16
Angolan Sea Angling Adventure.




The title sounds a little presumptuous perhaps, but when you consider that the venue that we have just visited has never had any pressure on the marine species; other than a few local fishermen fishing for crayfish with nets and larger fish or with handlines off the beach; it was an adventure of discovery!

Our trip started some 18 months earlier with discussions around a braii at Flamingo Lodge, southern Angola; after our first real sampling of the local inshore boat fishing. The talk was of the prospects of opening further lodges in the northern part of the country, on a similar format of that at Flamingo; simple accommodation, good facilities and superb fishing. We said then that we were up for the challenge, but would prefer more boat fishing, as opposed to the southern African favoured rock and surf angling. Boat fishing being our better skill, and certainly our favoured passion.

Some months went by, with various conflicting rumours floating around about camps at this river, and then camps at another river, we finally got the full story on a trip down to Namibia in May 2002. The new lodge at Rio Longa was underway, and being built by Wildside Adventures. Sited on an island in a backwater lagoon, some 5km before the river finally discharges into the sea. Those 5 kms though, are with the river running parallel to the sea, and separated by a 100m wide sand spit.

We firmed up our booking there and then, with a full 2 week stay at Rio Longa, coinciding around the new moon period of the end of January 2003. Our research at home started apace, and we found out that Angola, namely Luanda was 'the' place in the world for record sized Atlantic Sailfish, that they also had good sized Blue Marlin, Jack Crevalle, African Cubera Snapper and Giant African Threadfin. Oh, and they also had some Tarpon, size unknown at this point, though from the survey/field trip to the island on the river, they had seen huge shoals of them in the river, but just 'small fish'.

The need for further information became readily apparent, and we made contact with the IGFA rep in Angola, an Englishman named Iain Nicholson, and through the instantaneous communication of e-mail we started to develop a serious picture of what we could expect at Rio Longa, though it was 210 kms south of Iain's fishing grounds of Luanda and the Kwanza River. Tales and pictures of Tarpon over 120kgms (that's just 8.5kg short of the world record), Threadfin just 7kgms off the world record, and a whole list of family records shared by himself, his brother Cam, and his sister-in-law Bernadette. A family that takes their fishing seriously, and with a light hearted touch when it comes to naming their boats; 'Bitchalot' and 'Bitchalittle' they are currently saving up for 'Bitchalotmore'!


With our flights and bookings confirmed and an invitation to fish at least one day with the Nicholsons, we were left with the serious matter of planning our kit for the trip. With so many major species to consider, we had to firstly get a little realistic; Blue Marlin have never been high on our 'wish to catch list' so we discounted that aspect first. Secondly we were initially unlikely to encounter too many 120kg Tarpon, so we could realistically start with 30lb tackle as the top of our list. 20lb would cope with most other species, and 12lb would bring a sporting aspect if the fish were smaller than our hopes. So there we had it, just add a couple of spinning rods, for evening fishing off the beach, and we needed to pack 8 rods and reels!

- That is one of the drawbacks with both of us being such avid anglers, is that we both have our own tackle and fish almost exclusively with our own rods and reels, each being slightly stiffer of softer set than the others. Never mind, just be grateful that we were travelling the whole way on scheduled flights for this trip to Angola, and would have a total hand and hold luggage allowance of 54kgms.

The next aspect was 'end tackle', how to take enough to cover all the different species, and still have enough room in the bag for clothes? Especially, as our previous experience of fishing in Angola had made us very aware that despite what you might be aiming for with species, anything else might turn up, and usually did, and bite your lure or bait. Offshore, Inshore, trolling and drift baiting were all planned activities that were expected to be used to cover the majority of the major species, so that is what we took. And by the end of 2 weeks we had used just about all that we had taken with us. Our final weigh-in at Heathrow was a close run thing with the 'hold' baggage weighing in at 43kg, and thankfully the kind folks at the South African Airways desk skipped the 'hand' luggage, especially the rucksack with 8 reels that we had earlier weighed at 12kg!!!!!

