Fin-S

Happy Dude, not fresh stuff which you will need for the sails. Best option is to ask the crew to get it for you - they will recruit a couple of locals to net some. For a back up, order some blast frozen ready rigged from the States, I have used Baitmasters of South Florida (www.baitmasters.com) previously and found them to be good. Expensive maybe, but I would rather spend a few bucks on good bait if you are travelling this far for some fish.

Yep, not bad - makes up for some of the recent blanks! Not the pot, about 2 NM offshore, and 1NM north of Hemingways over a bank. Picked up most of the fish on a 20m downrigger and CD18 pink rapala (water was a bit green) and the sails on normal belly strip under blue / silver soft Ilander. Boiling pot and rips will start to come on form now until February, and the seas should quieten down. Have not heard of big tigers for some time, but some of the crew reckon the best time is to stay out after a night time broadbill trip - all the action attracts the sharks and as soon as the sun comes up they start munching. Apparently they lost a nice broadbill at the end of last season to a monster - estimated at 16 - 17 feet and close to 2500kgs!

Unfortunately with a nick like "Sword Slaya" I guess these people do exist - it would infer that they actually kill the swordfish as well as the mako, 2 of the finest fish in the sea for the sake of a few pictures - sad. In my experience a pair of long handled clippers do wonders for releasing sharks - and you can even save on ammo! Also I would not like to be on a boat when some idiot fires a AK into the water - a light bullet like this is prone to deflect, although sadly not at 180 degrees. Happy Dude, I was up in Malindi last week and spent a day out of Hemingways, Watamu. 3 x GT (15, 25 AND 42KGS all t&r), 1 x 16kg king mackerel, small yellowfin and released 2 x sails. Big GT was on 20lb stand up - 1 1/4 hours, my new pb for ignoblis. Good luck and tight lines for your trip.

Alot depends on whereabouts in Ghana. If in Accra, there is not much of any size caught from the beach as most of it is targetted by the subsistence guys. If you are keen however, then a light weight bass outfit should do, 11ft, 3oz and a fixed spool. If you are going east or west then gradually scale up as there are some bigger fish about. I would suggest moving up to 12' and a decent multiplier holding at least 300m of 30lb. Bait or lures is your choice, but you need to be pretty fit to continually spin with this sort of gear. An option is to spend a month over there and then determine what would be best after speaking to the locals and hitching a ride in one of the fishing boats. (there are a friendly bunch next to The Dutch Hotel in Accra). I visit every 3/4 months so drop me a mail (findotfairwayatmwebdotcodotza) with your details when you arrive and maybe we could catch up. The other alternative is save your money and take a trip to Ada Foah for the marlin and yellowfin / bigeye - awesome stuff. If you are interested try Johan Zietsman on Karma. Generally I have found Ghana to be safe and friendly, so enjoy and tight lines!

I believe that the glue and tube method will suffice for most fishing but what worries me more is the loop to loop on the braid. After a few hard days it appears to be very flimsy and retains less than 50% of its original strength. This was actually tested after the loss of a couple of decent fish. As a result I tend to use needle or nail knots on the freshwater gear, but on the heavy stuff I whip a loop of the flyline itself. Just bare the end of the line (about 2"), fold it back to make a loop about 1/2" long and whip the end tightly to the standing line. For the whipping I use thin braid of about 6lb test, and whip the whole 2". It hasn't failed yet, but it is a bit of a pain to do.

From a trip last year... MAHE: We stayed at Casuarina, and there is a large grass/marl/sand flat directly in front of the resort. Right in front of the resort a few guys managed some bonefish. These fish get hammered, so if you want to catch them be sure to be there first light. They go to about 6lbs. Also, on our first day there we found a big pack of golden trevally cruising around over the grass, every so often stopping and tailing vigorously. We managed one fish of about 10lbs from this shoal as well as a yellowspot trevally. Another notable catch was a greenspot trevally of 12lbs. The marl areas are also loaded with all kinds of snappers. I cant offer any advise on the rest of Mahe, or any guides there. We fished a neap tide, which seemed to be optimal for that flat. PRASLIN: The place for fly fishing Praslin is at Grande Anse. This is a well known beach, with large grass flat beyond. The flat is frequented by golden trevally, and small permit. Apparently the odd triggerfish also puts in an appearance. The bones are few and far between, but present. I havent heard of too many getting caught. The offshore islands are the main fishing areas but unless you are on a boat they are out of reach. Enjoy!

