ISSUE #10 | Q2 2020
EGYPT HURGHADA’S GEETS
SWEDEN LAKE SIBBO
IRELAND IRISH PIKE & SEATROUT
COSTA RICA THE ROOSTERFISH CAPITAL
+ NEW TACKLE, LATEST IGFA RECORDS, SEEN ON THE WEB, FISHING ART & MORE...
CONTENTS
ISSUE#10 Q2 2020
8 IGFA
76 What’s new
12 Sweden
80 Costa Rica
28 Ireland
104 Fishing Art
54 Egypt
112 Seen on the web
Latest records and news
Lake Sibbo
Irish pike and seatrout
Hurghada’s Geets
Our selection of the latest tackle
The roosterfish captial
Tim Johnson
Our pick of recent fishing videos
8 28 76 104
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WHERE ARE WE TAKI
COSTA RICA
IRELAND
ING YOU THIS TIME ?
SWEDEN
EGYPT
EDITORIAL Dylan Smith Editor in Chief
Taking good care of our fish In the past few years, the fishing industry has made a lot of efforts to make our passion less harmful to the fish. Landing mats are becoming more common for freshwater anglers, and not only for carp, but also predators. A growing number of organizations and anglers are also starting to use single barbless hooks on their lures, instead of barbed trebles. However, all of this is of no use if the fish isn’t released properly. For example, if you release a trout after letting it sit on a hot concrete ground while you’re calling your buddies, the fish might not recover. Wet your hands before handling the fish, try to unhook it in the water, and keep them in the net and not on the ground! So, if you decide to release your fish, please release it well!
Dylan Smith COVER SHOT: Babs Kijewski with a trophy roosterfish in Costa Rica, p.80
SPORTFISHING ADVENTURES T H E
W O R L D ' S
B E S T
F I S H I N G
D E S T I N A T I O N S
Editor in chief Dylan SMITH
Contributors Babs Kijewski Rudy Van Duijnhoven Tim Johnson
Special thanks Tim Johnson Geoffray Juillard IGFA KBE Expeditions Iskander Mermet Sportfishing Adventures magazine, published quarterly, is independently owned and operated by DMS Editions. Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher. No part of this magazine can be reproduced without prior permission. For inquiries, contact the editor: editor@sportfishing-adventures.com
IGFA NEW RECORDS
IGFA
NEW RECORDS Lee’s Gourami
Sherbovich’s Snubnose Pompano Russian angler Ilya Sherbovich added another fly-fishing record to his resume with this beautiful 3.4-kilogram (7-pound, 8-ounce) snubnose pompano (Indo-Pacific permit) that set the new IGFA Men’s 4-kg (8 lb) Tippet Class World Record. Ilya was fishing the Seychelles Islands and landed the record pompano in 15 minutes after it struck an Alphlexo Crab fly he was casting. Ilya and the team quickly measured and weighed the snubnose pompano and released it to fight another day. 8
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Khoo Wee Lee was fishing the East Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia, and caught this amazing 6.12-kilogram (13-pound, 8-ounce) giant Borneo gourami to set the first IGFA AllTackle Record for this species. He was tossing an OSP Blitz Max lure in the river when the gourami came up and smashed it boat-side. After taking the required pictures and measurements from shore, the fish was released back into the river.
NEW RECORDS IGFA
Triana’s Bonefish Dennis Triana has earned plenty of fishing accolades in his lifetime including 112 IGFA World Records and a state record fish in all 50 states. On January 29th, Dennis added another to his name by catching this awesome 10-pound bonefish in Honolulu, Hawaii, to earn his second IGFA Trophy Bonefish. To make things better, it just happens to qualify for the Men’s 3-kg (6 lb) Line Class World Record, as well. If you couldn’t tell, Dennis was quite ecstatic to land his double-digit bone after an epic 20-minute battle.
Wilson’s Dolphinfish Nikki Wescott Wilson visited Tropic Star Lodge, Panama, and came back with an incredible IGFA record. She caught this massive 25-kilogram (55-pound, 2-ounce) dolphinfish to set the new IGFA Women’s 10-kg (20 lb) Tippet Class World Record. Nikki was fly fishing with a Cam Sigler fly and landed the record catch after a 20-minute fight. This catch also entered her as the first IGFA Trophy Dolphinfish member caught on fly tackle! SPORTFISHING ADVENTURES | Q2 2020
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IGFA LATEST NEWS
IGFA LATEST NEWS
Slam & Trophy Clubs June 2020
2020 World Record Game Fishes Book The International Game Fish Association recently announced the release of the highly anticipated 2020 World Record Game Fishes book, the world’s most definitive publication of recreational angling records and the organization’s signature membership benefit.
Read more
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Read more
SPORTFISHING ADVENTURES | Q2 2020
LATEST NEWS IGFA
Fisheries of the United States, 2018 Report Each fall, NOAA Fisheries publishes the Fisheries of the United States Report for the previous year and has been doing so for over 100 years. The report provides a snapshot of statistics on recreational and commercial fisheries, landings and value throughout the United States.
Read more
IGFA’s Online Auction is Live! Place your bids now on world-class fishing trips, tackle, artwork, apparel and more in the IGFA’s Online Auction! The auction will close just before midnight EST on Sunday, June 28th - don’t miss out on these incredible deals!
Read more
SPORTFISHING ADVENTURES | Q2 2020
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TRAVEL SWEDEN
SWEDEN
LAKE SIBBO Text and photos by Babs Kijewski
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SWEDEN TRAVEL
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A
One Lake Sibbo, catching hundreds of perch each day isn’t uncommon.
fter hunting for catfish in Spain at the end of summer, Cecilia and I met a few weeks later in her homeland in search of predators of the fabulous Sibbo lake. Located 2 hours away from Stockholm, this lake is a paradise for fisherman since many large fish can be found there, while the number of boats is deliberately limited so fishing pressure does not become a problem. The per-
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fect place to end a season in style! Let it be said right away, fishing Lake Sibbo is a real privilege since reservations are made more than a year in advance. Fishing there with Cecilia, one of the official guides of the lake, and one of the only ones able to navigate with her own boat on the lake becomes an exceptional moment! Excellent equipment is available, a good knowledge of the playing field, a beautiful population of fish, it does not take more to ensure an SPORTFISHING ADVENTURES | Q2 2020
The fish seem very active, close to the edges, as if they were trapped by larger predators waiting for them below.
