Largemouth yellowfish
Fish · Last reviewed 2026-08-10
A predatory South African yellowfish of the Orange-Vaal system, Near Threatened, and one of Africa's premier freshwater fly targets.
Largemouth yellowfish is the apex freshwater fly target of South Africa — a large, golden, predatory cyprinid endemic to the Orange–Vaal river system, hunting smaller fish in fast water and deep runs.
It is separated from the smallmouth yellowfish it shares those rivers with by exactly what the names suggest: a large, terminal, predatory mouth rather than the small subterminal grazing mouth of its relative. The two occupy different niches in the same water, which is why both exist.
It is Near Threatened, slow to mature, and heavily affected by water abstraction, pollution and siltation in a system under severe pressure. It is fished almost entirely on a release basis.
Identification
FishingHQ holds no photograph of this species whose identity and licensing it can vouch for, so it is not showing one. Misidentified fish photographs teach identification wrongly, and a picture with an unchecked caption would be worse than none. The identification points below are what to look at instead.
- Scientific name
- Labeobarbus kimberleyensis
- Family
- Cyprinidae
- Water
- Freshwater
- Conservation status
- Near Threatened
- Regions
- East & Southern Africa
- A large terminal mouth reaching back beneath the eye — the character separating it from smallmouth yellowfish.
- Golden-bronze flanks with large scales and a darker back.
- Streamlined predatory body form, more elongate than the smallmouth yellowfish.
- Two pairs of barbels at the mouth, and a deeply forked tail.
Size
- Typical
- 2–6 kg (4.4–13 lb)
- Large
- 8–15 kg (18–33 lb)
Exceptional: FishBase records a maximum of 82.5 cm and 22.2 kg
Lifecycle and reproduction
Slow-growing, late-maturing and long-lived, and endemic to a single river system. Those traits together make the species highly vulnerable to habitat degradation and to overharvest.
Migrates upstream to spawn over gravel and rocky runs in early summer, triggered by rising water and temperature. Barriers and abstraction interrupt those migrations directly.
Feeding and senses
Predatory, taking small fish and larger invertebrates — unusual among African cyprinids and the basis for its fly-fishing appeal.
Hunts by sight in clear and lightly coloured water, working fast runs and deep pools, and is most active in low light at either end of the day. In the turbid conditions that follow summer storms it feeds far less readily, which is a well-recognised limit on the fishing.
Through the year
Spawning migrations in early summer with rising flows; strong feeding through the warm months and reduced activity in cold winter water.
Distribution
Native range as recorded by FishBase for Labeobarbus kimberleyensis.
This is a biological range — where the species occurs, not a prediction that you will catch one. To browse the fishing geography FishingHQ holds, start at fishing places.
Why anglers care
South Africa's premier freshwater fly target, taken on large streamers and on lures in the Orange and Vaal systems, and the focus of a well-developed guiding and conservation-linked angling sector. Its significance is both sporting and conservational: yellowfish angling has funded and motivated substantial river monitoring and habitat work in the catchment.
Handling and returning
A Near Threatened endemic that should be treated as irreplaceable. Keep the fish in the water, use barbless hooks and a soft net, support horizontally, minimise air exposure and revive fully in current. Release is the norm.
Where to go next
Similar and related fish
What these connections rest on (1)
Scientific evidence — 1 connection
Supported by peer-reviewed research or fisheries science. The sources are listed and can be checked.
Smallmouth yellowfish
An identification comparison naming both binomials: Labeobarbus kimberleyensis and Labeobarbus aeneus.
- FishBase: a global information system on fishes — Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds. — FishBase Consortium (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Morphological and distributional data for Labeobarbus kimberleyensis and for Labeobarbus aeneus.States this directlyPassage read and verified
- The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — International Union for Conservation of Nature (Conservation authority)Relied on for: Separate assessments treating Labeobarbus kimberleyensis and Labeobarbus aeneus as distinct species.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
How it is caught
- SpinningLarge streamers and lures — south africa's premier freshwater fly target.
- Stillwater fly fishingLarge streamers and lures — south africa's premier freshwater fly target.
What these connections rest on (2)
Practitioner consensus — 2 connections
Widely and independently recommended by experienced anglers and specialist sources. This is real angling knowledge, not proof: controlled evidence for it is limited, and FishingHQ records it as convention rather than as a demonstrated effect.
Spinning
A practitioner claim about how Labeobarbus kimberleyensis is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.
- General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for largemouth yellowfish.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for largemouth yellowfish and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Stillwater fly fishing
A practitioner claim about how Labeobarbus kimberleyensis is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.
- General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for largemouth yellowfish.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for largemouth yellowfish and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Gear for this fish
What these connections rest on (1)
Practitioner consensus — 1 connection
Widely and independently recommended by experienced anglers and specialist sources. This is real angling knowledge, not proof: controlled evidence for it is limited, and FishingHQ records it as convention rather than as a demonstrated effect.
Streamers
A practitioner claim about tackle commonly used for Labeobarbus kimberleyensis.
- General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of this presentation for largemouth yellowfish.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- Angling Times — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of comparable presentations for the species group.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Where it lives
What these connections rest on (1)
Scientific evidence — 1 connection
Supported by peer-reviewed research or fisheries science. The sources are listed and can be checked.
Lowland rivers
A habitat association for Labeobarbus kimberleyensis taken from the environment and distribution data on its FishBase summary.
- FishBase: a global information system on fishes — Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds. — FishBase Consortium (Scientific institute)Relied on for: The environment, depth range and habitat description recorded for Labeobarbus kimberleyensis.States this directlyPassage read and verified
Where you will find it
What these connections rest on (1)
Scientific evidence — 1 connection
Supported by peer-reviewed research or fisheries science. The sources are listed and can be checked.
South Africa
A distribution association between an animal and a described water body, which is what the `inhabits` predicate is for — the kind of water rather than a named mark.
- FishBase: a global information system on fishes — Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds. — FishBase Consortium (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Distribution, habitat association and depth range recorded for the species, including its occurrence in the water body concerned.States this directlyPassage read and verified
- The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — International Union for Conservation of Nature (Conservation authority)Relied on for: Assessment and range account for the species, including the systems and coasts it occupies.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Sources for this page
- FishBase: a global information system on fishes — Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds. — FishBase Consortium (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Family, maximum size, depth and environment, distribution and the IUCN assessment for Labeobarbus kimberleyensis.States this directlyPassage read and verified
- The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — International Union for Conservation of Nature (Conservation authority)Relied on for: The Near Threatened assessment for Labeobarbus kimberleyensis, assessed 20 December 2016.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
How FishingHQ labels evidence is explained in the evidence policy.