Casa Msika 5kg Bass Club
The Frenzy was determined to get the shot. A pin tailed wider, cheeky as ever, perched on a mooring pole a scant few metres away. As usual I was interfering with advice trying to get the silhouette shot against the broody grey Chimoio sky. She inadvertently listened and got a great picture. Next thing all hell broke loose. She was crouched down right next to an irate crocodile who took great exception to our blabbering and fuss. Luckily it was a baby, barely a metre, and this all went down right next to a sign warning of crocodiles!
Welcome to Casa Msika.
Chimoio. Central Mozambique.
We had just come back from our first attempt at what is unbelievably a 5kg or bigger, large mouth bass.
First attempt.
And the best thing about it, was that we had no idea where we were. We were actually having a fine time celebrating Murray Dawson’s 63rd birthday with bird blogger Paul Cook. They are old mates and this visit worked in perfectly with our medium term travel plans of crossing Africa. And so the three of us slowly realised that we were at Msika, part of the famous bass fishing hole, Lake Chicamba.
Casa Mesika is on the way to Zimbabwe from Chimoio. It is a classic fishing and holiday resort on the edge of the water. The huge hydro electrically inspired dam was created in 1954 and powers the entire area and beyond. But more importantly. It’s full of huge large mouth bass. Huge. They have a Casa Msika 5kg Bass club!!! Check the pics!!!
And so, after some true ex pat style celebration, which lasted well into the evening, we awoke to this amazing spectacle. The Frenzy hustled a canoe in no time and after some frantic tackle work, we headed down to the waters edge. Actually a great slipway that a few years ago was well underwater. The water level of the lake has been dropped whilst the power guys maintain some turbines. They will return the water level to it’s normal state when they are done working. But for now the bass must be more concentrated.
Well that was my thinking as I rigged a few sticks with Mydo Luck Shots, one with a Mydo SS Tarpon Flappa spoon, and one with a Mydo Buck Shot, especially for big bass. This lure swims amazingly life like, it looks and acts just like a baby bass or tilapia – the prevailing food stuff in the area. Change the fly to target different species.
But as of this article, it hasn’t happened yet. The locals slate the high all round air and water temperature as the problem. Traditionally these big fish feed better in the real cold. But that is not an excuse, we are out there again shortly…
RIP Murray Dawson. Murray passed away the day after his 63rd birthday, peacefully at Msika. He will be buried in Chimoio today 3pm.