This does bring on a small point for UK travellers who might be considering Angola, and how to get there; British Airways do offer a direct flight, but apart from the excessive price for the flight (the difference to our indirect flight via Johannesburg, is £500 each!), British Airways now have a strict policy on the weight of hand luggage, and it is restricted to 6kgms without exception! We have given up considering BA in any of our planned excursions, and will maintain our embargo on said airline.

The countdown of months turned into days, and we were finally standing in the queue at Luanda airport for immigration, and there was our bag on the standard carousel - we had made it. Just as we walked out the building, there was Jaco with the Landcruiser to take us off to Rio Longa. We silently looked at each other, and mentally agreed that the planning and effort was all worth the effort - the first UK boat angling tourists to arrive in Luanda. This was not to be our only 'firsts' of the trip either.

3 hours later after a spectacular drive, mostly through the Quissama National Park, we arrived at a small track that lead down to the river, and being used to things in Africa, we did not comment as all our kit was loaded into a small 14' speed boat. We had expected a 'ski boat' of the more usual south African design, catamarran and capable of launching through the surf with twin outboards on the back. Not this small single engined boat with the model title 'Ski Boat 14' stencilled on the side!


After a short ride down the river we arrived at the island and the lodge buildings, and our gear was quickly unloaded by the lodge staff, and we were offered cold drinks to kill the heat of the drive from Luanda. While sipping these we did ask Jaco about 'our' boat for fishing, and he then reluctantly informed us that the 30' Bayliner was still without the replacement outdrive units, which were sitting in some African Customs Yard waiting to be cleared and transported.
We were left with 3 options:
1. Kill Jaco.
2. Take up beach fishing.
3. Make the best of a poor situation, and use either the 'ski boat' or the 13' rhib.

Option one, seemed to offer a dismal visit to an Angola Prison, which we have been informed is not exactly savoury. Few manage to survive to trial time. Option two, was really a non-starter. So, the following morning we surveyed the boats, and decided that the rhib would probably offer the safest working platform should we encounter rough seas, but both would severely shorten our working range to the limits of the two headlands in the bay - maximum 5 miles off the beach.


The lodge itself is split into the 4 guest bungalows, each accommodating two guests, with en-suite shower, and flush toilet. The main communal bungalow which serves as dining room, kitchen area and social zone. They were still building the store room and tackle store while we were there. All the buildings are linked by raised walkways to avoid impacting the natural vegetation and wildlife of the island, and we have to admit that they have done a very careful and thoughtful job of siting and construction; as the impact appears to be nil. The bungalows all fit in well with the Mopani palms and Mangrove trees of the island, and the lower vegetation thrives. All the buildings are raised above the ground level for a second reason, as 10 years ago, the river flow was reduced due to lack of rains, and the mouth of the river actually closed with the action of the sea. This blockage caused the river to rise in level until it broached the spit, through to the sea again; planning for such things in Africa is essential, and they have taken the natural flow and ebb of the river into their plans when building the lodge.

Each of the bungalows has a balcony which opens out onto some of the most fantastic views and scenery, though for the visiting angler, it is the sound of the Atlantic surf beyond the sand spit which gladdens the heart.

After spending the first morning fitting out the rhib with some rudimentary rodholders, and other bits of essential angling kit, we were taken down to the entrance to view the river bar, and to 'play' with the local inhabitants of the 'entrance pool'. The entrance pool is home to a huge mass of 'baby' Tarpon in the 5-10kg range, which had been tormenting Jaco and most of the visiting anglers before our arrival. They continued their torment of us as well; we tried dead baits, live baits and lures; with every hook up being swiftly turned into a 'self release' as these feisty little fighters just jumped off the hooks. 12-0 by the end of the first day, and the Drakes had still to catch a fish! Our first, but thankfully only blank of the trip. The first day also granted us a view of the surf as it crashed over the river bar, and built with the afternoon Trades winds that start religiously about 1.30pm.


All the earlier visitors to the lodge had been shore anglers, and had certainly started to gain a picture of the species that were available around the lodge. Confirmed species that had been landed were:
African Cubera Snapper
Giant African Threadfin
Jack Crevalle
Blackchin Guitarfish
Various Rays
Meagre/Kob - some confusion here
'Baby' Tarpon


One party with an old friend of ours, had even managed to get outside the river bar, and had encountered large Tarpon, before the fish had 'self released', Guinean Barracuda and huge shoals of Sardinella. They had only managed two short trips, and decided that they needed proper boat fishing rods.