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excellent time on the water during these few days. Only the weather and the mood of the fish can mess with us… On the program: fishing for zander, searching for large pikes and a little fun with some perch, which can be very present at times, as much to say that the program is a dream! On the program: fishing for zander, searching for large pikes and a little fun with some perch Cecilia picks me up directly from the airport parking lot and we are directly on our way to Lake Sibbo. After an
hour’s drive, we make a quick stop in the last accessible supermarket before finding ourselves deep in Swedish nature. Lake Sibbo is quite isolated, there is not much around and it is better to plan everything in advance to avoid losing fishing time during the following days. After this first half-day dedicated to logistics, we are off for a first contact on the water. Taking shelter in a bay, we capture our first perch fairly quickly. The fish are there, in number, and it is not uncommon to have double-hookups. The fish seem very active, close
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to the edges, as if they were trapped by larger predators waiting for them below. After taking out the heavier artillery in search of pike with large lures, we realize they are much less active than the perch at the moment! We will however be dealing with 2 cut lines reminding us that they are not very far away! At the end of the day, after having fun with perch, we decide to practice Cecilia’s favorite technique: pelagic fishing for zander! They are very few to practice it on this lake, and if the big pike are common with specimens of 120cm caught
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The author with a trophy Lake Sibbo pike. The lake is connected to the Baltic Sea by a narrow channel, which brings lots of baitfish for predators.
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each year, it is however on zander fishing that there can be beautiful surprises!
Cecilia’s technique is well established and is based on the impressive arsenal that she has on the boat.
We decide to practice Cecilia’s favorite technique: pelagic fishing for zander Cecilia’s technique is well established and is based on the impressive arsenal that she has on the boat: Panoptix and Livescope technology on her 3 Garmin fishfinders. The Livescope allows her to look forward for bigger fish. The advantage of fishing on this lake with Cecilia is that we will be able
A little scent always makes the difference! 18
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to select mainly the largest specimens, without wasting time on smaller fish. If there is nothing seen on the Livescope, Cecilia uses the SideVü technology to locate nearby fish. And with such a big population of fish, it never takes more than 5 minutes to find a target! Here everything is done with the outboard engine, no need for a discreet approach with the electric motor. We position ourselves above the fish and keep our eyes on the Panoptix down sounder. The lures descend as quickly as possible and stop just
SWEDEN TRAVEL
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The surubi catfish not only have amazing patterns, they also put on a great fight! 20
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SWEDEN TRAVEL
Cecilia Grรถnberg and the author. At the right time, double perch hookups are frequent on Lake Sibbo.
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The lake is known worldwide for its big pikes.
above the fish. By fishing in pairs, each on one side of the boat, you are more likely to be well positioned and once the fish has spotted a lure, it is then time to try to trigger a strike. This is where it becomes difficult because even if you know that you are on the fish, making it attack is really not easy. Sometimes you get hits while being completely static, sometimes by slowly raising the lure to the surface, sometimes by doing tiny jerks to give a little more life to the lure. In short, everything is tried until the fish 22
turns around, becomes annoyed or simply decides not to feed. We fish this way until the evening as the advantage of this type of fishing is that it can be done relentlessly since electronics are the centerpiece of this technique. Focus on perch The next day, the weather was capricious and the wind was strong, making the fishing very complicated. We focus our fishing on the schools of perch, which are SPORTFISHING ADVENTURES | Q2 2020
very common in areas sheltered from the wind. The fishing is amazing, the perch are caught one by one on our small soft plastic lures. To tell the truth, they are not that small, and quite numerous! It was nearly a hundred perch we caught that day, with double-hookups and some beautiful fish above 40 cm. The winning lure was a jig head of 7 grams mounted on a soft plastic shad. I don’t really care about the color on situations like these, with aggressive and large numbers of fish that produce many
SWEDEN TRAVEL
bites. However, the fishing was not that easy. By trying other techniques in other layers of water, you realize the strikes become rare. Concerning the lure’s action, you had to fish near the bottom, sometimes letting the lure drop with a short break followed by a slow retrieve. The hits are plentiful and so are the missed ones as we only use single hooks to avoid damaging the fish. A good thing when encountering lots of fish like this is to be able to practice other techniques and other animations to be able to face any situation without losing confidence. Drop-shot, jigging, and several other techniques brought us fish
on the most difficult days! After this perch day punctuated by many laughs and little challenges between us, it’s time to head back just before night to rest for the day ahead, in pursuit of our goal: pelagic fishing for a big zander! Last day for a big fish The weather is again a bit windy but the conditions remain practicable. We start in the bay to the left of the boat ramp because we have spotted a lot of activity at sunrise with lots of pike around. After prospecting the shallow area with our large lures, no fish were caught and we decided to look for a more suitable area. We then
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After a long hour of fishing, we are finally rewarded for our efforts with a nice pike.
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Nice perch for the author. During the trip, several beasts over 40cm were landed.
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decide to try our luck with some pelagic fishing for zander. After a few unsuccessful attempts, the fish ignoring our lures, Cecilia spots and hooks a nice fish. A powerful fight that ends up in the landing net for this magnificent pike estimated at 110 cm. While we prepare everything to measure it and take a picture of it quickly, we leave the fish in the landing net. But when we took it out of the water, the landing net was empty! There was a hole in the net that we hadn’t seen! It’s a huge disappointment, we are shocked because it was a very nice fish that came to reward our efforts. We remobilize, set for revenge, to end the day on a
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better note. The fish are still sulking for the vast majority, except a few zander of medium size, so we decide to take a short break on the perch to shelter from the wind. We regain confidence and take pleasure in these winter endof-season conditions (the first snow will arrive 1 week later). The end of the day is looming and we decide to try our luck again with pelagic fishing. After a long hour of fishing, we are finally rewarded for our efforts with a nice pike, very thin but with a huge head, which will bring us real shared pleasure. It is on this positive note that our stay at Lake Sibbo ends, not without adding a few more perch and laughter!
