Gambia fishing report

[stonefish]

I hope anyone thinking of fishing the Gambia will find this helpful.

I have just returned from the Gambia this morning after a one week family holiday with as much fishing as I dared !! We stayed at the Palm Grove Hotel which is only five mins by taxi to Denton Bridge, the centre for all your fishing needs. You will find that most hotels are no further than 20 mins here.
I telephoned Mark Longster and his partner Tracey a week before departure and was told that as a single angler, to just pop along on the first morning and they would tailor my fishing needs. I would advise phoning in advance though just in case. Their website is www.gambiafishing.com . Note that the site hasn't been updated for ages and the phone numbers have changed. Contact them on 0020 7721228 and you will find them most helpful.
I made plans for a day boat fishing over Mantel Reef and two days guided beachcasting at Sanyang, a paradise beach about 45 mins drive to the south.
Mark loaned me a cool box full of prawns and bonga as I planned to have a solo session off the beach by the hotel that afternoon.

Here is a quick lowdown on the tackle I took.
ZZiplex 50/50 Dreamcast
2 penn 525 mags loaded with 25 lb Suffix Tritanium and 60lb Greased weasel shockleader. ( 20 lb would have been ok)
A selection of clipped down single paternosters with 20-24" hook lengths in 60 lb greased weasel (very supple in this heat). Hooks, 3/0 to 5/0 mustad Power point single or pennel. (had a couple bitten off by the Butterfish)
150 and 170 gram breakaways. ( only used the 150's)
Beach tripod. (not really necessary as tubesare supplied)
A 40-80 gram spinning rod with 10 and 20lb line and 14 lb braid, with a selection of rapalas and surface poppers. ( Didn't get time for a proper go though)

I also bought a Flambeau Bazuka pro 6095 rod case. (£60) airline approved, from www.fly-fishing-tackle.co.uk which holds many rods and a tripod rest. 2 day delivery.

Boat tackle was supplied and of good condition. Beachcasters suplied were also adequate, matched with fixed spool reels. (I did use one of thier Abu Commodore Tempest 12 foot as a second rod ).
Take some 40 to 60 lb wire and crimps for barracuda.

Here's how I got on:

Friday 17th feb.
First afternoon on the hotel beachfront, I landed a 9 lb Butterfish first cast (teeth like Esther Rantzen). I fished for two hours and had nothing else. Still, I was well happy. I gave the fish to the local Rastas who were watching and they cooked it over charcoal with a few herbs that evening. Delicious !!

Sunday:
Boat fishing at Mantel Reef. Cost: £45 Bait and tackle all in. (prawn, bonga & live baby mullet)
Three boats headed out at 9.30 am, I was alone with my captain for the day, Bassa. The boats hold three anglers plus the captain with reasonable comfort. Although I believe there are larger craft. With just Bassa and I fishing up to 6 rods, I was very hopeful. Some big fish had been landed recently including a 200+ kg stingray.
However, all I caught was small catfish, a 6 lb cassava and a couple of other species I can't remember. We missed a couple of snappers, though I did see a couple landed on the other boats. Estimate 20lb+. Still that's fishing, other days you may strike lucky.
Definately take some heavy duty sun lotion, wide brimmed hat and sleeves. That sun is intense.

Monday:
Decided to try fishing Denton Bridge with lures and freelined livebait, hoping for a barracuda on light tackle. However, I somehow got talked into trolling the creeks with lures for barracuda and jacks. £10. The guide was knowledgeable but we had no luck. We stopped at a semi submerged wreck to try bottom fishing and I also casted some surface poppers. Nothing doing.

