FISHING GUIDE & TOP TIPS African Angler, The Gambia West Africa

Written by Mark Longster AFRICAN POMPANO

Pompano Types: West African Pompano Gambian Names: Yow-al Scientific Names: Alectis Ciliaris General Catch Size: 2lb to 30lb Best Baits: Trolling small lures or bottom fished with cut fish baits, shrimp, live fry herrings & live mullet.

Top Tips: West African Pompano are found mostly everywhere over rough ground & rocky outcrops to open flats & estuary creeks. Their favourite bait is 2 to 3 fresh shrimp fished on a light outfit (15lb main line – 30lb trace – 4/0 hook). Small fry herring fished live & hooked just in front of the eye socket is best when targeting the larger Pompano. They will hit at anytime during general sport fishing & are a tremendous scrapper combining long powerful runs with hard erratic short bursts close to the boat. A member of the Jack family, they are a noted light-tackle game fish & are a great sport.

When: All year-round Recommended TACKLE

Rod – 12lb to 20lb / 7ft to 9ft boat rod Reel – Fixed spool – small multiplyer - Ambassador 9000c Main Line - 15lb to 20lb braid or mono Line Trace – 20lb to 30lb mono – 2ft to 3ft Swivels – 40lb Hooks – 2/0, 3/0 Mustard O’shaunassy or light gauge live bait hook

BARRACUDA

Barracuda Types: Great Barracuda & Guinean Barracuda Scientific Names: Sphyraena / Sphyraena Afra General Catch Size: 5lb to 45lb Gambian Record : 75lbs with AfricanAngler

Best Baits: Trolling lures or bottom fished with cut fish baits, live mullet & calamari. Top Tips: For best results when trolling from a boat use Rapala CD16 to CD18 Deep Diving lures (any colour) & fished 15ft to 30ft behind the boat at approx 4 to 6 knots – medium drag setting, enough to set the hook without striking. Use a rod holder or alternatively if holding the rod, keep the trace up for the best action and hold the rod tight. On all traces add 2ft to 3ft of 40lb wire trace before the hook or lure to prevent biting off!

When: All year-round

Recommended TACKLE

Rod – 20lb to 30lb / 7ft to 9ft boat rod Reel – Ambassador 9000c / 10000c multiplyer – or large fixed spool Main Line - 40lb mono or 40lb Braid / 40lb wire and crimps Swivel – 100lb barrel & snap swivels Hooks – 5/0 Mustard O’shaunassy + 5/0 triple strength hooks for lures Lures – Rapala Xrap 30ft Storm Deep Thunder & Rapala CD18 & “Manns” Stretch 30/40/50+

Ray, Paul and the gang with their 75lb Barracuda

BUTTERFISH

Butterfish Types: Butterfish, Common Puffer Gambian Names: Con-car-ay Scientific Names: Ephippion guttifer General Catch Size: 2lb to 15lb

Best Baits: Fresh Shrimp, Oyster, Clams, Crab, fished hard on the bottom best at anchor

Top Tips: Butterfish are cru station and shellfish eaters and have the teeth to do the job! Their feeding habit is to hold themselves stationary, pivoting up and down, back and forth using their pectoral fins whilst their powerful jaws crush oysters, clams, crabsand shrimp. A long shank hook is best – 2/0 or 3/0. One tip when fishing your bait is to add 2” to 3” of braided line (50lb/80lb) or 30lb wire trace to stop them biting through. It also pays to use bait elastic to hold the soft shrimp. Often pieces of shrimp slide up the line resulting in a ‘bite off’ as the Butterfish

homes in on the shrimp and bites through the line. You will need long- nose pliers as they are often hooked deep.

When: All year round

Recommended TACKLE

Rod: 12lb to 15lb Spinning/Boat Rod Reel: Small multiplyer or Fixed Spool Trace Line: 30lb mono + 50lb braid or 30lb wire for hook length Main Line: 15lb to 30lb mono or braid Swivel: 30lb to 40lb Hook: Long Shank 1/0 2/0 3/0 with bait holder barbs

CASSAVA

Cassava Types: Cassava Croaker Gambian Names: Unguka Scientific Names: Pseudotolithus Senegalensis General Catch Size: 5lb to 40lb

Best Baits: Live Baits – juvenile herring, mullet, and croakers are for best results: dead baits, fillet of bonga or herring, rack of shrimps tipped with bonga making a cocktail, also small baby calamari.

