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Subscriber Matt Muns says his trip to Inhambane Province in Mozambique this past February did not produce any marlin or sailfish, his target species, plus there were some definite problems toward the end of the trip. Still, he says the experience was interesting and his lack of success had more to do with the timing of his trip than anything else. He definitely plans to go back.
The trip, devoted exclusively to bluewater trolling, was handled for him by a South African company called Navigate Africa Safaris (www.navigateafricasafaris.com), he says. His skipper, who works for a company called Big Blue, Lda. was Morgan O’Kennedy. The area they fished was the Mozambique Channel off Bazaruto Archipelago south of Beira.
“We were trying to catch the end of the black marlin run and hoping there were a few sailfish showing up early,” he writes. “Neither really worked out and we failed to raise a single billfish, although another boat working the same area managed to raise three blacks during the same time we were there. The blacks you catch here are real hogs, but you need to come in peak season, which is October to December. The sailfish are running then as well, but are more prolific when the water temperature starts to dip in May and June.
Except for the failure of our charter flight to arrive at the end of our trip (we had to pay for an expensive replacement charter!), everything went smoothly overall. Morgan is a good skipper who knows these waters. This fishing area is not nearly as commercialized as many elite destinations in the world, and I gather it can be as good as anywhere for black marlin during the peak season. I will be returning again.”
Muns lists as highlights of his trip: “fishing a very remote and beautiful coastline and seeing a school of bull sharks hammering a bait ball near the surface.” He gives the cost of his three-day trip as $4,500.