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MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Experience fishing on another planet. ellidason@strengir.is www.strengir.com
SPORTFISHING ADVENTURES | Q2 2020
#fishonmoon #strengir
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TRAVEL IRELAND
IRELAND
IRISH PIKE & SEATROUT Text and photos by Rudy Van Duijnhoven
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IRELAND TRAVEL
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A nice sight when the hard wind goes straight against the incoming waves.
I
reland has a wide range of fishing possibilities on offer for the visiting fly-fisher. You can fly-fish here for brown trout on creeks, rivers and lakes, there are reservoirs were rainbow trout and brown trout are available for boat and shore fly-fishers. Both on the rivers and on some lakes it is possible to fly-fish for salmon and seatrout. Ireland is the number one country for fly-fishing for pike, from a boat but even more so from a belly boat or kayak with which almost virgin waters can be fished.
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Along the coast it is possible to fly-fish for seabass, mullet and pollack, further from shore you can add coalfish, cod, mackerel and, under the right circumstances, small kinds of tuna and blue shark to this list. Yes, blue shark have been caught on the flyrod and streamer in Ireland and it will only be a matter of time before the first porbeagle is landed on the fly as well. In early May of 2018 I was again on my way in Ireland, together with Theo van de SPORTFISHING ADVENTURES | Q2 2020
Yes, blue shark have been caught on the fly-rod and streamer in Ireland.
IRELAND TRAVEL
Chrissie with a mullet by-catch. SPORTFISHING ADVENTURES | Q2 2020
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IRELAND TRAVEL
Belly boats can be a good option on Irish lakes. They’re silent, fun and allow you to go where boats can’t.
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Poll and Mario Sanz. We were helped in the areas we fished along the coastline of Mayo and Donegal by Markus Müller (Inland Fisheries Ireland, IFI), Christin Breuker and Michael Patton (IFI). Unfortunately the weather was not co-operative with a wind force 5 to 7 every day and the water was much colder than normal too; Ireland suffered as well from an extremely cold Spring in 2018. Ferry tale After a comfortable journey with little delays, with ferry
crossings by P & O Ferries (Rotterdam – Hull) and by Irish Ferries (Holyhead – Dublin), was the Ennisdrum B&B of former policeman Des and Eileen O’Rourke in Bangor Erris, our first stop in Ireland. Theo and Mario arrived on the Saturday evening at about the same time as myself in Dublin by plane and made the rest of the journey by rental car. I had all their fishing gear, including their two belly boats, in my full packed car. It was nice to see Des and Eileen back again, in the past I have had a very enjoyable stay at their
The bay still looked very promising, shallow with numerous areas for wading.
Some of the patterns that can be used for fly-fishing for seatrout along the Irish coast. 34
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IRELAND TRAVEL
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Downpatrick Head was once a popular destination for pilgrims, who came here each year on the last Sunday of July, known as ‘Garland Sunday’.
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Chrissie had the largest pike of the day.
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B&B when we fly-fished for Atlantic salmon on a number of rivers and lakes in the North-West of Ireland.
Southern and Eastern side of the bay.
There are three rivers running into Bunatrahir Bay, unfortunately the water in the bay was far from clear due to waves and swell, which is what we saw when we made our first stop there the following morning. The bay still looked very promising, shallow with numerous areas for wading along the Western,
After a visit to the impressive cliffs of Downpatrick Head to the North of Ballycastle, one of the many photographic highlights along the Wild Atlantic Way, we made our next stop in Lackan Bay. The Cloonalaghan River runs into the sea here and with every rising tide there are seatrout entering the ri-
Cliffs
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The Cloonalaghan River runs into the sea here and with every rising tide there are seatrout entering the river in the warmer months.
IRELAND TRAVEL
ver in the warmer months of the year. At low water large stretches of sand are falling dry, so one needs to make a bit of a walk to reach fishable water. We found enough water we could fish here and because the hard wind was directly opposite to the incoming waves, is was possible to take some exciting fishing pictures here too. We saw a few seatrout jump in the estuary, as
well as some small schools of mullet in the shallow water (Christin managed to land one here); our seatrout flies, imitations of sandeels and shrimp, remained largely untouched here though. Along the Irish coast small fish are the main food source for the seatrout, where as in the Baltic Sea there are a lot more shrimp around. We therefore fished streamers for the most part with our floating and intermediate fly-lines in the
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line-classes #7 and 8. Moy The River Moy is world famous for it’s fishing on salmon and seatrout, you need to book a day on the Ridge Pool in Ballina probably more than a year ahead! On the River Moy thousands of Atlantic salmon are caught every year, with lures and natural bait in the slow parts of the river, but the Ridge Pool and
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Promising-looking water at the Claggan peninsula.
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Church Pool in Ballina plus the stretches above Foxford give up a lot of salmon on the fly every year too. In the huge estuary there is a lot of fishing going on with natural bait like sandeel and this can be very successful. One of the deeper gullies runs alongside Killala and when you park your car near Ross (in the direction of Ross Point), it is possible to fly-fish this gully for a long distance. We did not get the chance to fish here, but it looked most promising. To the West of Bangor Erris lies Claggan Island, a penin-
sula that can be reached after a walk along the beach for a few hundred meters. There is no parking available on Claggan Island, it is better to leave the car at the start of the small strip of land and to walk than in the direction of the peninsula. Due to the severe southern wind, it was impossible fly-fish along the south side of the peninsula, which is usually the best spot in that area. The long, narrow piece of land that runs into the sea on the north side, looked most promising too still (a slowly deepening bottom, sea weed and
The Bunatrahir Bay was unfishable due to swell and wind. 42
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There were some swirls at our flies (mullet?), but we got no firm takes here.