Jim - Yep I live in Cape Town now (but spent a few years in Wales and Southampton) and warmer - well normally so, but today it is pouring down, 15 degrees and blowing 45-50 knots - hence more writing of things piscatorial today rather than catching! Good luck with the daddy, I'm sure it will work, and for the bloodworm I use Gamakatsu grub hooks 12/14.

More info forthcoming...... Because there is nothing average about a carp, especially its size, your tackle needs to be up to the job. Because fly fishing for carp is all about spotting the fish, and then making a quick and accurate cast from 3 to 15 meters away, the action of the rod is very important. Too stiff a rod makes short, accurate casts very difficult. On the other hand, too soft a rod will not be able to handle the strength, weight and dirty fighting tactics of a hooked carp. My recommendation would be a 6 to 8 weight graphite rod of between 8.5 to 9 foot long, with medium tip action and lots of backbone in the but section. When fishing very snaggy water with bigger fish (16 to 25 pounds) a 9 weight rod would be a better choice. Carp fight hard and dirty, and any reel used to catch them will receive a workout. For this reason, I prefer bigger reels with disk drags and backing capacities of 150 meters or more. Sooner or later, you may need every meter of backing! An exposed reel rim is essential when fly-fishing for carp. The reel should be loaded with 20 pound (9 kilogram) Dacron or Micron backing. When fishing a large, strong river with lots of snags, 30 pound Dacron is a far safer bet. I use a floating, weight forward fly line for all of my carp fishing. These lines allow you to present the fly accurately from close to medium range and if the cast is off target, you can simply lift the line off the water and recast. A tapered leader of around nine foot and with a 10 pound tip is great for this form of fishing. I usually add an additional length of tippet to the end of the leader. Because carp are so wary and their eyesight is so good, the thinner and stronger the tippet the better. In the old ratings, 4x to 2x are ideal. In snaggy waters, 0.30mm line with high abrasion properties is much safer. One of the most essential items of tackle for catching carp on fly, is a good pair of polarized sun glasses. Without them, you will not be able to spot the fish in the water and you will therefore not be in a position to cast a fly to them. I prefer amber or brown coloured lenses that increase contrast while blocking out surface glare. A large landing net is very helpful in landing the fish quicker. I like a strong net with a telescopic handle that folds down and can be clipped onto the back of my multi pocket vest. Normal trout style nets are useless on the average carp, which normally weigh over 2.5 to 4 kilograms. Because carp feed on a wide range of aquatic food items, many different flies have been successful for them. My most successful flies are as follows. Woolly buggers in black, black-red, white, yellow and dark brown; gold bead hairs ear nymph; white caddis grub; black zulu; San Jan worm; crazy charlies in white or brown; Dels Merkin (a crab pattern) in white and brown and skinny buzzers. Recently, a weighted #8 white shrimp imitation has proved very effective (Sweet and salty shrimp). My most successful dry flies include Deer hair patterns like the D.D.D, flying ant; Daves hopper; muddler minnow and Adams. I commonly use these flies in sizes from 10 to 4. When the fish are very spooky, I may go down to #16 flies and when fishing for large carp in the rivers, I may go as large as a #2 long shank. My most successful fly for carp has been the woolly bugger in different variations and I weight them either with a gold metal bead in front or with bead chain or lead dumbbell eyes. I leave some flies un-weighted to sink slowly and thus cover fish cruising close to the surface, but generally I want my flies to get down to where the fish are feeding, quickly. Carp have relatively large mouths and I have even caught some using large deer hair mouse patterns and baitfish imitations. Recently, on many waters that we fish, using imitative blood worm imitations (The carps favourite food) in size 14 to 10 have proved deadly. I always use de-barbed hooks. Also make sure that your hooks are sharp! It is essential to realize the following about carp before setting out to pursue them with fly. Firstly, they can easily find enough food to maintain their energy requirements and will not therefore chase a fly as readily as trout. Why expend energy on chasing a rapidly moving fly, five meters away, when there is plenty of food a few inches away under the sand? This then is the key to hooking carp on fly. No matter what fly is used, it needs to be presented a few centimeters in front of the fishes head. Secondly, carp mainly feed on the bottom although they do cruise a few centimeters bellow the water surface and they do also indeed feed on the surface at times. Therefore, if the carp is feeding on the bottom, in 60 cm of water, the fly needs to get down to where it is feeding, quickly, before it moves off again. If the fish is cruising just below the surface, the fly needs to sink slowly enough so that by the time the fish