Top Tips: Cassava are best fished over broken rocky ground especially if you can find a rocky edge onto open sandy ground. Often found in shoals they will constantly follow a featured edge and can be concentrated. It is possible to be just off the mark. Large shoals on the feed can be frenzied fishing. Live herring, mullet, croakers are best fished on a medium (15lb to 20lb) outfit with 20lb to 30lb main line. A running ledger set up with 60lb swivel and 40lb to 50lb leader 3ft long and quality 5/0 to 6/0 hook. Cassava will hit with a ‘bang, bang’ type bite as they disarm the live bait and then chomp down on it. You need to strike at a

Cassava on the second or third ‘bang’. On smaller baits they can take the whole bait & hook; on larger baits they can ‘bang’ it and ‘leave’ it so strike at the bite.

Hook the live bait under the dorsal fin on the back (without hitting its spine) as Cassava will often ‘bang on the bait’ in the middle first to disable it.

When: All year-round Recommended TACKLE

Rod – 20lb / 7ft boat rod Reel – Fixed spool or multiplyer Main Line – 20lb to 30lb mono or braid Trace Line - 40lb to 50lb mono (3ft) Swivels – 100lb Hooks – 5/0 to 6/0 strong Mustard O’Saunassy

CAPTAIN FISH/THREADFIN SALMON

Threadfin Salmon Types: Giant West African Threadfin Gambian Names: Kujeli or Shiney Nose Scientific Names: Polydactylus Quadrifilis General Catch Size: 5lb to 60lb Best Baits: Large fresh prawns and small live herrings are a favorite choice. Also used are other small livefish including mullet. Dead baits including bonga fillet, nine bone fillet, calamari, & prawns.

Top Tips: Threadfin Salmon otherwise known as Captain Fish like strong moving spring tides, often fished just out from the rocky reefs in channels and around sandbars. Although a fast powerful fighter, they are a sensitive feeder. With a unique & transparent nose together with their threadfins these fish will often tap & mouth the bait before tackling it. A favorite bait is a ‘rack of prawns’ (4 to 6) threaded up the line or a small live herring will do the trick. Use a long (1 to 1.5 meter) light mono-trace (20lb or 30lb) with a 3/0 sharp hook. Fished on a running ledger with light lead just enough to hold the bottom. Allow a

‘tap, tap’ style bite to develop into a strong pull before striking. Raising the rod tip slightly when the bite is going on can often entice the fish to strike. When: All year-round with best months June, July, August & September

Recommended TACKLE

Rod – 12lb to 20lb / 9ft uptide boat rod Reel – Multiplyer or Fixed Spool Main Line – 25lb to 30lb mono or braid Trace Line - 25lb to 40lb mono Swivels – 30lb Hooks – 4/0 to 5/0 Live bait hook or Mustard O’Saunassy

JACKS

Jack Types: Trevally & Crevalle Gambian Names: Saka Scientific Names: Carnanx Senegallus/Carnanx Hippos General Catch Size: 10lb to 30lb Best Baits: Trolled lures (Rapala CD 16) colour - hot orange being a favourite or surface poppers. Float fished live mullet, drifting at anchor, dead baits; mullet, bonga fillet, prawns & calamari.

Top Tips: Jacks hunt in shoals & when they come across a group of bait fish they force the bait to the surface & attack from below giving a boiling effect on the surface of the water. When this display is sighted from the boat or the shore, the fish are in a feeding frenzy & will take virtually any lure or bait that you can get in the vicinity. When trolling lures from the boat determine the direction of the shoal & run a course to run the lures across the front of the pack.