IRELAND TRAVEL
Michael Patton with a seatrout from the Erne estuary.
other vegetation) and here it was possible for us to cast and fish. There were some swirls at our flies (mullet?), but we got no firm takes here. Still this a spot to remember, just like the many bays south of Belmullet. We did not have the time to fish all of these and we were fishing from dawn until dusk already‌ Donegal Before we travelled onwards
to Ballyshannon in Donegal, we fished west of Ross Port in the last section of the estuary of the Glenamoy River. This river runs here through Struwaddacon Bay into the sea. The whole estuary has a length of several kilometres with some deep sections in it. Close to the pier of Ross Port the flow of the water can be quite fierce. Walking across the beach was more difficult here, because with every step one would sink down until SPORTFISHING ADVENTURES | Q2 2020
over the ankles. Because of the depth of the water within reach, we fished intermediate and slow sinking lines here, but this only brought us a few smolt (salmon that are for the first time on their way to the sea). Like everywhere, line trays are necessary to be able to cast your fly here. On the Wednesday we drove in two hours and a quarter to Ballyshannon in Donegal, near the mouth of the River 43
TRAVEL IRELAND
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IRELAND TRAVEL
Success on one of the many pike lakes near Ballyshannon.
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Decent Irish pike from the belly boat.
Erne. We met Michael Patton at a large parking area and he first brought us to the Barron Bed & Breakfast in the town so that we could unload the cars. That same afternoon Michael launched his boat from the beach in the mouth of the River Erne and we were able to fish several hotspots that afternoon and evening. Even though parts of the estuary are closed off, a lot of the spots in the Erne estuary can be reached by walking too, but a boat makes fishing 46
a number of hotspots a lot easier. Erne A few years back, I fished the mouth of the River Erne already, together with Markus MĂźller and Michael Patton. We were later in the year at that moment and we had no problem catching seatrout on the fly. Michael Patton told us again this time that the best months to fly-fish for seatrout along the coast are SPORTFISHING ADVENTURES | Q2 2020
The lower temperatures of the water meant that fishing the fly was a lot more difficult.
IRELAND TRAVEL
July, August and September. In those months the seatrout are present in large numbers and much more eager to take the fly. In the Spring months you are much better of fishing natural bait like sandeel or a strip of mackerel, still it is of course not impossible to catch seatrout on the fly in those months. The lower temperatures of the water meant that fishing the fly was a lot more difficult. And that became ob-
vious rather quickly. Michael Patton managed to catch a number of seatrout in a very short period of time on natural bait (the fish were there after all), at the same time all we got was a few missed slight takes. The Erne River never had a natural stock of seatrout. In the early years, before a huge dam was build in the river, there was a large stock of salmon to be found on the river. The seatrout that can be caught here now are just hunting for prey before
returning to the rivers in Donegal and other counties. Differences The estuary of the River Erne has many different faces, with depending on the tide large, shallow areas that can be waded but also steep dropping shores, in some places with rocks, stones and vegetation. Long casts are seldom necessary because the seatrout are often moving close to the shoreline. As a result
Ennisdrum B & B in Bangor Erris, Mayo. SPORTFISHING ADVENTURES | Q2 2020
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Searching for seatrout on the fly rod at the Erne mouth, with the “Sahara” as a background.
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IRELAND TRAVEL
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of this, it is better to stand at the waterline and make your casts from there in stead of wading deep along the shore. You will scare a lot more trout than you will catch in that way, you can be sure of that. The season runs here from the 1st of March until the 30th of September and in the best periods there are often seatrout caught with weights between four and five pounds. About two hours driving north of the Erne estuary, you can find the mouth of the Gweebarra River, another river
with a good stock of salmon and seatrout in general. We fished the mouth of this river too for a few hours, but even Michael could not get any takes here this time with natural bait. Was it the low water temperature that kept the seatrout at sea, or was it the seal that we saw right there? No idea, but the whole area looked very attractive and promising, with a deep channel with stones and rocks, I surely hope to return here in the near future, but than in July, August or September. I am glad to say that my fishing friends were thinking
Broad and deep water near Ross Port. 50
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the same way. In order to take a day off from seatrout fishing, we fly-fished both in Mayo and Donegal for a day for pike with the belly boat and a streamer flyrod. It was mainly the smaller pike, up to 80 cm in length that was active in the lakes we fished, but the possibilities for bigger pike on the fly are most certainly there. Licenses Even when you restrict yourself to fly-fishing along the coast for seatrout, do you
IRELAND TRAVEL
The mouth of the Gweebarra River looked like a perfect spot for seatrout too. SPORTFISHING ADVENTURES | Q2 2020
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need a Salmon and Seatrout License plus logbook and tags in Ireland. These licenses can be bought from Inland Fisheries Ireland, in the angling shops and online by going to https://store.fishinginireland.info. There are areas where you need an extra license, like for the mouth of the River Erne. After fishing, you need to fill in the logbook and return this plus the tags that you did not use to Inland Fisheries Ireland. This can be done by
post and this year you have to send it in before the 19th of October 2020. Even if the stocks of seatrout have gone back in volume in the last decades, they are still considered to be very healthy. This for sure has in part to do with the regulation of the fishing in Ireland, whereby a strict policy of Catch and Release is held in place on some rivers. Why do you not travel to Ireland yourself and experience it first hand?
