The return of long-time Sette Cama veteran Christian Neyret marked the promising onset of a favorable tide and season. Joining him were a group of French clients from Senegal and France, including Chris, Francis, Vincent, and Pascal, who have been part of our angling adventures in the past. Complementing this assembly were returning clients from Germany, Niklas and Klaus Sinz. With Cesar from Brazil embarking on his second week at our camp, we formed a diverse and cosmopolitan group set to relish another remarkable week of fishing, particularly centred around lure and fly fishing for Tarpon.
Last time in camp, Niklas had one particular fish on his list to tick off, and no, not the standard Tarpon on foot, but rather a large, 3-meter bull shark. He was indeed successful in this regard, and once that box was ticked the last time he was here, he then turned his attention to the Tarpon. Sadly, a mammoth fight with “one of the biggest Tarpon I have ever seen brought to the bank” – according to guide Ewan – ended when the leader wore through as the fish was being fought in the shore break. Heartbreak was shortly replaced by a need to get one back as Niklas looked for new dates for another trip with us. Upon arrival, it was clear that Niklas had come prepared, living up to all the stereotypes of German efficiency and organization. Well before the first night’s session, he was rigged and ready, a man with a plan. We arrived at the North beach with a favorable tide and expected to get some Tarpon action as the light faded into darkness. Some nice threadfin and snapper came out across the beach for all, as well as some standard Jack activity at sunset. As the light faded and darkness set in, Niklas went tight with a nice Tarpon. A dash down the beach ensured that we kept a good angle on the fish and kept it away from the various sandbanks in the surf. As we landed the fish, joy and elation for all. Niklas had arrived with a goal in his mind and had ticked it off in the first few hours of his trip. What a start! Down the beach, Cesar continued his good form as he too got into a similar-sized Tarpon and landed it. What a first evening it had been!
The French contingent has really taken to the new micro-jigging option at camp this season. Christopher and Francis had an exceptional first morning out trying it out for the first time, remarking, “You know, for years we have been coming to Sette Cama and we have always discussed what the upper lagoon has to offer and how exploration with fish electronics could open up a completely new and awesome fishery. To see it in person and enjoy the fishing is very special.” Two boats made the trip into the upper lagoon on the first morning, and it was picture-perfect. Blue skies, no wind, and good fishing. We have been discovering many trends, interesting areas, structures to look out for, etc. Keep an eye out on our social media platforms for a vlog/blog post soon on how this progress has been coming along.
The second evening of fishing in the mouth and surf offered much of the same as the first evening. A similar-sized coefficient with only a half-hour jump ahead in time meant many of the successful tactics from the previous evening were utilized once again. Niklas had a phenomenal evening, as he successfully landed another three Tarpon, bringing his trip tally to four in just two days! More good catches of threadfin, snapper, and jacks kept the entire team in good spirits. The following evening, we once again hit the mouth. Yet again, a small jump, a slightly larger tide. We expected similar conditions once again but just slightly later time-wise. Niklas, yet again, connected and landed another Tarpon – what a run he was on! Up the bank, in front of the cabin, a very special occasion transpired as Christopher put in time with his newly acquired 12wt Fly rod. Flashing lights running down the bank broke the night’s darkness as we all soon realized that a good Tarpon had been hooked! Twenty minutes ensued as Teddy and Pascal assisted Christopher with the large fish. Soon, the Tarpon was landed successfully, just a few days after first starting fly-fishing, Christopher had successfully landed a Tarpon over the 100lb mark. Some quick photos, and the fish was swimming again, as clients, guides, and skippers shared high-fives! What a fish!
Niklas, like the year before, had arrived with the intention of also tangling with Bull sharks. Some difficult morning sessions led to more frustration than joy as we struggled with structure in bad places and lost fish. Thankfully, with Klaus – aka the swimbait provider – never far away, some good swimbaits were swum, and we slowly began to get some good sharks. On the fourth day’s afternoon, the first nice big Bull came. A long tug-of-war ensued as Niklas ‘put the hurt on’ the bull shark! Finally, the big shark was landed and the large grin on Niklas’ face revealed his joy! The following afternoon, some frustrating hours kick-started the shark session off as Klaus struggled to provide a swimbait for Niklas, with the closest thing to a suitable bait being a false-hooked turtle. Just before darkness began to arrive, a perfectly-sized jack was landed, and quickly swum. A few minutes in the water, and a bite led to another large bull shark being hooked. Another large tug-of-war ensued as Niklas, with tired arms from the Tarpon and previous bull sharks, once again put the hurt on the fish! Just before last light, the shark was on the bank, mission successful.
