UL bass in Africa

[Allsorts]

I got away for a camping trip with some mates (first time in forever) which was perfect. Typical man space where the essential stuff (tackle, kickboats and cold beer) was sorted and we kind of improvised the rest (showering, cooking and sleeping).
I'm not sure how many members of this forum use kick craft but I love them - super versatile and apart from limits in moving quickly between spots, they are an outstanding platform for bass and panfish.

We fished hard and kicked about 3-4 miles a day. On both days, very strong winds kicked up (I'm talking whitecaps, I watched a corrugated roof panel get ripped off). The smallies and largies loved the wind, the harder it blew the bigger the fish got. One the first day I was set up in a good area with the wind quartering onto the bank. I could keep the wind at my back and fish the rough water / colour line against the bank. I threw a 9g Smith Niakis spinner as it matched the bait size and I could concentrate on keeping my position and just reel, using the line tension to gauge my retrieve speed. For 20 minutes, the smallies were rampant and super strong, my best was a solid 18" which took awhile to land. Far too rough to take pic unfortunately.

The same afternoon we fished a river section upstream, catching quite a few smallies of moderate size with one solid fish sorting my mate out in a downed tree. The primary plant in the system is called 'palmiet' which has enormously strong root systems which sustain them during low water and secure them during winter flooding. They form undercuts which can go back 10' or more and the smallies hide underneath in the shade. The fish pictured was teased out from under the 'palmiet' with an old school favourite lure of mine, an F5 balsa Rapala.

[Hogsticker2]

Right on! Had no idea there were smallies in Africa. Super cool stuff

[uljersey]

Well done

Excellent story and pictures.

Pardon my asking, is this what you refer to as a kickboat ?

[Alphahawk]

Very nice. Having fished in Africa.....Kenya......I had no idea there were Smallies there. Of course I knew Kenya had trout but I did not fish for them. Was at Lake Naivasha for bass....tilapia. That was a long time back and last I heard the lake had taken a downturn being full of carp.

Regards

[Allsorts]

Well done

Excellent story and pictures.

Pardon my asking, is this what you refer to as a kickboat ?

That's a deluxe version of typical Safrican kickboat, made in a garage out of standard aluminum sections and some custom pontoons with an electric motor and fishfinder...

Compared to float tubes they are quicker as they have much less drag. I've got pontoons well over 6' and I can out kick anyone who isn't on steroids or has a sneaker motor... I'd like to put a Torqueedo on mine (pictured below)...

[Allsorts]

Very nice. Having fished in Africa.....Kenya......I had no idea there were Smallies there. Of course I knew Kenya had trout but I did not fish for them. Was at Lake Naivasha for bass....tilapia. That was a long time back and last I heard the lake had taken a downturn being full of carp.

Regards

Apparently Naivasha is toast but there is no shortage of good bass water in Southern Africa, more and more big fish as well, I think we are over 18lbs now in Zimbabwe. SA record is >16lbs. Bass are viewed as a pest of sorts because they vacuum up everything and cause collapse of some indigenous species. We have an American crawfish invasion (escapees from fish farms) which cause trouble but bulk up the bass. The one thing we are missing here is the shad family, nothing indigenous to convert open water zooplankton into bass food

There is a massive new reservoir in Botswana that may well kick out a world record within the next decade. SA smallie record is a hair under 8lbs (caught near where I was fishing) but no big spots strangely, record is under 4lbs AFAIK.

We have some bluegill, usually quite hard to find and not in panfish / harvesting numbers but a few nice ones come out, like one my mate caught recently (that's not a joint by the way, he rolls his own cigarettes....

[Gusto]

Thx allsorts for pic post of my pb bluegill all 800g of it, great article, that Stella looks extra nice next to the smallie

[hoohoorjoo]

Are the tilapia widespread there? I know bass like to eat them and they fatten up quick (where tilapia are present), like in some south Florida lakes.

[Allsorts]

Are the tilapia widespread there? I know bass like to eat them and they fatten up quick (where tilapia are present), like in some south Florida lakes.

Our tilapia occupy the same niche as your panfish, apart from really high altitude areas they can be found everywhere from brackish estuaries to most reservoirs. They typically run a little bigger on average than sunfish. Out of clean water they are delicious. Much harder to catch than bluegill...

If anyone is interested in getting a good picture of our inland lure angling, this blog https://rudolphsreeladventures.co.za/ is pretty good. All the major tilapia are shown together with lots of catfish (ours get to about 100lbs) and the local 'yellowfish' which is what we get really excited about. They look like chub or pikeminnows but they will blow your hair back on light gear. Only fish to break me on a slack line, their acceleration is unbelievable. Closely related to the Indian mahseer...

[uljersey]

Fantastic. I love seeing fish from other places.

Now I'm watching snow fall while yearning for June when the big stud bull bluegills come out to play. I pretty much ignore fishing for everything else to chase them.

[Alphahawk]

You know Allsorts we have tilapia in TN. They got into Old Hickory Lake.....no one is quite sure how. They congregate in the winter at the discharge of a power plant. As you know they can not tolerate cold water......but they are adapting in this lake. Each November folks show up at the discharge and take home coolers of 200-400 fis. By regulation we are supposed to harvest them or kill them if we catch them. But these fish have been caught in big numbers many miles from the power plant in winter. So far there is no apparent damage to the native fishery......but that could change as time goes on.

Regards

[John G]

Great pics. I have to say that I am shocked about the float tube fishing in S. Africa. I have watched too many nature shows because when I think of freshwater and Africa, I think of Crocs. I have communicated with Africanbasstackler about this and he says that he is much more afraid of hippos than Crocs.

[poisonokie]

Sure looks fun, fishing in Africa, but I'm glad the most dangerous thing I have to deal with is the occasional snapping turtle.

[hoohoorjoo]

Great pics. I have to say that I am shocked about the float tube fishing in S. Africa. I have watched too many nature shows because when I think of freshwater and Africa, I think of Crocs. I have communicated with Africanbasstackler about this and he says that he is much more afraid of hippos than Crocs.

He is a wise man for being afraid of hippos. They kill more people than crocs, lions or sharks year over year. On a separate note- in some of the private lakes I fish down in S. GA, I have to watch out for gators when I'm wading. They aren't as aggressive as crocs, but they are still dangerous. More often than not, they are more interested in trying to get the fish I'm reeling in! But I've also had them follow me and bump the boat on more than one occasion.

[Allsorts]

I have communicated with Africanbasstackler about this and he says that he is much more afraid of hippos than Crocs.

I avoid both! Actually the majority of our waterways are croc and hippo free and apart from the risk of getting run down by some bozo in a fast boat, it's much safer on the water than on the bank given our crime issues. Crocs are making a comeback in my home area due to croc farmer negligence (or maybe they are good escape artists!). They aren't a problem until they get to 5-6' but eventually the big ones get shot as relocating them is expensive and difficult. The one reservoir we all fished for years unknowing that there was a croc present who got so cheeky in the end that he'd sun himself on a floating waterski ramp. Public pressure from the canoeing club and the fact that he was eating the local's goats resulted in him being shot. A good rule of thumb is that if tigerfish are present there will be crocs and probably hippos so no kickboating! When I was young and foolish I used my KB in an estuary which hosts the odd bull shark...