14
MOZAMBIQUE - FISHING IN PARADISE
| Marlin Lodge, Benguerra Island |  |
'How would you like a little bit of paradise with some good fishing as well?'
- that was a question raised while sitting around a 'braai' in Angola after a
busy
day inshore trolling.'
On arrival back in the UK from Angola and Namibia, we received an email outlining facilities,
prices, details and fishing available at Marlin Lodge on Benguerra Island. They were absolutely
eye opening, and the fishing looked to be absolutely stupendous!
Where is Benguerra? - Mozambique, in fact it is part of a National Marine Park formed by the
geography of the Barazuto Archipelago, situated in the Mozambique Channel, just 500 miles
from Madagascar. Accessed via small plane from Johannesburg, 2 hours flying to land at Vilanculos
airport, just a short boat ride from the islands.
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The archipelago islands are basically
sandy islands that lie in a figure of
'7' configuration. With Santa Catalina
the smallest lying on the tip of the '7',
then Barazuto (the largest), Benguerra
(second largest) and Maragugue islands lying
in a line down the near vertical leg of the '7'.
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The area between the mainland and the islands is a vast area of coral sand flats, which provide
the home for a very endangered species of marine mammal - the Dudong, of Indo-Pacific Manatee.
The flats are also of great potential interest to game anglers as they are also the home
of huge shoals of Bonefish and another local species 'Springer'. It will perhaps be the
Bonefish that turn this archipelago into a world renown fishery in the future, as they grow
to above 22lbs - well above current IGFA records. Mind the pursuit of these fish will not be
with traditional flyfishers wading in the tropically warm waters, as this 'flats' area is subject
to a 5 metre tidal range!
 | Outside the islands lies a series of reefs that effectively
provide the protection to the islands, and act as a barrier to the biggest of seas.
The islands are basically the picture postcard idyll, soft white sands fringed with
palm trees coming up off beautifully clean clear waters. The larger islands all have
massive sand dunes on the 'ocean side, with the inland area being a shallow series of
valleys and small hills. The real surprise once you get to the top of the rise of the beaches,
is that this inland area is fully vegetated. Cashew trees, Sisal plants and a host of other
indigenous plants vie for space to grow, produce fruit and provide habitat for a
multitude of wildlife.
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Not really large animals are found on the islands, apart
from the few crocodiles in the fresh water lakes on
Barazuto; mainly red squirrels and a few feral cats. The
biggest wildlife group is represented by the birds, hundreds of varieties from
Fish Eagles and Osprey down to the tiny metallic coloured Sunbirds, all living a
very rich life on the abundant fruits and flowers.
The lodges have been on the islands for about 10 years, and have all been built to work
in close harmony with the natural surroundings of the islands, with just 4 lodges available
at this time, with 2 each on Barazuto and Benguerra islands. We have only seen photos and talked
to visitors to the other lodges, as our own trip centred on Marlin Lodge. The lodges basically consist
of large central bungalows and deck areas raised off the island floor, with elevated walkways leading
out to the smaller individual guest bungalows. All the structures are built on substantial stilts, as are
the walkways; not to impact on the natural surroundings. The walkways also act as the support routes for water,
electricity and drainage for the bungalows.
All the buildings are made of local hardwood logs, that have just been stripped of bark and polished,
and infill walls are built of reeds, bamboo or sisal. The roofs are thatched with local reeds and sisal
or palm fronds, which is all in keeping with local buildings that the native people of the islands have
been building for centuries. The bungalows are fitted out to a very high standard, beds with mosquito nets,
separate bathroom with flush toilet, shower and wash hand basin. Each bungalow also has its own access
down onto the beach, although the individual private sun decks allow the best view over the flats to the
mainland. Privacy was a strong feature in setting the layout of the bungalows, and they have certainly succeeded.
Meals and facilities all centre around the main lodge building, with separate buildings for fishing
and diving equipment storage. The fishing centre would actually put a lot of UK tackle shops to
shame, such is the standard of equipment available to the visiting angler. The dining area, bar and
reception form the nucleus of the main building, with a lower decked area to the swimming pool, all
shaded by mature Coconut palms.
Apart from the obvious attraction of fishing at the lodge, they also boast of first class diving
(scuba and snorkel), water skiing and picnic visits to some of the uninhabited islands, especially
Pansy island, which has some unique shells, some only found on Pansy island. Trips and boat facilities
are booked for the following day, each evening with the Watersports Manager - Derek Van Devander, though
we had a standard booking for Marlin 1. Marlin 1 & 2 are their main smaller angling boats, with 'Tag & Brag'
their 33' Lee Cat as the full game boat. Other craft are used for diving and island tours, though the last
boat that is in frequent use is an authentic Dhow, used for 'sundowner cruises'.
