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ANGOLA - A LAND OF UNEXPLORED ANGLING POTENTIALS


SOUTH ANGOLA - FLAMINGO LODGE 2001


FLAMINGO LODGE 70km South of Namib, Angola, is surrounded by dunes and rock outcrops, and the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Flamingo Lodge is owned by Rico Sako (a former South African now permanently resident in Angola)

Upon arriving in Windheok we opted to drive to Walvis Bay. This enabled us to experience some of the most amazing desert landscapes to be found. The flat savanah land, high mountains to the rolling dunes of the Namib desert.


To break our journey, we spent one night at the Sossusvlei Lodge, at the edge of Namib desert.
Flying from Walvis Bay International to Namib in Angola, and then onward to Flamingo Lodge by 4x4. The low level flight with Wings over Africa in a Cesna 210, takes you along a coastal route of unimaginable magnitude and spectacular scenery.
The thundering surf of the breaking rollers foaming onto the beach , high dunes of the Skeleton Coast, flocks of vibrating pink Flamingos feeding in the lagoons, seals and cormorants all diving and darting after bait fish shoaling just yards from the hot sands of the desert. Hammerhead Sharks cruising the shallows of the shore line in Tigres Bay, turtles heading to the shore to lay their eggs and dolphins leaping.
The boarder between Namibia and Angola is the Kunene River a small oasis of lush green vegetation in the arid desert. Seeing Crocodiles swimming and herds of Oryx on the islands gives you some idea of the diversity of the wild life in this region. At the Kunene River there is another Lodge and excellent fishing at the river mouth and shore line for large Kob (80kg+).


Next stop the small airport just south of Namib, passing through immigration was no problem. Our passports were returned to us on our leaving Angola.

On landing we were introduced to Eddie and driven via 4x4 Land Cruiser, some 70km south over high sided sand dunes and rocky outcrops or the dry river bed of the Flamingo River. Shortly you round a headland and catch first sight of the Lodge, our home for the next 4 days. We had the bungalow in the far right of the picture above, and woke every morning to the sound of the gentle surf, wondering whether it would be a day afloat or ashore.

All the Lodge bungalows have hot and cold running water, shower and toilet facilities and sleep 4 people. We had a bungalow to ourselves, and there was more than enough room for 4 anglers. The Lodge has 240 volt electricity via a generator, and this provides all light in the evenings. The out of the way nature of the Lodge doesn't mean that it is without facilities; the kitchen area is a marvel with fridges, freezer, gas cookers and an informal dining room; all in the communal bungalow - complete with a bar.



Unpack, change and an hour later you are fishing. Beach fishing species inlcude Kob - this is Jeri fighting a good Kob in the surf. Garrick, Blue Fish and various sharks, including large Copper Sharks, (Bronzies to the locals) which can go in excess of 300lb. Anglers are known to catch up to 8 a day of these powerful masters of the ocean.

Jaco Visser with 38lb Kob

Jeri Drake with Blue Fish


Boat fishing is in its infancy and we trolled from a 18ft rhib just beyond the breakers, or you can anchor and fish with baits. The sport is hectic with Blue fish,

Blacktail,


Garrick and Kob to name but just a few. Anchor for sharks and you are now in for some serious arm bending experience.


Sue with Dusky Grouper


Flamingo Lodge is surrounded by a high sandstone spit which forms a sheltered bay of warm sea. The lodge provides an ideal base for exploring the areas both north and south, and is accessed by 4x4 Toyota Landcruisers driven across dunes, dried river beds and the beach. The fishing zone from the shore is basically where the desert meets the Atlantic Ocean, and the general area of operations is 25 miles in either direction. Shore fishing marks were determined by water colour and presence of huge bait shoals of large Mullet. Our guide and Lodge Manager during our stay was Eddie, we never did get his surname; and he excelled in both these capacities.

The shoreline provides ready access to a wide range of species which are sought with either static baits or lures, they are so close that fly fishing from the shore is a very viable proposition. The Lodge provides all shore and boat angling tackle, though you would have to bring your own fly fishing tackle and lures. For dedicated shore anglers we would suggest some practice before your trip with long rods (14ft) and reels in the 'low' position, as this is the type of tackle provided. For those venturing to the shore that cannot cast well (like us), Eddie would cast for you - most embarrassing.

Jaco Visser fighting Kob
Jeri with small Kob
The local landmark to 'Kob country'


For the more dedicated boat angler the biggest problem is getting away from the 'back line'! Such is the abundance of species and fish, that this is a very real problem. The Lodge has three boats and in settled periods the 22ft catamaran is kept on a mooring in the bay in front of the Lodge, accessed by the smaller rhib launched through the surf. During our stay the weather was not quite as settled, and we used the larger rhib (18ft) for our trip along the 'back line'. The larger rhib is also used for the fly fishing folk going afloat, wishing better access to the predators in the 'back line', like Blue Fish and Garrick. The potential of the offshore waters is barely scratched, and we would certainly recommend anybody interested in exploratory angling to take this opportunity. We will be returning to sample some of the blue water fishing off Flamingo Lodge.