Tuesday:
Sanyang beach. £25. inc bait and tackle if required.
Picked up at the hotel at 8.45 in a Land Rover with guides Tom and Assan. Stopped off to pick up 3 other anglers, Malcolm, Duncan and Steve. (great laugh)
We then stop at the market to pick up bait, ice, water and fruit.
It takes about 40 mins to reach Sanyang , a long expanse of deserted palm-fringed white sandy beach. Paradise.
We fished until 4pm, with some hectic sport. Cassava to 5 lb. Loads of sunpat to 4 lb, lots of small stingray around 6 lb, and butterfish 6 lb. I then had two 35+lb stingray in the space 45 mins. Arm aching stuff and by far my heaviest fish from a beach. (previous best, a 11 lb bass and cod). I rounded the day off with a 6 lb captain fish. Beautiful.
I cannot speak highly enough of Tom and Assan. Casts of 50 yards got you into fish.
Tom tells me he has seen stingers to 95 kg here as well as huge guitarfish (40 pounder last week). Infact all these species go much bigger! However, we all left as very happy customers.

Wednesday:
Sanyang again, but just me and the two guides.
Today the sport was slower. We tried a different mark first. Assan had a 30 lb stinger first cast. A local on a very rusty bike watched as it was landed, then asked if he could keep it. I've got a funny photo of him riding off with this big stingray lashed to his rack and with it's tail trailing behind on the sand !
Tom then had a guitarfish (about a 5 lb baby) and I had a 5 lb cassava. Bites stopped so Tom suggested we move about 3 miles south to where we fished the previous day. Bites were scarce, with just a few small stingers. The guides did their best to find some bigger fish and we finished with a late flurry. I twice lost hooks to butterfish, landed another stinger while Tom and Assan finished with a captain fish of about 7 lb.

The guides are on poor wages so if you have a good day, please tip. I also lightened my tackle for the journey home by giving sinkers, hooks, line etc.

I was also informed that huge Tarpon were shoaling up at Dog Island, hard to catch but well worth a try. World record fish a possibilty. Tracey, Mark's partner hooked a 150 pounder on a 15 pound spinning outfit this week,(didn't stand a chance ! ) Though she tells me she is determined to beat the women's line class record very soon. Small tarpon to 50 lb shoal by Denton Bridge during summer months.
Finally, I did see someone land a nice baracuda from the bridge yesterday morning.

I cannot recommend the Gambia highly enough. Fab weather, wonderful people, beer 60p, steak and chips £3 to £4, no bad guts. It may be a culture shock to the Benidorm Brigade, but this is real Africa and my family (kids 4 & 12) loved it.
Biggest gripe: The week was over in a flash.

You can PM me for further info or photos. Tony.

[ccapeling]

Hi Stonefish,
Thanks for the info - I am going out on Friday (3rd) and, being a novice, I usually stick to creek fishing from Denton Bridge. But after your report, perhaps I'll be a little more adventurous this time!
Cheers,
Colin

[stonefish]

Assan, the guide said he would text me if they had caught anything of note.
Anyway I received one today to say they had caught 50 kg Guitarfish this afternoon, it was 3m long. That's some fish from the beach.

[stonefish]

Well i've just booked up for another week on 7th April.
Aren't credit cards just great !!

[michael inman jr]

can eny one please tell me when the gambia beach open tournament is please

[Red Diesel]

hi michael

I believe the beach fishing is on the3rd/4/5 nov with the boat festival on the
28th oct
Hopefully see you out there, for further details please contact Richard Sheard
of World Sport Fishing who is the organiser.

tel no 01480 403293 Fax no 01480 403296
Email RSWSF@aol.com

Kind Regards
Stephen

[fishingbliss]

The Gambia! What a delight! The country is vibrant and alive with experiences to enjoy. The people are warm and friendly and make all traveling angler’s feel welcome. I have been visiting The Gambia for over 15 years ……….TO FISH!
Denton Bridge is full of character and Characters – you can get a cold beer from the “Bridge Bar’, talk fishing, go fishing, and catch fish! The beauty of the Gambia is that it is an all year round sport fishing destination; Barracuda, Snapper, Cassava, Ladyfish, Captain Fish, Large Rays, Jacks, plus a load of local sporting species are all available and in my opinion the only set-up worth fishing with is Mark Longster’s. He has been in the fishing scene for longer than I have been traveling to The Gambia and you cannot beat the knowledge and experience of either himself or his trained captains, Assan Sainey, Famara Jatta, Omar Bojang, Bala Moses, & Micheal Drammeh. I’ve fished with every one of these guys over the years, had a laugh, caught fish, and have learnt a few new fishing tricks along the way! The country and the captains have become my friends.

