Mozambique fishing and the one that didn’t get away
"I have never had so much fun catching bait in my life" writes Reitz Krige after he and a friend headed down to the Guinjata bay in Mozambique for a glorious morning of fishing.
Mozambique fishing and the one that didn’t get away
Posted by Mozambique blog by Reitz Krige on 28 Sep 2011, 12:35
Categories: Travel News
I love fishing – especially rock and surf angling. I grew up in the Cape (South Africa) and spent many happy fishing holidays in Stillbay targeting species like kabeljou (cob), galjoen, musselcracker and elf (shad).
The fishing conditions in Mozambique are however very different from those in the Western and Southern Cape. The biggest difference in my opinion is that in Mozambique rock and surf angling seems much harder with fewer species on offer to the shore angler. Some places do offer some excellent fishing for the experienced shore angler, but the real action is to be had off shore, where game fish like Kingfish, Cuta, Barracuda, Yellow Fin Tuna, Sailfish and Dorado are targeted from boats, fishing kayaks and jet ski’s. These fast moving predators can put up a majestic fight when hooked.
Ahoy cuta's!
In March I was lucky enough to be invited by my big friend Xen to go out at Guinjata bay (Inhambane Province, Mozambique) with legendary Guinjata skipper Ralph Jones from Seabound Fishing Charters on his boat, Seabound Sr. On the day there were a lot of Bonnie’s (Bonito) in the bay and they were chasing baitfish near the surface at places. We used a small spinning rod outfitted with braid and a tiny silver spinner to catch a few lively specimens. The Bonnies gave a good account of themselves on light tackle and I must confess that I have never had so much fun catching bait in my life.
We rigged up the Bonnie’s and put them out to trawl. Within a few minutes we were into a couple of good sized Cuta’s. The Cuta is truly a wonderful game fish and with its streamline profile it puts up a good clean fight. Next I was able to land a good sized Yellow Fin Tuna, which put up valiant struggle, making those tell tale dives to the bottom.
Above: Xen (right) with legendary Guinjata skipper Ralph Jones from Seabound Fishing Charters on his boat, Seabound Sr.
After landing a few more Cuta’s, Xen got stuck into a big tuna. One moment he was still fighting the fish with all his strength and the next moment he was hopelessly staring at the bleeding head of the Tuna at the end of his line. A hungry shark had come along and taxed him (bit off the greatest part of the tuna).
Above: Me with my new soulmate, the Barracuda. Man, what a feeling!
All in all we had a glorious morning of fishing on the Seabound Senior and ended up with a few good cuta’s, a tuna and a barracuda. We spent the afternoon having some lovely fresh tuna sashimi, washed down with a couple of cold 2 M’s (the local beer) and musing about the ones that got away and the taxman’s cut.
Above: The one whose other half got away. A hungry shark had come along and taxed him.
Wanna go? Remember to pack these!
Always remember that when going out on the water in Mozambique the glare of the sun is particularly bad, as it reflects off the water surface and I strongly recommend a good hat (broad rimmed), sunglasses (preferably Polaroid), sun block and a long sleeve shirt made from a quick drying fabric.
Reader Comments
- kielce beton on January 31 2012
