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Fishing Tackle
Gabon - Africa's wild tropical west coast
23 April 2009
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Have you ever heard of Gabon ? Do you know much about the pulsating heart of the dark continent, or do the words “central Africa” simply scare you with their supposed connotations ? But allow me to put your mind at ease, for there are no nightmares here, and instead I’ll tell you about what might well be some of the best sport fishing on this planet. Its safe, easy to get to, not that far away, not too expensive, crawling with fish and other fantastic wildlife, and if you are quick you will be some of the first people to witness this haven. How often do you get the chance to feel that real pioneering spirit with your fishing ?
We arrived at Operation Loango to be met with cooling drinks and air conditioned rooms, but like all travelling fishermen we had only one thing on our minds : when can we go fishing ? Our guide Ed Truter knows the game, and within the hour we were in a boat and racing up the channel, on towards the tumbling estuary mouth, where the tannin stained lagoon mixes with the bath-warm waters of the Atlantic. Moor the boat behind the beach, fling whatever gear we have over our shoulders, and head for a likely looking piece of shoreline.
I would hate to be a small fish anywhere near these waters. Flocks of birds smash into hapless prey all around us and large predatory fish seem to take great delight in churning the sea into a foaming maelstrom of heart-stopping adrenalin as they gorge on their share. Surf breaks rhythmically upon the deserted shores as the hairs on the back of my neck stand to attention; all the time I imagine the eyes of elephants, leopards and buffalo watching us from the forest behind, wondering what these mad white people are doing casting such small offerings at such large fish.
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Ed wades out to chest height and takes brave stance against the waves, casting a heavy diving lure right into the foam, and James sets up to cast a double-handed saltwater fly rod and monster imitation as far as he can. Large predators work the baitfish not fifty yards away and the odd fin circles menacingly around, but before I can wade out Ed hooks a huge tarpon (150 lb plus) that leaps, runs and then nonchalantly throws busted hooks back at him in the way that only tarpon know how. I need to sit down and take stock here. Next cast and he hooks another fish that runs back at the beach; my shaking hands struggle to fire the camera shutter on a “small” African cubera snapper unceremoniously pulled from the surf, unhooked, and then released unharmed. I’m not even fishing yet……
Its fairest to call this quiet corner of Gabon a kind of all round fishing destination, well suited to those anglers who are willing to try a bit of everything. My travelling companion James Warbrick-Smith worked hard at casting big flies in tricky surf and was rewarded with surely one of the first ever Giant African Threadfin caught this way, but really this form of fishing is so untried out there and is just crying out for some serious effort. Large casting lures, jigs and spoons on powerful spinning tackle accounted for good numbers of cubera snappers and threadfin that really try to make you hurt with their sheer power and turn of speed. Baits cast behind the breakers no doubt will produce lots of fish as well, but just how much fun is it to have warm waves breaking over your head as a large fish positively nails your lure perhaps twenty yards from your rod tip and then makes your clutch scream in that delightful tone ?
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That is a (very) brief summary of the beach fishing; what about the sport from the boat ? This is where the fly fishing really scored, as indeed did seemingly every other method, but just how impressive is it to see 10 weight fly rods bend to such extraordinary angles ? I have seen few places with the sport fishing potential that this area of Gabon has. Those who know tarpon know full-well that the tropical west coast of Africa has always held the biggest fish. If you want the genuine chance to catch a tarpon over 250 lbs, you want to start thinking about countries such as Angola, Gabon, Sierra Leone etc. Perhaps the real monsters are possible on the fly, but I personally would be happier with fairly substantial boat fishing tackle.
If the idea of trolling miles from land in a rough sea for hours and hours turns you off, then go to Gabon. Light tackle, lots of fly fishing opportunities, fish of all sizes, masses of them, either inside the sheltered and very shallow lagoon, within the river mouth, or perhaps just outside it. No doubt there is much offshore fishing to explore, but that is for another time. I for one just do not like endless (boring) hours spent trolling.
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We decided to try and catch a large cubera snapper on livebait one balmy afternoon, but never did I guess that Ed would suggest anchoring in under two metres of water and so close to the lagoon shore. James fly-fished for the plentiful jacks that kept coming through in waves of ravenous hordes, but after my first drop down and one big snapper later, I offered him the livebait rod……could a fly fisherman resist ?
Lob the bait out and it swings around in the tide; line tightens up, I adjust the drag for James, and then he really gets hit hard. No striking this fish because we are using exclusively circle hooks, but the predator then really storms off towards the shore and the waiting mangroves. A tight drag and skilful fishing from James just about prevents disaster, but fifteen minutes into the battle and still we have not seen the fish. You can imagine how James and I looked when perhaps 100 lbs of African cubera snapper surfaced next to the boat sometime later, neatly hooked in the corner of the mouth with the 8/0 circle hook. Gently we towed the majestic creature to a sandbank to revive it and take the required trophy pictures, but still my greatest memory is watching such a beast swim gently away and James sitting there with a look of sheer, incredulous wonder upon his face. “What have I just caught, how can fish that huge swim in such innocent looking water ?”
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We are both of the belief that big cuberas could be caught on the fly, but it would take some effort in either the surf or the quiet lagoon waters. No doubt it is achievable. The largest barracuda species in the world patrols these waters (the Guinean barracuda), as well as potential record breaking longfin and crevalle jacks. James even caught a couple of species on the fly that we have never heard of; even Ed had never seen one of them before, the African Longfish. The enigmatic tarpon are often lurking somewhere, but we came away with the general feeling that much is still to be learnt about their feeding habits and day to day movements. The largest from the camp though is around 260 lbs, caught by drifting deadbaits just outside the estuary mouth.
The threadfin is a strange looking fish, but how they fight. A fish happiest either in the surf zone or in the tumbling waters of the estuary mouth, they can grow very large and will happily nail most things : bait, lures, jigs and of course flies. James was one of the first people to really spend his time seriously fly fishing over there, and what he caught in the week was quite staggering. How many times though have you returned from a place knowing that you have hardly even scratched the surface of the alarming potential ? It is certainly far removed from casting over flats for spooky bones or sight fishing for wild browns, but just how special is it to quite literally stumble on a place that is so virgin, so unspoilt, so pristine, and simply so full of fish ?
But I would be doing the place a disservice if I spoke only of the fishing, for hard as it is to drag oneself away, in fact Operation Loango offers much more than wetting lines. Indeed it has been set up to help protect the Petit Loango national park by bringing tourists in, which in turn helps to fund all kinds of conservation projects. A very forward thinking government has really decided to push this kind of “eco-tourism” as a means of promoting and aiding in this preservation of such incredibly diverse biodiversities.
The surrounding rain forest and open savannahs offer glimpses of quite wonderful arrays of wildlife and it would be a real shame not to give yourself the opportunity to see central Africa as it is meant to be. Forest elephants, buffalo, leopards, gorillas, chimps, incredible numbers of birds (some species totally unique to the area), hippos, crocs etc.. The gentlest and quietest way is to go on foot with a local guide, or even take to the kayaks and push into quiet and unspoilt waterways that team with forest sounds. By all means 4by4 it with a guide, and perhaps this works best for the angler who struggles to leave the fishing, but to walk amongst such peace and near to such untamed wildness is just so special. Yet the fishing beckons once more…