TRIP CONTACT Inland Fisheries Ireland - Markus Müller markus.muller@fisheriesireland.ie www.fishinginireland.info Fishing guides and shops - Michael Patton michaelfpatton@yahoo.ie Carty’s Land & Sea Sports West End, Bundoran Co. Donegal, Ireland www.landandseasports.ie Bed & Breakfast Ennisdrum B&B – Eileen & Des O’ Rourke Bangor Erris, Mayo Ireland Tel. +353 (0)97 83039 Barron Bed & Breakfast College Street, Ballyshannon Ireland +353 (0)71 – 98 52614 www.ireland.com P & O Ferries: www.poferries.com Irish Ferries: www.irishferries.com
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TRAVEL EGYPT
EGYPT
HURGHADA’S GEETS Text & photos by Dylan Smith
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EGYPT TRAVEL
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Our home for 3 days of fishing and 4 nights, the Sunrise.
k
nown throughout the world for its famous pyramids and its immense historical heritage, Egypt is also an outstanding fishing destination. Indeed, the Red Sea coast of the country is extremely famous in the world of diving. This can be explained by the presence of an exceptional seabed: colorful fish, wonderful corals, and old shipwrecks. A fisherman’s dream! It’s in this exceptional setting that KBE Expeditions operates, a pioneering organization of sport fishing in the country. Based near
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Hurghada, KBE is headed by Hesham El Brollosy. He’s a real jigging and popping expert and a mad lure collector: his office is absolutely full of lures! Hesh has fished all over the world and has a lot of experience, so when he says Egypt has world-class GT fishing, it is no understatement. We could see it for ourselves! Once arrived at Hurghada airport, Hesh picks me up and we leave for his home. I meet Jiri, Martin and Larry, fishermen from the Czech Republic, as well as Hamad SPORTFISHING ADVENTURES | Q2 2020
Hesh has fished all over the world and has a lot of experience, so when he says Egypt has world-class GT fishing, it is no understatement.
EGYPT TRAVEL
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Hamad casting his stickbait under Hesh’s guidance. Gloves are essential if you want to keep a functionnal index finger after hundreds of casts with heavy lures!
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and Meshari, who come from Kuwait. All are very experienced, and have already traveled extensively around the world. In the evening we embark on the Sunrise, a superb mothership which will be our home for 4 nights and 3 days of fishing. It’s a luxurious ship perfectly equipped, with personal cabins, toilets and showers, as well as a pleasant crew and a very good cook who will delight us every day with delicious Egyptian cuisine. Behind this floating hotel, two cen-
ter-consoles equipped with the latest electronics. After dinner, everyone prepares their equipment: rigged rods and reels, tested and re-tested knots, drag adjustments, nothing is left to chance and Hesh knows all the little details that make the difference. According to him, a PE8 outfit with a Shimano reel size 18000 and a popping or stickbaiting rod is the norm here. You can also rent such material from KBE if needed, and see for yourself
There are reefs everywhere, punctuated with big coral bummies, showing their beautiful green and blue tones.
The first GT of the trip, caught on a GT Fin Vango 200, a locally-made popper! 60
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The Occy, one of KBE’s great fishing boats.
why top-notch equipment is essential for GT fishing! The next morning, we leave the mothership early and two teams split on the two center-console boats. I hop on Hesh’s boat with Meshari and Hamad, while Jiri, Martin and Larry join the second boat with one of KBE’s young captains. The mothership will slowly steam to another anchoring spot. As the sun rises, we start to see the beautiful colors around us: there are reefs everywhere, punctuated with big coral bummies, showing their beautiful green and blue tones. We SPORTFISHING ADVENTURES | Q2 2020
started working some promising spots with our poppers and stickbaits. As a first-timer on this hardcore GT fishing trip, I quickly realized how tiring casting and popping big lures can be. It’s like a small, but constant workout! The day went by and our lures were still intact. Back on the mothership for dinner, we are told that Martin lost a big GT on the second boat. His drag wasn’t tight enough and the beast went straight into the corals. The name of the game here is: locked drag! The next morning, we leave 61
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Hesh, KBE Expeditions’ boss, with a lovely bluefin trevally caught on a light outfit.
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It is hard to describe how strong those fish are, and specimens twice as big are caught by Hesh and his guests regularly!
the mothership and start casting at dawn around a big reef, over deep blue holes and bummies: “GT houses” as Hesh calls them! The sun was barely starting to rise, and I was starting to get used to casting non-stop like a machine without even thinking anymore, when a fish suddenly hit my popper! To be honest, I wasn’t even looking at my popper at that moment, all I felt was the most violent hit ever! As a pike angler, I’m used to calmly say “Fish on” when I get a hit. With GTs, you just shut up and hang on! With a nearly locked drag the fight is 100% strength, it’s you against the fish. After a
few minutes of an intense fight, Hesh grabs the fish and puts it in the boat. I am absolutely stoked: my first ever GT, caught on a locally made GT-Fin lure! Hesh takes extra-care of his fish, constantly watering them during the unhooking phase and making sure they are released properly. After some quick pictures the fish returns in the clear Red Sea waters. It is hard to describe how strong these fish are, and specimens twice as big are caught by Hesh and his guests regularly! During the afternoon, the fish didn’t come out to play with our poppers and stickbaits.
Inside the Sunrise, the dining room. The cook did an excellent job during the trip. 64
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Hamad’s very first cast that morning! Standing still was a real challenge that day. An epic fight in 30 knots wind!
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Big head on this GT, caught on an Amegari Dzanga popper.
Before heading back to the mothership, we tried a quick night-jigging session on different spots with glowing jigs, in search of dogtooth tunas and rusty jobfish. A few drops to the bottom, Hamad hooks a good fish in 80m of water. After a nice fight we can finally see the fish: it’s a gorgeous bigeye trevally! Back on the mothership, Martin seems upset: he lost another big fish today, which broke his brand- new rod in half! Even the toughest equip68
ment can get wrecked by a big GT. After dinner, we notice a strange reddish shape in the water, under one of the mothership’s lights. It’s a Humboldt squid of about 8kg! One of the crew members quickly grabbed his handline with a squid lure on the end and started teasing this weirdlooking creature. After a few tries the squid took the lure, but managed to free itself immediately and disappeared. No squid pics tonight! For our last day, the seas SPORTFISHING ADVENTURES | Q2 2020
Catching a fish in such conditions must be absolutely epic, and that’s exactly what Hamad did on his first cast of the day!
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were rough, with nearly 30 knot winds. Keeping balance while casting was extremely challenging and exciting at the same time. Catching a fish in such conditions must be absolutely epic, and that’s exactly what Hamad did on his first cast of the day! When the fish took his Black Ledge VLF popper, Meshari immediately ran to help his buddy stand still while he was battling a beast in unfishable weather. After a quick fight, Hesh pulls the fish in the boat. What an incredible first cast!
