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.

[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/inter..._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.

[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.