Alternatively, set the boat uptide in line with the shoal & drift towards it without the engine running casting surface poppers into the frenzy with a fast retrieve. If sighted from the shore, again, cast into the shoal with a lure or heavy bait. When: All year-round – Best months Oct/Nov

Recommended TACKLE

Rod – 20lb to 30lb / 7ft to 9ft boat rod Reel – Multiplyer or Fixed Spool Trace Line: 50lb mono / 50lb wire trace for lures Main Line - 25lb – 40lb mono or braid Swivel – 30lb to 40lb Hooks – 3/0 Mustard O’Shaunassy or Owner size 7 catfish hook 5/0 triple strength treble for lures

LADYFISH

Ladyfish Types: Long-neck Croaker Gambian Names: Tunoon - (Tu-noon) Scientific Names: Pseudotolithus Typus General Catch Size: 5lb to 45lb Best Baits: Rack of shrimps or small live herrings are for best results. Dead-baits, a shrimp & tip of bonga fish cocktail works well or also live or dead ghost crabs.

Top Tips: Ladyfish feed in small and large shoals. They like fast moving spring tides and will feed hard often for a short space of time. The first two hours at the beginning or end of a new tide are favourite. These fish feed on open muddy ground and sandbars just off the rocky reefs. Fished on a running ledger with a light trace (20-30lbs) 3 to 4ft long, they are a hard hitting fish and will bang into the bait and keep going providing the angler with excellent sport.

In open water over a flat ground, Ladyfish can b e taken on the drift bouncing a live bait or shrimp and bonga strip cocktail along the bottom. When: All year-round

Recommended TACKLE

Rod – 12lb to 20lb / 7ft to 9ft uptider boat rod Reel – Multplyer or Fixed Spool Main Line - 25lb/30lb mono or Braid Hooks – 3/0 Mustard O’shaunassy or 5/0 Owner Catfish hook

SHARK

Shark Types: Requiem,Lemon, Sandbar, Sand Tiger, Blacktip etc Gambian Names: Gina-Gage Scientific Names: numerous General Catch Size: 50lb to 300lb Best Baits: Large live and dead fish baits, Bonga, Spanish Mackerel, Nine Bone, Mullet, Cuttlefish, Goats & small children!!!

Top Tips: The Gambia estuary sharks are mainly requiem sharks i.e. Lemon, Dusky, Sandbar, Sand Tiger, Bull Head & Nurse with Black Tips being the only prominent surface feeder. Fresh live and dead baits rigged on long 80lb to 100lb mono flowing 3ft-4ft traces with 2ft to 3ft of 100lb - 150lb wire trace fastened to a sharp 7/0 to 10/0 strong hook & 50lb main line & 50lb class rod with a large multiplyer is where it’s at. Sharks can be fished from the anchor as well as on the drift. A range of live and dead baits fished on floated & free lined surface live baits together with mid-water & bottom fished baits. This is used in connection with rubby-dubby & chumming methods. The key to fishing shark with this method is to set your baits in a constant

unbroken scent trail which attracts the sharks. When fishing from anchor it is important to keep a constant unbroken trail down-tide from your boat both on the surface & mid-water down to the bottom whichever depth you are fishing the baits. Use a mixture of chopped-up chunky fish pieces of any oily fish like bonga or herring mixed with some mashed or ground fish paste of the same & adding a few handfuls of sand with sawdust or bran & topped off with a bottle of cod liver oil or pilchard oil – bound together as the rubby-dubby mix.

In slow moving water & on neap tides or slack water, this mixture can be ladled or chummed into the water. The chunks & sand tend to go to the bottom whilst the bran/sawdust with the paste tends to settle mid-water to the surface. If the tide is strong it will take time for the chum to sink & can often do so a long way from the boat & your baits. An alternative method is to take a plastic carry-bag & tie a heavy 4lb plus weight into the bottom & & line-run from the led to a stout boat rod. The bag is filled with the fish mix, free spooled down-water & pressure exerted closes the bag tight around the fish mix therefore allowing it to be lowered to any depth or the bottom at

which point it can be stopped and a heavy couple of cranks on the rod will invert the bag tipping out the mixture.

The bran or sawdust floats to the top soaked in the fish oil & covered in paste while the chunkier, heavy mixture is deposited on the bottom closer to the boat up-stream from the baits. When drifting, it is important to keep the attracted fish mix around the boat & close to your baits. Using a finer fish mix or rubby-dubby placed in an onion sack & tied off the corner of the boat together with a second weighted bag lowered close to the bottom will follow the boat as it moves along in the current. Sharks are quite sensitive feeders often grabbing & holding a bait before chomping it down. Drags should be set loose allowing the shark to run with the bait without resistance. Once the line is peeling steadily, crank up the drag & strike hard two or three times & hold on tight. Sharks often make a long first run across the current and then settle into a powerful anti-clockwise dogging fight!