On my last visit, just a week ago, Mark informed me that the pods of smaller tarpon (40lb to 70lb range) had arrived along the inshore waters, as expected, on the last new moon in May. These majestic fish stay for the duration of The Gambia’s Green season before finally moving on at the end of October. Assan (who’s nickname is “ninja” ) took me out on ‘Tarpon 1’ a 21ft Wilson Flyer. I had planned three days during my week’s visit to fish for the tarpon. On the first two days the tarpon didn’t show but on my third day I got lucky. When we arrived on a stretch of coastline close to the beach by some rocks, it wasn’t long before we saw small pods of tarpon rolling very close to the boat. Assan put me a small live herring on a casting rig and told me to cast it straight at the tarpon. I hooked-up almost immediately, and after a 40min fight of spectacular jumps, fast hard runs with the fish diving under the boat, I managed to bring the fish to the boat’s side. Assan gilled the tarpon and estimated its weight at approximately 50lb before it was released back into the water. Float fished live baits on light tackle 12/15lb spinning rods is the way to get the most fun out of fishing for these tarpon and I will never forget the fantastic sight of the tarpon rolling all around the boat – I cannot believe that I forgot to bring along my camera that day but the memory of it will etched in my mind forever. Thanks to Assan and thanks to Mark..

[Genghis]

I have just returned from a weeks fishing holiday in Gambia, fishing out of Denton Bridge. Took 2 teenagers with me for 4 days boat fishing and had such high hopes as so many people have raved about Gambia.

It has been, without doubt, the worst fishing i have ever encountered anywhere in the world. Paid £560.00 for 4 days with African Angling (£140.00 per day) but only got 3!

Day 1 (Weds)started out out with a Butter fish (2 pounds) coming in early and 14 very small fish for the rest of the day, none bigger than the palm of your hand! Day 2 (Thurs)was even worse, taking 13 very small fish, tiddlers. Day 3 (Friday) was just myself, boys were too depressed to go out. They had the right idea as i only took a small ray of 1 pound and a tiddler, that was it for the day despite live bait fishing, trolling, fishing the reefs creeks and sandbanks. Tried everything so it was not for lack of trying. Excuses ran from the monsoon, high tides, water colour and a multitude of others. We did not under any circumstances take anything remotely resembling a "sport" fish. This shocked me as i was assured by Mark and the skipper that the fishing for this time of year was superb and that very few anglers travelled out there due to the monsoon season.
Mark said that he was going to go out the next day and would let me know how he got on and where the fish were. I rang him the following night (Saturday) and Tracy answered to say that he had caught a Butter fish and a small amount of small fish, but she could'nt talk as they had just been burgled.

My last day should have been Monday, but i tried ringing Sunday and Monday and could not get anyone to answer the phone to confirm details so we did not get to go out fishing despite waiting in the hotel reception.


On the whole, i feel totally cheated with the fishing and would say to people that Cuba/Mexico or South Africa/Mozambique might be a better option as i have always had an excellent time there for sport fishing. Spoke to plenty of other anglers there and none had taken anything to stir the blood. I am prepared to give it another try next year and have emailed African Angling 4 days ago to hold the remaining days fishing rather than refund the money but have not recieved an answer as of yet. Watch this space.

I hope anyone thinking of fishing the Gambia will find this helpful.

I have just returned from the Gambia this morning after a one week family holiday with as much fishing as I dared !! We stayed at the Palm Grove Hotel which is only five mins by taxi to Denton Bridge, the centre for all your fishing needs. You will find that most hotels are no further than 20 mins here.
I telephoned Mark Longster and his partner Tracey a week before departure and was told that as a single angler, to just pop along on the first morning and they would tailor my fishing needs. I would advise phoning in advance though just in case. Their website is www.gambiafishing.com . Note that the site hasn't been updated for ages and the phone numbers have changed. Contact them on 0020 7721228 and you will find them most helpful.
I made plans for a day boat fishing over Mantel Reef and two days guided beachcasting at Sanyang, a paradise beach about 45 mins drive to the south.
Mark loaned me a cool box full of prawns and bonga as I planned to have a solo session off the beach by the hotel that afternoon.

