Inland sport fishing is rapidly becoming a popular leisure activity among visitors to Tanzania. Although fishing is not permitted in national parks and game reserves, Tanzania’s fresh water rivers and lakes ? occupying over 6 per cent of the country’s total area- provide visitors with numerous rewarding fishing opportunities.
The rivers and lakes in Tanzania are inhabited by plenty of fish during the rainy season, making the period after the short and long rains the most suitable for taking a sports fishing safari. The long rains fall in April and May, while the short rains come between November and December. The Rufiji River, Mwanza, Musoma, and Lake Tanganyika are some of the best fishing spots in Tanzania.
For the sports fishing safari enthusiast looking for the best fishing experience in Tanzania, there are a number of Tanzania tour and safari companies that organize fishing safaris. At the Lake Victoria ports of Mwanza and Musoma, you can also find friendly boatmen who will easily let you go with them on their daily fishing trips. Lake Victoria is Africa’s largest lake and hosts diverse tropical freshwater fish species that are often exported to aquariums the world over.
Mwanza, a port town on the Southern part of lake Victoria, is one of the popular Tanzania travel destinations for a fishing safari. At Mwanza port, you can catch huge Nile Perch and Tilapia. This port city is one of the best places to get started with inland sport fishing in Tanzania. Mwanza is the cultural centre of Tanzania’s largest ethnic group, the Sukuma.
Musoma, on the other hand, sits on the eastern edge of Lake Victoria near the Kenyan border and has plenty of Nile Perch – locally known as Sangara or Chengu. The port has plenty of boats to take visitors across the lake. Lake Victoria is the largest tropical lake in the world and second largest freshwater lake in terms of surface area. The lake’s shoreline is 3440 km and has more than 3000 islands many of which are inhabited.
Lake Tanganyika, the second largest freshwater lake in the world by volume after Lake Baikal, is also a popular fishing spot in Tanzania. The lake hosts over 350 fish species including the Nile Perch and the Goliath Tiger Fish. Lake Tanganyika stretches across Tanzania, Burundi, DRC, and Zambia, with Tanzania having the largest share. Among the over 2000 plant and animal species found in Lake Tanganyika, about 600 are unique and found nowhere else in the world.
The largest river in Tanzania, Rufiji River, provides opportunity for both salty water and freshwater fishing. The 21 lakes in the Rufiji floodplain area, plus the hundreds of ponds and creeks are the grounds for freshwater fishing. During the annual floods, these lakes and creeks fill up and yield good fish catches. Saltwater fishing takes place at the sandbanks off the Rufiji Delta near the coast, where good conditions exist for prawn fishing.
Fly fishing in Tanzania’s rivers and streams is also becoming a favorite activity for visitors to Tanzania.
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