Fly Fishing & Trekking in Gabon west Africa

It will be dark soon, can you handle what's coming?
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Photo: Dylan Rose

"Hi DimeBrite, this is Dylan. I don't suppose you want to got to Africa with me to chase monster tarpon from the beach and then track gorillas in the jungle with pygmy trackers at the end of the month?"
I read the text and thought Gabon. "Sette Cama?"
"Yeah, this just came up on Friday and just starting the planning process. I'm going to go for sure."

I knew about it from fishing articles, but never thought I would find a trusted fishing partner who would do that kind of tough trip. Now a figure from my Avid Angling past was going. "Yeah, I'll go." Just say yes and figure out the details later, we would leave in less than 6 weeks.

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My wife sounded concerned when I explained the trip plan. "You never mentioned Gabon before. Are there bugs, is it hot?"
"Just a few mosquitos and flies, no big deal."
I had just gotten my yellow fever shot, typhoid fever shot, anti-malarial pills, and antibiotics. I pulled out my old mosquito net and sprayed an entire bottle of permethrin on shirts, pants, and socks. Toss it all into the travel bag along with extra fly lines for the 9, 10, and 12 weights (floating, intermediate, and fast sinking). Oh, and the stripping basket and rain coat too!

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Walking down the beach at Libreville, Gabon we enjoyed the African sunset enroute to meeting Rob Scott of Africa Waters. Rob welcomed us at the Tropicana along with his two trusted guides, Ewan and Teddy, and an enthusiastic English adventuress just finishing up her long trek in Gabon. Rob explained that the Gabonese people and leadership have a strong cultural belief in staying connected with nature, which has enabled the nationwide protection of wildlife and fisheries. In 2002, the government established 13 national parks to promote ecotourism and protect its natural resources. Later I came to fully appreciate the complex logistics that Rob has carefully put into place to make his fishing operation here successful. His optimism, charisma, connections, and energy are essential to his endeavors across Africa. “We figured out the tides that work best for fly fishing here” he said while nodding at the crescent moon over my shoulder. “Now we need the rainy season to begin to get some fresh water moving out of the lagoon”.

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In the morning, we met the other four anglers and caught our air transport out of Libreville. A pair of French ex-military pilots took us on a hair raising ride over the coastal jungles and lagoons before executing a corkscrew landing at the petroleum settlement of Gamba. Pipelines, fuel tanks, and red dirt roads are the sum of civilization at Gamba. An old truck drove us and our food stocks to the marina on the southwest corner of the huge Ndogo lagoon system. A heavy green fiberglass boat would be our transport into the heart of the lagoon, taking us north to Sette Cama (population 30 on a busy day).

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The sleepy village of Sette Cama is just south of the boundary with pristine Loanga National Park. The surf of the Atlantic Ocean is on the west side of town and the endless dark tannic waters of the Ndogo Lagoon are on the east side. Its people mainly fish and work in the ecotourism business. The golden sand beaches are wild, and you can hike them north or south for many miles without seeing another person or settlement. It is true wilderness, spoiled only by some plastic debris washing up from the Congo River to the south.

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Photo: Dylan Rose

Home base was a rustic but sturdy series of huts with a main lodge for us to gather for meals, preparing our gear, and discuss fishing plans. Arriving here was the death of sleep. Already severely jet lagged, I never slept more than 3 hours at a time at Sette Cama. We took two short naps during the day when fishing died under the equatorial sun. Late at night after long evening fishing sessions we crawled into bed for a short rest before waking for a pre-dawn start.

