Mozambique - any tips

[twitchandjerk]

Hi,

 

I will be spending a few days in Mozambique (near Beira) this August and intend to take my beach casters. Has anybody any tips on tactics and baits etc??

 

Cheers

[argyll]

You must be somwhere near the bottom end of Pemba. I know a bit about the top end so its much the same stuff. Off the beach, inshore species are likely to be kingies, barracuda, barracuta, rainbow runners and small sharks. If you're off a reef then the seaward side will probably have trevally and small tuna species amongst others. If you want billfish then you need to be off-shore with heavier gear. I'd normally suggest lures. Heavy metal lures, poppers and jointed Rapalas. If you're using bait then its ledgered fish strips on heavy guage hooks and 60-100lb wire traces. You'll need long nose pliers to deal with fish that have more teeth than the average UK fish. I warn you it can be dangerous if you dont work out a routine in advance for dealng with something like a barracuda in the surf. If you see a local guy with a small serviceable boat then bribe him into taking you slow trolling heavy lures along the edge of the reef. That way you'll have the best of the inshore fishing and someone to despatch fish for you.

[Fin-S]

Agree pretty much with Argyll, bar the billfish. Bear in mind that August is mid winter (affects sea temp more than land, should still be 26 degrees or more)and hence species will be limited, also that Beira is a port city and some access is limited. This would mean that you either go the gamefish route for trevally, runners, king mackeral and queenfish, or go the bottom route for sharks, rays and barracuda. For gamefish concentrate on rips and estuary mouths (presuming you'll be on the shore) and you should find trevally (known as kingfish locally) and queenfish. The king mackeral (known as barracouta, or simply 'couta) tend to be in deeper water and you may pick one up from the port piers if you fish them. Try a 10ft plus spinning rod and a 6500 size reel, 25lb line, 50lb leader and throw spoons, poppers, Rapalas etc. For bottom fishing 12ft heavy rod, 9000 sized reel, 40lb line, 100+lb leader and 10/0 hooks. Either a large deadbait (1lb) or a livebait on a slider rig. Cast into gullies or rips off the beach. If you really fancy a decent shark, try beaten mullet or mackeral head wrapped in squid. Mostly we fish with the reel down the butt as it is easier to play big fish and use a rod belt. If you post more specifics as to exactly where you are going, I may be able to give more pointers - ie north to the Zambezi mouth, Paindene Beach etc.....

[argyll]

'bar the billfish'

 

Far too early for striped marlin, but I thought there might be a few blacks knocking about. Best black marlin out of the north end of Pemba Channel (and moving north after the yellowfin shoals)was 800lb. Caught on Ist September.

I fished the South African Open billfish tournament in 1993, curiously held in Watamu, Kenya. You werent there were you Fin-S ?

 

[ 15. April 2005, 11:40 AM: Message edited by: argyll ]

[Fin-S]

Hi argyll, quite correct on the stripeys but re the blacks: Pemba Channel (and hence the island) are about 1000kms north of Pemba in Moz, which is another 1000kms north of Beira. It is now thought that due to the shallow water (in the vicinity of Beira) and lack of serious bottom structure, the blacks stay well offshore beyond reach. It appears as if they come in at the Bazaruto archipelago and then head offshore until the Quelimane area. In mid summer there have been a few caught but it is not really known as a marlin fishery. And no, in 1993 I was a deckie in Guam and the Marshall Islands. I heard that there used to be an open tournament fished up there (how did you do by the way?)but I guess that was before Sodwana / Richards Bay opened up. Most of SADSAA (our governing body) tournaments are now held locally bar the sailfish nationals (still in Kenya, although with diminishing catch returns) and they are all release based. I was up at Hemingways in November trying for a sailie on fly and really battled to tease them. Plenty around but very few hook ups even on conventional gear.

For a mind like a steel wassitsname, you've got a good memory.

[argyll]

That year the SA tourney people had booked every boat out of Hemingways. Not a problem because I usually fish with Pete Darnborough out of Ocean Sports next door. I fancied a spare half day and Hemingways found me the only boat not booked, a little 24 foot wooden job with ancient outboards and a local skipper (Peter) from the village. The compass had rusted solid, had no RDF or anything similar and no chair. Stand-up only. How he found his way to the fish I'll never know. In four hours, 14 miles off Malindi, I had seven hook-ups on sails, including a triple hook-up and lost a total of two. The last one came just outside the reef at Watamu on the way back in, so the skipper and I grandstanded in front of the hotel in his little blue and white boat . Got all of the triple hook-ups in, even though by the time I got to the last one it was 300 yards away. Caught and released five good fish. The skipper and I both had grins from ear to ear when we got back to shore.

I also used to fish off White Bear with Robert the chef at Hemingways, strictly for the pot. Red snapper and grouper in 800 feet of water.

 

I noticed that sails on the fly was getting popular, never got around to trying although the then manager at Hemingways (Gary?) was always trying to catch his first. When we got home from that trip in '93 I read that he'd caught his first on fly a few days after I arrived back in London. Between then and 1998, I had good times and good fishing along that stretch of coast but it had started to decline (too many cowboy boats running out of places like Diani Beach) and I stopped going.

 

[ 15. April 2005, 02:22 PM: Message edited by: argyll ]

[Fin-S]

7 for 5 is excellent fishing in anybodys book, well done, I can just imagine the grandstanding in front of the hotel! Gary Cullen still runs the place although it is now much more 5 star tourism than just fishing, and White Bear is still around although I haven't fished off her. I've had a baby blue and stripey on fly and have hooked and lost 4 sailies so far, but still looking for the elusive 1st T&R. (Managed 2 longfin tuna and a yellowfin of 73LBs last week from home waters off CPT, and a baby blue shark of 10lbs all on the fly - one of those awesome days). I fully agree about the cowboys and Kenya, although northern Mozambique is looking good (and Tanzania) and Angola has plenty of potential which I hopefully will be looking at in October. I guess the hotspot now is Guatemala and that area, 20 shots / day is normal! Where do you travel to nowadays?

[argyll]

Six years since I've managed to get away. Prior to that I'd done Kenya from Lamu down to the Pemba Channel Fishing Club (with a bit of 'guesting' off the North Tanzania coast) Mexico (Cabo san Lucas, La Paz and a few 'off the map' spots on the Baha)and Hawaii.

 

[ 15. April 2005, 05:36 PM: Message edited by: argyll ]

[twitchandjerk]

Hi,

 

Thanks for all the help so far.

 

I have just found out that Rio Savane is my destination if that helps anyone with more specific advice.

 

Cheers

[argyll]

Hello mate, hope there was something of interest in that overdose of nostalgia. Beira and its beach resort of Rio Savane sound like a nice place. From what I can gather there's a lagoon and a boat slip which suggests that there's some private fishing activity and maybe small commercial netters or longliners. You might just get lucky and find someone prepared to take you out for a few hours for a few bucks. Have a good trip.