rinehart0050
AH legend
Vundu on the Ume River... or how I learned that fishing is easy!
We'd mentioned to Dalton that we were interested in trying our hand at some fishing, if time allowed. On one of the days we were out looking for buffalo, York and some of the other guys went out to the Red Cliffs area (where we got our hippo) for a relaxing day of fishing. We still had the last bits of the bait bucket available, so we decided to use the last of it to try and lure in some of the local catfish, known as Vundu.
While we were out hunting, York and the guys tried their luck at fishing, to no avail. Dalton timed our day in such a way, that we approached the Red Cliffs within an hour of sunset, perfect time for fishing.
Now, I won't lie. I'm not a fisherman. Just not something I've ever really gotten into. I've heard its time consuming and requires great patience. Reports of the lack of success at Red Cliffs suggested these statements to be the case.
As we drove down towards the water, we could see some of the other trucks right at the spot where we'd pulled the hippo up a few days prior.
We pulled up just as one of the fishing lines began to jump a little bit! In a flash, York jumped over to the fishing pole and began to work on reeling the fish in. He waved me over and passed the pole to me!
Now, as I said, I'm no fisherman and really had no idea what I was doing. York talked me through it and I fought with the fish for a while...
After a while, I was starting to get tired... the fish seemed anything but tired! I called to my wife and she took over. After fighting with the fish for a while, she managed to pull him to shore! Jeez- these vundu catfish are way bigger than I was expecting!!
I'm glad I handed off the fishing pole when I did, as it allowed my wife and I to share in the catch!
Now, this experience may have spoiled us a bit... I hear its not normal to drive up and have a fish on the line within 30 seconds of arriving! In fact, no other vundu took the bait that afternoon.... but something else did!
After taking a few pictures with the vundu, we released him back into the Ume river...
...
...
After our initial success, the fishing lines remained slack in the water, while we enjoyed some G&Ts and tossed scraps of meat towards the crocs swimming nearby. Initially, they showed little interest, but this changed as the sun began to set behind us. Andy pulled out his very nice camera and captured some great photos of the crocs taking the bait:
The interesting thing with crocs is that when they initially grab the bait, they submerge. However, a second or two later, they arise from the water, cant their head back, and gulp the bait down!
As the sun continued to set and dusk approached, so too did additional crocs! In pretty short order, we had a whole host of crocodile coasting ever closer towards shore...
At one point, the crocs were probably within 15 feet of shore! Andy was snapping some great pictures, but it was also becoming clear that the approach of darkness was emboldening the crocodiles- something not to be trifled with!
On that note, we returned to camp where dinner and drinks awaited us! Another exceptional day in the Omay!
More to come soon...
We'd mentioned to Dalton that we were interested in trying our hand at some fishing, if time allowed. On one of the days we were out looking for buffalo, York and some of the other guys went out to the Red Cliffs area (where we got our hippo) for a relaxing day of fishing. We still had the last bits of the bait bucket available, so we decided to use the last of it to try and lure in some of the local catfish, known as Vundu.
While we were out hunting, York and the guys tried their luck at fishing, to no avail. Dalton timed our day in such a way, that we approached the Red Cliffs within an hour of sunset, perfect time for fishing.
Now, I won't lie. I'm not a fisherman. Just not something I've ever really gotten into. I've heard its time consuming and requires great patience. Reports of the lack of success at Red Cliffs suggested these statements to be the case.
As we drove down towards the water, we could see some of the other trucks right at the spot where we'd pulled the hippo up a few days prior.
We pulled up just as one of the fishing lines began to jump a little bit! In a flash, York jumped over to the fishing pole and began to work on reeling the fish in. He waved me over and passed the pole to me!
Now, as I said, I'm no fisherman and really had no idea what I was doing. York talked me through it and I fought with the fish for a while...
After a while, I was starting to get tired... the fish seemed anything but tired! I called to my wife and she took over. After fighting with the fish for a while, she managed to pull him to shore! Jeez- these vundu catfish are way bigger than I was expecting!!
I'm glad I handed off the fishing pole when I did, as it allowed my wife and I to share in the catch!
Now, this experience may have spoiled us a bit... I hear its not normal to drive up and have a fish on the line within 30 seconds of arriving! In fact, no other vundu took the bait that afternoon.... but something else did!
After taking a few pictures with the vundu, we released him back into the Ume river...
...
After our initial success, the fishing lines remained slack in the water, while we enjoyed some G&Ts and tossed scraps of meat towards the crocs swimming nearby. Initially, they showed little interest, but this changed as the sun began to set behind us. Andy pulled out his very nice camera and captured some great photos of the crocs taking the bait:
The interesting thing with crocs is that when they initially grab the bait, they submerge. However, a second or two later, they arise from the water, cant their head back, and gulp the bait down!
As the sun continued to set and dusk approached, so too did additional crocs! In pretty short order, we had a whole host of crocodile coasting ever closer towards shore...
At one point, the crocs were probably within 15 feet of shore! Andy was snapping some great pictures, but it was also becoming clear that the approach of darkness was emboldening the crocodiles- something not to be trifled with!
On that note, we returned to camp where dinner and drinks awaited us! Another exceptional day in the Omay!
More to come soon...
