Fishing resorts are becoming quite popular, both with fisherman, but in addition their families and other guests as they are mostly situated in wonderfully scenic spots. The Zambezi and Chobe rivers, Lake Kariba, the Cahorra Bassa dam, the Mozambique coast plus the coast of northern Kwa Zulu Natal and Maputoland are firm favourites as fishing locations.
In addition to the abovementioned there’s also the Jozini dam for ‘striped dogs’ (tiger fish) and various trout lodges in Mpumalanga and one or 2 in the Western Province. So, depending on your fishing desire, there are numerous fishing resorts to select from. Fishing resorts can be found where fish naturally occur, and as a result they specialize in various well-known species. The northern rivers which flow in hot climates are renowned for tiger fish, vudu and bream, whilst the east coast fishing resorts specialize in salt water fishing, offering diverse varieties of game fish like, barracuda, king fish, queen fish, sail fish, bonito and also larger species, like shark and marlin. The South African highlands of Mpumalanga around Belfast and Dullstroom have some exceptional fishing resorts devoted to trout fishing.
These fishing resorts range from the old-fashioned fish camps to the almost ultra luxurious offerings of including some found in Dullstroom. The rustic fishing camps are generally rather far off and more challenging to reach and appear to be preferred among the real fishing fans, looking for new adventures and maybe a new record. Although being termed ‘rustic’ these camps offer satisfactory housing, often with enjoyable bars and other gathering places allowing for socialising. The more family and tourist driven fishing resorts offer rather more substantial amenities, often with game drives and other things to do apart from fishing. All of these resorts, however, are well set up to cater for the fisherman in terms of the accessibility to boats and fishing equipment. Being part of the trade and having an every day involvement in the fishing of their own domain, they are also very well-informed on the local situations as well as the species of fish that can be found and how to catch them.
Aside from the fishing resorts, the whole Dullstroom town and area is especially well oriented towards the fishing of trout. The town sports a specialist tackle shop with handmade fishing flies and a variety of equipment and gadgets for the fly fisherman. Lodging in the town in addition to the fishing lodges, are geared to cater for fisherman and their family members, and so are the eating places. There is a pub in town with reputedly the largest selection of scotch brands in Africa – perhaps to help with the sadness of the one that got away. Jozini dam near Pongola, offers a number of resorts on the banks of the dam. These fishing resorts go out of their way to advertise tiger fishing in South African waters and offer reasonable sized species to be had. Tiger fish of between 1 and 4 kilo’s are sometimes caught while the record weighed somewhat more. Jozini dam is also the venue for a tiger fishing competition in October of each year that attracts international competitors as well as locals.