We continue fishing around big bummies, with the boat perfectly placed by Hesh, and it doesn’t take long for Hamad to land another nice GT that morning. We then moved to another beautiful spot, with rocky cliffs and shallow areas. Hesh decides to try a bit of light casting while we work our big poppers. The spot is supposed to hold some big bohar snappers, another very hard fighting species. ”Fish on!” screams Hesh after only
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a few casts. His light rod is fully bent and the fish does not want to see the boat. Finally we can see a few blue flashes in the water, it’s a bluefin trevally! The colors on this fish are insane, it’s the most deep and vivid blue you’ll ever see, an absolute work of art. After a tasty lunch on the mothership, we head back in search of GTs. I remember at that point my shoulder was starting to take its toll from popping non-stop
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The rough seas didn’t make it easy for us, but with Hesh’s experience, and a little luck, we managed to pull a few nice GTs that day.
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Nice bigeye trevally caught during a night jigging session!
for three days. I was casting Hesh’s Amegari Dzanga popper and keeping track of the lure when it disappeared discreetly. Once again, all I could do is hang on to the rod! This GT didn’t explode the surface when it took the lure, but I could feel I had a mean fish on, bigger than the first one. After a few minutes, I suddenly have a slack line. At first I thought I had lost the fish, but Hesh immediately screamed: “Reel, reel, reel!!!”. I retrieved as fast as I could and the fish was actually still on, he simply swam 72
towards the boat at lightning speed! After a tiring fight, Hesh grabs the fish and puts it in the boat.”Yeah!!!” He is as happy as I am, that means extremely happy! This is the biggest fish of the trip so far, a chunky GT with big dark eyes and scary jaws. I’ll never forget the feeling when you release those monsters, it is such a special moment when you thank them for the fight with a quick splashy release! On the way back, we stopped for a last night-jigging SPORTFISHING ADVENTURES | Q2 2020
This is the biggest fish of the trip so far, a chunky GT with big dark eyes and scary jaws.
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session. We put our glowing jigs on and start jigging frantically. Hesh spotted a good mark on the fish finder I immediately got struck, but the fish didn’t get hooked. I reeled the brand new jig back up, and it was covered in teeth marks.”That was a dogtooth for sure” said Hesh. Super excited, we all kept on jigging until we called it a day. I’ll catch you next time, bloody doggy! Back to the mothership, Jiri has a big smile on his face: he caught a big GT, even bigger than my second fish! Hesh was right about this place, it is indeed a world-class GT fishery. Consi-
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dering the fact that the conditions weren’t perfect, both captains did a great job and managed to put us on some amazing fish. I can’t imagine how good fishing can be out there with the right conditions. GTs, bluefin trevallies, doggies, coral trouts, rusty jobfish, cobias, this place has them all! If you are looking for a serious destination for jigging and popping, Egypt should definitely be on your list. As pioneers, the KBE team knows these waters better than anybody else in the country. No doubt Egyptian GTs will soon become famous worldwide
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TRIP CONTACT To book a trip with KBE Expeditions, contact: hello@kbeteam.com www.kbeteam.com
EGYPT TRAVEL
Tailored jigging and poppping trips in the Red Sea, Egypt.
hello@kbeteam.com Office 3202A, Ocean View, Abu Tig Marina, El Gouna, Hurghada, Egypt.
www.kbeteam.com
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TACKLE NEW GEAR
?
WHAT’S
NEW
RAPALA V-BLADE
OKUMA CEDROS Specifically designed for saltwater use, the Cedros spinning reels feature Okuma’s rigid Mag-Alloy Blade Body Design, Dual Force Drag System for extreme stopping power and our proprietary High Density Gearing with a special corrosion resistant coating. Combine this with a high-speed gear ratio and a customized aluminum handle and you have one of the best saltwater jig fishing reels on the market.
$166.49 - $186.99 | okumafishingusa.com
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The Rap-V Blade is the perfect balance of metal, plastic and Rapala® expertise. This extremely versatile bait produces instant vibration on the lift or retrieve. The Rap-V can be worked in variable depths with a wide range of techniques; cast out, make contact with bottom, lift & let fall in a yo-yo style retrieve. For vertical presentation, drop to bottom and twitch for a jigging action. Two line tie positions; front line tie for a slower fall swimming action, rear line tie for a faster fall, head down action. The Rap-V Blade delivers the right action and attitude and is a perfect choice for any species of gamefish.
$8.99 | rapala.com
NEW GEAR TACKLE
COLUMBIA PFG LOW DRAG
BLACK BART CUSTOM LIMITED EDITIONS
Omni-Shield™ Blood ‘n Guts advanced repellency shrugs off tough stains often encountered during a day of fishing, ensuring these shoes last for seasons to come. Inside, lightweight cushioning provides fatigue-free comfort. Non-marking Omni-Grip™ outsoles sport razor siping to keep you surefooted on wet, slippery surfaces. The Columbia PFG Low Drag Fishing Shoes for Men are sure to become a part of your must-have fishing gear.
Black Bart’s custom limited edition run of lure heads have a little bit of everything as far as sizes and colors, and the Black Bart crew had some fun making them. These are not heads that are part of the normal production, they are «limited editions.” If you are looking for something special and different you have to look at these beautiful one-of-akind works of art!
$85 | columbia.com
$43 - $120 | blackbartlures.com
BLUEFIN USA IGFA FISHING SHIRTS Bluefin USA is proudly released this customized IGFA collection items which will be sold through Bluefin USA retailers and online. A portion of all sales from the IGFA collection will go directly to support the IGFA’s efforts of educating the next generation of young anglers around the world.