'Sundowners' are a uniquely southern Africa custom, of having ended the day's efforts, and settling
down to a long cool drink on the veranda to watch the sun go down. It was this time each evening,
that all the guests congregated at the bar for drinks, booking the next day's activities and waiting
for the most unusual 'dinner bell'. The chefs and some of the kitchen staff (all indigenous islanders),
took it in turns to entertain the guests with 10 minutes of local music. We did ask whether they had employed
musicians and trained them to cook - such was the very high standard of their musical skills. Their cooking
skills though surpassed their musical talents, every night a menu of foods that would not be out of place in
any very high class European restaurant, except for the distinctive blend of African and Portuguese influence
on the meals. Fresh sea foods always appeared, and from our own exploits afloat, we tasted superb freshly
cooked King Mackerel.
To say that the resort offered a 5 star service in all aspects, is perhaps not doing the lodge
justice. The service was total, unobtrusive and very well carried out; all in an atmosphere of relaxed calm.
Our first sight of the islands from the landing aircraft stirred the already excited angling tendencies
in us, and we just couldn't wait to get out of the plane. We were met by one of the lodge staff, escorted
through customs and immigration, and out to an air conditioned mini bus for the very short drive down to
the town quay. Here we got our first sight of Marlin 1, for the brief high speed ride across the flats to
the beach at the lodge. Met on the beach by Colette Adams (Hospitality Manager) with cool towels and fruit cocktails,
followed by the quickest registration we have ever experienced; a brief tour of the facilities, timings of meals
and shown to our bungalow. Lunch and a quiet afternoon saw us wandering along the beach waiting to get afloat again.
The following morning we had elected for the early start, on the boat by 6.00am, and we were
introduce to Ginela and Jon, our skipper and ghillie for the week. These were both islanders, and
Ginela had been a local fisherman before starting his training as a skipper 8 years previous. His
knowledge of local waters, their changing status with the tide, their fishability was second to none,
and our praise for our success during our visit is mostly due to his supreme skills.
25 minutes after leaving the beach, we were fishing; well putting up all our rods, we had elected to take
our own - but needn't have bothered. The lodge has excellent fishing tackle, and obviously their range of
lures is ideally matched to what works locally. We were glad however that we had take a couple of 12lb class
sets, as the larger species that we had hoped for were not as prevalent as hoped. Once set up, we trolled
north with the intention of Sailfish, as the lodge claims to have an abundance during July and August; heading
for a bay at the north of 'Sailfish Bay'.
A quick explanation about access to the sea from the western side of the islands, where all the lodges
are situated; basically you travel at high speed across the flats, either north or south heading for the
gaps between the islands. Depending on the action and strength of the tides at the time of your arrival,
as to what sort of sea you meet - at time flat calm, at others a turmoil of standing waves. The whole area
to the west of the island drains and floods through these gaps, and the resultant waters are 'active',
though we were never worried at all, as we had a superb boat under our feet, and a very good skipper at the helm.
The option to head north had been the right decision, but the waters were unusually cold, and all the cold
water indicators were there: Whales, Jelly Fish and Manta Rays. Despite Ginela's best efforts to find us fish,
going in close to the reef, and way offshore beyond the drop off, we only hooked up a Bludger Trevally and a
Kawakawa. But we had had a good day afloat and see a great deal of what was potentially on offer in these waters.
Returning to the lodge we were met by Derek and Peter De Klerk (Lodge Manager), and quizzed of our day afloat.
We were informed that we would be heading SOUTH the next day. Given that the cooler waters that we had encountered
had come from the south, we thought this a little strange - but we have several experiences of allowing for
local knowledge and 'going with the flow, especially in Africa'.
Early start again the next morning, and we were hooked up into the first of the day's many fish at 6.15! We
had barely started trolling, and already we had a small Kawakawa in the fish hold. What we were to experience
during the next 2 hours is what inshore game fishing is all about. We never trolled for more than 10 minutes
without at least one rod screaming off against the ratchet and drag. We were treated to King Mackerel, Kawakawa
and Bludger Trevally, and the biggest natural aerial show of King's that we could have ever expected.
The fish were launching into the air all over the place, even launching at a lure that was being retrieved
to clear for another fish; just as the Rapala was being lifted out of the water, the waters next to it erupted
with a 20lb King Mackerel, aiming for the lure. What a strike that would have been!