Here is a quick lowdown on the tackle I took.
ZZiplex 50/50 Dreamcast
2 penn 525 mags loaded with 25 lb Suffix Tritanium and 60lb Greased weasel shockleader. ( 20 lb would have been ok)
A selection of clipped down single paternosters with 20-24" hook lengths in 60 lb greased weasel (very supple in this heat). Hooks, 3/0 to 5/0 mustad Power point single or pennel. (had a couple bitten off by the Butterfish)
150 and 170 gram breakaways. ( only used the 150's)
Beach tripod. (not really necessary as tubesare supplied)
A 40-80 gram spinning rod with 10 and 20lb line and 14 lb braid, with a selection of rapalas and surface poppers. ( Didn't get time for a proper go though)

I also bought a Flambeau Bazuka pro 6095 rod case. (£60) airline approved, from www.fly-fishing-tackle.co.uk which holds many rods and a tripod rest. 2 day delivery.

Boat tackle was supplied and of good condition. Beachcasters suplied were also adequate, matched with fixed spool reels. (I did use one of thier Abu Commodore Tempest 12 foot as a second rod ).
Take some 40 to 60 lb wire and crimps for barracuda.

Here's how I got on:

Friday 17th feb.
First afternoon on the hotel beachfront, I landed a 9 lb Butterfish first cast (teeth like Esther Rantzen). I fished for two hours and had nothing else. Still, I was well happy. I gave the fish to the local Rastas who were watching and they cooked it over charcoal with a few herbs that evening. Delicious !!

Sunday:
Boat fishing at Mantel Reef. Cost: £45 Bait and tackle all in. (prawn, bonga & live baby mullet)
Three boats headed out at 9.30 am, I was alone with my captain for the day, Bassa. The boats hold three anglers plus the captain with reasonable comfort. Although I believe there are larger craft. With just Bassa and I fishing up to 6 rods, I was very hopeful. Some big fish had been landed recently including a 200+ kg stingray.
However, all I caught was small catfish, a 6 lb cassava and a couple of other species I can't remember. We missed a couple of snappers, though I did see a couple landed on the other boats. Estimate 20lb+. Still that's fishing, other days you may strike lucky.
Definately take some heavy duty sun lotion, wide brimmed hat and sleeves. That sun is intense.

Monday:
Decided to try fishing Denton Bridge with lures and freelined livebait, hoping for a barracuda on light tackle. However, I somehow got talked into trolling the creeks with lures for barracuda and jacks. £10. The guide was knowledgeable but we had no luck. We stopped at a semi submerged wreck to try bottom fishing and I also casted some surface poppers. Nothing doing.

Tuesday:
Sanyang beach. £25. inc bait and tackle if required.
Picked up at the hotel at 8.45 in a Land Rover with guides Tom and Assan. Stopped off to pick up 3 other anglers, Malcolm, Duncan and Steve. (great laugh)
We then stop at the market to pick up bait, ice, water and fruit.
It takes about 40 mins to reach Sanyang , a long expanse of deserted palm-fringed white sandy beach. Paradise.
We fished until 4pm, with some hectic sport. Cassava to 5 lb. Loads of sunpat to 4 lb, lots of small stingray around 6 lb, and butterfish 6 lb. I then had two 35+lb stingray in the space 45 mins. Arm aching stuff and by far my heaviest fish from a beach. (previous best, a 11 lb bass and cod). I rounded the day off with a 6 lb captain fish. Beautiful.
I cannot speak highly enough of Tom and Assan. Casts of 50 yards got you into fish.
Tom tells me he has seen stingers to 95 kg here as well as huge guitarfish (40 pounder last week). Infact all these species go much bigger! However, we all left as very happy customers.