After a superb evening meal cooked by the lodge chef, we started to make serious plans for the following morning, up early, over the river bar, and see just what the waters off Rio Longa have to offer. This all went to plan until we got a triffle wet getting out over the river bar, which looked a lot safer from dry land, than it did from water level in a small rhib. Once outside we cleared the life jackets away and started getting the rods out for trolling.

Initially Jaco took us south, as that was where they had ventured previously, and had their main success, but it wasn't to yield anything this morning, as the normally clean water was tainted with fine sand, and took on a distinct yellow colour; so we headed off north. Where the river waters flow out to sea, the colour changes to a colour similar to strongly brewed 'tea', nearly brown. Here we started trolling a spread of 4 rods with a combination of Rapalas and deeper running Halcos, and were rewarded with a couple of fine Jack Crevalle. As we were running parallel with the beach we ran out of the 'tea' water at about 3km from the entrance, into clean clear green water, and had hopes of some more Jacks. We trolled around in the clear waters for a while, and had nothing so we headed back for the 'tea', and planned to troll along the edge. The next hook up was more like and explosion at the back of the rhib as a Tarpon of about 50kgm erupted into the air. As the other rods were being cleared, and line peeled of the reel against a steady drag, we had hopes of catching Longa Lodge's first 'real' tarpon. Jeri settled into the fish, and this was followed by another leap, with the fish shaking its head furiously, and throwing the lure nearly back into the boat from 70 metres away. Our first 'self release' proper Tarpon!



This is exactly what had happened to the earlier crew that had got outside the river bar, hook-ups on the Rapala type lure, and some serious head shaking, and throwing the lure back at the angler. Having checked our lure, we could see no fault with the hooks, and they were still razor sharp, just not sharp enough to stay penetrated in the Tarpon's mouth. All our previous Tarpon captures had been on live baits, and this aspect had equally been a problem, though since then angling has benefited from being introduced to circle hooks. By this time it was getting close to mid day, and the heat was beginning to build, and the afternoon Trades were starting early - we headed back in with a couple of smaller Jacks striking the lures as we trolled back to the entrance.

Getting back in the river is easy, just pick a wave, and ride it in, ensuring that you keep on the back face, even while it is breaking; never misjudging its speed and overtaking the wave. Back in the river, we were treated to a glorious sight of 20 or more 'baby' Tarpon rolling on the surface, as we left the entrance pool, heading for a late breakfast/lunch. After we had eaten, we discussed the problem of 'proper' Tarpon, and the lures; finally agreeing that they were using the weight of the lure to throw the hooks. Rummaging through our tackle bag, we came up with the idea, of possibly removing the 'weight advantage', by using an offshore type of lure, that would slide up the trace, and not give the Tarpon the lure weight to lever the hook out. Sounded fine in principle, but would it fool the Tarpon?

Having picked a profile of lure similar in colour and length to the ejected Rapala, we rigged up a 'secret weapon' for the following morning, and retired to our bungalow for a shower and short nap through the heat of the afternoon. This may sound like a waste of perfectly good fishing time, but we already had evidence, and slightly painful at that, that the Angolan sun has no respect for pale European skin, despite serious layers of factor 30 sun screen. Jaco had suggested a return bout with the 'baby' Tarpon at 4.30pm, or try the beach - and having a current score line with the Tarpon of Longa that looked like 13-0. We opted for the beach and a little spinning in the surf. Jaco's skills as a Namibian national Rock and Surf angler paid off with his superior casting skills, and he landed a small Threadfin during the couple of hours that we were on the beach that evening, but our eyes were firmly beyond the surf line to the waters that we now knew had some serious Tarpon.

