Has Anyone Here Ever Hunted Lake Cahora Bassa?

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

I'm headed there this August during the croc rut. Should be interesting. I've been told its a no joke lake. 14 foot crocs are common and you will have a respectable chance at a 16 footer during the rut.

.375 H&H 300 Swift AFrames will be the medicine. Glassing with a pair of Swaro 15x56s. Any advice or stories would be great.

Thanks.

 

[DaveL]

Cabora is a great place for a croc hunt. Be warned though, there might not be much else to hunt (depending on your concession obviously) and you will see plenty of fishermen. Who are you hunting through? 14-15ft is attainable.16ft are not common and if you get one consider yourself very very lucky indeed. Any 'flattie' over 13ft is a trophy.
Your calibre and bullet selection are good. I would go so far as to say take a bog pod 'deathgrip' with you and study the heck out of shot placement. It's a shot that requires precision!

 

[Quest#1]

I will be on the SW side of the lake for 3 weeks in August. Hoping for a monster croc myself.

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

Cabora is a great place for a croc hunt. Be warned though, there might not be much else to hunt (depending on your concession obviously) and you will see plenty of fishermen. Who are you hunting through? 14-15ft is attainable.16ft are not common and if you get one consider yourself very very lucky indeed. Any 'flattie' over 13ft is a trophy.
Your calibre and bullet selection are good. I would go so far as to say take a bog pod 'deathgrip' with you and study the heck out of shot placement. It's a shot that requires precision!

DaveL thank you for your kind words and advice. I killed a nice 11 footer last year in Zambia. Its a nice trophy but obviously not what I was really looking for. It was a next to last day thing. The guy who came in behind me on that concession came to hunt buffalo. They spotted a giant 14 foot 3inch beast just messing around down by the river and he took it.

I'm hunting with Cabassa Safaris. The behind the smile neck shot works like a charm. I took my lizard at 93 yards.

 

[chase0109]

You will do quite well looking for a big croc on the Cahora Bassa.

I took a 15‘4“ croc in October 2023 in the same general area you’ll be hunting. You can’t throw a rock without hitting a 12 footer. 14 footers are easy enough to find in that area. Over 15 are harder to come by but possible. We saw 2- 15’ in 2 days. Over 16 I would consider yourself extremely fortunate!

A bog pod would be nice if you’re forced to shoot Sitting or standing. For precision I prefer a prone shot. I took my croc at just over 90 yards and did it prone. An easy cheap tip. If you take a hunting pack with you, throw a pillow in it in the morning and use that as your front rest. You can use your neck pillow from the flight as a rear rest.

Best of luck and I hope have a fantastic hunt!