• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

Tigerfish, giant (Hydrocynus goliath) (Boulenger, 1898) CHARACIDAE FAMILY; also called goliath tigerfish The giant tigerfish is restricted to the Congo River sys- tem, Lualaba River, Lake Upemba and Lake Tanganyika. It is overall silvery in color with no conspicuous stripes. A few broad stripes may show up under the scales after death. It has fourteen or more teeth in the upper jaw and very short gill rakers, less than one third the length of the gill filaments. The largest giant tigerfish may exceed 110 lbs (50 kg) but stories of fish weighing up to 132 lb (60 kg) have yet to be authen- ticated. Its ferocious appearance gives ample indication of its predatory habits. This strong fighter is one of the great freshwater game fish species. It jumps repeatedly when hooked, will take almost any kind of bait including arti- ficial, and is powerful even when taken on heavy tack- le. A wire leader is essential due to the sharp teeth. 48 - 2010 World Record Game Fishes ongo. A place on our planet that we don’t know too much about even in the 21st century. A country with a horrific past and an unclear future. A country with immense natural wealth C that is unparalleled, even in Africa. An expedition into this African country is a big challenge for experienced explorers. But in the eyes of all others, such an expedition is clear suicide. But sometimes you don’t have a choice. Especially when you hunger for a fish that you cannot catch anywhere else in the world. Join Jakub Vágner on an adventurous expedition into the Congo River Basin. For that’s the home of one of the strongest and most mysterious fish of our planet - the Goliath Tigerfish. Expedition Africa: To the Congo I planned the expedition to Africa for almost three years. I gathered all available information and I tried to put together an elaborate puzzle from slivers of informa- tion, which would finally lead me all the way to the tigerfish I’ve been dream- ing about. But there wasn’t too much trustworthy information, and most of the sources, of course, tried to talk me out of my expedition to Congo. In the end, there was no other hope but to turn to the Congolese Embassy. But when I told them that I wanted to travel to Congo in order to go fishing, they obviously thought I was completely crazy. They turned me away by saying that they certainly wouldn’t be responsible for some crazy fisherman. The author, Jakub Vágner, holds up an estimated 66 lb (30 kg) goliath tigerfish. The catch helped fulfill part of a 23 species catch-quest that Vágner embarked on in late 2007. But by no means did I want to After long hours of flight give up on my dream and so I we finally find ourselves over investigated other possibilities of the African continent and we at least partially safe travelling in are getting close to our desti- Congo. In the end I used the only nation - Kinshasa. There is available contact person, which not a single cloud in the sky was the experienced immigrant and so Africa is like in the Michael, a mountain gorillas palm of our hand. The com- guide. It was the only option, and fort in the airplane is the last truth be told it was safer than comfort we’ll have for a long undertaking the journey on my time, so we try to get as much own. Subsequently I selected my out of it as possible. After get- most loyal cameraman, clarified ting off the airplane, the the goal as well as the possible African reality hits us imme- risks for him, and after a couple diately. A drunken customs minutes of conversation it was officer comes to us and leads clear that we would be flying to us somewhere into a base- Africa together. The time was set ment. He checks the visas for September which is the last and asks for a 500 dollar month before the rains come. bribe as if it went without It’s the end of August and, saying. Calmly, and with together with my cameraman needed humbleness, we try to Jirka, we are returning from resist, so two other colleagues in uni- filming in Amazonia. We have forms arrive and explain that our just completed a three-week visas have expired and that in a expedition for one of the world’s couple of hours they’ll put us on largest freshwater fish - the an airplane back to Europe. But the Arapaima gigas. We managed to visas have not expired, at least that’s capture several arapaimas what we see in the passports in black weighing over 220 lb (100 and white. We are not surprised, how- kg), so we are returning ever, as bribes are completely com- home full of enthu- monplace. After another hour of negoti- siasm. But the ations, we decrease the amount in half words “we and we are led in front of the airport. are returning Now we are past the point of no return home” are too and we see the horrific reality of strong. The air- Congo. We’ve seen poverty and des- plane lands at the titution in India, Asia, as well as airport in Prague and other African countries, but we’ve we have 14 hours to never seen anything like this. We greet our family and are surrounded by malnourished friends and pack every- children, many of whom have thing we need. missing limbs, and people in a Everything is hectic. We pitiful state are everywhere. barely warm up at home We make our way through the and we’re already stand- crowd, have a hard time ing at the check-in counter finding our baggage, but once again. Our families fortunately Michael and say goodbye with tears in the local army take us their eyes. We’ve done all of under their wings at this many times before, but this point. They this time it’s different. In the have the task of eyes of our family and friends escorting us to our we can really see fear and hope- hotel. lessness. They bid their farewells Machine gun on the left, as if for the last time. We are machine gun on the right — heading to places where we will that’s approximately what not have any assistance in case of a my attempts to look out the crisis. window during our drive 50 - 2010 World Record Game Fishes look like. After a half an hour we that today is completely demolished. We traveled several more long hours reached our hotel which is reminiscent On the same afternoon, after a and twilight began to set. Our boat was of a jail, not only from the outside, but three-hour drive, we finally found our- equipped with a 40HP engine that is unfortunately from the inside as well. selves on the bank of the mighty cur- definitely not one of the newest ones, But the good news is that I saw the rent of the Congo River. We were and we didn’t even want to begin think- face of my friend Simon behind the astounded. We’ve made films in the ing about what would happen if it massive iron bars. He arrived a couple basins of other huge rivers, but the stopped working. Every few moments hours earlier from England and was Congo has something mysterious. The large lumps of grass get tangled in the the third member of our expedition. river is more than three kilometers engine’s propeller, and after another Morning Kinshasa greeted us with wide and up to 1500 ft (500 meters) hour we were drifting through pitch the classic hustle and bustle of a large deep in places. The current creates black darkness. There was no flashlight city. We took in the new atmosphere, massive whirlpools and carries with it on the boat and so our guides looked the new scents, and together with our that which we were so afraid of — into the darkness just as unknowingly as bodyguards and Kally, an English giant fields of water vegetation, main- we did. They obviously didn’t know teacher, we set out on an exploration ly water hyacinth. This vegetation was exactly where they were, which was of the hotel’s surroundings. It’s inter- introduced into the Congo during the truly an unpleasant feeling, especially in esting to watch the people’s reactions. colonization era and it found ideal con- a country and on a river like this one. So Some were completely indifferent to ditions here. Kally calmed us down; we proceeded along the bank at the our presence, others looked at us as a apparently during the period of rain speed of a snail, and only at daybreak possible source of money, but there this is almost a continuous carpet did we make it to our destination. We were many people that smiled and where you can jump from one cluster entered a beautiful black river which waved at us. As was explained to us, to another. But what is a little for would become our harbor for the next these people still fondly remember somebody else is a way too much for two weeks. Here we fell asleep on the that the Europeans built schools, hos- us. For now, we absolutely cannot twenty-meter boat and dreamed of the pitals, and a different infrastructure imagine fishing in these conditions. toothy beasts of the Congo River.

Load more

  11

Copy Link