Tim Poats Guinea Bissau trip Feb 15

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Tim Poats Guinea Bissau trip Feb 15

Postby richardsheard1 » Thu Mar 12, 2015 10:17 pm

Thanks to Tim Poat for his testimonial on his February Guinea Bissau trip.

Hi
,just a few thoughts on our trip to Orango island Guinea Bissau between feb and March 2015

We booked a fishing trip through Richard at World Sport Fishing to the intriguing sounding Orango island "We" being a group of 4 old boys. Retired and hungry for adventure, fish and something different.
Over the past 2 years we had been to The Gambia and Kenya searching for exciting fishing and this was the latest venture The trip to the Island was very long and should have been arduous but for the anticipation of something right out of our comfort zones. Also the intermediate hotel in Bissau was so different from anywhere I had stayed before that I forgot my tiredness and went exploring the area around for a couple of hours. Then a fabulous 3 hour boat trip to Orango passing superb exciting looking islands and sandbanks to the Orango parque hotel!
Before we get onto the fishing I must say what an idyllic place to stay ! Absolutely in the middle of nowhere! Only cold water for showers who cares? Nothing to do but eat the superbly cooked local food ( mainly fish we had caught), drink copious cold beers on the terrace and talk of the adventures had that day and expected the next day! As a birder and photographer I was in heaven! Birds aplenty and great local beaches and tracks to explore!
But the main event was the fishing!
I have fished all over the world and was expecting good or even very good fishing after talking to Richard the boss. BUT wow. I spent the first day giggling like a kid as fish after fish was hooked, fought, and either beaten or lost!
The bait fish were unusually big which meant that often the predatory fish bit them in half and left! But we caught literally hundreds of good fish between us
4 species of snapper up to about 30 lb
Jack crevalle up to about the same
Long finned trevally similar size
Cassava by the ton
Cobia to well over a hundred pounds
Black finned reef sharks
Nurse sharks
Hammerhead sharks
Guitar fish
Sting rays
Etc etc etc
41 species boated between the 4 of us in a week!
It was fast and furious on all but 1 day. We didn't mind we needed a rest!
The trip to the "stacks" was great and a tick off the bucket list If the fishing was exceptional the skippers would stay out almost till dark!
They were brilliant, offering help and advice all day The last day will never be beaten in my lifetime( although I will be back to try very soon!) That day I had a cobia of 100 lbs followed by a nurse shark of about 260 lbs.
Then on my next drop a tarpon! Estimated at 220 lbs I played it for an hour and 40 minutes, had it by the boat fully played out when, as the boatman went for the leader it slipped under the boat and severed the line on the hull! Gutted! But I had morally caught it so I was ecstatic and disappointed all at once! As well as being completely knackered!
Then to finish me off I ended up on the other end of a monster tarpon! Max the skipper has fished for these beauties for thirty years and stated it was half as big again as any he had seen! He guesstimated it at 225 kilos! About 500 lbs! The record is only 286 lbs!!
After about an hour it wore through the hook line and escaped!
Due to circumstances it wouldn't have counted as a world record fish if I had landed it but I was happy to have played it ! My last fish of this trip! but the start of an obsession, I suspect!
I cannot compliment the whole experience enough. A wonderful Island with the nicest local people ( a visit to the village is a must) but the fishing!!
Unbeatable
Till I try again next year
Thanks world sport fishing for the best experience of my fishing life!
Tim
Attachments
fishing-098-Large.jpg
The Chimenees wreck
10994057_10205521602173011_1397472641783831485_n.jpg
The rod broken on the big tarpon
10986624_10205521770257213_6938696938394486466_n.jpg
Not a great photo but it shows the size of the biggest tarpon

For this message the author richardsheard1 has received thanks: 4
chuckaroo (Fri Mar 13, 2015 1:40 am), Moody Marlin (Sun Apr 26, 2015 10:52 am), paul skelly (Fri Mar 13, 2015 7:57 pm), Sweetwrasse (Fri Mar 13, 2015 3:06 pm)
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Re: Tim Poats Guinea Bissau trip Feb 15

Postby chuckaroo » Fri Mar 13, 2015 4:51 pm

richardsheard1 wrote:by the boat fully played out

..and hand on the leader. job done, that the 'rules' Tim. the fish is 'caught'... we'll give you that one! :mrgreen:

sounded like an exceptional trip. brilliant stuff
would have been great to have had a pic with the big tarpon. pity. ah well

quick query: you say that the first tarpon was around 220lb and that second one was "half as big again", but wouldn't that make the second tarpon 330lb? (not 500lb) the world record isn't over 300lb i believe.. that would have smashed it! do tarpon get that big?! lol
you could argue that im just being pedantic.....! doesn't matter too much to me. still sounds awesome
any other photos of fish..?

thanks for the post. great read
Charlie

2024 targets:
porbeagle, stingers, seatrout, shore skate, shore tope

For this message the author chuckaroo has received thanks:
jw (Sat Mar 14, 2015 12:53 am)
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Re: Tim Poats Guinea Bissau trip Feb 15

Postby Stan » Sat Mar 14, 2015 11:23 pm

Yep. GB is magic
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