Fishing Madagascar 2024

The three of us (Garry, Kevin and myself- Steve) planned this trip many months ago. We chose early November based on our availability and the fish that can be found at that time of year around Madagascar.  Garry and Kevin have done this type of fishing many times before. Never in Madagascar but in many other global locations. For me, this would be a first. We booked with Sportquest Holidays . The booking experience was seamless but we were taken aback by the amount of fishing gear that they offer for rental and the fact that the cost of the trip would nearly double if you rented all of the equipment that they suggest. Also, the list/cost of rental equipment was only supplied to us once we had paid for the main trip so beware of planning this trip if you do not have enough of your own gear. Thankfully Garry, Kevin and a couple of their friends had enough equipment and kindly agreed to loan that to me. We then sent a number of Shimano reels for servicing at Felindre Innovations Reel ...

Off we go The journey consisted of the following stages: - Car from Boroughbridge to York Station  Thanks to Garry's and Kevin's wives for the lift Train from York to Kings Cross Taxi from Kings Cross to Paddington Heathrow Express from Paddington to Heathrow Airport 7.5 hour flight to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia 3.5 hour layover in Addis Ababa Made bearable by access to airport lounges thanks to Garry's and Kevin's lounge passes 4 hour flight to Nosey Be in Madagascar 45 minute taxi to Marina 2.75 hour in a fast fishing/speed boat out to the Catamaran The flights were with Ethiopian Airlines. The aircraft were in need of maintenance (e.g. toilet door handle hanging off), the staff were efficient but struggled to smile or show any job satisfaction and the food was not great. However, we had paid for extra legroom so managed to sleep for some of the flight. Arrival  Upon arrival at the Catamaran, we had to choose our rooms and then unpack our cases so they could be stowed fo...

The Catamaran The catamaran was designed for four guests and we were a party of three. It was quite cramped even for three of us. Two of the rooms had their own bathrooms and two had to share a bathroom. The catamaran was well past its useful life and needed constant maintenance by the skipper to continually fix: - Water supply Shower (or bucket when it didn't work) Toilets not flushing Electrics failing We had rain on two nights and the rain leaked in everywhere - even through the light fittings!

This is an overview of the fishing, locations and techniques used throughout the week. The catches for each day will be the subject of seperate articles with photos and video. Locations We started the day with a fast boat ride of about one hour. Some maps of the locations will be shown on later articles. Most of the week was spent fishing in open water over well known fishing "marks" that were recorded on the boat's GPS. Unfortunately, due to a language barrier, we did not receive any kind of briefing as to why each "mark" was chosen - which is a shame. Techniques Almost every day had the same routine: - Popper fishing in at attempt to catch Giant Trevally (GT) from the surface Jigging to catch fish at/near the bottom Bait fishing on the bottom with bait comprised of fish pieces (not live/whole fish) Break for lunch Spinning with light gear for Bonito (small Tuna) Trolling four or five rods from the back of a moving boat to tempt fast fish from the top layer of ...

Location We did not travel so far today. Perhaps the fishing crew wanted to get a feel for our equipment and capabilities. In fact, this was the only day that involved fishing close to shore. For the popping we were taken to a small rock that protruded above the surface. We spent an hour or so, casting poppers around the rock. Catches Popping I was the first to hook up to a GT but it only stayed on for a few seconds. As it was my first experience of this, I probably failed to set the hook correctly. This was followed soon after by Garry hooking a GT that immediately took line and ended up getting around the back-side of the rock and cutting his line on the rocks. So, 2 - 0 to the fish so far! Jigging We then moved into deeper water and began jigging. It wasn't long before Kevin caught a nice GT: -

Location Today we drove further out to sea - approximately 90 minutes at 25 kts (approx 70 miles).  Catches Popping Popper fishing was much better out in the blue. There were many shoals of bait fish. When managing to cast into the bait fish and work the popper correctly, we were almost guaranteed a take even though many did not result in a proper hookup. I started the day's catches with a Rainbow Runner: -

Location Today I took a GPS reading once we started fishing. Although we moved around during the day, especially trolling, this is where we started: -

Popping & Spinning A more active/interesting day than yesterday. Casting poppers and bass wedges into shoals on a feeding frenzy was good even though we only got a couple of fish. Both Kevin and I caught Bonito. Jigging and Bait Fishing We did some jigging without success so changed to bait fishing on the bottom with pieces of Bonito. We all got plenty of bites from small fish constantly "pecking" at the bait and we caught a few of these. I then had a proper bite that nearly took my rod before biting off my 80lb leader. The same happened to Kevin twice and Garry once. Both Kevin and Garry then switched to using wire traces. Garry hooked what was believed to be a large Grouper that ultimately escaped and left lots of damage on the wire trace. Kevin ended up with a Yellowfin Tuna and a Captain fish whilst bait fishing. Kev playing a Yellowfin Tuna

Location  Today we began from our sheltered location of the nort western tip of the mainland and headed west to the fishing grounds. We ended the day heading back to Nosey Mitsio which is about halfway between Nosey Be and our main location for the week.

Summary Today was our last fishing day.  I was feeling a bit rough today after the late night and was unsure how my sea-sickness would fare. In the end, I was ok and didn't seem to be affected - another small victory. As for the fishing, today really was a waste of time. Location We started on our way back to Nosey Be and stopped off for a morning's fishing.

Expection Having spent the week on a Catamaran with no air conditioning and a dysfunctional toilet & shower, I was looking forward to a touch of normality. Not much to ask but I had hoped for: - A toilet door that could be closed/locked properly Air conditioning A decent shower A nice meal in the restaurant. We had seen the local area and din't really fancy trekking out to find food. Reality  I obviously need to lower my expectations in future. We stayed in a hotel called the "Clair De Lune". Firstly we were shown to separate rooms that were all separate buildings/huts in the grounds. We were a bit a walk from the reception. Garry's room was actually up several steps so was a bit more of a chore to reach. Having got there, with all of our luggage and rods still made up (yet to be de-kitted), we were settling into  our rooms when the receptionist arrived with two bits of bad news: - They had put us in the wrong rooms. We had to lug everything back to the rooms righ...