FISHING |
O K AVA N G O D E LT A
G
uy Lobjoit is a worried man. One of the owners of Guma Lagoon Camp in the Okavango Delta panhandle, Guy has spent most of his adult life introducing tourists and friends to the many natural splendours of this uniquely beautiful watery wonderland. The Okavango is no place for the faint of heart. Dangerous animals large and small are constant companions. Medical help is uncertain and provisions difficult to obtain, transport and store in this hot remote African frontier. But Guy and his wife Bev have built a life and family here, justifiably proud of the service they offer at Guma, passionate about what they do and the role they play in the conservation and awareness of this World Heritage Site. Guy is also a renowned and avid angler. Over the past decade, with the assistance of Airlink’s direct flights to Maun, we’ve visited the Okavango Delta many times to fish and enjoy the phenomenon of the annual barbel runs. Like any natural event timing may vary, and some years are better than others, but we’ve experienced some of the most amazing catch and release angling anywhere in the world in this jewel of Africa. The runs normally occur around October when the annual flood waters cascading from the highlands in Angola and wending their way through Namibia and into the otherwise arid north western reaches of Botswana start to recede off the floodplains, bringing with it an abundance of small baitfish on which the larger species feed. But over the past two years
RIGHT: Guy Lobjoit of Guma Lagoon Camp. TOP RIGHT: An idyllic setting for anglers – the allegedly abundant waters of the Okavanga.
62 w w w .t o p s a t s p a r. c o . z a
THE SAYING GOES NOT TO JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER, BUT AS BRAD CARTWRIGHT DISCOVERED, DON’T JUDGE THE HEALTH OF THE OKAVANGO BY THE OBVIOUS – LAND-LOCKED – WILDLIFE. THERE’S A PROBLEM BELOW THE WATER’S SURFACE.
things have changed dramatically. The schooling barbel themselves are very much smaller than ever before and species like the beautiful nembwe have completely disappeared from the system. Other bream species and the tiger fish we love to catch and release have seen a radical decline in numbers and a change in behavioural patterns. What has caused this sudden change? Well the answer is no-one knows. Theories and rumours are plentiful, but really no more than speculation. Netting is often blamed, but this practice has been going on for decades and could certainly not have wiped out an entire species in this short period of time. Water levels is another possibility, but these have fluctuated for aeons without the apparent damage we are seeing now. What needs to happen is an urgent scientific study on salinity, pH levels and testing of the water for contaminants poisonous to
The fish that swim below the surface of the water are largely taken for granted or simply not considered at all.
