Wish List Fish

GUNDU

ROB SCOTT , OF AFRICAN WATERS, AND FISH NERD RUSSEL BRIAN TATE WEIGH IN ON GUNDU, ONE OF THE WEIRDER FISH SPECIES CAUGHT IN TANZANIAN RIVERS.

Tiger + Grass carp + Hollywood pearly whites = Gundu, the species you never knew you lusted after.

WHAT: Rob says, “As a species, gundu are a bit of an enigma. A strange fish that we don’t know much about, gundu sport a tigerfish’s body with what looks like a grass carp’s mouth. They also possess the most bizarre human-like teeth. We’ve only ever caught a couple of big ones (the biggest weighing 16lbs) in the 14 years we have been fishing these Tanzanian rivers. The rest have been two to four pounds.” What exactly is a gundu? Truth is, there is no definitive answer so far. Scientist, hydrologist and eco-toxicologist, Russel Brian Tate, says that of the two main species it could be - Brycinus macrolepidotus and Alestes macrophthalmus - the gundu in this picture is much bigger than the maximum size for either species. Therefore, it’s either a massive specimen or it’s something else. For now, he’s leaning towards Alestes macrophthalmus.

Rob has another theory that he admits is unsubstantiated. “We have spent a lot of time speculating about why we have caught so many small ones and so few big ones. The one theory is that they may be either a completely different species, or a hybrid of a tiger and a gundu , resulting in an infertile fish that showed a lot of growth through hybrid vigour. Obviously, there is zero way for us to prove that, outside of fishing for another 14 years and hoping to catch another big one, while having a scientist on standby.”

WHERE: The Mnyera and Ruhudji Rivers, Tanzania. HOW: Rob says, “Most of the gundu we have caught were on clousers in deep slow corners where they would congregate on a seamline. The few big ones we have caught were 100 percent random. The 16 pounder was caught in a fast shallow rapid over rocks. The second biggest one we caught was in a deep slow pool over sand. The truth is, we’re not really sure what they feed on. Sometimes we see them head and tailing like baby tarpon in some areas. We’d puzzle over them wondering if they were eating something off the surface with those funny human teeth.”

WHO: Your best bet is to visit Dhala or Samaki camps run by the African Waters team in Tanzania. africanwaters.net