The guides' orientation was short and simple. "Don't ever wade above your knees", the Zambezi sharks (bull sharks) are numerous and feed aggressively in the surf zone. "Forest elephants come into camp at night and early mornings, they can be very aggressive so wear your head lamps". We all had 1200 lumen head lamps on us when the sun was down, and especially for the night fishing in the surf zone. "If you have to choose between a charging bull elephant and the Zambezi sharks, take your chances in the water with the sharks. The elephant is certain death." Other than that, we rigged the 9 weights with 40 or 50 pound straight fluoro leaders and the 12 weights with 100 pound straight fluoro leaders. I used two 9 weights in the boat for morning sessions, one with a floating line and the other with an intermediate shooting head line; flies were large Clousers, EP baitfish, or smaller brush flies. At night I fished two 12 weights, one with a full sink intermediate line and the other with a fast sink tip line. Flies were bulky mullet imitations 6-7 inches long, tied on super strong Gamakatsu SL15-2H hooks 3/0 or 4/0. All my reels had very strong drags and either 60 or 80 pound gel-spun backing.

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Photo: Dylan Rose

Our first practice session was a short trip out to the mouth of the lagoon where it empties into the surf zone. Arriving before sunset allowed us to study the surroundings before the real fishing began during darkness. The inside corner of the lagoon on the south shore was usually gentler waters, with water moving in or out depending upon the tide. A sandy shelf formed at the wave line at our feet, and the guides warned us "Never step over the edge". Packs of longfin crevalle jacks occasionally moved through near the beach feeding on baitfish. My first fish in Africa was a hard fighting longfin jack that evening. Guinean barracuda explosively jumped in the lagoon channel as they fed on the congregating mullet. A five foot blacktip shark shot up into the air and landed with a crash right next to the beach. But the tarpon always stayed away during sunlight. Looking across at the north shore as I stripped flies I watched for elephants, hippos or monkeys hidden in the thick forest to reveal themselves.

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Photo: Dylan Rose

The surf zone was intimidating to fly fish. Wave sets were big and violent, casting a fly had to be timed carefully to keep in the feeding zone. Other guests quickly put down the fly rods and used surf casting rods to present big barrel poppers or swim baits. Several times I saw large Zambezi sharks zipping past the shallow silty foam line in front of me. It was unnerving as hell. Any fish hooked here needed to be fought hard and landed with caution. I pulled out my head lamp as the remnants of sunlight dimmed behind thick dark clouds on the horizon. I felt like Riddick grimly waiting to face the horrors the twilight would bring. Night came fast and was beyond dark. We had to cast with head lamps off, using faint blue bioluminescence and sounds of crashing fish to direct casts. You felt very alone at night, even if another angler was only 100 feet away, you couldn't see them unless a light was turned on to remove a line tangle or tie on a new fly. It was just you and your casts, retrieving while listening for packs of predatory fish that ghosted into the lagoon to feed. Sneaker waves coming in behind you pushed your legs closer to the forbidden deep ledge. Don't nod off, stay alert! After a couple of hours the guides called it. "Okay guys, the big fish just aren't showing up on this tide tonight. Let's get some sleep and hit the lagoon early in the morning." Motoring back to Sette Cama, I marveled at how the Gabonese boatmen navigated the winding channel in darkness without GPS. To fish successfully here, we would also just need to function well at night.

To be continued... Lagoon Fish
 
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Buzzy

I prefer to call them strike indicators.
Forum Supporter
I have to agree with Kenneth's "new trip report post indicators" as he has set a standard of excellence. I'm looking forward to N'Dola (and Dime's next big adventure).
 

TicTokCroc

Sunkist and Sudafed
Forum Supporter
I suggest the above correction :cool: .

We'll also probably need new trip report post indicators, something like BDE ( Before DimeBrite Era) and ADE (After Dimebrite Era).

And now, on to N'Dola!

Kenneth
Well I mean competition breeds excellence right? I'm planning on hooking up to an Orca in the Puget Sound next, epic :cool:
 

clarkman

average member
Forum Supporter
I have to agree with Kenneth's "new trip report post indicators" as he has set a standard of excellence. I'm looking forward to N'Dola (and Dime's next big adventure).
Perhaps a drop down menu in front of the title....I sure could have used that with my last report.
 

