Methods

HEAVY TACKLE FISHING

By Heavy Tackle, we mean tackling Giant Marlin (as well as sharks and game fish) on #130 or #80 pound bent butt rods using the fighting chair. However, those preferring to do battle with stand-up tackle are welcome and we offer top of the range equipment to do so. We are talking big guns here!

Massive glittering golden reels, rods that resemble high-tech broomsticks, line and leaders of un- surpassing strength and diameter, a dazzling white fighting chair and a massive seat harness, all of which will leave the inexperienced angler in awe.

But, with the right guidance, even the most inexperienced angler, petitest of ladies and even children can tackle these huge fish on this kind of equipment. We love and are extremely proud of having had so many first timers’, including a lot of kids and lady anglers aboard catching giant Marlin.

The Bazaruto Archipelago is famous for being an excellent all round destinations for various techniques and fish species, but the Giant Marlin is definitely it ́s flagship and for most anglers the epitome of Sport fishing anywhere on the planet.

Most commonly on Bazaruto Heavy tackle fishing will be done using artificial lures, dead or live natural bait and the exciting bait & switch technique.

CONVENTIONAL LIGHT TACKLE FISHING

Due to the enormous diversity of pelagic inshore and offshore species on the Archipelago fishing light tackle for game fish is extremely productive around the Islands. It is, outside the Marlin season, one of the most popular choices for anglers visiting the area.

Depending on the quarry, this is normally done using 16 to 30 pound stand-up tackle, trolling or drifting, using both artificial lures and plugs & natural dead or live bait. Some of the most popular species targeted are; sailfish, wahoo, various species of tunas, dorado, kind & queen mackerel, GT ́s and other kingfish species, barracuda, prodigal son, job fish and others.

PLUGGING

Plugging can be directly linked to GT fishing and although it produces a multitude of other species this is certainly the most popular and exciting method used to catch the king of the reefs, the Giant Kingfish. This involves using big plugging equipment loaded with minimum 50, but normally 80 to 130 pound braid and casting big poppers and stick baits, which provide the most spectacular strikes.

Other species regularly caught besides GT ́s when plugging are; Yellowfin tuna, king mackerel, most members of the kingfish family, barracudas, prodigal son, blacktip sharks, green job fish, big groupers, various species of snappers and others.

LIGHT TACKLE SPINNING & DROP SHOT (SOFT BAITS)

Be it chasing surface schools of bonito, queen mackerel, skipjack, yellowfin tuna, kingfish, queenfish and others or just casting on the reef this method highly involves the anglers and provides huge non- stop entertainment and probably the most sporty way to fish for general game fish. This consists of using light to ultra light casting gear and a vast array of artificial lures such as small poppers, spoons & stick baits to target more species than one can count.

 

Drop shot (soft baits) fishing is one of the fastest growing types of fishing and rightly so as it can produce almost every sport fishing species imaginable. This extremely dynamic method can be done over sandy bottom, shallow and deep reefs, breaking waves and with ultra light, to light and medium tackle. Using bucktail jigs with the same kind of tackle can also be extremely rewarding.

VERTICAL JIGGING

By covering the whole water column this method target ́s a kaleidoscope of different species of which the Amberjack, Tropical yellowtail, dogtooth tuna, Giant Kingfish and all other kingfish species are the most sought after. One can fish with medium jigging tackle and jigs up to 150grs in water up to 60 meters and heavy 80 to 130 braids in deeper waters all the way past 100 meters. Get ready for a lot of exercise but BIG rewards! Again, the species one can catch while vertical jigging is enormous and besides the already mentioned all species of tuna including big yellowfin, king and queen mackerel, prodigal son, barracudas, snappers, big groupers, jobfish and others are all are normally targeted.

FLY FISHING

We absolutely love to target sailfish or small Black Marlin on the fly and few methods offer as much excitement. Seeing the archipelago is blessed with so many different inshore and offshore species fly-fishing is extremely popular year round. We regularly guide saltwater fly fishing enthusiast to a multitude of species and our best session yet was an astonishing 27 different species in a day! The species that can be caught on fly are way to many to number but most prolific are all of the kingfish (jack) family obviously including the GT, queenfishe ́s, kind and queen mackerel, barracuda, ladyfish, jobfish, snappers, scads, runners and many many more!

ROCK & SURF FISHING

Although we do not offer Rock & Surf fishing ourselves it is a very popular on the archipelago and surrounding areas and we can put you in touch with reliable operators that do so.