Exotic Fishing In The Bijagos Archipelago

Article Date: November 1998

On a trip to Africa in November 1997, I had the pleasure of spending several days fishing the waters off the coast of Guinea-Bissau, a small West African country nestled between Senegal and Guinea. The fishing takes place 25 miles off the coast in the Bijagos Archipelago, which is made up of 30 main islands and a multitude of small islands. Its waters are the perfect habitat for sport fish such as tarpon, jacks, barracuda, snappers, cobia and sharks.

On my visit to the Bijagos, I stayed on the island of Rubane at the highly recommendable Acaja Club (*), which is in its seventh year of operation. It is run by a team of five avid French anglers, including Patrick Sebile, a famous journalist and fishing guide. Most of the fishing takes place among the numerous mangrove islands and the channels between them during low tide, and at the mouths of the many small rivers that flow off the mainland. The average water depth in the archipelago is about 20 to 50 feet, with some places of about 150 feet; these drop-offs are characterized by clear green water that is typical in the tropical seas.

The club has six open 15-foot center console boats with 40-horsepower outboards, and one 21-foot boat with two 40-horsepower outboards. It is possible to get into fishing within 10 to 20 minutes of leaving the club. The normal fishing week includes six very hard fishing days, and anglers who have enough strength after 10 to 12 hours of fishing under the sun can surf fish on into the night.

During my week there last year, I fished in many different ways, including surf fishing, trolling, live and dead bait fishing, heavy spin fishing and ultralight spin fishing. My only regret is to not have spent some tim........(continued)

CONTACT DETAILS FOR COMPANIES/INDIVIDUALS MENTIONED IN ARTICLE (if any)

Frederique Dejuan, Acaja Club. 568 Chemin des Moyennes Breguieres. 06600, Antibes, France. Tel. 011-33-4-93-33-85-00. Fax 011-33-4-93-33-91-52

Georges Lenzi, Planet Fly Fishing. 18 Avenue Edouard Vaillant. Boulogne, Billancourt, 92100, France. Tel. 011-33-6-8325-8409. Fax 011-33-1-46-09-0517. E-mail: Olivier@planetflyfishing.com, Web: www.planetflyfishing.com