It was with some trepidation that I entered Immigration at Luanda airport after hearing stories of how long it takes to get out. Needless to say African bureaucracy did not disappoint. The first step is to get your yellowfever certificate approved and then grab an immigration form. However there is only one person who does this and the concept of queuing is unknown. As a result the entire contents of an SAA Airbus pack down into a loose scrum and engulf the desk. Fortunately half of the passengers were of Chinese nationality and their stature did not really compare to the Boer front row that took up residence in front of the desk and tactfully, via the judicious use of elbows and boeps, assisted in the process. 15 minutes later (that was quick as only one plane had landed – apparently it can take an hour or more) into another queue to get visas stamped. After an interrogation about purpose of my visit -they found it hard to believe I was on business with a fishing rod- into another queue for customs and currency declaration and finally into the luggage area. Surprisingly bags and rods were all there in one piece as was the driver from the lodge. Once ensconced into the Land Cruiser it was into Luanda’s traffic to begin a 2 hour journey to the fishing lodge at the mouth of the Kwanza River. This is an area famous for big jacks, threadfin and of course, tarpon, however as I was in town mainly on business I could not pick the peak season and had to settle for the quiet time.
Upon arrival at the lodge, a quick check in and a refreshing beer on the verandah prefaced my first cast.
Fishing in the off season is primarily done either from the shore directly into the sea or estuary, or via a boat in the river. I tried both but found the river to be much quieter than normal. According to the guides it was the quietest they had known it and despite trolling and casting for hours we had limited success. Trolling consists of pulling deep diving lures such as Xrap 20’s along the drop off trying both with and against the current. This is the main method for picking up a big threadfin, but sadly we didn’t even see one. In between the trolling, it is worth stopping and casting whilst on a drift. Casting is done with 5 to 7 inch plastics or smaller lures and on lighter tackle. I used a Nexave with a 4000 size reel loaded with 20lb braid. This met with more success and after a couple of on-offs I had a screaming take that made the reel sing. After about 40 minutes I had the fish up on top and we clearly identified it as a jack crevalle (type of caranx called kingie locally) of about 22kgs. The fish do not grow that big by being stupid and this one was really using the current to assist him, kiting in the strong tide and really making me work to gain line. After 1 hour and fifteen minutes he dived under the boat against a light drag and the hooks simply pulled out. I was using a large Fat Rap with upgraded VMC trebles and of the 6 hooks, 5 had been bent straight as he chewed them during the fight – what an awesome experience though. Whilst I was playing this fish a number of medium class tarpon were rolling and porpoising within casting distance, but they had lockjaw and were not interested in anything I threw at them. I persisted with them until dark but eventually had to accept that they were not feeding and were unlikely to do so given the cooler water temperature.
The fishing is very tide dependant and generally most action is to be had in the 3 hours of most water movement, with the falling tide representing a better bet. This gives you plenty of time to explore the coastline and river mouth or indeed to just sit at the lodge preparing for the next session. The lodge itself is ideal as a fishing base. Right on the rivers edge with the boats moored in front, it offers good food, drinks and service and the staff are really accommodating when it comes to early breakfasts, cool boxes etc. The accommodation itself is in a series of bungalows with twins or double beds, each one with its own stoep and with air-conditioning and plenty of hot water.
With the river being quiet and the billfish season still a long way off, I elected to spend the next day walking the estuary and coastline with a light rod and also with a surf stick. I honestly think you would need 10 days here just to test the potential of so many hotspots, it seems each eddy, spit or point must hold fish. I concentrated on the main spit across the estuary as the tide started falling and within three casts was into my first kingie. For the next hour I was continually hooked up as shoals of these fish pushed the bait against the bank. With the tide still falling I decided to duck back to the lodge and grab an 8 weight fly rod as the fish were in deeper water within 10 metres of where I was standing knee deep on the spit. 2 casts later and the Clouser was nailed. A small fish of about 3kgs but great fun on the long rod. After about 30 minutes the action died down with the tide slacking which gave me a good chance to catch a breather. For the morning session I ended up with 4 fish on a Blue Fox spoon and 3 on the fly, the smallest of 2kgs and the largest of 7.
Deciding to move out of the estuary and along the main beach, I left the small rods behind and commenced a 4km trek through the soft sand to a spot on the coast marked by a channel in between two breaking banks. Upon arrival I changed to a Halco Max as the tide had not really started pushing and I felt that I could drag the lure along the bottom and tempt a snapper or corvina (cross between kob and geelbek). For once, things went to plan and within 10 minutes I had hooked into a good corvina. What a beautiful fish and although it gave a good account of itself it was no match for the Stella / Exage combo that I was using. After 15 minutes it was landed and estimated at 17kgs. After about an hour of fruitless casting I changed to a copper back spoon and soon got into the action with some kingies. They seemed to come into the channel in groups as I would have 4 or 5 fish chase the spoon for a few casts, then nothing for 10 minutes, then 4 or 5 again. Really exciting fishing and I finished the afternoon with 8 fish the largest of which was about 10kgs. During the slow walk back I was continually casting into likely looking spots and was eventually rewarded with a solid strike. The fish picked up the Halco whilst I was dragging it along the bottom and set off downriver. It was not a speed merchant, more of a slower, determined pull that made me think of a snapper. Unfortunately it came unstuck but I was more than happy with the days action and sat back that night drinking a cold beer thinking of some great fishing in the worst time of year to visit. I will certainly return and am thinking of January / February to try for the tarpon and maybe catch an elusive threadfin. Unfortunately I have yet to master the art of fishing alone and wielding a camera – so any paying angling photographers would be welcome next time!