The second to the last evening provided yet more Tarpon action, and this evening was to be the best of the week so far. The action kicked off with a nice Tarpon for Christian on fly off the South Point. As things began to heat up, everyone traversed the mouth and began fishing off the Northern beach, with the fly-fishermen positioned in front of the cabin, and the conventional anglers in front of the point up the beach. Niklas kickstarted the action off on the North beach as he hooked a sizable Tarpon in front of us. A long run the beach ensued as the fish clearly indicated it was not keen to be on the opposite end of the line to Niklas. After a good tussle, we brought the fish into the shallows; this Tarpon was the biggest of the week so far. Some quick photos, and the fish was swimming off again! Not to be outdone, Cesar shortly thereafter got into the action. Slowly working a soft plastic in the current he went tight with a Tarpon of a similar calibre to Niklas’ one. A similar length fight, with far fewer jumps, finally concluded as another Tarpon in the 60-65 kg range was landed. An almost open hook made us realize just how lucky Cesar had been that the Tarpon hadn’t jumped in the final moments of the fight. An ecstatic Cesar kneeled behind the fish and we quickly snapped some photos.
As the fish was being released, a large crash in bushes behind us revealed a large elephant bull. We all took a short break to watch him shake the large palm tree just a mere 30 meters behind us before the quiet night was once again interrupted by a fish. Up the beach, the action commenced with the fly anglers. The beach was strewn with lights as guides scrambled up and down the beach to get to fish quickly to land them and take photos. Eric was the first of the fly anglers to land a Tarpon at the cabin as he got a nice Tarpon to shore. More photos, and the fish was off again. As that fish was being released, more lights, this time further down the beach in amongst the conventional anglers. Cesar was on again, this time, not a big one like before but certainly a respectable fish! More photos, and the fish was swimming off again. A quick two-minute intermission for some water was then interrupted again! This time, Christopher on the fly in front of the cabin. The final Tarpon for the evening was landed. Wow – six quality Tarpon in one 4-hour session had been landed, and better yet, still one night remained for the team.
As the week drew to a close, we couldn’t believe how good it had already been. However, we knew that one last session remained and this being Gabon, anything was possible. Tonight, we planned to split the team, Niklas opted to spend the evening on the south point with the fly anglers and Cesar, Pascal, and Vincent opted for the North bank. The action kicked off later than the previous nights as we had begun to venture into some big tidal jumps. Some good snapper and threadfin got the action off to a start on the North Bank, as was the case on the South Point. Suddenly, a large splash across the channel indicated that a good Tarpon had been hooked on the South Point. Scurrying lights chased the fish into some slower moving water out of the main current. Soon, Niklas had yet another Tarpon in his grasp, this time, the biggest of the trip, a superb West-African Specimen. Yellow-tainted from the fresh water and with a large, rounded figure. Across the channel, Cesar also hooked into a Tarpon, at pretty much the same time as Niklas. This fish fought deep and slow. A long tussle finally ended with Cesar’s biggest tarpon of the trip as well. Wow, two more exceptional fish. I found Cesar up the beach lying in a small pool taking in the moment – “You know, two days ago my trip could have ended, and I would have been the most content angler in the world. Over the last two sessions I have caught the most unbelievable fish, the icing on the cake. This is such a special place.
Cheers to another phenomenal week from us at Sette Cama
Chris, Ewan, Teddy, and Ed.
CONTACT US
If you’d like to know more about the fish, fishing, and accommodation at Sette Cama in Gabon, you can contact our destination manager Paul Stevens on 01603 407596 or email at paul@sportquestholidays.com, who would love to speak to you.
