The Fishing Report

The Archive: Rio Azul, Imbabala Safari Lodge, Chile, New Zealand, Lake Tanganyika, Bassas da India, Des Roches Island, Farquar aboard the MV Illusions, Barotse Tiger Camp, Chawalo, Neptune Warrior - Trident Tested, Ngwezi Houseboat - Okavango,

Rio Azul - Mocambique

When a man writes a book titled “ Fishing Yourself Single “ you just know he understands the dark and dangerous passions lurking deep in every angler…..

So, when we got an invitation from Craig Thomassen to come up and visit Rio Azul, his newly completed lodge in Mozambique, we jumped at the chance….Gareth was recovering from the first leg of the Hyundai Corporate Trophy Challenge and was a pathetic sight curled up on his favorite couch, so we decided to leave him at home for this one.

Gary Barker was called in to bolster the regular crew of Brad Cartwright and Mark Yelland and catching the new Air Travel Max flight from Lanseria to Vilancoulos on Mondays and Fridays made the trip up to Moz an absolute breeze. In fact if you are going to Vilancoulos or Inhambane by plane it is madness to consider any other option given the pleasure of using the new Lansaria Airport by comparison to OR Tambo.

The 2 hour beach transfer from Inharime to Rio Azul Lodge ( 1 hour Vilancoulos to Inharime ), with a well stocked cold box allows one to unwind and gets the piscatorial juices going as the azure water and its hidden treasures slide past.

The Lodge is built on Bartholomew Diaz Point, called BD by the locals and situated on the Gavuro River, the inland and more protected side of BD Point. Magnificent local hard woods have been used throughout  and are a striking feature of its design. The luxurious chalets are large, cool and well spaced, with sweeping views over the estuary and magnificent mangroves. A central open plan bar, lounge and dining area, all leading onto hardwood decks and a sunken pool overlooking the river and distant mainland is the social hub and meeting point for meals and excursions.

One of the best aspects of Rio Azul is that included in the room rate for each chalet is the unlimited use of a 3.5 meter Quintrex aluboat equipped with a 15 horse Yamaha outboard, a sneak electric motor and a fish finder come GPS. Craig has put together a map of the estuary with GPS marks at likely fishing spots and many hours of pleasure will be had drifting quietly in the mangroves throwing small clousers and poppers for Rock Salmon, Grunter, Springer and many other species. The birding for those interested is also exceptional on this waterway.

We however, had heard the Sails were running late this year and decided on taking the lodges 31 foot Yamaha diesel inboard toward 25 mile reef  to see what we could tease up to the fly. Just a few Ks from shore the bonnies were going ballistic and we managed to get results on a couple of long casts before they pulled their usual Houdini act. Bonita, a member of the Tuna family, remind us every time we hook up, that pound for pound  they are simply some of the strongest fish to be had on fly. If you can get in amongst them before they sound, they will take virtually anything thrown at them and stripped at high speed. They have recently been coming in close enough for Craig to take his small aluboat out with the sneak motor and have an hours real sport without the sound of a big motor to spook the little missiles…

It was still a little early for the Sails when we got out to deep water, so we decided to warm up with a few drifts over the reef, dropping heavily weighted lines with mega clousers to be stripped up at varying speeds. Fortunately we were using steel tippets and it wasn’t long before the reels were singing and the ubiquitous King Mackerel ( Couta ) or Serra of Mozambique came calling. After an hour or two of fun with these toothy critters we tired of repairing mangled wire and flies and set out a half beak teaser bait with a string of birds for the Sails we knew were in the area.

We had had some practice at this in Kenya recently, so felt fairly confident with our plan……yeah right !!!

Within half an hour a good size Sailie moved in and started smashing the teaser with powerful side to side blows of its bill. Mark ripped the birds in while Craig had the fish in a frenzy as he yanked the bait from its mouth over and over. At the yell of SWITCH the motor is killed and the teaser bait whipped from in front of the frantic fish. At this point the fly is cast just over the head of the Sail in the hope that it will turn, spot the fly and take it going away from the boat……well that’s the plan anyway. Brad got the cast out ok, but the Sail was coming in too fast and picked up the fly on its way. Adrenaline fueled stripping, swearing, prayers and hope were once again just not enough and the bony mouth of the Billfish left Brad wondering what might have been…….. In many instances with Sailfish, as it attacks the fly, the line wraps around the bill giving the angler the delicious sensation of a hook-up, only to be left bereft as the fish twists off. As a general rule, only once the fish clears the water does it consider itself hooked.