reaches it, it will be at eye level. If the fish is feeding on the surface, then a dry fly (floating fly) will be the best option. Carp can be separated into two distinct types. Those that are cruising, and those that are feeding. Feeding carp are looking for food, usually insects, and they are less likely to spot you so they are always easier to catch. When carp feed on the bottom, the tail lifts up and the mouth is used like a vacuum cleaner come shovel as they dig, blow and suck the insects out of gravel, sand or mud. This feeding behavior is very similar to permit, spotted grunter, white steenbras and bonefish. This feeding activity in water less than a meter deep unleashes silt, fine bubbles and their tails create ripples and vortexes that are unmistakable to the trained eye. If you see such activity, endeavor to get to the spot quickly without being seen. The closer you can get, the better. Now try to spot which end is the tail and which end is the mouth. If the fish is still rooting about in the mud, cast about 80 centimeters past it and about 5 to 10 centimeters in front. Quickly draw the fly in for a few centimeters and then allow it to sink to the bottom, the closer to the fish's mouth that it sinks, the better. If the fish spots it and if the fly looks like food, then it will move up to it, and inhale it. As soon as this happens, set the hook!. Some carp like to take moving flies while others prefer them lying on the bottom. The angle that you cast to the fish can also be critical. Casting to a carp that is facing you or that is side on to your position is easiest. If the carp is facing away though, life can get complicated. If you mess up on the cast and the leader or tippet sinks on to the fishes back, it is history! Casting to either side of a carp that is facing away from you is the answer, but unfortunately they keep moving. The one advantage of casting to a fish that is not facing you though is that it cannot see you approaching. When fishing in muddy water, I normally cast at bubbles that the carp release as they feed. If you cast directly over the bubbles, the fly will soon sink in front of a fish and be taken. Watch the leader as it enters the water for unnatural movement. If the leader does not move after a cast has been made, I wait for a half a minuet or less and then slowly retrieve the fly for a meter. If nothing happens, I recast. I call this method, bubble bashing. A refinement of this method is to use a treated yarn bite indicator, positioned 1 and a half times the depth of the water onto the leader. This system shows up any takes instantly and will drastically increase your success rate using this method. If you spot cruising carp, they have either just been feeding or are about to start. What I normally do is to cast the fly in front of the fish and allow it to sink. How far you cast in front depends on the conditions. The clearer the water and the quicker the fish is moving, the further in front you need to cast (leading the fish). 2 meters to 50 cm is about the average. If the fish is moving very slowly, then it is better to cast closer to the fish but well past it, the fly can then be drawn back quickly and then allowed to sink. An interested carp will turn down and follow the fly and take it before it hits bottom. Watch the leader, if it moves unnaturally, strike. If the fish are feeding on the surface, you need to cast a large dry fly (#8 to 6) close to it and then allow it to drift. If the carp is interested, it will rise and suck the fly in. Wait for it to turn down before striking. River carp can be a real challenge to take on fly. On the one hand, they are more willing to chase a fly, but on the other, they can be far more spooky and the current can cause problems of its own. When the carp are feeding in slacker water, the same methods used in still waters should be used. When the carp feed up rapids however, there are two methods that work well. These are upstream nymphing and down stream and across. In deep, fast water, the upstream nymphing method with fairly big and heavily weighted flies works best. To do this, you approach the fish by wading carefully upstream (in their blind spot) and then cast the fly over them and allow it to drift back down to you while keeping the rod tip up. This way the fly sinks rapidly and fishes past the fishes head and if it is taken, the leader will stop dead or move upstream, Strike quickly and hold on! In shallow, fast rapids, the downstream method works well. When you spot a carp feeding up the rapid, approach it from upstream carefully so that it does not spot you. Now work your way across so that you are almost in front of the fish, but about 7 to 10 meters upstream of it. Now cast a large woolly bugger or similar fly to the side of it and allow the current to swing the fly across its path. If all goes well, the fish will chase after it and take it. Set the hook and be prepared for a long fight! Landing a hooked carp on fly tackle is another story, these fish are strong! Remember to take your time and use lots of side strain. Carp are dirty fighters and they will head for any cover when hooked so take care. A big (20 pounds+) and fit carp could keep you busy for a long time! Tight lines.

