fishing in gambia

[bigli]

hi every one im going to gambia to fish the west african festival in nov does any one have any ideas on how to set up for butter fish as they bite through 50lb snoods like butter we have tried wire but it kinks and they still bite through

[Robert Osborne]

sorry mate never been but if theres any room in your suitcase then i,ll have it.
:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

[PanamaJack]

Like Robert I've similarly no experience of shore fishing in the Gambia but a quick peruse of the Worldseafishing.com brought up this reference to Butterfish and their teeth - the url's http:// http://www.worldseafishing.com/international/gambia/surf_fishing.shtml.

This was Mike's suggestion - 'I’d certainly think about revising your hook types for fishing the surf in Gambia. Believe it or not, there are fish here that can bite through fine-wired hooks. The butterfish has two massive front rabbit like teeth that I witnessed chomp through a fine wire Aberdeen. I decided to use Suicide hooks like those pictured. Mustad Big Red 92554NPNR hooks are good if you can locate some, or the Mustad Ultra-Point 92568BLN. These are hooks made for overseas and not so easy to come by in the UK. If you can’t get these, then stick to Mustad O’Shaughnessy 3406’s, but keep them sharp.'

They sound a fascinating species, but how big do they grow in the Gambia? The IGFA record an All-Tackle record for one caught off Rio de Janeiro, Brazil that weighed just over 22lbs.

[dabcatcher]

my freind uses 6/o viking type hooks for them. long shanks, and they must be forged as any wire type hook wont last.

[Dave Godwin]

I have caught Butterfish in Gambia from the beach, and half the time time you do not know they are there.
Very slight bite normally then they just lay there and mangle up the hook.
Definately long shank and very strong!!!

[Paul Tricker]

Hi Bigli
I am fishing the west african shore fishing match in Nov I ahve fished in Gambia many times I know just what you mean about the butter fish. I use 50lb hook line and put large beads above the hook I find this works and I catch more butter fish than I lose. Most probley see you over their not long to go now.:fish::fish:

[Steveh24]

I fish the Gambia regularly and Butterfish can be a problem and the usual tell-tale signs they are around is when you retreive your tackle and find the hook has gone, although I have to say that I seem to be luckier than most as I've rarely been bitten off and I've caught quite a few Butterfish, but then I only ever use size 4/0 O'Shaughnessy hooks on 80lb mono, but if you want to increase your chances of catching these toothy critters try using 50lb Braid, which they find very hard to bite through and I watched a chap fishing next to me last year and he never got bitten off once and landed several nice fish.

To demonstrate how lethal those front two teeth are on a Butterfish, the other year my friend thought he had cracked it by using solid piano wire and they even managed to bite through that, it strengthened my resolve never to get my fingers too close to their mouths when unhooking them.

Steveh24

[stonefish]

Like Steveh24, I generally use 80 lb hook lengths and Mustad Power Hooks 4/0. I've found this a good compromise as you just don't know what will turn up. Best Butterfish I've had is 9 lb.

Have a good trip fella and be lucky!

[Andy Copeland]

try using 6 inches of 60lb braid & manta extras,caught loads of butterfish to 9lb with no bite offs..

[H-Rex]

Dave Godwin's description of a butterfish bite is spot on! Once hooked they seem content to lie perfectly still and make you think there's nothing there, while they do their best to chew through your tackle!

I lost a few good fish last trip until I changed the hooklength from monofilament to wire - after that I kept the fish on every time. They may bite through hooks and wire but in my experience it's rare

I'm going again in 3 weeks and my wire traces are made up ready to go!

Monofilament is not good news though - you could lose up to 50% of your fish.

[Roller]

wow just did a google , thats some teeth!

[daikent]

Wire does it for me too.....but you can always get lucky.....like Alaji when I was out with him off Barra last December when he got this monster on a small baitfish rod and 10lb monofilament max!!

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn130/daikent/Alaji27s20Butterfish.jpg

Happy days!

[Birrie]

If you're gonna fish the beach competition i would not put all my money on those butter fish. There's a lot of better fish to be caught with less chance of your lines and hooks being cut off.

Last year when i was in The Gambia i fished mainly with 1/0 and 2/0 hooks, until we met an UK expat. He fished mainly with size 6 hooks and caught loads of fishies, including two very decent sized captain fish (app. 15-20 lbs).

The trick, he said...find the fish. First a few casts far away, then pull in a few metres and wait for a few minutes, until u get some action on the rods. It's common knowledge, but when i'm in Gambia i simply forget these basic tactics, probably the sun and Julbrew working.

But after the old man's wise words i tried..and it worked. Caught a lot more fish and also species i never caught the 5 previous trips!