With no more Sails showing interest, we decided to work the reef for a while before heading home….Mark snagged a Striped Job Fish, which, amazingly was the first he had ever landed…..

Gary “ the ice man” Barker was showing very little emotion at this stage and after landing a beautiful Swallow Tailed Rock Cod, was given a good fight by a fish which when landed had us all scratching our heads….no-one on the boat had ever seen anything like it !! Back at the lodge we rushed to get the Smiths book to find that he had landed a rare species called a Black Beauty or Micolor Niger. Both fish were hooked at a depth of around 20 meters on 600 grain ( fast sinking ) line and using a white clouser with a touch of chartreuse. Interestingly, the trace wire we had on for the marauding Couta didn’t seem to bother these bottom dwellers at all.

Day two dawned with flat seas and excited anglers, the boat clean and ready ( important point ) and the cold box packed ( equally important )….we picked up a couple of Bonnies on the way out for fresh belly shine teasers and moved on. Back at 25 mile reef we decided on an early drift while we waited for the heat of day to kick in.

On the first pass Brad picked up what he was convinced was a bus, only to be upstaged by another Bonito and then denied by a local shark which took a clean snack of three quarters of the fish. This is unusual in these waters, where it is believed by the locals that the Chinese fishing boats have kept the shark numbers down. In four trips to this area, this is the first time we have lost a fish to the dreaded “ tax man “.

The Couta were still around and an hour of reel screaming sport followed….Gary, the ice man, finally showed that he can get emotional when his backing wrapped around the crank and he lost his complete line…standing on the nose of the boat like a kid whose toffee-apple has just been snatched…..uncouth expletives emitting from his mouth, the old, “ It wasn’t my fault “ look plastered on his red face….tiny flecks of froth appearing in the corners of his mouth…….ah well, you get the picture. 

Yelland hooked up on what we assumed was a small Couta, but once what can only have been a big GT realized it was hooked, he stood helpless as it headed for the bricks and left him looking like a man with a knife in a gun fight. The thing about getting properly smashed by these wily trevalies, is that you are still shaking from the adrenaline of knowing you were hooked to an express train and then need to re-rig the whole coral shredded mess at the end of your line with shaking hands and the sure and certain knowledge that there are big fish around…. right now !!!

The Sails started to move around 11 with a number of them cavorting tantalizingly around on the flat water. So with confidence we rigged the teasers and trawled for a full 4 hours. A Couta smashing the hookless teaser had all the guys jumping around, but other than that, the bills remained as shy as a virgin bride…..but more fickle.

One last evening drift produced a couple of small Couta and a flashing Queenfish ( 7kg ) for Brad before the run home to catch up with old Arthur Bell and a fine seafood dinner.

We decided to explore the estuary on day three and set off to catch the turning tide on an island across the mouth. Working with a 9 weight and intermediate line Mark showed that his years of experience in Seychelles had been worthwhile by landing a number of smaller kingfish species in the shallow water using small clousers and crazy charlies. Given more time, this sandy stretch offers the ideal opportunity of landing a big GT without being smoked on the rocks and coral they normally run for. Craig himself has landed his fair share here and is prepared to share the spot with his clients.

Back to the lodge for a scrumptious lunch, brief siesta and a look at the surrounding mangroves…

After two full days at sea it was just magic drifting slowly on flat water through the mangroves using the silent electric motors to fish close to the holes and hollows in the dense mangroves. This tactic requires precision casting with both floating  and intermediate lines, but for those slightly ambitious overthrows the sneak motors make retrieving errant casts from the knobbly mangrove bushes less of a stress.

Looking for Rock Salmon, Mark and Gary flicked poppers, with Brad working a small clouser and crazy Charlie. The light was fading all too quickly and other than a couple of big swirls behind the poppers we were left to simply enjoy the final golden rays of the setting sun with Arthur Bells and to make promises of a return to these waters soon….

There is no doubt, the most important aspect of any fishing trip is having the right guide  and there are few guides at any destination we have had the good fortune of fishing, as knowledgeable or passionate about their trade as Craig Thommasen. This man fished himself single, then continued to fish most of the great waterways of Africa…..and he still seems as keen to go fishing as the day he started….now that’s passion.

 With a base of his own now, at Rio Azul and the support of his fiancé Pam, who runs the Lodge with their friendly staff, Craig has created an affordable, luxurious fishing option within hours of JHB.

Look at the great Rio Azul packages we have put together for you at www.wildflytravel.com