock islands seem to produce most of the bites. You want your lure to come through the water column as deep as you can without snagging. Retrieval of snagged lures and flies disturbs the most productive water, which inevitably causes the fish to spook.  However, during spawning season, the fish make their way to shallow waters and river inlets, providing anglers with the opportunity to catch a true Cahora Bassa giant in the shallow water. It’s a thrilling experience to witness the power and strength of these magnificent creatures up close.

When visiting Cahora make sure that you are well-equipped with the correct gear and enough lures, I cannot emphasise this enough. Everyone who has been tiger fishing before will support my statement that tigerfish is the freshwater fish that troughs your hook the most, resulting in the lowest percentage from strike to landing ratio, if you are landing 1 in 5 you are doing an okay job.

You need a good reel 4000-5000 size in spinning and a 200 in casting, make sure that the casting reel has a good drag, at least 20lb. Fit your reels with 40-50lb 8x carrier casting braid, if you wish you can add a shock leader to assist with stretch and abrasion purposes. You will always need bite wire of not longer than 20cm, if you are bait fishing you can up that to 30cm. I prefer to use the knowable wire, with a no6/8 power swivel and if I use a clip the fastlatch clips are really strong, we have landed multiple 20lb fish on them with no issues. A mh to H 7’6 rod with a fast tip, not extra fast, is ideal. You want a rod with backbone but with still a bit of tip to assist in minimizing troughing the hook. Lure selection for Cahora is pretty easy, a selection of DAM Predator (4), Tiger Wakka (5/6) and Mepps spinners (4/5) and you are good to go. Each lure has its pros and cons, most of the DAM and Mepss spinner come with trebles that need to be replaced with j-hook, I found that the Mustad Kendal round 4826 in #5/0 to #7/0 works the best. Ensure that when you are fitting j-hooks the hook gap is not bigger than the blade spinning circumference to ensure fewer snags. If the hook is exposed it will catch on the rocks, you want to hit the rock but not snag.

The Lodge is situated on the north-western end of an island and it was initially run as a crocodile farm, the lodge can host 14 guests and what makes this location so ideal is that there are submerged rock islands all around the lodge, you don’t have to travel an hour or 2 to your fishing spot. Multiple 5-8kg fish have been caught from the bank in front of the lodge. There are also 2 river inflows nearby to fish in the rainy season when the rivers flow into the dam, the shallow water fishing for trophy tigerfish during this season can be phenomenal.

Our 2023 season was spectacular with multiple 16lb-20lb plus fish coming out regularly. Currently the camp record stands at 22.4LB caught by Renier Cronje during their visit in early November 2023. We usually do 5 nights for day fishing packages for groups of up to 6 anglers but we will endeavour to accommodate custom dates and groups where we can. We handle all our fish with care and proudly support catch and release. Get in touch with us at www.unchartedfishing.com or email us at info@unchartedfishing.co.za to secure your spot for the 2024 season.