After 2 hours things began to slow down, and at Ginela's advise we moved further offshore, to catch a
Sailfish, as there were a couple of small problems; the fish holds were both full, and his anglers were
looking a little tired. We had learned a good deal during the previous 2 hours, especially that these
high speed predators need wire traces to the lures and baits, especially given the teeth on a King Mackerel.
We trolled on south past Maragague island towards the cliffs at San Sabastian, with only the occasional
interruption from a stray King Mackerel or a Kawakawa. During the late afternoon return troll, again
through cool waters, we happened upon another spectacular fishy activity. Huge shoals of Kawakawa
were forming up into feeding blizts, and all around there were areas of sea that were absolutely boiling
with fish rolling out of the water as a teeming mass. It was as we passed around one of these shoals that
we had the best fish of the day. We had been running baited lures with bird teasers way back on the outriggers,
and one of these 'erupted'! The line peeled of the reel at a tremendous pace, and then slowed, with the fish
staying very deep - Tuna we thought as this had been the typical behaviour of the larger Kawakawa that we had
caught earlier. But this fish was having none of the sustained pressure that subdues the tuna - no, it just
went deeper and faster. After 20 minutes, a flash of fish deep down showed a veritable torpedo - a large King
Mackerel - what the locals call a 'crocodile'! Quickly gaffed and dispatched and into the boat, the huge fish
weighed 40lbs, and we were scanning the horizon for more bait blizts - we were after another!
The day closed as we approached the entrance to the flats at the south of Benguerra island and
we headed in to the lodge. The reception committee were much relieved that we had had a good day,
especially after such a disaster the previous day. 20 inshore pelagics was considered a good day, and we
had certainly exceeded that, though again cool water and no Sailfish. That evening, fresh cooked King
Mackerel literally melted on the tongue, the chef had exceeded himself again, and we hoped that we had
in some small way contributed to the culinary delight.
We spent the next couple of days heading north against a northerly breeze in the hope that this
was pushing warmer water down, and bringing the Sailfish with it, and we did get a couple of hopeful
indicators, but never enough to actually get a hook-up. We saw Sailfish leaping, and cruising on the
surface, to which we replied by making the lures dizzy by going around the area for over an hour, hoping
to raise interest and a fish - but it was not to be. We did catch various other fish, but we were being
rather single minded - Sailfish or Nothing.
Our last full day on the island, saw us relent and request Ginela that we wished a variety of fish,
and perhaps heading south again might prove to be the route. No mayhem session with the inshore species
this day, just steady fish all day, not other species other than a Triggerfish that took a small pirk
dropped too close to the reef. We did have a little excitement when during one of the circuits inshore
towards the backline of the surf, when fighting a smallish King Mackerel, one of the outrigger rods
decided to launch itself out of the rod holder - vertically! The culprit we were informed was probably
a Giant Trevally that had smashed into the bird rather than the bait, and then let go after breaking the
wire to the lure. The rod fortunately was retrieved because the bird was floating, and we managed to
bring the rod and reel aboard without having to empty the spool of 800 yards of line. Memo to self -
clip the rod next time!!!!!!!!!! We tried the backline of the surf again on several occasions, but
failed to make contact with the elusive Giant Trevally.
The ultimate insult from the Pacific Sailfish came late in the afternoon, just as we were
travelling back up the coast, trolling along the reef edge. A Sailfish popped up alongside
the boat, turned and swam between the transom and the lures. Never 'lighting up' nor showing
any interest what-so-ever in any of our offerings. Obviously, the waters were just that bit too
cool for encouraging feeding, but warm enough for them to remain in the area; the penalty of an
unforeseen cold water current for a few days before our arrival. So that was the end of our quest
this time for Pacific Sailfish, you cannot book good weather, right water conditions and biting fish;
but we still had a very good time.
Back at the lodge, and we ended our fishing tour of the services available from Marlin Lodge
with a long discussion with Derek. The lodge has distinct seasons for different species, and
also has some of the most stunning potential for beating the All-Africa Black Marlin record (1298lbs),
as this fish had only been caught in 1990 from just outside the smallest island in the archipelago -
Santa Carolina. They have found that the period from late October through to early December sees very
large Black Marlin in their waters, with the lodge average for the last 3 years being over 770lbs, with
catches most days. As said earlier, Sailfish are usually very abundant in July and August, with catches
of 7 per boat not that unusual; it seems that we were just unlucky with our timing and the cold water
stream happening as we arrived. 14 species of Trevally are available in local waters, as well as various
Tuna species, Wahoo do feature in the offshore catches, but they are sporadic at times, and have yet to
establish any real pattern.