In the height of summer, I do a fair bit of guiding for flyfisherman, and carp angling is the fastest growing segment. Re your other post on tackle. I suggets 9' 7/8 weight, WF8F line, at least 150m of 30lb backing and a tapered 9' leader to an 8lb tippet. You have 2 choices, either entice them to feed by prebaiting with floating crust and then cast out a bread imitation (white foam body), or prospect where they are feeding (look for bubbles) and cast out something like a wooly bugger. I generally use the latter method, black fly, red tail, dumbell eyes. Only cast to feeding fish and try and lead the fish by 6/7 feet when casting. If its done correctly the fly and the fish should meet at the same depth. Then hang on! Unlike most trout, a decent carp will take you into the backing with ease and a big fish will really test you.

Hi Vagabond, I have not fished for Atlantic permit, but have had some (?) success in the Seychelles with Indo Pacific permit. I gather they are quite similar - and are also very frustrating. I have so far spent 4 hours per day, on 3 different 5 day trips and have caught 3! (an average of 20 hours for each fish....) and have generally found that time, place and patience are as important as fly selection. My main reason for saying this is that all of my fish came out of shoals where the competition for food was a factor. Anyway herewith some general thoughts... Like most other fish found on a flat, permit don’t like water that is too warm and lacking in oxygen. They arrive later on a flat than bonefish because their size and shape require deeper water to move around and feed in. Permit access the flats on an atoll either from the lagoon or the outer reef. Access channels leading into a lagoon will be a great place to look for permit. A good way to determine if a channel will be productive is to see if other fish use it. Permit often use the same channels as Bonefish and Trevally. When scouting for entrances on the outer reef, one should look for channels leading from the ocean onto the flats. Cuts in the reef leading into a depression on the flats are productive areas. Turtle grass flats usually fringe these outer reef areas. Permit are hard to spot on turtle grass, so it is best to find a sandy patch amongst the grass to ambush the fish. The tide and Moon I have found the most productive time to fish for Permit is on an incoming tide, on and around a spring tide. Spring tides are good because more water moves onto the flat. Even if the water on the flat feels like bath water, spring tides soon provide cold water. On a good day, with light permitting, one can fish for Permit in two or three stages. The initial tidal push is the first, and then one should follow the fish as they move higher up on the flat. Another possibility is to target them close to high ground up on the flat. The first two stages will usually take place within an hour of the first surge and the last stage will occur during the final two hours of the incoming tide. The time of day and water temperature dictate where to fish for Permit. I only fish the channels on the lagoon side of the atoll in the morning when the water is cool. These channels can be fished on both an incoming and outgoing tide. The reef access routes can also be fished in the morning with the incoming tide again being my favourite. We have consistently found Permit where there are little patches of turtle grass on a sand flat. I usually look for Permit around these patches during the latter stages of an incoming tide, during high tide, and the first stages of an outgoing tide. Now for flies..the primary commercial pattern is the Merkin Crab, details are commonly available on one of the SWF sites, but personally I don't use it. All of my fish so far come from an epoxy / silicone crab: Hook 2 - 1/0 short shank, wide gape, strong fine wire. Tan thread. Method: Firstly lay a bed of thread along the hook to opposite the barb. Cover with one layer of wrapped fine lead wire working from the bend to the eye. Overwrap with the thread and at halfway back to the eye tie in 2 lengths of 50lb clear mono. Continue wrapping to just short of the eye and tie in 2 short tan cock feathers. Whip finish. You now have a weighted shank with 2 pieces of mono (which you now burn to create the eyes) lying next to 2 short feathers which resemble feelers. Now try and find a mould about the size of a 5p piece and 1/4 inch deep. I use the top off a 2litre milk jug. Cut out slots using a hacksaw along the side of the mould for the hook to lie in (obviously 180 degrees apart) and then six additonal slots for the legs (3 on each side). Line the mould with clingfilm. Take the hook and tie in three lengths of tan / brown chenille after you have knotted the ends of the chenille. Tie in one piece at the bend of the hook, one midway along the hook and one at the front just behind the eyes. As you tie in these legs an option is to also tie in a pair of small hackle tips with each leg to suggest movement. Mix the epoxy and add a tiny dollop of colour (light green or tan etc as this acts as the body) and half fill the mould with the coloured mix. Place the fly on the epoxy, hook point facing up with the hook itself just immersed. The eye and bend of the hook should be protruding from the slots you have cut out, as should the legs and hackle tips. Leave to dry. Once dried, take some silicone sealent (clear) and fill to the top of the mould. Again, leave to dry. Pull out of the mould, discard clingfilm and you now have a realistic pattern with a hard top, softer bottom and good movement. It sounds a mission to tie, but once you have things ready, a batch can be done at once. As an aside, the bones absolutely go mad for this fly - especially on the drop. Send me a pm ( findotfairwayatmwebdotcodotza )and I will mail you photos of the process when I am back in the office. (7 days).

