Here at Fish Therapy Mozambique we have an array of fishing tackle to cover all the necessary types of fishing, the use of this tackle is included in the daily rate but for any avid anglers we always recommend that you bring your favourite sticks along. In the chapters below there is a short write up on our main fishing techniques and the tackle we use and recommend for each of them. Needless to say, whether using fly gear or conventional, reels with good smooth drags that can hold sufficient line or backing are a must, and in our opinion the area where one must not be too thrifty.

Fly-fishing is our main focus here in the archipelago, and for us presents the most rewarding form of fishing.

Most of our fly-fishing is deep stripping over the reefs in the area, these vary in depth from 10 to 40m and although all that stripping can be hard work you never know what is going to climb on the other end.

500 or 700 grain shooting heads ( i can't recommended the Airflow Big Game Depthfinder lines highly enough) and heavily weighted clouser minnows in 4/0 and 6/0 enable us to get nice and deep and in good weather it is easy enough to hook the bottom in 30 meters of water, a tad irritating if it happens too often, but every now and again just provides the reassurance that you're getting down into the strike zone. 12 and 14 wt rods allow one to at least make an attempt to cast these heavy lines and more importantly give you enough pull to get your trophy fish to the boat before one of the numerous sharks has it for lunch.

There are extensive flats here in the Archipelago, but our 4 meter tidal range and fishing pressure from local inhabitants means that they are relatively unproductive. So our sight fishing is restricted to a couple of species, namely surface feeding fish (mainly bonito) and teased sailfish.

• Bashing bonito can provide hours of sport and the thrill of casting into a feeding frenzy followed by the amazing speed and strength of a decent bonito, has you coming back for more every time. An 8 or 10wt flyrod is ideal for this task, shooting heads provide the punch needed to make quick casts in windy conditions and small sprat imitations work best.



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Watching a rabid sailfish get teased right to the boat has got to rate as one of the most exciting aspects of bluewater fly-fishing, definitely not recommended for anyone with a low adrenaline tolerance, it's enough to make even the most hardened fisherman go weak at the knees and you haven't even hooked the fish yet. If you can pull yourself together for the flop(a short 4-5 meter cast) and then set the hook you're in for the ride of your life. The sailfish then does what it does best and that is go aerial, long screaming runs and lots of jumping make catching a sailfish on fly a lifelong memory.

Big flashy tube flies are the order of the day for sailfish, 14 wt rods with a fighting grip give you the leverage you need to get the fish to the boat quickly enough to tag and release him in good nick.

If I was to recommend 2 fly rods to bring to the Archipelago, it would be a 14wt and 10wt. Shooting heads for both these rods will suffice for 99 percent of the fishing scenarios we'll find ourselves in.

Popping for GTs (Giant Trevally or Giant Kingfish) and other shallow water reefs dwellers is very productive in the summer months and the awesome hard hitting visual takes and the arm wrenching tug of war that ensues is addictive. The GT rod is often referred to as 'Come Here' and if one is to successfully land big GTs over shallow reefs that is the only way to play the game. As we like to say 'Happiness is an armful of Kingfish'.

The Ideal Popping Rod has enough length to throw a good plug and at the same time enough backbone to pull like hell. Shimano have a 7 foot Talavera (TES70-H) that does the job and won't break the bank, it is also nice and light allowing you to make that many more casts before your arms fall off!

Dropshot and deepwater jigging, is a new and fast growing facet of our sport, there are numerous reefs in the area that provide us with plenty of options when employing these deadly if somewhat dubious tactics.

Trolling is something we only do when we are targeting Marlin and Sailfish, and if we're not throwing a fly at the sailfish then we prefer to tease them to the boat and then toss them a live bait.

The Bazaruto Archipelago is world renowned for its Black Marlin fishing and although one needs to invest a decent amount of time targeting these incredible fish, catching one makes it all worth while. Our best Marlin to date was an 850 lb fish taken on a swim bait. When targeting Marlin we use 80lb and 130lb stand up rigs and a selection of swimbaits.

Record chasing is a not for everyone, but for those who are willing to pay to have their name in the record books the Bazaruto Archipelago provides numerous opportunities to do so. In the last 2 years we have had a few repeat guests who have done just that and have been duly rewarded, between them have caught more than 60 IGFA world records here in the Archipelago.

What a double! Bonny and I with the pending Ladies 8lb fly rod record and the pending Mens 4lb fly rod record. Both Golden Kingfish (18.5 and 19lbs) were weighed, measured and released unharmed.