Upon arrival at the lodge, a quick check in and a refreshing beer on the verandah prefaced my first cast.
Fishing in the off season is primarily done either from the shore directly into the sea or estuary, or via a boat in the river. I tried both but found the river to be much quieter than normal. According to the guides it was the quietest they had known it and despite trolling and casting for hours we had limited success. Trolling consists of pulling deep diving lures such as Xrap 20’s along the drop off trying both with and against the current. This is the main method for picking up a big threadfin, but sadly we didn’t even see one. In between the trolling, it is worth stopping and casting whilst on a drift. Casting is done with 5 to 7 inch plastics or smaller lures and on lighter tackle. I used a Nexave with a 4000 size reel loaded with 20lb braid. This met with more success and after a couple of on-offs I had a screaming take that made the reel sing. After about 40 minutes I had the fish up on top and we clearly identified it as a jack crevalle (type of caranx called kingie locally) of about 22kgs. The fish do not grow that big by being stupid and this one was really using the current to assist him, kiting in the strong tide and really making me work to gain line. After 1 hour and fifteen minutes he dived under the boat against a light drag and the hooks simply pulled out. I was using a large Fat Rap with upgraded VMC trebles and of the 6 hooks, 5 had been bent straight as he chewed them during the fight – what an awesome experience though. Whilst I was playing this fish a number of medium class tarpon were rolling and porpoising within casting distance, but they had lockjaw and were not interested in anything I threw at them. I persisted with them until dark but eventually had to accept that they were not feeding and were unlikely to do so given the cooler water temperature.
The fishing is very tide dependant and generally most action is to be had in the 3 hours of most water movement, with the falling tide representing a better bet. This gives you plenty of time to explore the coastline and river mouth or indeed to just sit at the lodge preparing for the next session. The lodge itself is ideal as a fishing base. Right on the rivers edge with the boats moored in front, it offers good food, drinks and service and the staff are really accommodating when it comes to early breakfasts, cool boxes etc. The accommodation itself is in a series of bungalows with twins or double beds, each one with its own stoep and with air-conditioning and plenty of hot water.
With the river being quiet and the billfish season still a long way off, I elected to spend the next day walking the estuary and coastline with a light rod and also with a surf stick. I honestly think you would need 10 days here just to test the potential of so many hotspots, it seems each eddy, spit or point must hold fish. I concentrated on the main spit across the estuary as the tide started falling and within three casts was into my first kingie. For the next hour I was continually hooked up as shoals of these fish pushed the bait against the bank. With the tide still falling I decided to duck back to the lodge and grab an 8 weight fly rod as the fish were in deeper water within 10 metres of where I was standing knee deep on the spit. 2 casts later and the Clouser was nailed. A small fish of about 3kgs but great fun on the long rod. After about 30 minutes the action died down with the tide slacking which gave me a good chance to catch a breather. For the morning session I ended up with 4 fish on a Blue Fox spoon and 3 on the fly, the smallest of 2kgs and the largest of 7.
Deciding to move out of the estuary and along the main beach, I left the small rods behind and commenced a 4km trek through the soft sand to a spot on the coast marked by a channel in between two breaking banks. Upon arrival I changed to a Halco Max as the tide had not really started pushing and I felt that I could drag the lure along the bottom and tempt a snapper or corvina (cross between kob and geelbek). For once, things went to plan and within 10 minutes I had hooked into a good corvina. What a beautiful fish and although it gave a good account of itself it was no match for the Stella / Exage combo that I was using. After 15 minutes it was landed and estimated at 17kgs. After about an hour of fruitless casting I changed to a copper back spoon and soon got into the action with some kingies. They seemed to come into the channel in groups as I would have 4 or 5 fish chase the spoon for a few casts, then nothing for 10 minutes, then 4 or 5 again. Really exciting fishing and I finished the afternoon with 8 fish the largest of which was about 10kgs. During the slow walk back I was continually casting into likely looking spots and was eventually rewarded with a solid strike. The fish picked up the Halco whilst I was dragging it along the bottom and set off downriver. It was not a speed merchant, more of a slower, determined pull that made me think of a snapper. Unfortunately it came unstuck but I was more than happy with the days action and sat back that night drinking a cold beer thinking of some great fishing in the worst time of year to visit. I will certainly return and am thinking of January / February to try for the tarpon and maybe catch an elusive threadfin. Unfortunately I have yet to master the art of fishing alone and wielding a camera – so any paying angling photographers would be welcome next time!