Wednesday:
Sanyang again, but just me and the two guides.
Today the sport was slower. We tried a different mark first. Assan had a 30 lb stinger first cast. A local on a very rusty bike watched as it was landed, then asked if he could keep it. I've got a funny photo of him riding off with this big stingray lashed to his rack and with it's tail trailing behind on the sand !
Tom then had a guitarfish (about a 5 lb baby) and I had a 5 lb cassava. Bites stopped so Tom suggested we move about 3 miles south to where we fished the previous day. Bites were scarce, with just a few small stingers. The guides did their best to find some bigger fish and we finished with a late flurry. I twice lost hooks to butterfish, landed another stinger while Tom and Assan finished with a captain fish of about 7 lb.

The guides are on poor wages so if you have a good day, please tip. I also lightened my tackle for the journey home by giving sinkers, hooks, line etc.

I was also informed that huge Tarpon were shoaling up at Dog Island, hard to catch but well worth a try. World record fish a possibilty. Tracey, Mark's partner hooked a 150 pounder on a 15 pound spinning outfit this week,(didn't stand a chance ! ) Though she tells me she is determined to beat the women's line class record very soon. Small tarpon to 50 lb shoal by Denton Bridge during summer months.
Finally, I did see someone land a nice baracuda from the bridge yesterday morning.

I cannot recommend the Gambia highly enough. Fab weather, wonderful people, beer 60p, steak and chips £3 to £4, no bad guts. It may be a culture shock to the Benidorm Brigade, but this is real Africa and my family (kids 4 & 12) loved it.
Biggest gripe: The week was over in a flash.

You can PM me for further info or photos. Tony.

[Whalebreath]

Not surprised to read a report like this.

I've read the Gambian reports here since well before I registered and can't for the life of my figure out why people bother with the fishing there.

All I read are about squibs dragged off the bottom of some surf break/beach maybe a tiny Sharks and that's it-and they flew how far to catch it?

Maybe the place is great/the people outstanding examples of humanity/the food ambrosial but if the fishing sucks why bother?

[Richard S]

Please dont judge the Gambia too unfairly .

I have run fishing trips there since 1996 and in the good old days the fishing there was not only cheaper than anywhere else it was at least as good as if not better than most places.

I have caught masses of good cassava , captainfish , huge tarpon , sharks , to mention but a few .

However the pressure of myriad tourists demanding their fish buffets and beach barbecues have meant that the tiny coatsline is under ever increasing pressure to feed everyone. Systematic ring netting of beaches , longlining , and drift netting , not to mention handlining of all the reefs has denuded the resident fish population.

A large capatainfish is now in such demand that it will fetch a months salary for a gambian , and as such the methods that they use will get more agressive in order to catch that fish.

Everyone blames trawlers , but i have never seen a trawler landing tonnes of butterfish or guitarfish or cassavas ,these are inshore species . the trawlers are fishing for red mullet a minimum of 30kms offshore and i do not believe they are affecting the fishing in the estuary .

The other major problem is the total lack of any regulation of sportfishing in gambia . Because european operators are an easy target for the tax office , police , and any government office involved or otherwise , because they are toobabs and they are expected to have a lot of money , they are taxed and extorted out of business . This all happens whilst the local boys run their own boats whilst paying next to no tax and no licenses .

Before everyone starts { i know the boys should be able to earn a living , and i have paid a lot of them more than most } , this is a terrible thing because it means there is no inward investment , because as soon as any operator looks like they are making any money they are immediately looked upon with jealously and they eventually end up out of business. So for that reason , the boats will always be shabby and the gear falling apart .

Take a short trip to dakar and you will see what a proactive approach and decent legislation will do , proper boats , good gear , great skippers and proper licensing .All for roughly the same money as you pay in Gambia

I have very much changed my marketing approach to gambia now , its a great place for a holiday with a bit of fishing !!.

I am now heavily involved in Senegal and Guinea Bissau , because even in guinea we have proper licenses and boat checks , by the navy and they are protecting their fish with patrols , and they see the value of sportfishing and they like the idea of inward investment and are prepared to go some way to look after it.

oh and of course my island is surronded by wrecks , volcanic reefs and islands , and huge sandbars so the f---kers cant get their trawlers anywere near us !!!

Richard