This is going to be a long report and so I will do it in stages.
After our last trip in October 2010 to Guinea Bissau, which was exceptionally productive, some of us decided that we just had to return again. So dates were planned, the trip was booked and we began saving for this expedition.
Travelling was much easier this time with flights from Dublin – Lisbon- Bissau. Door to door from Dublin – the hotel on Orango took about 21 hours without any sleep. So if anybody is doing this trip then I would suggest that the first day be put aside for resting rather than fishing.
Overall fishing was brilliant with about 30 species being caught and fish up to 180lb being landed.
To see pictures of the trip you may visit
http://www.boroughseaangling.com/styled ... index.htmlA short video can be seen at
http://www.boroughseaangling.com/styled/code/index.htmlThe group consisted on 9 people. 4 were Borough SAC members joined by a friend and 4 others from the UK.
27th Feb: We arrived and left our hotel in Bissau within 2 hours. Heading down the river in the dark we were guided by LED torches, every 200m, on both banks of the river…..ever feel that you were part of a James Bond movie or a smuggling ring?!!! We stepped onto Orango island at around 9.30 , a little the worse for wear.
At 11.30 Marty and I ventured down the beach with spinning rods in hand and fires lures at a reef about 50M out. The only fish was a small marbled grouper.
After lunch we went by boat to a sandbar, Pikanina, our in the middle of the sea for 2 hours. As the tide was dropping only one barracuda was landed.
As I said we should really have used this as a rest day.
28th Feb: Our boat set out for the Chimneys. Having had great success there last year I was really dying to see if it would yield a similar result……it was even better
On way to our destination we stopped for livebaits , Yabouys and Plat Plats which took very small feathers. We also managed to catch other species ; red bream, chienchat , meru and one haddock like fish.
On arrival at the Chimneys we went popping while drifting. After quite a few casts my popper was devoured by a very large fish that took off like a train. My new Stella reel screamed as line poured off it. This brute did not want to join us in the boat and so it was about 15 minutes later when a magnificent Leerfish of 40lb was dragged over the gunnels. No gym could match the workout these fish give.
Leerfish.jpg
The livebaits were then slipped over the side of the boat mine had an immediate take. Taking the rod in my already strained arms I faced another battle with a very strong opponent. After quite a while a Cobia of 40lb appeared at the boat. My arms were shaking and my shoulder ached from the gut wrenching experience. Then the other 2 rods on the boat went into action. Eamon had a real fight on his hands as a monster took off at a rate on knots. He huffed and puffed and fought with all his might for a long time before landing a Cobia of 100lb. What a fish and what an achievement
Eamon's 100lb Cobia.jpg
Several Cobia later we anchored up.
During the year Eamon had come up with the idea of a species competition. Last year the winner had 18 species. However, Eamon’s plan was to use feathers , possibly baited, to see if we could better this number. This was a brilliant idea. While the fishing in Guinea Bissau is fantastic it is important to realise that all fish do not feed all of the time.
Grouper.jpg
So when no big fish were cooperating while at anchor we dropped some baited feathers over the side of the boat. Action was immediate with a number of small grouper being landed. The dreaded Ramora also put in an appearance. These are the cleaner fish that stick to sharks and other big fish. They also seem to live on the bottom of boats. As soon as bait is drooped out of the boat Mr. Ramora darts out and tries to grab it. So they are very easy to catch and can become a nuisance.
Suddenly, the water boiled with massive eruptions, about 100m away, as baitfish were chased by Jacks. Try as we might with our poppers they would not cooperate. So we set up some deep divers for trolling. This resulted in several long fin Jacks being landed up to 40lb
Long fin Jack.jpg
What an end to the first days boat fishing!!!!
A beautiful Pirogue joined us for a while when we at the Chimneys. These boats have a large crew who seem to use handlines. They can be at sea for up to 3 weeks and have a large quantity of ice packed in the hull to keep the catch fresh. What a hard way to make a livelihood!!!!
Pirogue.jpg
The other boat visited the Chimneys on 2 separate occasions but had very few fish while there. So not every venue produces fish all the time.
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