Massingir Lake is the ultimate destination for those seeking a blend of adventure, relaxation, and quality fishing. This hidden gem offers three key elements that make every trip truly special: accessibility, breath-taking landscapes, and trophy-worthy fish.
Just a comfortable day’s drive away, your journey to Massingir is smooth until the last 80 kilometres, which add a dash of rugged adventure to your trip. Upon arrival, you’re greeted with a cold beer, giving you plenty of time to settle in, rig your gear, and take in the stunning views as the sun sets over the lake. The natural beauty surrounding the lake is awe-inspiring, and as the evening sets in, the excitement for the days ahead begins to build.
Our recent group of guests arrived full of energy, despite the incoming weather forecast. Everyone was well-prepared and knew that the first couple of days were crucial. After a hearty meal and a detailed trip briefing, our group was eager to get started and rested well in anticipation of the four thrilling days of fishing that lay ahead. Throughout the trip, we were fortunate to catch some impressive fish, with three clients setting new personal bests (PBs). It’s always a privilege to share in these milestones and be a part of such memorable experiences. Beyond fishing, the wildlife in the area adds an extra layer of excitement to the adventure. We spotted elephants cooling off in the water, buffalo, reedbuck, waterbuck, and much more. One particular highlight was the abundance of fish eagles soaring gracefully overhead, a sight that truly sets this location apart.
We commend the local farmers who work closely with the police to tackle this problem by confiscating illegal nets sold in nearby shops. While a small part of a larger solution plays a crucial role in maintaining the health of the lake’s ecosystem.
Sunset at Massingir
When it comes to fishing, we’re confident that Massingir Lake offers an affordable and highly rewarding experience. Whether you’re an avid angler in search of trophy fish or simply looking for a peaceful getaway surrounded by nature, Massingir Lake is the place to be.
When we set out for the Vaal River near Potchefstroom and Parys, we never imagined the adventure that awaited us. Right off the bat, the water looked a tad murky along the edges, but that’s just part of the game. Without a second thought, we geared up and got down to business.
Starting with some nymphing techniques, we dipped our lines into the water, eager for the first tug. And sure enough, we hooked some fish, though they were mostly on the smaller side. Blame it on the recent downpour, it always stirs things up a bit.
With a quick change in strategy, we delved deeper. And what do you know? The next day greeted us with picture-perfect weather — clear skies, a gentle breeze, and the water, just the right temperature to keep us comfortable. Loaded up our gear, hopped into the boat, and set our sights upstream, aiming for those elusive largemouth yellow fish that call the Vaal home.
Even though the water still had a touch of murkiness to it, we weren’t about to let that get us down. Lo and behold, after a bit of trial and error, we cracked the code! The bites started coming, and boy, was it exhilarating.
For the following days, we were living the dream! Bagging some quality largemouths and even hooking a few feisty smallmouths, thanks to our trusty big streamer patterns. The river was alive with activity, hungry for whatever we threw their way.
But it wasn’t just about the fishing, it was about those moments in between casts, lounging by the riverbank, swapping stories, and chowing down on some seriously tasty lunches whipped up right from the back of our bakkie. Those moments were just as memorable as the ones spent landing the big ones.
If you’re even toying with the idea of casting your line in the Vaal, let us be the first to tell you — now’s the time! The weather couldn’t be better. So, what are you waiting for? Come join us for an unforgettable adventure on the river!
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.
We got contacted by a couple of clients really wanting to fish Kosi Bay on artificial and they were well briefed by their friend of how difficult this could be yet, they decided to push on and we felt confidant that we could get results amidst all the caution.
We decided on some dates, secured accommodation at the lovely Kosi Bay Lodge and planned for an intense 4 days of fishing. YouTube, friends, locals and just about everyone that we can trust were contacted for any form of information to create the best game plan possible.
Kosi Bay is till this day one of the most beautiful estuary systems in our country with an abundance of life. It is located in the northern part of KwaZulu Natal in the Ezemvelo Wildlife park just South of the Mozambique border.
Weather conditions certainly played into our hands during all our morning session but the afternoons were another story. A stiff 25kts on the lakes gets very nasty very quickly so it was important to monitor the conditions and understand were to fish to make the return comfortable and still have a change to land quality fish.
Our equipment was mainly 7,6 ft Heavy spinning rods with 5k reels loaded with 30lbs braid and 60lbs mono leader. Lure varied from soft plastic, bucktails, sinking stick baits, diving poppers and poppers in just about every size possible. We also had a couple of bigger setups for the GT action rigged and ready to go.
Our main targets were, Rock Salmon and GT and in the middle of the day we targeted the grunters on bait whilst we made a solid brunch. The first day we were after the GT’s and chased bird for hours. They were certainly active but we just could not get into the casting distance before they disappeared into the deep. We mixed up our strategies various times and still no results. They best opportunity we had was a serious follow with a fish pushing a bow wake so big that we started the engine thinking it is a hippo until it turned away and refused the lure last minute. Day two started a bit different, looking at pressure points and working the different water column’s we soon discovered what is working and then poppers and diving poppers it was all the way till the last day. The fish were so aggressive they even took the lure as close as 5 meters from the boat.
Our guests had a great experience landing the fish on topwater, enjoying the takes, the power on that light tackle, and one could just tell by the smiles and excitement in their voice. The biggest we weighed at 8.3kg and was caught on a 130 Molix popper. Rock salmon sure isn’t shying away for nothing.
Most challenging part of the trip was to figure out what was working and what to look out for to give ourselves the best chance possible. Secondly it was the weather, dealing with the wind, planning to fish another area because of it but knowing the bite was somewhere else in the morning. Our guests did not understand until the wind picked up it all started making sense.
The wildlife was incredible, the local fishing traps, water colour, and the area in general still feels somewhat remote. It truly is a bit of an adventure going out there. The local fishing traps, water colour, and the area in general still feels somewhat remote. It truly is a bit of an adventure going out there.
Our window for the fishery is a mere 6 weeks and we will not fish there if it’s not the right window. Does it fish easy? No, but it is super rewarding and we will get fish. Get in touch with us well before so that you can gear up with the right equipment and accessories. This certainly is one of the best local trips there is to offer in South Africa.
Popping trip in Fiji with a week of fly fishing on Christmas Island is a recipe for ultimate angler’s satisfaction. From the challenges of exploring new waters to the thrill of landing incredible catches, this journey left us as happy and fulfilled fishermen, forever grateful for the memories we made along the way.
