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Western Cape Sharp Tooth Catfish

By Brett Harris

Catfish, or as we call them "Barbel", have always been top of the list. My teenage years were far from wasted with every available moment spent in pursuit of these elongated, flat headed fish. Surprisingly Catfish do not occur naturally in the Western Cape, they owe their introduction to a Nature Conservation experiment gone wrong. Back in the early 1970's a dam containing research stock was swept away during heavy winter rains. This signaled the beginning a whole new fishing era for the Western Cape.   

Over the next twenty years the Catfish, a extremely hardy fish, managed to find themselves into almost every waterway in and around the Cape. To some, the thought and concept of 'Killer' Catfish spelled calamity to indigenous species. Unlike the preset real threats caused by various Trout and Black Bass Species, the Catfish threat has never materialised. The result being that today, 2003, sizable Catfish are being caught by all facets of freshwater fishing in the Western Cape. Almost totally ignored the power of these potential giants has only recently been appreciated.

Anglers who have been exposed to Catfish are constantly perfecting new methods to entice the deceptively intelligent  Cats. For example, for many years it was thought that Catfish were primarily scavenger feeders. It was thought a lucky catch when the odd fish was caught on ill intended live bait or artificial lures. Catfish were regarded opportunistic, lethargic, primitive and most certainly lacking the intelligence of a primary pelagic fish. After numerous trips to the Orange River, no fishing party ever returned with any sizable catch. The hope of setting spark to local and more importantly international fishermen  faded throughout the Eighties and Nineties.

With South Africa's re-inclusion into the international scene it was not long before new fishing methods and techniques found their way to South African fishermen. It was only after a trip to the Ebro River, Spain, that I realised the potential of Cat fishing. The similarities between the Wells and Sharp tooth Catfish were amazing! The techniques were brought back to South Africa, tried and tested, but most importantly they have proven to work.

The Western Cape Catfish is still very early days, but as the fish find their way into the Provinces larger Lakes the average sizes will increase. The Provincial record on light tackle (4Lbs) stands at 20Lbs, caught by myself 15 years ago. I have caught bigger fish since, but have not bothered to register the catch. Reports of huge catfish seen swimming past Bass boats on Lake Thweewaterskloof provide me with a solid reassurance that maybe the day has come that we no longer need to drive the 900Km to reach the Orange River, home of South Africa's BIG CATS!

A minimum 8 Hour session is recommended to secure that Trophy catch

Please contact me for more information.

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