Spinning off beach in Gambia

**H-Rex** · 02-10-2006, 22:02

Going to Gambia in December for 2nd time. Last year had some success boat fishing off the reefs, but this time I'd like to try some spinning from the beaches. Has anyone got any experiences? What lures might work best? Can anyone suggest best locations?

**taff2** · 03-10-2006, 19:11

hi im going in november any info i will be glad of im staying at the holiday beach club at kololi beach i will have all my own gear with me cheers

**stonefish** · 04-10-2006, 20:16

hi, I'm going around the 24th Nov, 3rd time this year, looking at the Holiday Beach Club also. My guide says the fishing should be good in Nov. I'm taking beach gear and my spinning rod with a selection of secret lures, lol.
seriously though, my box consists of rapala magnum CD, J-11, saltwater skitterpop, super shadrap,Yo-zuri crystal minnows, Nils master, Halco sorcerer, Storm chugbug and a selection of Tobys and Dexter wedges. Most of my plugs are in hot tropical colours, redheads are particlarly good.
To be honest though, most of my fishing will be on Sanyang beach chasing that elusive biggie.

**taff2** · 05-10-2006, 15:04

hi how far is sangyang beach from the hotel and is this the best beach to fish fromand what about bait is it easy to get and can you recamend eny other beaches i will let you know what the hotel is like as soon as i get back on the21 cheers

**martinw** · 05-10-2006, 16:13

Sanyang is about 25 minutes in a Taxi. The beaches are fantastic.There are some islands off Tanji(Bijolo islands) which ive heard some good reports for a spot of lure fishing.
Might be worth contacting Mark Longster and taking a guided trip 1st off.
we were goig to go last itme i was out but the trip never materialised.

**letemallgo** · 05-10-2006, 17:10

Went last December for a week. Three days shore fishing, two days reef fishing and one days creek fishing. Going back again 4 december. I'm going with my son, so any lone anglers going at that time are welcome to fish with us. We're staying at the Badala Park (coz its cheap!).

Fishiest looking shore mark is Denton Bridge, but it can get crowded with locals fishing with hand lines. There are decent baracudas and some enormous Snappers. Saw two in excess of ten pounds each caught there last year (not by me unfortunately). You can buy live mullet from the locals so buy a big bucket (Bakau market) and take a battery operated aerator. We kept mullet live like that for hours. You can catch you own livebaits at Denton Bridge by jigging a trace of tiny feathers.

Other favourite baits are shrimps (locally known as Sippa Sippa) and Bonga (an oily fish). You can by both at Bakau market and they'll even fillet your Bonga for you.

We fished SanYang Beach but didn't catch it right (the story of my life!), we had one small guitar fish between us. We were wading out about 50 metres and then casting as far as possible. The part we fished didn't have much current and a plain3 oz lead was holding bottom.

I've caught butterfish whilst reef fishing (3/0 O'shaunassy to 50lb mono) but the fight was unspectacular.

The king of the fighters in the Gambia is the threadfin salmon. I watched one strip 300+ yards of line off 30lb boat gear before it broke when there was no more line 0n the reel. That fish never stopped. When boat fishing the locals let go of the anchor when they get into a big Threadfin salmon and let it tow the boat.

When shore fishing in the Gambia you would be wise to take a local with you. Its okey at Denton Bridge as the other local fisherman will chase away the kids and bumsters, but elsewhere you can be pestered. I tried to fish Bakau Pier. Everytime I hooked a fish I was engulfed by thirty or forty kids. My session came to an abrupt end when one knocked the rod over and another stood on the tip, breaking it. You can pick up a local to act as guide at your hotel, it'll cost you £3 to£4. Better still give him a rod to use, you'll make a friend for life.

**stonefish** · 05-10-2006, 20:25

If you want to use my guides, Assan and Tom, recommended to me by Mark Longster, you can PM me for their number. If you check my Gambia photos post in this section of the forum, you'll see the sort of fishing we had.

**letemallgo** · 06-10-2006, 17:36

Hi Stonefish. thanks very much for your offer re: guides. We have a couple of young Gambian lads who take time off work to come fishing with us, and a taxi driver who tags along too.

However, I would really appreciate info on the best spots to fish at Ssanyang beach. There is a restaurant at the end of the track, and another restaurant about 300 yards south of it. We fished about 1/4 mile south of the second restaurant. I suspect we were in the wrong place. I read that we should have been a mile to a mile and a half south of the second restaurant or alternatively about a mile north in the direction of the point. Where do you fish there?

Are there any other shore marks which you would recommend? Cape Point looks interesting but we never tried it.

To any other lone anglers going out beginning of December, I repeat that you are more than welcome to join us for both shore and boat fishing. As you will see from the above, we have the taxi and plenty of guides but we're a bit short of anglers!

Don't worry if you are not a particularly skilled angler. My boast is that I can catch nothing anywhere in the world. I even had three blank days shore fishing in Florida (but made up for it later). As the charter skipper in Florida siad, 'If it was that easy they'd call it Catching not Fishing'.

**stonefish** · 07-10-2006, 21:41

Hi lads, you are right that the most productive spots for me were a mile to a mile and a half south of the last beach restaurant. As you head south along SanYang beach there is an unmistakeable inlet into the dry lake bed behing the dunes, at high water it can be difficult to cross at high tide, but at mid to low it is crossable in a 4x4. We fished just before the inlet and up to 400yds the other side. Obviously there are no guarantees of decent fish, but catch it right and it was as if it was carpeted with stingray. Mostly small but several to 35LB. Larger fish are on the cards. The nice 26lb captainfish (king threadfin) came from here also. You can get plagued with Sunpat and catfish though. Vary your casting distance until you hit good fish, the captainfish was caught at no more than 50 yds. Watch for the butterfish, they can bite through 80lb snoods or thin hooks no bother. Use strong hooks.
Also try 'A' section, (thats what they call it during the angling festival). To find it, as you look out to sea from the restaurants, drive right, around the cove to the rocky headland. Continue for approx 50 - 200 yds past the rough ground and you'll find a cleaner sandy seabed. This produced good stingers and is noted for Guitarfish. Though I only caught a baby, a few days after I left they caught a 50 kg (112lb) guitarfish !!
It was nearly 3m long. If only I had booked a fortnight, lol.
From what i understand, most areas are productive, but, like here at home, 50yds to the left or right can make all the difference. So, if you are not getting bites move along the beach a bit. I did just that, 6 of us fishing, I was blanking on the end, so I upped sticks and moved to the other end, uptide of the others, and within half an hour i had two 35lbers on the beach.
Bear in mind this was February and April, I have not yet fished there in Nov / Dec so species may differ, but i gather the stingray are ever present.
Regarding, my guides' phone number, bear with me until I make contact with them by text. I'm off on holiday to the Red Sea (taking the wife, not the rod !) on the 9th Oct for a week but will PM you as soon as I get back.
Regards, Tony.

**H-Rex** · 10-10-2006, 18:03

Thanks all for your posts - seems like Gambia's gonna be a populer place to be over the next few weeks.

For those of you returning before I leave (28 Nov) PLEASE post a report on how you got on. For those of you still out there when I get there - I will seek you out and buy you a Julbrew! In return I want to hear how you've been getting on.

Tight lines!