DimeBrite

Saltwater fly fisherman
The Final Leg: N'dola Safari and World's Worst Roads: Gabon

N'dola camp is located within the northwest corner of Loango National Park where the massive Lagune Iguéla empties into the Atlantic. It sits on a sandy peninsula covered in a patchwork of grassy savannah, marshes, and forest. When we arrived, we only had a vague idea of where we were and who would be hosting us. To my surprise, the camp was a newly built lodge with worldly luxuries we had not seen since departing Libreville. Civilization seemed closer after 9 days in the jungle. Our time at N'dola was more of a classic African safari experience.
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Wildlife viewing, bird watching, and fishing were all options here. But to keep us out of trouble and find the animals, we needed a guide & tracker. The larger than life Ulrich and his associate John-Pierre would rise to the occasion.
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Photo: Dylan Rose
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By 4x4 truck, river boat, and occasionally on foot we looked for forest elephants, forest buffalo, hippos, red river hogs, crocodiles, and an incredible diversity of birds. Woolly-necked storks were common in the marshy pools on the savannah. A colony of ~200 rosy bee-eaters was actively nesting on the sandy ground, digging burrows with their feet.
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Photo: Dylan Rose
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Photo: Dylan Rose
African forest elephants are remarkable animals to see in the wild, especially when you are hiking in the forest. However, when those orange doll eyes focus in on you, it is time to back up and leave the area. We were bluff charged twice at N'dola, nothing serious though.
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Photo: Dylan Rose
The red river hog is one of the more bizarre animals I saw in Gabon. They are very shy, and we had to quietly stalk them to get a closer look.
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African forest buffalo are a smaller, but still formidable cousin of the cape buffalo. Ox pecker birds perched on them to feed on the bounty of tsetse flies.
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A West Nile crocodile female (at least 12 feet long) leaving its nest. A large monitor lizard is waiting to steal its eggs.
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Photo: Dylan Rose
N'dola camp has fantastic fishing for jacks, snappers, tarpon, sharks, etc. In the mornings we saw huge packs of jacks and juvenile snapper feeding in the lagoon below our hut. We fished a couple of hours in the evening, but mostly enjoyed the sunset.
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It was time to begin the long journey home. We took a boat across the lagoon to the Loango National Park offices and loaded into a cramped Toyota Hilux 4x4. The truck struggled through sandy tracks and slippery rutted clay roads until we finally reached the main coastal road leading north to Port Gentil. Driving in Gabon is definitely hazardous, as we saw three serious wrecks along the journey. By the time we reached the mighty Ogooué River delta, the road was paved with impressive modern bridges. At last we reached gritty Port Gentil, Libreville, Paris, and finally home.

FIN
 

RRSmith

Life of the Party
Forum Supporter
Definitely Gray's Sporting Journal quality - not the current rag (which is still nice) but the original Ed and Rebecca Gray version of the 1970's and 80's. Thank you DimeBrite for bringing us along with you on this incredible adventure. This online community is so cool...
 

Brute

Legend
Forum Supporter
I feel like I’m reading a Hunter Thompson novel…

I’ve caught Cubera before (not on a fly)…they are beasts.
 

Northern

Seeking SMB
Forum Supporter
Damn, Tim!! That was an incredible report - not just the experience, but your awesome storytelling. One of the best parts is that now I feel like I've been there, so I don't have to face sharks, forest elephants, hippos, and crocs myself!
Thanks for this - hard to imagine anyone besides you topping this one!
 

Buzzy

I prefer to call them strike indicators.
Forum Supporter
Damn, Tim!! That was an incredible report - not just the experience, but your awesome storytelling. One of the best parts is that now I feel like I've been there, so I don't have to face sharks, forest elephants, hippos, and crocs myself!
Thanks for this - hard to imagine anyone besides you topping this one!
@DimeBrite ---- what Leigh says! You have true talent in writing/story telling. Thanks for sharing your amazing adventure!
 
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