During our stay we were offered by Rico Sako a trip out north of Namib, and this involved the rhib being towed along the dry river bed and main road (tarmac) some 60 miles to his house in the town. Following breakfast we launched in the bay in which the town is situated and headed north along a coastline that hasn't seen any angling for 30 years. The small amount of artisanal fishing will never make an impact on the vast schools of fish that we found during our short trip that day. We were now heading into almost totally virgin waters for the salt water sea angler. Crystal clear waters so alive and unexploited that we were almost at a loss of what to try first. Rico suggested that a suitable starting point would be to rig with large Rapalas and take it from there - he must have had inside information, as not 5 minutes after we started trolling Sue was into the first of very many fish that day. We had barely travelled 20 minutes up this rugged coastline, just 200 yards from the cliffs and we had sampled 5 different species from large 20lb Dusky Perch to 10lb Blue Fish.



Rico followed the shoreline for some 14 miles north the landscape was replaced by high sided canyons leading to beaches and coves of golden sand, and high rocky outcrops protruding over virgin waters. Here we started to experiment a little, trolling 6" and 8" rapalas, (deep running), 4" Halkos (mid water) and 5" Shatani lures (surface running) we caught some 14 different species in 4 hours. During this brief half day afloat we had over 45 fish, and most were into double figures; all within 600 yards of the shore! And that was under conditions that our hosts declared to being poor!!!

Large quantities of bait fish, Mullet could be seen shoaling along the surf line and rolling in the backs of the breakers, seeing these from the boat is an amazing site, especially as some of the shoals probably numbered 5,000 fish. The quantity of bait fish and other fish species in the area is due to the nutrient rich waters coming up from the south, which are cool, meeting the warmer tropical waters off Angola. At one location, the term 'Wreck fishing' took on a whole new meaning! The wreck on the beach coincided with small ribbon of reef and another huge concentration of Mullet. This particular mark saw all three rods keel over, as Blue Fish virtually jumped in the boat, and it was here that we caught our Puffer Fish. On rounding the next headland further schools of Mullet were being shadowed by Atlantic Bonito, in numbers that caused problems with them being foul hooked in the tail. Fighting these small but feisty Tunas when hooked in the tail certainly led to some entertaining angling.



Lunch was to be on a secluded golden sanded bay, after having beached the rhib, surrounded by huge overhanging canyon cliffs. Just on arrival in the bay, and trolling along the backline, Sue's lure started to pop out of the water; symptomatic of weed on the hook. This was followed by a very acrobatic strike from a Garrick (Leerfish). To say that the fish was strong would be an understatement! This species of surf dweller certainly could fight. 20 minutes later the 18lb beast was in the boat, and destined for the barbeque. During this stop over the shore anglers of our crew (Jaco and Rico) tried their hand at spinning for Garrick. Lunch had, we re-launched the rhib to take us back down the coast to the retrieve point. It was an experience to be believed. Boat fishing at the present time in Angola is a completely hands-on experience, you all help to launch the rhib through the surf counting the incoming swell to ensure a smooth take off.

A quick spin around the most northern headland of our trip and Jaco hooked into a small Amberjack, and following the troll back across the bay, Kob and Pargo were hooked and landed. The majority of the fish were kept, as they are prime supplement to the local diet; the fish were never wasted.





The winds increase in the afternoons in Angola and this reduces the amount of time on the water. The rhib was retrieved in a much larger bay and was then towed through the rocky canyons and gorges back to Namib. This was a driving experience as at times the road was only as wide as the Land Cruiser and trailer, which almost sheer drops on one side and the high canyon walls on the other, through tight and narrow twists and turns before reaching the main tarmac road.


Night fishing is also prolific providing Guitar Sharks - Jaco Visser with his night caught Sand Shark from the beach. At Flamingo Lodge, once the sun sets and you fish just yards from your bunaglow the Land Cruiser head lights are all you need to be able to play your fish through the surf, and for the crew to follow you should you hook up to a big one.

Serious boat fishing had not really taken place at Flamingo Lodge, although they did have 22ft ski boat available. There is the potential offshore of large Yellow Fin Tuna, Sailfish and possibly Marlin together with Broadbill Swordfish. A whole new era of sea angling is awaiting to be opened.

There has been no trouble in Angola since 1978 and we found that there is no crime rate. In the 5 days that we stayed at Flamingo Lodge we only saw one gun, which was being carried by a local policeman walking along the beach from Tombua to Namib (some 130km) to collect water!

It is advisable to take tropical diseases measures and the best times to go to Angola are between October and March, so the next time you want to spend Christmas on the beach catching, try Angola, and have one of the best angling experiences of a life time.

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