$42 - $48 | bluefinusa.com
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TACKLE NEW GEAR
TENKARA ROD CO THE BEARTOOTH The Beartooth is our new all around adventure rod. It is compact, great for backpacking or just keeping it with you everywhere you go.With a fun 6:4 flex it gives you the ability to catch bigger fish but still have a lot of fun on the smaller fish. The Beartooth Rod Package comes with everything you need to fish!Rod, Line, Flies, Line Holder, 6x Tippet
$200 | tenkararodco.com
LOWRANCE GHOST TROLLING MOTOR Reliable, rugged and built to last, the new ultra-quiet Lowrance® Ghost™ freshwater trolling motor lets anglers fish longer, run faster and move in closer without spooking fish. Ghost has a revolutionary brushless motor with the most thrust and the longest run time of any trolling motor on the market. With integrated Lowrance sonar options, waypoint anchoring and a three-year warranty, Ghost is the new standard for your trolling motor upgrade.
$2,999 | lowrance.com
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SAVAGE GEAR MACKSTICK DEEP DIVER Perfect for trolling at speeds of up to 10 knots to reach depths of up to 30 feet, the Savage Gear Mackstick Deep Diver is a fantastic addition to any blue water troller’s arsenal. These rugged trolling baits feature a thru-wired construction around a reinforced body and lip for superior toughness. Equipped with 6X strong treble hooks, the Mackstick Deep Diver is prepared to target the heavy hitters straight out of the package.
savagegear-americas.com
NEW GEAR TACKLE
BEACHSAFE VALUABLES PROTECTION Constructed from durable, water-resistant ABS plastic, beachsafe® is equipped with a built-in charger and cooling fan to protect belongings from the weather as well as from loss or theft. The generous interior is roomy enough for wallets, watches, smart phones, jewelry, keys, sunglasses, and other valuables. A high-quality, commercial grade, 4-digit reprogrammable lock and stainless-steel securing cable provide both convenience and peace-ofmind. The built-in cooling fan helps maintain a safe temperature for your electronics, so you’ll never again miss a photo op due to an overheated phone.
$79.99 | thebeachsafe.com
PLANO EDGE MASTER CRANK The Plano EDGE Master Crankbait Small Box is packed full of Plano’s latest technologies to make lure organization easier and more effective than ever. Equipped with a unique silicone finger divider system, the Plano EDGE Master Crankbait Small Box gives anglers more freedom to store baits of various sizes by eliminating the confines of a standard divider system. The silicone fingers also hold lures firmly in place and protect the finish so that your lures stay in pristine condition.
$34.99 | planomolding.com
DOMETIC COOL ICE 42 This extremely efficient and lightweight cooler keeps ice for several days. Thanks to its thick insulating foam of refrigeration quality and its special labyrinth seal, you can take an ice-cold refreshment with you, wherever you go!
215€ | dometic.com
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TRAVEL COSTA RICA
COSTA RICA
THE ROOSTERFISH CAPITAL Text and photos by Babs Kijewski
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The wild Costa Rican pacific coast.
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hile reading fishing magazines or swiping on social media I always noticed this one fish. A striped saltwater fish, beautiful and shiny with the most amazing dorsal fin I’ve ever seen and the background always looked like paradise. For many years I even had a photo of this fish in my bedroom. The wish to catch one was growing every day! The fish of my dreams was a pacific roosterfish! 82
At the beginning of 2019 my partner Penn asked me if I could think about doing a trip to Costa Rica! There would be a raffle for customers in which they could win a trip of a lifetime with me as their host! “Oh – my – god!“ I couldn’t believe it! Costa Rica is the world capital of roosterfish so I didn‘t have to think about it at all! As you might know, the flight to Costa Rica is long, so I decided to go there one SPORTFISHING ADVENTURES | Q2 2020
I was so amazed by the variety of species, the beauty of so many animals and plants and the exotic noises!
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Dolphins often collaborate with tunas to trap big schools of baitfish. It is a very spectacular sight.
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week in advance to maybe catch the fish of my dreams prior to the event on my own from the shore. My plan was to fish all the river outlets into the pacific, but when I saw the huge amounts of crocodiles living in these rivers I changed my plans immediately! I had a nice accomodation in the jungle which was surrounded by great nature! I was so amazed by the variety of species, the beauty of so many animals and plants and the exotic noises. I tried a different beach every day but the
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waves were too high. Even with all the best will in the world, it was impossible to get a magnificent roosterfish on the hook from shore. The first week went by really fast and I moved to the Crocodile Bay Lodge to welcome the winners of the raffle. Good thing was that I had a half day time to spare... so waiting was no option! I organized a short three hour fishing trip to get used to the wavy sea. Only three hours. You would never believe the crazy adrenaline
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You would never believe the crazy adrenaline rush I experienced in these 3 hours!
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Costa Rica is home to a huge variety of animals, like this squirrel monkey. The country contains 5% of the world’s biodiversity.
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The author with her dream fish, a roosterfish.
rush I experienced in these few hours! After 30 minutes we arrived at a distinctive rock that stuck far out of the water and all the incoming waves were smashing roaringly against it. In no time the baits were sent in the water and seconds later, one reel was screaming while line was stripped off 90
with brute force! This fish wasn’t easy to tame at all! The captain was absolutely sure that this beast on the other end of the line was indeed an illusive roosterfish. The smile on my face became wider with every inch of line I put back on the spool...After what felt like an eternity I saw SPORTFISHING ADVENTURES | Q2 2020
The sea presented itself from its vigorous side on the first day.
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It’s always pleasant to have a cold Costa Rican beer on the way back to the marina!
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a silvery shine down in the dark, deep blue water. Finally my dream was about to come true...This moment I will never forget!
This 8-hour trip would be in the best fishing grounds of the country!
I had the luck to catch even another one on this short trip...Then it was time to back to the lodge to give the guys from France, Ireland, the Netherlands and Germany a warm welcome! All of them were really friendly and I really looked forward to go fishing with them in the next days. The sea presented itself from its vigorous side on the
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first day. Oh dear, I really hope I won’t become seasick in front of the senior manager from Europe. But I had absolutely no problem with it… quite the opposite in fact. I was heads-up and ready for every adventure to come! This 8-hour trip would be in the best fishing grounds of the country. On this day it also lasted a few seconds until we got bit by a furious roosterfish! We had so much fun and were blessed with a few more roosters... until the captain got a message on the radio: “We found tunas hunting!“ There was no time to lose
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The author with a juvenile bluefin trevally in stormy weather.
