The previous post in this blog is Album - CAPE EPIC 3.
The next post in this blog is Album - Angola.

Fishing : Herrings from Hell

Rio Longo lodge is situated at the mouth of the Longa river in Angola on the east coast of Africa. It is one of a few angling lodges opening up to foreign fisherman now that the bloody conflicts seem to have subsided in the country.

This is great news to people seeking to catch Megalops Atlanticus (Tarpon), as huge specimen lurk off the coast and in the rivers ready to take on, and usually beat, any challengers.

I arrived from Cape Town having just completed The CAPE EPIC cycle race and was in dire need of some R&R. So sitting on the beach watching the sun set with a cold ale in my hand is just what the doctor ordered.
I had joined my dad and a bunch of his friends who make an annual pilgrimage to some fishing mecca around the world.

The plan of action, since we only had one boat, was to take turn in the boat off-shore targeting Tarpon while the others would surf fish for Yellow-Tail Trevally, Threadfin and the huge Cuberra Snapper that were in residence. They were also a couple of fishing skis which provided great sport, not least by watching the occupants getting hurled skywards by the shore break while trying to beach!

The weeks fishing started slow but by the end of the week we had all managed to bag huge fish in the 100lb range and jumped several others up to 180lbs. The site of these huge silver kings leaping clear of the water barely meters from your boat is something truely remarkable to behold. Even as our line was screaming from our reels and our rods were bending in submission towards the fleeing fish, we stood still in awe for several dumb struck seconds before realising what had just occured and jumping into action.

As proof of the ones that didn't get away, view our photo's here