Up early again the following morning, threading our way down the river before the sun had come over the horizon, we quickly cleared the river bar without incident and started trolling our usual spread of Halcos and Rapalas through the 'tea', and after our warm-up with a jack Crevalle, we had another brief hook-up on a Tarpon, which followed the now accepted pattern of 'self release'. Out came the 'secret weapon' and we resumed trolling. To say that we hadn't gone half a mile, when the water erupted, and an angry Tarpon started the now familiar head shaking routine. We looked on half expecting to duck as the lure came flying back, but it held on for the three successive jumps, as we started to clear the other rods. Jeri fought the Tarpon for 45 minutes, with Jaco steering the rhib to avoid a cut off on the hull or engine, with crossed fingers for the lodge's first proper Tarpon. Chin gaffed at the side of our amazing little boat, photographed and measured, with the graph offering a weight of 45/46kgm. The lodge's first 100lb Tarpon! Jaco was in celebration mood for the rest of the morning as we trolled slowly back to base, the 'secret weapon' had done its job, and the circle hook had held, very firmly.



After a celebratory breakfast with Jaco still sitting at the table with a bemused grin on his face, we were introduced to some new guests at the lodge who were keen to try their hand on the beach. We retired for a shower and a siesta, and joined them later on the beach. Over dinner that evening we discussed the option of a visit to the site of the next lodge, with the prospect of some superb shore fishing for the other guests, and some sheltered waters for the launching of the rhib into a fine Jack Crevalle waters.

That night we were treated to one of natures finest pyrotechnic storms, and the rain started about midnight, in true equatorial fashion- monsoons, eat your heart out! By the morning it had slowed to isolated showers, and we headed north with the 'ski boat' on the trailer. African roads do nothing positive for road vehicles, and it was a slow journey trailing the boat, but we got there about an hour after the shore anglers in the other vehicle. Our problems had just started, and access to the beach was out of the question, as a spate river was in full flow, and the road down to the beach had been washed away as well. The beach guys had walked down. We did try alternative routes, but they were a waste of time, so we had to be content with a guided tour of the site of the next lodge and watching one of the shore anglers get the 'Tarpon/lure' treatment. Their catch of the rock headland was Barracuda, Jack Crevalle and a brief encounter with a Tarpon.

The following couple of days were difficult, as the Longa was flowing very fast, and the river bar looked most hostile. By Friday we managed to get out again, and had one of our best days for species and numbers. Tarpon 'strike-releases', Cubera Snapper, Jack Crevalle at every turn, and Guinean Barracuda. The 'secret weapon' proved effective again until it was cut off mid fight by something with teeth attacking the lure that had lodged itself at the top of the leader. We stayed out quite late into the afternoon, and suffered the penalty with some sun burns that confirmed our respect for the Angolan sun, it is always amazing what good fishing makes you forget.


The following day we had an appointment with the Nicholsons in the afternoon, but could not resist the chance of the morning afloat, and once clear of the river bar, we ran the 'secret weapon', and quickly hooked up with another Tarpon. Sue fought this one for 45 minutes, and at the boatside claimed the first 'proper' Tarpon by a lady at Rio Longa, having also probably been the first woman, and definitely European to exit the Rio Longa river bar.

That afternoon we met the Nicholson brothers, Cam and Iain at the Kwanza River Tarpon Tournament, where Cam's wife Bernadette claimed third prize in the contest for a 60kgm fish release. One other aspect of the tournament were the anglers weighing non-Tarpon species, as all Tarpon were released. One chap was nursing a freshly bandaged leg, and holding a broken Rapala, while standing alongside a very respectable Cubera Snapper. The tale goes that he hooked and fought the fish to the boatside where it was gaffed and brought into the boat, whereupon it decided it didn't like its predicament, and thrashed around, breaking the lure in two pieces, and throwing one half into the guys leg - trebles first!



This was something that we did learn in Angola, that the fish also have little respect for lures, hooks and manufacturer's claims of strength, that lure, a Rapala Magnum had been new from the box that morning!

