Most time on a far-flung fishing trip is for fishing but always devote some time to take in a few other highlights. Discover the culture, meet the people, take your eyes off the water occasionally and look around. Always allow yourself the flexibility to jump on an opportunity. These are things I preach in my presentations about travel. Early this morning Randy, Jeff, Scott and I took a jungle walk with two local naturalist based out of Sette Cama Camp here in Gabon.
To hike was refreshing. Since I left home last Thursday I sat on a plane for 38 hours and stood in one place fishing the last two days. I needed to get the legs moving. Over the last two months jungle walks have produced some incredible sightings that include lowland gorillas, chimpanzee, leopard and the most fascinating to me, a pangolin. While we didn’t luck into quite these sightings today we saw four different species of monkeys, a mongoose, a species of duiker, numerous birds, a few cool bugs and a large millipede.
The hike lasted four hours and Scotts watch said we went about three miles. Moving through thick jungle is a slow process and we also stopped often to listen. Hearing distant chatter of monkeys or the snap of a branch allows you to hone in. Pristine jungle wilderness is a tough thing to find these days and it was great to take advantage.
The guys that fished this morning had a fair session. The big schools of jacks that normally feed wildly were sparse again. This doesn’t mean fish weren’t caught, there were a few. Here’s a nice shot of Mike and TJ with a pair of longfin jacks.
We jumped on another opportunity after lunch despite everyone being ready for their afternoon naps. My friend and lodge host, Ed Truter, suggested a scenic boat ride deep into the estuary lagoon. It was another opportunity to see more wildlife and the scenic beauty of Gabon. I’m stoked to say everyone in my group took advantage and it started out with viewing of some disgruntled hippos. Photo by Scott Smith
Ed and the African Waters guide staff are as knowledgeable about the wilds of Africa as anyone. Many of these guys were rangers in National Parks and have been guiding throughout Africa for many years. Ed was a geologist and knows almost every inch of Africa. It was fun to just park the boats and listen. Ed recognized the sounds of a variety of birds and monkeys. A highlight was a distant troop of chimpanzees whooping it up not far away. The jungle is so dense we never were able to see them.
Just when you think you’ve had a full day in Gabon and you’re finally going to get some rest, you’re not. We returned to Sette Cama around 6 PM. Dinner was at 8 and we left to fish the mouth of the estuary at 9 PM. This late evening time was chosen based on the peak time of tonight’s tide. There were some heads bobbing on the boat ride, including mine, but not a one of us would be disappointed. In fact the only way to describe tonight is with a word I feel is often overused – EPIC!
Every one of us caught numerous giant African threadfin. There were tarpon hooked but lost including a small one (maybe 50lbs) by myself that jumped wildly about ten times in the moonlight. Jeff Smith caught not one, but two Senegalese Kob. And Mike, who hadn’t caught a fish yet in the dark, landed this huge cubera snapper and a very large threadfin.
Jeff Smith and his smaller of two Kob
One of numerous threadfin caught tonight
The night didn’t come without more damaged equipment. It was Randy once again. After successfully landing several threadfin Randy tied into a monster fish that took off at lightening speed. His backing knot managed to catch a guide on the last section of his rod and ripped it off. The rod piece disappeared into the dark behind the leaving fish and then his backing broke. He lost his rod tip and entire fly line. We think he had a massive threadfin that was taken by an even bigger bull shark.
Tonight’s blitz of catching numerous fish lasted until 1 AM. Yes you heard me correctly – 1 AM! Then the action stopped in an instant. This all has to do with the change in tide. At 1:15 we made our way back up the estuary in the blackness of night to Sette Cama where believe it or not, we had beers and drinks. Everyone was way to amped up for sleep. Now its 2:30 and its time for bed. We fish again in three hours!
It was pointed out in comments for yesterday’s blog by our head guide that I missed an important fact that blog. Mike is indeed correct and honestly I don’t know how I missed it. We did have on tarpon hooked last night by Jeff Smith and the massive tarpon was uncontrollable. Jeff and Mike ran down nearly a miles worth of beach in the dark chasing but the tarpon made it out of the mouth of the estuary and took everything never to be seen again. How I forgot that – blame it on exhaustion!
Sorry for the delayed reporting. I had a few travel setbacks on the way home and then I had to drive from WI to NH. Add in preparations for the speaking tour that starts this week I’m a bit behind. I’m alive and well though and the blogs are coming.
Awesome
Yep, sign me up for the next one. This seems too good to miss! Pumped you boys had such a great trip.