Kafue River Camp hosted the first ever fly fishing competition in Zambia, following the Fly Fishing Association’s recent formation. The competition was a huge success, the weather was great, and quality of fishing fantastic, with many of the larger-end fish being caught.
The competition was primarily a species competition, with ten species on the catch list There were also prizes for the largest fish in bream, pike and catfish categories.
The Rankings in the competition were as follows:-
Species Competition:
1st Dave (3 rod) Dansie
2nd Richard Monge
3rd Dylan Brandt
Largest Bream Prize – Leon de Wit
Largest Pike Prize – Dylan Brandt
Special thanks to Roger Monge, Jumbo van Blerk, and Kevin Bonel for helping to organize the event and for choosing Kafue River Camp as the venue.
Kafue River Camp has been an exciting place to be lately. Not only did we had great fun with the competition, but we have also had some amazing animal sightings around the camp during and after the competition. For example, during the competition, two male lions took down an old hippo on the opposite bank of the camp and remained there for almost three weeks, feeding off of the large carcass. We have also had elephants wandering in and out of camp on a regular basis, with one deciding to take up residence on the island in front of the camp for a of couple nights. As the water around Kafue River Camp is deeper than at other sections of the river, a number of hippo have begun to congregate in the immediate vicinity. Rarer species of animals for the area have been coming in more frequently now, with sightings of leopard, wild dog, and cheetah.
On the bird front, we have had several bird watchers in camp, with sightings of Pels Fishing Owl, Black-Backed Barbet, and African Finfoot. We are looking forward to September, when the Northern Migrants will be arriving. A mixture of Falcons, Eagles, Hobbies, and a variety of other species should make for interesting aerial displays, from mating to hunting.
We have continued to open new roads for drives, which will allow us to explore new areas and find more game. In addition, we have started to put the finishing touches to the campsite in order to bring it to its full potential.