The following day we were treated to a day out on 'Bitchalot', with Cam steering us for hopefully blue waters, but due to un-seasonally early rains in the north, and the Zaire river being in full flow, they had little hopes of finding blue water inside 60 miles. Very different from their normal 3-5 miles outside Luanda harbour. At 20 miles we stopped travelling, and started trolling in the green waters, and were soon rewarded with a Yellowfin Tuna, very rare catch for the waters off Luanda; so we started running a couple more smaller lures, and were soon decided that the Marlin could wait. During the next couple of hours we boated 16 Yellowfin up to 15kgm, having at times experienced double and triple headers on the smaller rods - all very good fun. The afternoon trades spelled the signal to start heading for home, and we had a most unusual strike from an ambitious Dorado, it took two lures, one on Sue's rod, the other on Jeri's. This treated Iain and Cam to a display 'formation fishing' amid a lot of well humoured ribbing. The boat is not called 'Bitchalot' for nothing! Nearing Luanda we had Little Tunny and Jack Crevalle, and lost what was thought to be a good size Guinean Barracuda; a splendid day out, for which we sincerely thank Iain and Cam. Although Iain is the IGFA representative in Angola, they are boat avid anglers, and serious sportsmen who spend a lot of time driving the sporting ethic forward amid some of the Atlantic ocean's finest fishing. It would be easy to maintain lots of 'kill' tournaments, but they have now developed almost total 'tag and release' tournaments for Blue Marlin and Sailfish, and are a good way down the road to achieving the same with the Tarpon.


The one problem for those wishing to try the Marlin fishing in Luanda, is price; a most expensive city to stay in, and equally expensive to get afloat. The few boats that will accept charters will charge US$900 per day, which is a serious amount of money in anyone's language. The wealth of the country does reflect in the high price of everything in the city, even down to the relative price for a can of Coca Cola - US$2 each!

After our weekend with the Nicholson family, we headed off back to Rio Longa, and set plans for some serious investigation of the waters. Next morning we had further strikes from Tarpon on deep running lures, which signalled the whetting of the 'secret weapon', which soon put Jaco into his first big Tarpon- and after a strong fight was chin gaffed at the boatside, and measured for 60kgms. Once clear of the 'tea', we hooked into an area alive with powerful Jack Crevalle, and Sue had a long fight with a big fish, which was to finally trash the trebles on a brand new Halco, just as we were leadering the fish. We estimated the fish at least 25kgm, and that on 30lb line would have give us a line class record for Rio Longa - it was not to be. Again this disrespect the fish have for new lures, and their hooks! We later caught loads of little Guinean Barracuda at the edge of the green to blue water, and a surprise West African Spanish Mackerel. We ended the day with a further 'quick release' Tarpon as we trolled deep running lures through the 'tea' to the river mouth.



The next day was planned as a small adventure further afield, and the rhib was loaded into the lodge's Ford truck, and we all headed off for Port Amboim - 60km south of Longa. We arrived in town to find that we needed the Harbour Masters permission to launch, and the lodge's Angolan partner went off to gain the permission. We in the meantime, found a sheltered beach and launched the rhib. The harbour was full of pelagic seiners, that work the pilchard and sardine shoals off the coast; though there were a few local boats with chaps working crayfish nets. The fishing pressure did not seem all that great, even by Angolan standards. Tired of waiting - the Angolan national pastime, we headed out of the bay. Trolling off the headland we found clean green water giving way to blue-green water with a few current lines, so elected to try our luck for the offshore pelagic like Dorado and Sailfish. Baited and plain lures with bird teasers were set out as we trolled further offshore. By noon we had had no luck and little in the way of encouraging sightings so we headed back towards Port Amboim, trolling around the moored trawlers, in amongst some huge shoals of bait fish. Here we managed the only fish of the trip, a small Atlantic Bonito, and finally retired to the shore and the waiting truck.

With the boat duly loaded African style- loads of people and a big lift, we headed off for lunch at one of the 2 restaurants in town. With a breeze off the sea, and a pleasant awning to provide shade, we were just grateful to get out of the sun. Here we met Neels, the manager of a local fish processing factory - a Namibian by birth, and a wealth of local information. He told us of some astounding sightings made by their trawler skippers, that would gladden the heart of any game angler. Huge shoals of large Dorado and Sailfish balling bait, or swimming in what appear to be 'squadrons', just cruising along on the surface.

Where were those outdrive units???? - It was not to be, and after lunch we headed north for Rio Longa, a little disheartened, at not having access to a proper boat, and at not having caught much that day. Later that afternoon Jaco suggested that we try our hand at the beach or the entrance pool. Jeri elected to try some revised trolling for the 'baby' Tarpon, and Sue accompanied Jaco to the beach.