We spent the hour or so before sun down, taking down the rods, and tackle after Ginela and Jon had give
all the kit its daily wash. Packing the lures and reels away did bring home to us that we were not out
fishing the next day. Departing a very 'fishy' part of the world that has remained totally unspoiled by
development, and still offers 5 star luxury and good service. Our chats most evening with various people
that had been snorkelling or diving on the outside reefs, resulted in a need for even more time during our
next visit, as the reefs were truly loaded with a very wide range of species. The archipelago boast over
600 different species of fish on the reefs and near shore waters, and still in very abundant numbers, and
certainly with record size fish in some species. We had witnessed for ourselves the extreme abundance of
Kawakawa during some of the afternoon blizts, and been present when the King Mackerel had put on their
dazzling aerial display.
During the one day off that we had from fishing we found the lodge's facilities to be superb,
and even a walk along the shoreline at low tide revealed enough new wildlife to keep us interested
and shooting pictures. The bird life was tremendous, in variety and colours, with Flamingos, Ibis,
Storks, Egrets, Kingfishers, Sunbirds, Ospreys and many, many more. The tidal flats also offered access
to see all manner of soft corals, giant starfish, shells, conchs, nudibranchs and mangroves. We did not
take any of the side trips to the other islands, as we viewed most of them from the seaward side while
fishing, and perhaps missed out on more of the marvellous sights and experiences of the archipelago; we
certainly didn't visit the fresh water lakes on Barazuto to visit the crocodiles.
A return trip to MarlinLodge would be at the
same time,
the weather was warm but not uncomfortably hot, and we were advised that this
was the time when their mosquitoes were least active. Despite their inactivity
we still managed to get bitten a few times,
though probably due to our own fault of not applying protective sprays early
enough in the evening. The service was amazing, and the staff friendly and efficient,
with no problem too much bother. The
picnic hamper that was on the boat each day as a combined breakfast and lunch
would have fed 6 people, not just the 2 of us. Marlin Lodge of all the lodges
in the archipelago offers the best facilities for
boat angling, while others are more biased towards fly fishing or surf fishing;
they all offer boats, but each to their speciality.
The boats were excellent, though they were due to be changed for new boats during the week after our
departure, for new 27' Ace Craft, with twin 150s on the back, - they should really shift! Even less time
travelling to the fishing, though improving on 15-20 minutes would not make a significant impact on a
whole day of fishing; but it certainly might make it worthwhile shooting out for a late afternoon troll
round the Kawakawa blitzs.
The boats are hire by the hour, against a US dollar
rate; with a surcharge for fuel as used, again a US dollar rate. Longer days,
and more offshore trolling
will cost more than short days just drifting around
the reefs, the choice is yours; however the prices were actually lower than
we
have paid for similar boats in the US, and other locations. The lodge will
provide all necessary tackle, but will unfortunately charge
for lost end tackle and lures; and they certainly had a fine collection of
gear. Even matching sets of 80 & 130lb tackle for when they tackle the big
Black marlin later in the year.
Prices for the larger boat are higher, but still very similar to the price of full game
boats everywhere else; and the added bonus is that Derek provides his skippering skills,
and a wealth of game fishing knowledge gained around the world.
The tackle that we took were our own range of travel rods with Penn and Duel
Reels, these were a real bonus when
packing against a tight weight limit, given that we took 8 rods and reels between
us. The lack of worry about a rod tube being lost or broken during airport handling
was a real bonus, and also meant that we
were clear of customs early, as we did not have to wait for the tube to be brought
through by hand, which
is usually the case at most international airports.
Our Penn Internationals and Duels performed superbly, and we will certainly be taking those
with us again. We did manage to get a few of the lures right for the species that we were
tackling, and the larger Rapalas have certainly taken a battering, though we ran them
occasionally alongside the local preference, and found that the modified Halco Scorcerers
were catching slightly better, as they ran deeper and straighter than the Rapalas. As most
of the surface trolling was done with lures baited with whole Ballyhoo, we found that the
locals favoured Witches in Red, White or Blue, with Yellow a distinct non-starter.
Ilanders that as surface runners found favour, but sub-surface lure seemed only to
have success with the occasional Kawakawa; which isn't surprising for a tuna species.
Moldcraft birds were used as teasers on most occasions, but we soon learned the hard way,
that these had to be run on wire, as they certainly attracted the attention of the King Mackerel.
In conclusion, we would like to thank the following staff at Marlin Lodge for
making our time their such wonderful experience:
Peter De Klerk
Collette Adams
Derek Van Denvender
Ginela
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