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Battling a huge roosterfish on the spinning rod.
and with full throttle we rushed one hour out into the open sea. On the way we saw a huge school of dolphins with approximately 200 animals heading in the same direction of the feeding frenzy! It’s a crazy spectacle where 98
all the sea predators work together pushing a huge amount of baitfish up to the surface where the seagulls are diving in frantically to fill their bellies. Suddenly it all happened super fast‌ While I was still overwhelmed by all the dolphins and the chaotic scenery, one reel SPORTFISHING ADVENTURES | Q2 2020
began to scream: one of my fishing buddies was in a fight with a yellowfin tuna! All around there were tuna jumping, splashing dolphins, diving birds and fleeing baitfish in the boiling water. It was a real massacre and we were right in the middle of it. After a short photoshoot
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the tuna went back in the water and we headed off to the next feeding frenzy!
This fish just ripped line off my Penn International! I’ve never had a fish on that made such powerful and long runs.
First we saw from far away a dark cloud of birds….Then we met our dolphin friends again and short time after that we put our lines out. Minutes later there was a another tuna on the hook and after the fight and release the next tuna was my turn! So back to the inferno, bait in the water and off it went. And I mean it. It went off... unstoppable... unturnable. This fish just ripped line off my Penn International. I’ve never had a fish on
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that made such powerful and long runs. When I was happy about gaining back a few meters of line, it just made a run and took it away and I couldn‘t do anything to stop it. After 20 minutes of hard fighting my first tuna came up to the surface. It was huge. I think it was even heavier than myself! On the second day I made an inshore trip. In this bay there were no waves and no heavy rocking of the boat. We first tried bottom fishing on a few spots but had no success. Then we trolled along
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the shoreline which worked great. Exactly on that beach I tried to catch something a few days before. In the shallows the roosters fight harder and are a little bit bigger on average. We caught two roosterfish out of six bites that day and had a blast! The next day, I went offshore again with the guys. We were four on a big boat. For warmup with some roosters we trolled along the coast until a voice in the radio shouted “Tunaaaaaaa!!!“ Of course without hesitation we went out farther than before with open throttle. Again we witnessed this awesome scenario of screaming birds, boiling water and small fish fleeing in total panic! I let the boys exhaust themselfes first on some tunas and then one guy hooked up such a massive fish that he had to ask for help! Even with a fighting belt on he got quickly exhausted. We realized there was definitely a giant fish on the line and we had to team up to get it! Two persons were now sitting on the boat’s side to lift up the rod and put pressure on the fish and another one was reeling in the line whenever it was possible. The captain did a perfect job positioning the boat always in the right angle to fight the fish, it was hard work. After one hour of heavy pumping and reeling an approximately SPORTFISHING ADVENTURES | Q2 2020
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150lbs yellowfin came up to the surface. What a giant, we were all stoked and so happy our teamwork payed off!
fish, it left happy fishermen behind with a big smile on their faces. This encounter we all won’t soon forget!
The evening that day was a little bit less nerve-wracking with some smaller tunas which were great fun and made the time fly by. Suddenly in the last feeding frenzy a marlin appeared! We tried to get him to bite with a lot different tricks and finally it took the bait... marlin ooooon! And myself on the rod‌one unstoppable run followed by two majestic jumps and the line went slack! Even though we lost that
After that great day it was time for me to leave this awesome country. The group had one fishing day in paradise left and I heard they enjoyed it big time! Costa Rica was so unbelievably great, I felt safe at every moment and the nature inside and outside the water impressed me so much that I have to return to this paradise again. What an amazing adventure
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MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ADVENTUROUS MAHSEER FISHING TRIPS IN NORTHERN INDIA’S HIMALAYAN OUTBACK info@himalayanoutback.com himalayanoutback.com
FISHING ART TIM JOHNSON
FISHING
ART F
Tim Johnson’s famous Timmy Grips.
rom childhood, the mind of angling artist Tim Johnson has been occupied by two things: catching fish, and reinventing them through art. As a life-long angler and long-time fly fishing guide, Tim has seen his on-stream “field research” inform not only his artwork, but also
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permeate nearly every aspect of his varied professional life. In addition to guiding, he’s also a signature fly designer, a University fly-fishing instructor/adjunct professor, and a Recreation Therapist who uses fly fishing (among other modalities) to help adolescents on the Autism Spectrum and veterans with PTSD improve their mental SPORTFISHING ADVENTURES | Q2 2020
TIM JOHNSON FISHING ART
health and overall quality of life. After clinical meetings with other therapists, his notes are invariably covered with doodles and sketches of what will soon become his next work of art. Though he has long been
known for creating vivid, expressive watercolor portraits of fish, Tim has reached new acclaim in recent years for the development of his “Timmy Grips”: a process of hand burning unique, client-customized artwork into the cork grip of an an-
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gler’s favorite rod. To date, Tim has completed the better part of a thousand Timmy Grips as fishermen from every continent have sent him their rods to be emblazoned with original artwork reflecting their individual taste and experience
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FISHING ART TIM JOHNSON
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TIM JOHNSON FISHING ART
MORE ABOUT TIM JOHNSON
timjohnsongallery.com
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MEDIA SEEN ON THE WEB
SEEN ON THE
WEB
LAKE FORK GUY FINESSE BASS FISHING Lake Fork Guy explores a new lake with docks using finesse jigs for shallow summer bass.
THE SEAHUNTER TARPON Rob Fordyce takes to the skiff with his client Ed Young to crank on some large Tarpon.
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ELIASV BRIDGE FISHING Hunting for some bridge monsters with blue carbs.
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SEEN ON THE WEB MEDIA
BLACKTIP H KITE FISHING FROM THE BEACH Blacktip H goes kite fishing from the beach in North Carolina for cobia and sharks, catching a variety of fish.
JUST FISHING DK SMALL CREEK SEA RUN BROWN Armed with small Mepps spinners, JustFishingDK tries to get some of the big fish in this clear water creek.
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Kombi Tours Uganda's Most Adventurous Tour Company
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