The entrance pool experiment proved marginally successful, as a small Meagre was caught, and Tarpon were interested in the new trolling lure, but still not staying on the hook. The lure - a 4" redgill! After a while, Jeri was summoned to the beach, and brought the rhib up on the sandbar, to see Sue with one of Jaco's 14" beachcasters hooped over like a short stand-up rod, and line peeling away.



The beach at this section, is where the river is forced out in a channel between the beach and the river bar - and is about 1km long. The deep channel holds Cubera Snapper, Giant Threadfin, Jacks, Kob and Meagre, and it is where the local fishermen spin lures with handlines - and certainly catch a good number of fish. Sue in the meantime was still hooked up with something that was over 400m away, beyond the river bar breakers, and this included having walked down the beach nearly a kilometer. Jaco explained that it was a serious fish, and would be a while before we saw it, and it would probably be landed in the full dark - the sun has still not set! An hour and a half later, after numerous assisted drink-breaks for Sue, Jaco managed to get a hold on the leader, and draw the very large African Cubera Snapper through the backwash of the surf. It was hard to tell who was more exhausted, Sue or the Snapper, both had fought a valiant battle; and as is common with large Snapper, it had fought to exhaustion.



In Africa, nothing goes to waste, and the fish was taken back to the lodge, for our own supper, and to feed the lodge staff - that was after a series of photos, when Sue realised the full enormity of her achievement. Her first 37kg fish off the beach (that's 80lb! - to those 'imperial' souls). We retired after a splendid meal of crayfish and Snapper, all prepared superbly by the lodge chef, who could have presented such a meal in London's 5 star hotels and restaurants with the greatest of ease.



The next day was planned as to head south, rather than our traditional north into the 'tea' waters, "Let's avoid the Tarpon for one day, and see what we can find", well that was the hope. Over the river bar with ease, as we had found the key to getting the longest 'calm windows', was to try at slack water; and we were heading for the southern headland of the Rio Longa escarpment. The water had lost its sandy influence, and was clean and clear; with birds working small isolated shoals of baitfish.

We were in an experimental mood, and were trolling a wide variety of lures to see whether colour or depth and action were the triggers for the Jack Crevalle and others. We soon encountered a lot of interest from the Guinean Barracuda, especially around the surface bait shoals, and they were especially ambitious. Fish barely bigger than the lures were attacked with gusto, and we now have a fine collection of very scarred Rapalas, one even had teeth lodged in the woodwork! The Jack Crevalle were more widespread than we had encountered to the north, but were mostly larger.

We opted later in the morning to try and avoid the continued attentions of the 'cuda with the use of a couple of trolling poppers. One being a large South African design that Jaco had brought out especially, the other of our own. We had barely started to troll past a huge mass of deep swimming bait fish when the back of the boat erupted in mayhem, both poppers had been struck, and by the rate of the lines spooling off, big ones at that. Even as Jaco cleared the other two rods, he got a strike on one of the deep lures, and we were into a triple header of Jacks, and all three of us in a very small 13' rhib. Jaco's fish was thankfully a small fish, and came quickly to the boat on the 30lb line, while Sue and Jeri just managed to maintain contact and avoid the knitting of lines. We were initially luckly as one fish headed shorewards, while the other preferred deeper waters. Opting to bring the fish in on the 30lb tackle first meant that Sue had to just maintain contact while Jeri's fish was brought to the boat. It eventually came in and was assessed as being about 25kg, well under any men's record, and so released quickly. Sue's fish now had over 200m of line out, and she was commenting on the number of 'big' fights she had had in the last 18 hours!!!



After a quick water-break for Sue, we started to gain on the fish, and although it maintained a pattern of deep boring runs, it started to tire after an hour. For those reading this, a one hour fight in 34 degree heat is severely debilitating for the angler, especially when fishing from a small rhib. The fish started to tire, and we could see that is was a most definite line class record, and set our stall out for careful leadering and gaffing. The leader came up 8 times in the next 20 minutes. We finally got a good hold, and started to draw the tired fish to the boat, at which point, it went ballistic, with a jump and series of head shakes that were more reminiscent of a Tarpon, it spat the lure! We were all silent as the fish swam away with a powerful stroke of the tail. Checking the lure, we found that both sets of trebles had been severely mangled, and 4 out of the six hook points had been nearly straightened. This lure had been fresh out of the box that morning, and trashed by a serious African fish! Checking the other popper, we found that the split rings now resembled mangled paper clips!



