Panyame News: 23-30 July 2011

Period: 23 – 30 July 2010
Our first week at Panyame kicked off with three seasoned veterans, namely Glanville Gardener, Neil Bertie and Craig Webb all of whom were doing their fourth trip to the headwaters of Cahora Bassa with us. A tough week weather wise meant we had to catch our fish first thing before the wind picked up, with beautiful still mornings resulting in perfect drifts generally ending around 9am. The big female fish were not around in the beginning of the week but as the first few days past they seemed to be slightly more active. The 3 anglers where kept entertained with the small male Tigers of between 5 - 6lb who seemed to be all over the place. As the weather improved during the week, the bigger fish began to show them selves, most notably at Big Fish Island, Under Pressures and the last 2 channels before the lake. Many of the areas we fished last year have changed as a result of the floods so it will take some time to work them out again. We have already seen some exciting new spots and can’t wait to start working them out. The last day Glanville landed a nice Tiger of 11lb and Neil landed an 80 - 100lb Vundu. Throughout the week big fish were hooked almost every session but luck was not on the guys side….the Tigerfish’s notorious reputation of being hard to land, coming strongly through.       

For Antonio (Tony) and I, this is our first season guiding on the Zambezi. The first few days have seen us already gain a unique perspective of the pure untapped potential which Panyame has to offer. It didn’t take long for us to get onto the river and to become astounded (and somewhat bewildered) by the variety and quality of the fishing water. The first couple days flew past, and soon the hot spots were becoming familiar. Names like Under Pressures, Big Fish Island, Location X, Dragonfly and Thunder Bay quickly making an impression. Tony and I were fortunate enough to get a few days personal fishing under the belt, a privilege which allowed us to quickly figure out that current, depth, contact and drift were our most important priorities. If we managed to get all four just right, the monster Tigers would come.

Our first fish were a real shock. They hit like steam trains and were masters at throwing our hooks. Soon our techniques improved, rod tips right down in the water for every strike and relentless pressure on the fish, we soon improved. The margins between fish that struck and fish that were netted evened out…..although still in the Tigerfish’s favour. It seemed that fly was producing better results. The Tigers seemed to love the lifelike natural presentation and depth. The fast sinking DI7 lines were defiantly a huge factor in reaching the large hens sitting on the deeper drop offs. In all it was a week for remembering, with Tony’s best weighing11lbs! I too managed to get my double figure fish, although how is shrouded in mystery. Perhaps one of these days someone will get it out of me while we’re sitting around the camp fire.

Chat soon
James Topham

• Period: 23 – 30 July 2010

·         Period: 23 – 30 July 2010