Mad Mozambique.
By Glynn Henry
Day 1.
Dig Dig Dig -
Fishing on a Piece of coast that is so wild and beautiful has its ups and downs and
getting the boat to the launching point was the only down, even took us 3 hours one
morning but that didn't matter cause I wasn't stuck in the traffic on my way to work,
I was stuck in golden sand that I knew we would get out off and going to pull in
fish after fish and pound after pound of the 20 LB beauties that awaited us each
day. A day in heaven -
The drive to the camp was 12 hours from Johannesburg into Mozambique through one
of the most interesting border crossings I have experienced in my life. I don't often
go on trips that I pack 2 wallets -
Ready, Ready, Ready -
I'm completely aware that that all sounds crazy but let me tell you that is very fitting. Launching a boat through a sea that's still a little cheesed off from the last storm when there's only one 30 meter gap in the reef is crazy too, but I love it. Something about the childish adrenaline flowing through every inch of you.
We took our life jackets off and got the boat and ourselves comfortable for the 20 minute drive out to the reef 16km off the shore. The water depth comes up from 50meters to 32 and the engines are cut. We have arrived.
Time to cast out, with my very under gunned 10 weight, as far as possible and strip off the 40 meters of 500 grain super sinker attached to a giant lead clouser topped with 1x short 50lb wire tippet the wind pushes the boat over the cast as it sinks and you watch the loose coils of line tightening as they sink to the depths of blue water that holds who knows what. The line goes straight meaning time to bring it all back. Now i hear you gotta strip these things back like lightning is trying to bite the olly off it and I would love to tell you exactly how I was stripping but I have no idea how I was stripping as the next 20 minutes of my life would turn me into a dithering mess and force me to completely forget that little detail. BANG ! DAD.... something just grabbed this and I don't think its happy about it. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ was all I heard for a while and backing leaving me for another place was all I saw. I thought I had foul hooked a whale. My dad thought he would comment "Is that rod supposed to bend like that?". It gave me a break and I got some line back on it but still no fly line in sight, it then took the precious line I had just got on the reel back again and a bit extra for luck. It was now that I was seeing my backing knot come apart 100 times over but it was not to be. My backing knot held and I finally saw my prize. Fishing like this with this sort of tackle was a first for me. I've been deep sea fishing since I was 8 years old and have had many arm wrenching fights but my first saltwater fish on a fly, just showed its head as the most beautiful 20lb Bonito I have ever seen and gave me the best battle I had ever had.
A few more casts and conditions changed forcing us to turn to trawling rapala's and halco's, which was fine with me as take after take would signal the start of what was to be the holiday dreams are made of. Well, for a fishing addicted nut like me pulling in fish after fish that the norm weigh over 10kgs is a dream and a damn good one.
Day 2
I'm standing staring at the 12 foot waves crashing over the reef from the deck of
our little log cabin on the beach. Coffee's and teas all round and a few rusks. My
belly still full from the wicked fresh king mackerel glazed in apricot and melted
butter on the braai(BBQ-
The bow of the boat met the reef and Bang! FISH ON ! FISH ON! By the time we managed
to wrench the rod out the rod holder the line went slack -
This is why I love being out at sea, the experiences and events that happen from nowhere are incredible, while sorting the lines out I noticed out of the corner of my eye a dark shadow growing rapidly just a few meters from the boat and a Manta ray with a wing span of around 8 meters tipped the surface and glided around the boat scooping the plankton into its gaping mouth and disappeared back to the depths of which it came. There are monsters out there all hidden beneath the vale of crystal blue. What else would visit us on our trip and mostly I wondered what was swimming underneath us during the day. I was not about to go for a quick dip. 5 Cuta and some missed takes was the tally for the day and only one was under 10kg's this is some of the best game fishing I've ever had.
One thing that has really shocked me is how much energy the fly line carries. When these guys hit the flies and run ; the fly line around your feet shoots in the air then flies through the rings. I fully understand why its so important to stay focused on where your line, fingers and toes are and to keep your legs wide apart before you start stripping. Its nerve racking when you fly is sinking down and you have a birds nest tangle you're trying to get undone in a panic, knowing full well that at any moment a 30lb GT could grab the fly. This did happen to me although I have no idea if it was Tuna a cuta a trevally or any of the giants that were around but it was close to a broken rod and fingers, I am very glad the hook wasn't set well and pulled out otherwise fishing might have been over for the trip.
The time was against us and we headed for home. Some good old hectic labor to get the boat on in what can only be described as very close to sinking sand laid way to some of the best tasting cold lager that has ever passed my lips. More fresh fish, good old Boereworse and chops with the unbeatable taste of African Braai, a few too many Rum's and we climbed into our mosquito nets and fell asleep to thoughts of screaming reels and monsters of the deep.
Day 3.
Staring at the sun's rays stabbing right through the bright blue surface of the sea, glancing back over my shoulder and thinking about every bite and fish out there. The wake of the boat leaves what looks like a perfect trail for miles behind us. I'm never happier than at times like these, on a boat at sea in perfect conditions. I couldn't ask for a better passion or hobby although I must say I take it a lot more seriously than a hobby.
Last night we found out a boat had hit up on a sailfish of over 30kg's on a Rapala!! The water temp was 28C (yes, that is warmer than summer over here) We knew what we were going to do and the sight of flying fish leaping into the air and gliding along the curve of the swell was a very good sign. We dropped the lures over the side and pulled them slowly as we set up the teasers. We were going for sailfish, this is the wrong time of year for them but with water this warm and the conditions right we weren't going to go home saying we should have done. Just before we killed the motor to set out the rigs the ratchet started to go and my favourite rod (a very light 10lb rod) was bent almost to the water edge. I could see the sheer force of the fish jamming the rod into the holder.
Anyone who has fished for big game fish before knows there's a big difference when
a ratchet goes like this, the water flying off the reel, the line being taken like
a rocket, and that sound, that awesome sound. Some quick acceleration to set the
hook and now to get that rod out the holder -
The guys put some baits down and picked up the fly. Cast, wait, wait and strip back,
Bang Bang Bang -
Shouts of “I'm in” all over the place, this is great fishing.
I was staring into the water and noticed a fish swim under the boat and after the
fly I had just lifted out, at first I thought it was a small Reef Shark but then
I got a better look. It was a fish I had only seen before diving with some sharks
off the SA coast. It was a Remora and was usually stuck to the body of the sharks.
Never seen one this big before and this became a huge learning curve to me -
© Completefisher 2006