Recommended TACKLE Rod – 50lb to 80lb Boat Rod Reel – Large Multiplyer Main Line – 50lb to 80lb mono or braid Trace Line: 150lb to 250lb mono with 100lb to 200lb wire Swivels – 200lb Hooks – 5/0 or 6/0 strong

SNAPPERS

Snapper Types: Cubera, Red, Brown Gambian Names: Yagh Scientific Names: Lutjanus dentate,Lutjanus agennes, Apsilus fuscus, Lutjanus agennes General Catch Size: 5lb to 100lb Best Baits: Best fished on live baits including mullet, herrings, croakers, blue swimmer crabs. Dead baits including bonga fish fillets, mullet, calamari, nine bone fillets. Occasionally taken on lures – Rapala CD16/CD18 deep diver lures.

Top Tips: Bottom fished around rocky reefs & outcrops. Snappers are brutal fighters when hooked making short powerful runs often around any rocky outcrop resulting in a ‘snap off’! They are best bottom fished with a live bait fairly close to the boat on a short (3ft) heavy mono-trace (70lb) with a 6/0 strong hook & around 1ft of 10lb rotten bottom so the weight can break free when the fish is hooked. It pays to hold the rod in the hand with a tight drag & fight the fish hard on full pressure. If you leave the rod unattended it is often all over before you pick it up.

When: All year-round

Recommended TACKLE

Rod – 20lb to 50lb / 7ft boat rod Reel – Multipler or Fixed Spool Main Line - 30lb to 40lb mono or braid Line Trace – 70lb mono & 50lb wire trace for lures Swivel – 40lb to 60lb Hooks – 5/0 Mustard O’shaunasy or Owner size 7 live bait

SPANISH MACKEREL

Spanish Mackerel Types: West African Spanish Mackerel Gambian Names: Juno Scientific Names: Scomberomorus tritor General Catch Size: 5lb to 20lb Best Baits: Trolling lures Rapala 2” to 3”, Spoons, Spinners, small Herring Live Baits, Fish Strips.

Top Tips: Mackerel are fast swimming smash & grab merchants. 4cm to 6cm small rapala deep diver & floating lures can be trolled at 8-10 knots in open water when specifically targeting this species. It also often pays when trolling larger rapala CD18 lures for Barracuda to run smaller lures outside and behind your pattern as this will often pick out the Mackerel. Alternatively, float-fished small live baits on light tackle over shallow reefs and around rocky outcrops & light spinning with small mepps & silver spoons around shoals of bait fish over shallow reefs & sandbars works well.

A light 20lb to 30lb wire trace must be added as their teeth are razor sharp and will slice through mono-line. When: All year-round

Recommended TACKLE

Rod – Light 12lb to 20lb – 7ft to 9ft boat rod for trolling lures , Light spinning outfits and bait casting rods for presenting small lures Reel – Multiplyer or Fixed Spool Main Line - 10lb to 30lb Mono or braid / 20lb to 30lb wire trace and crimps Hooks – 2/0, 3/0 single and treble hooks O’Shaunassey, Owner, Gamakatsu Lures: - Mepps, Rapala 2”/3” Deep Diver, Silver Spoons

RAYS

Ray Types: Many varieties Incl. Roughtail, Tangura, Common Gambian Names: Tom-bu-lan Scientific Names: Numerous General Catch Size: 2lb to 200lb + Gambian Record: 319lbs with AfricanAngler Best Baits: Live baits, Cut fish baits, Bonga, Mullet, Cuttlefish

Top Tips: Stingrays are real garbage collectors. They will readily take any smelly dead bait as well as small live bait. Stingrays also respond to rubby-dubby – this is best used at the beginning and end of a tide, through slack water. When targeting the big Stingrays a 50lb & 80lb class outfit should be used with no less than 50lb main line and 100lb mono trace and a strong 5/0 hook. It often pays to fish a selection of baits set at different distances down tide from the boat & pinned hard on the bottom in the rubby-dubby trail.