Good luck on the competition :1a::1a::1a:, and maybe i'll visit u on the beach and do some cheerleading for you. I'll be fishing in Gambia too from 12-19 november.

[stevecatfisher]

I use 100lb whiplash pro for trace and a 4/0 Mustad 79515 viking and rarely get bitten off.

[lovetofish]

hi guys. i am going to gambia in febuary to fish the beaches. was wondering if anybody had any hints or tips. any info on what i can expect to catch and how to catch them. many thanks wayne.:fish:

[crocodileteeth]

hi guys. i am going to gambia in febuary to fish the beaches. was wondering if anybody had any hints or tips. any info on what i can expect to catch and how to catch them. many thanks wayne.:fish:

Travel South a bit to Sanyang, your best bet is between there or Gunja. Your 525's will be perfect there. Dont worry about distance as fish can be caught very close in especially over high water.
Bring all the tackle you need as none is availabe locally. 18/15lb main line is fine but set your clutch, 5/6oz leads and big strong 6/0's.
Bait can be either Bonga fillets (herring like) or Shrimps whipped on with elastic both are available in Tanji fish market.
Good luck:thumbs:

[lovetofish]

ok thanks for that . can you tell me wat sort of rigs to use out there . will pully rigs be fine and would you advise taking two hooked rigs?

[crocodileteeth]

ok thanks for that . can you tell me wat sort of rigs to use out there . will pully rigs be fine and would you advise taking two hooked rigs?

Pulley or pennel paternoster is fine. Leave the flappers at home. Fairly clean ground further south. Use heavy snood line though.

[Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar]

Hi Love two, a few of us are going over the next few weeks (Me and Steve H24 on Thursday) and some will do a report so that should give you some ideas. You can read about my last trip and it should help in knowing what not to do if not how to do it.
http://www.worldseafishing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=127585

Best wishes, John Beachcomber.

[lovetofish]

ok thanks for all your help guys:notworthy.look forward to reading them reports and good luck when you get there.:thumbs::fishing1:

[Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar]

Has anyone any results or info on how the match went????

John Beachcomber. (36 hours to go Steve!!!)

[Fernando]

John O'Brien from waterford SAC won it:1a:
I think he is the fist person to win it 3 times..

[kobcatcher]

hi
yes john did win he caught a 27 kilo sting ray plus some bits dave morrel second his catch included a captain of 10 kilo plus third was richard yates fourth saul page there were quite a few nice fish caught a dutch lady (miranda Koops) caught a captain of 11 k my wife janet caught a captain of 25 lb 12 (not in the comp ) so you can see there are still a few big fish about.cheers colin

[Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar]

Thanks and that is good news that there are some good fish coming out and what with having similar tides to fish the hopes are up for my trip, 21 hours to go, John Beachcomber.

[gazm]

hiya lads a few of us out there from the 27th nov
do you know what beaches they fished for the comp?

[kobcatcher]

hi the beaches fished
were first afternoon/eve radio sid this is where those two captains came out (both in daylight)also two other were pulled out but did not count as they where on lost rigs, one was over 30 lbs
Day two, bijilo beach the big sting ray was caught here plus another lost at the gaff
day three all daylight Sangyang south of the big point about 400 yards left of the beach bar just butters,small rays and catfish caught here
also some nice fish came out at atlantic beach captains and casavas one by a local angler of 20 k caught at 8 pm

cheers col

[gazm]

hi the beaches fished
were first afternoon/eve radio sid this is where those two captains came out (both in daylight)also two other were pulled out but did not count as they where on lost rigs, one was over 30 lbs
Day two, bijilo beach the big sting ray was caught here plus another lost at the gaff
day three all daylight Sangyang south of the big point about 400 yards left of the beach bar just butters,small rays and catfish caught here
also some nice fish came out at atlantic beach captains and casavas one by a local angler of 20 k caught at 8 pm

cheers col


some nice fish there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

do you know if they where caught at range, what rigs where used (i assume pennell/pulleys) also where they caught on big baits
and the million doller question did you find the fishing slower this year

ive never fished radio syd before but here good fish caught off there every year,
hopefuly there will still be a few decent ones around for the taking

[kobcatcher]

hi
some of the fish caught in the match were at range but mirandas not a long caster my wife also caught a casava of 9lb not to far out (i caught one of 8lb at range) at at radio sid .the fish at atlantic were all caught between 30 /60 yards oh ,the rigs they were all caught on shrimp in the match on two hook rigs the ones caught at atlantic were single hook or pennels hope this helps

col

[gazm]

cheers col

cant wait to give it a go mate, have you found the fishing slower than previous years?