This week, we’ve had the privilege of hosting Sette Cama legends, renowned for their passion for Sette Cama Tarpon Fishing. Year after year, we eagerly anticipate their return to our camp. For this special week, we were delighted to welcome Eric and Nadine, along with their friends Christian, Florian, Michel, Jean-Luc, and Bertrand, all eager to embark on another thrilling Sette Cama Tarpon Fishing adventure. Additionally, we had the pleasure of hosting Jean and Franco from South Africa, adding their unique South African perspective to the excitement. With the entire group booked for a full two weeks of Sette Cama Tarpon Fishing, excitement was palpable upon their arrival.
The initial fishing sessions offered intriguing experiences. The change of light brought about lively moments with some jacks, providing classic entertainment for all. The early evening sessions were equally exciting, witnessing numerous encounters with Tarpon and snapper, as they aggressively attacked our lures and flies. Anglers casting their flies enjoyed the most success, as these selective fish either struggled to spot the lures and flies amid the abundance of congregated mullet or were simply choosy due to the wealth of available food. During the sessions with heightened surface activity, we managed to land some nice snappers on both fly and lure. We also hooked a number of Tarpons on fly, though challenges like line management issues, broken lines, bull sharks, and thrown hooks prevented us from landing any Tarpon, much to everyone’s disappointment. However, with a two-week adventure ahead, we remained relaxed, knowing that more exciting fishing experiences lay ahead.
Amidst our surf sessions at the mouth, we explored numerous lagoon sessions in both the lower and upper lagoon sections. The lower lagoon proved to be a fruitful spot, offering good numbers of jacks caught on lure and fly. The season had seen a notable increase in jack activity since its beginning. In the midst of these jacks, some delightful threadfin and snapper were caught using micro jigs and ultralight tackle, bringing joy to all involved. In the upper lagoon, we utilized several sessions to continue our exploration of the vast 75,000-hectare lagoon, equipped with newly fitted sounders. The sheer scale of the lagoon‘s potential left us eager to explore further, with discussions based on Google Earth aiding our quest to map new sections of reef. These newly discovered areas offered world-class snapper fishing, resulting in numerous quality Brown Snapper catches. While some hooks ended up in the reef and leaders got snapped, the enjoyment of mastering this technique was evident on our clients’ faces, as they marveled at the lagoon’s immense scale and its remarkable marine life.
This week marked the World Cup, and an unexpected treat awaited us – a thrilling quarter-final clash between the South African Springboks and the French Les Bleus in Paris. With both South African and French clients at our camp, we took a break from fishing at the mouth to watch this epic contest. The match provided plenty of nail-biting moments, creating an unforgettable spectacle. On the fishing front, tactics and techniques were tested, with the French anglers favoring stickbaits and the South Africans opting for paddle tails. The results were debatable: no Tarpon for the paddle tails, but some fine threadfin and snapper. Stickbaits yielded fewer catches in terms of numbers, but more Tarpon were hooked – the choice was yours. Jean demonstrated her expertise in fishing with plastics, outperforming the men by landing a beautiful Cubera Snapper, followed shortly by a substantial Giant African Threadfin on soft plastics on Friday night.
One of the most remarkable catches of the week came from Florian, who had been visiting Sette Cama for a couple of years with a dream of landing a large Tarpon in the surf on foot. Various obstacles, including bull sharks and inconveniently located sandbanks, had delayed this dream. However, on Thursday morning, Florian and Jean-Luc decided to head to the beach early instead of the lagoon. On the second cast, two retrieves in, Florian connected with a Tarpon. Finally, after a spirited struggle, he held the fish in his hands – a dream fulfilled! The sense of relief and achievement quickly transformed into a deep desire to repeat the feat. On Saturday morning, we hit the beach at 4:30 to catch the last few hours of the push on the North Bank. Favorable water conditions offered excellent opportunities for fishing with stickbaits. Florian, persisting with a Halco Max, was rewarded with two nice snappers and yet another Tarpon! Jean once again joined the action, this time landing a substantial threadfin with a paddle tail down the beach.
From Team Gabon, Cheers
Chris, 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.