Chris, having worked on, rebuilt and modified boats for a fair few years, that is the first time I have heard of using clingfilm for the gelcoat - great tip, thanx

Hurricane hits Essex A major Hurricane (Shazza) measuring 7.8 on the Beaufort scale hit in the early hours of Monday. Epicentre: Basildon, Essex. Victims were seen wandering around aimless muttering "faaackin ell" ... The hurricane decimated the area causing approximately £30 worth of damage. Several priceless collections of mementos from the Balearics and Spanish Costa's were damaged beyond repair. Three areas of historic burnt out cars were disturbed. Many locals were woken well before their giro arrived. Essex FM (County Radio Station) reported that hundreds of residents were confused and bewildered, still trying to come to terms with the fact that something interesting had happened in Basildon. One resident - Tracy Sharon Smith, a 15-year-old mother of 5 said "It was such a shock, my little Chardonnay-Mercedes came running into my bedroom crying. My youngest two Tyler-Morgan and Megan-Storm slept through it all. I was still shaking when I was watching Trisha the next morning." Apparently though, looting, muggings and car crime did carry on as normal.The British Red Cross has so far managed to ship 4,000 crates of Sunny Delight to the area to help the stricken locals. Rescue workers are still searching through the rubble and have found large quantities of personal belongings, including benefit books, jewellery from Elizabeth Duke at Argos and Bone China from Poundland. HOW CAN YOU HELP? This appeal is to raise money for food and clothing parcels for those unfortunate enough to be caught up in this disaster. Clothing is most sought after, items most needed include: -- Fila or Burberry baseball caps -- Kappa tracksuit tops (his and hers) -- Shell suits (female) -- White sport socks -- Rockport boots -- Any other items usually sold in Primark. Food parcels may be harder to come by, but are needed all the same. Required foodstuffs include: -- Microwave meals -- Tins of baked beans -- Ice cream -- Cans of Colt 45 or Special Brew. 22p buys a biro for filling in the compensation forms £2 buys chips, crisps and blue fizzy drinks for a family of 9 £5 will pay for a packet of B&H and a lighter to calm the nerves of those affected. **Breaking news** Rescue workers found a girl in the rubble smothered in claret - 'Where are you bleeding from?' they asked - "ROMFORD" said the girl, "woss that got to do wiv it?"

All for a good cause but really myopic if they believe it will actually help! Also remember that Africa is rather large, and that just because 1 country is predominantly Moslem, does not mean the rest of the continent is. In actual fact Christianity and indiginous beliefs outweigh Islam. Unfortunately DavyR hit the nail on the head. If it was not for western (and eastern - don't forget the arabs) interference the tribal laws would naturally resolve the issues that are now plaguing us. Although whether the Zulu's would be ruling would be a matter of withcraft..... On a serious note, the Aid is welcome but until we change mindsets it is delaying the inevitable. Education is what is needed most desperately - and some of that education extends to the donors themselves. :confused:

Does anyone travel abroad specifically for a fishing holliday ? --------------------------------------------- Yep, often. Guide 50% of the time, 50% on my own for the first trip, if I go again, normally all on my own. Any fish make me happy, but the cherry on top would have to be a PB of the target species. TonyU - Will be going for tiger fish on the fly in late July on the Zambezi about 200kms up from Vic Falls. Hopefully will be staying in an out of season hunters camp. Will take 5wt, 7wt, 9wt fly rods, 6' baitcaster, 7' baitcaster and 2 x telescopic 7'6" as reserves. It is a long way to the nearest tackle shop! If it is a big game trip, then I rely upon the boat except for the 15wt flyrod.