Stingrays will settle on the bait and munch it in. This results in a ‘tap, tap’ effect on the end of the rod which develops into a slow peeling run as the Stingray swims off. At this stage give it a couple of hard strikes to set the hook & hold tight. Hooking a really big Ray is often compared to hooking a submarine!! The boat must be buoyed off on the drift & full pressure applied to keep with fish from settling on the bottom. If a large Ray goes to-ground you can pull the line taught and ‘twang’ it like a guitar string. Often the vibration down the line will make the fish lift. In persistent cases a large led can be attached by snap swivel and slid down the line. You will only get one chance at this so get ready to lift into the fish. Large Rays should be gaffed in or around the mouth especially if the fish is to be released. Wild stabs in the fish’s wings often result in the gaff ripping through the flesh & the fish heading back for the bottom. When: All year-round

Recommended TACKLE

Rod – 50lb to 80lb / 7ft to 9ft boat rod Reel – Multiplyer two speed Main Line - 50lb – 80lb mono or braid Swivel – 80lb to 100lb sampo Hooks – 5/0 Mustard Kali & Ian with their 319lb Ray

TARPON

Tarpon Types: Atlantic Gambian Names: Walidor or Wano Scientific Names: Megalops Atlanticus General Catch Size: 15lb to 300lb Gambian Record: 303lb with African Angler Best Baits: Live Baits, Herrings, Mullet, Croakers, Blue Swimmer Crabs, Dead-Baits, Cut Fish Baits, Bonga, Shrimp & Cuttlefish. Lures: Deep Divers – Rapala CD16/18, Coast Hawk, Surface Floaters, Poppers, Spinners and Fly.

Top Tips: Tarpon are swimming dustbins & will eat almost any bait if it is presented correctly & especially if it can be swallowed whole by the fish. Tarpon will take bait at all depths of water so it pays to fish a range of baits staggered at different depths, floated and free-lined surface live baits set well back down-tide from the boat. Mid-water baits on light leads so that they are held off the bottom by the

current and dead-baits pinned on the bottom & again a range of different baits often bring the best results. Once tarpon come across the bait they will readily but tentatively suck it in before crushing it in between their powerful grasping jaws. This gives a tap-tap effect on the end of the rod followed by an unstoppable powerful run added to by frenzied aerobatics as the fish leaps from the water flaring it’s gill plates, twisting in mid-air and crashing back into the water in an effort to free itself from the angler!

Large tarpon (100lb to 300lb) should be fished on 30lb to 50lb class rods, quality multipliers loaded with 30lb to 50lb monocline, 100lb quality swivels with 100 to 150lb abrasive mono main line, quality 5/0 to 7/0 live bait or circle hooks.

Small tarpon 10lb to 100lb can be taken on light tackle 12lb to 20lb class outfits with 20lb to 30lb main-line, 60lb to 100lb mono leader. Smaller fish tend to be more aerial than the larger tarpon & therefore tire themselves out more quickly, so they can be beaten to the boat on a much lighter outfit. Many guides will tell you to bow and lower the end of

your rod to a leaping tarpon however you will find swearing and praying also works very well!! Recommended TACKLE Rod – Light Tackle: - 12lb to 20lb Jerk bait rods or Spinning outfits, Up-riders Heavy Tackle: – 30lb to 50lb 7ft to 9ft Boat rods Reels – Light Tackle: - quality fixed spool reel or casting multiplyer, Abu Ambassador 9000/10000c or similar Heavy Tackle: - Multiplyer to hold 30lb or 50lb line, Penn Senator 5/0, 6/0 Shimano TLD 25/30 Main Line - 20lb to 50lb mono or braid Trace Line: - 80lb, 100lb & 150lb Abrasive Mono Swivels: - 40lb to 100lb Hooks – Owner Gamakatzu 5/0 to 7/0 Live bait hooks or circle hooks – Mustard 5/0 O’Shaunassey

Carl Pashley & Skipper Mark Longster 303lb Tarpon African Angler, Denton Bridge, Banjul Highway, The Gambia, West Africa Tel : (00220) 7721228 Email: africanangler@hotmail.comWeb: Copyright ©2008