Sue's 20lb class Jack Crevalle record was not the last fish of the day, as we trolled back to the river mouth - a Tarpon briefly hooked upon one of the deep running Halcos, followed by a quick release - Tarpon style.

After lunch Sue retired for a siesta, as she was certainly feeling the strain of the long fight and the heat. Jaco and Jeri started to systematically check and re-rig all the lures likely to be used the following day, and to re-arm the Poppers with 4x trebles and new split rings. That chore done, we set of as the sun started to set for a trip up the river for some of the most spectacular wild bird pictures, and try to get some photos of the other wildlife.

The next day, rested and fired by the previous days experiences Sue opted to use both sets of 30lb tackle, and see if we could achieve this record for Rio Longa. Over the river bar, and straight south, heading for the shoals of larger bait fish, as we had learned that these were the ones that held the large Jack Crevalles. Despite 20 Jacks in 3 hours, we just could not find any large fish, all were just too small for the record, and a disappointment, though we did have numerous double and triple headers. We also found that the deep running lures when trolled along the shore line, produced the occasional Meagre of a respectable size, but these were not our most deliberate target.



A brief straying into the 'tea' coloured water near the river mouth produced the inevitable Tarpon, a fine fish to Jeri on the 12lb tackle, while it lasted. It looked in the region of 70kg, as it started a series of 5 jumps with the associated head shakes to rid itself of the lure. This initially did not work, and was followed by a searing run, followed by another leap, this time the lure did release. We had all been worried about this hook up, as it would probably been a 2 hour fight in the midday sun, had this last Tarpon decide to stay attached to the Halco.

Our early start the next day determined that we had to pack all our gear that afternoon, and get ready; so with reluctance we left the record breakers to the surf and bait shoals of south Rio Longa headland. Chef had prepared a superb lunch of crayfish and other goodies, as we reflected on our stay at Rio Longa.

The first large Tarpon.
The first ladies Tarpon.


A few new lodge records for the wall of fame, though we have little doubt that these will last very long, as we certainly lost some very large fish.


The first serious boat fishing investigation of the area, and a decided successful trip.

In hindsight, the trip and the investigation of the inshore waters would not have been as thorough, if we had not been confined to the rhib, and as such we have certainly opened the door of following anglers to experience some of the finest inshore fishing in Africa.

That evening we took copious notes of Jaco's knowledge of the area, and the behaviour and cycles of the weather and fishing, and species available off Rio Longa.

The weather is at its hottest during January, February, March and April, and this coincides with their rainy season, which is mostly February, march, April and May. The warmest water temperatures occur in March and April, with the coolest in July, August and September; which is nearly coincident with their coolest and driest months - June, July and August.

This two season period reflects in the fish available, and during the 'cold' months Garrick, Kob, Bluefish, Threadfin and Snapper - though not that these are small fish either, as it is thought that there are some serious record size fish to be had at Rio Longa during this period. The warmer season sees the Garrick, Kob and Bluefish replaced by Tarpon, Jack Crevalle, Meagre and the offshore pelagic species. Year round species are the 'baby' Tarpon in the river, Cubera Snapper and the Giant African Threadfin. The weather and particularly the afternoon 'Trade' winds are most apparent during the hottest months, and provide a welcome relief from the heat, so that November and December can appear calmest, but also the hottest without the relief from the breeze. Because all the fishing is in the open Atlantic, it has a near continuous swell, that gives the exceptional surf fishing.

We will certainly be going back to Rio Longa, if only to settle the score with the Jack Crevalles, but we have also already paid our deposit against a trip to the new lodge at Cabo Ledo, where the Jack Crevalle roam the surf zone unchallenged! We will also be giving consideration to taking a small party down with us next time, but only the adventurous of spirit need apply.



Finally we would like to thank Jaco and Wildside Adventures for a most incredible holiday, and angling adventure, but Jaco, we must have proper boat next time, as we would seriously like to get amongst the Sailfish and Dorados!



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