Lovely fish those Chevin, must give a hectic fight on a fly rod! Are they related to the amberjack? As for the snake - amazing photo.

Congratulations Norma, what an awesome achievement. Look forward to seeing the pics!

"We are having a pop at the ...., the Africans," Hey, what did we do to the UK or US. :confused: At least most of you guys have healthcare, are employable and have an education, or you have the option to. Maybe time to consider how lucky you are to be born British or American and to be granted the priveledges that come with that. Your alternatives could be a lot worse - Au revoir

"We are having a pop at the ...., the Africans," Hey, what did we do to the UK or US. :confused: At least most of you guys have healthcare, are employable and have an education, or you have the option to. Maybe time to consider how lucky you are to be born British or American and to be granted the priveledges that come with that. Your alternatives could be a lot worse - Au revoir

Unfortunately your chances of anything of a decent size are pretty remote around Cyprus so you will be able to get away with 6/7 weight with an intermediate line. Freshwater gear will suffice provided you rinse it off after every outing and give it all a good strip and clean after the trip. Just remember to upgrade the leader (12lbs Maxima on a 20lb butt). I would suggest you try the breakwater (both sides) in Famagusta for the snapper and mullet, either side of Cape Andreas for mackerel, gars and bass, depending on the wind or Cape Kormakiti for snapper and reef fish. I found the last 2 better on a flooding spring tide. Tight lines.

My folks used to live in Fordingbridge and I fished the area intensively from Christchurch through to Andover for about 12 years. The best bet for sea trout would be in the tidal reaches in Christchurch, they are very few and far between further up river. I recall a couple per year but normally incidental catches. The links above are the right ones for the river, but he could also try Bickton for trout on the river or Rockbourne for stillwater if it is still going.

OK, thanks Newt. Will rig up a couple with large circles and see how they go.

Sorry SM, can't help on the bait side, but have found that you normally need to go up a couple of sizes with circles and that the sizing is very different from different manufacturers - makes mail order a lucky dip! Newt - Fully agree on the not striking, the hook should glide gently throught the mouth until it reaches an obstruction where it will rotate and catch. On another thread though you mention that you use them on trolling lures. How would this work, bearing in mind the trolling speed of 4 - 6 knots plus a fish striking the lures at say 10 - 15 knots. Wouldn't the effect be the same as striking and pulling the hooks out of the mouths?

Snatcher, I use a kidney shaped laundry basket with a belt through it. In the base I have glued 6 of the cone shaped nozzles off of sealant tubes and it works perfectly even in the surf. Problem is I don't know if they come in yellow to match the dressing gown belt

On the topic of makos, we had one yesterday that took a Halco 190. Bought it to the boat (about 150lbs) and found that one set of trebles was in the top jaw and the other were inside the mouth on the bottom jaw. Obviously it wouldn't be able to get rid of the lure if we cut it off, and with its mouth hooked together it couldn't feed. We ended up tailing it (bad move when they start spinning) and tracing it into the boat, did the surgery and released it - hopefully OK. Question is, do you know of any other way / tool to help in this situation as I was not too happy to have an angry fresh shark in the boat with a couple of tourists. As it is it left some indelible toothmarks in my cooler box

I reckon it makes a difference...was out yesterday trolling with 6 rods, 4 of them had Rapalas on that the hooks were previously covered in Vaseline to stop rust, which even though cleaned still left a residue. The two others were older and slightly rusty. 4-0 to the older lures without vaseline. Brought the first 4 in, and covered the hooks with Anchovy oil to disperse the Vaseline. In the afternoon they outfished the older lures. Not scientific but it was good enough for me. As for the smoking, anything that helps you kick it is good, so yeah, quit and you'll catch more