FISHING TOUR EXPERIENCE IN ZANZIBAR WITH AFRICANMECCA

Zanzibar is known the world over for its prime deep sea fishing locations where big game fish abound. The channel that lies between Zanzibar and Pemba offers many year-round deep sea angling opportunities. While beach vacationing on the island of Zanzibar, both amateurs and experienced anglers can try their hand at snagging the tough fighters that hunt these waters. You will be going out on your fishing excursion aboard a custom-built and well-equipped deep sea boats that are fitted with GPS navigational instruments, fishfinders and echo sounders.

AfricanMecca will also assign you an onboard expert skipper with extensive experience to ensure that you are guided through the intricacies of fishing irrespective of your experience i.e. if you are a novice who needs hand-in-hand guidance or a veteran angler who needs the local ocean expertise from a captain who fishes daily in finding your preferred fish and guiding you on unique techniques on reeling it in. All IGFA fishing regulations and other international safety and ethical measures are strictly complied with.



Tanzanian officials representing the marine authority in Zanzibar conduct annual inspections, sometimes on demand, to make sure they are safe and abiding for visiting guests. You are welcome to carry your own tackle, but the boats have all the necessary equipment you need on board. According to conservation rules, you will be requested to tag and release your catch. However, if you have caught a fish for the very first time or if it is the biggest you have ever caught, you might be permitted to keep it as a dinner meal or as a sale memento as part of your tour of Zanzibar. You could also keep it if it could set a new African record.

As you will learn on your fishing trip to Tanzania, it is typically conducted by trawling with two to seven lines trailing from the boats but if you would prefer to try fly fishing or bottom fishing like at Leven Banks and off the reef around Nungwi, you can discuss it with your boat captain. The boats also have a collection of lures for you to try. Other techniques like spinning, jigging and popping are all possible.



With AfricanMecca, you could plan your angling holiday in Zanzibar year round with varied fishes caught like barracudas, wahoo, king and queen mackerel, giant trevally, kingfish and many more. August to November are the months for the yellowfin tuna and a good way to pinpoint their location is by looking for flocks of marine birds flying over sections of the ocean to dive and catch the fish that the tuna passed up on. It will interest you to learn that these fish are known to be among the toughest in the Indian Ocean.

If you would like to pit your skills against the remarkable fighting spirit of billfish, then you should visit in the months from September to March. This is the prime billfish season when at least six different types are found close to the shore feasting on the tuna and can reach sizes weighing between 50-100 kilograms. You are likely to bite on at least one billfish i.e. striped marlins and also blue and black marlins, alongside swordfish, sailfish or shortbill spearfish. Specific to large blue and black marlins, they are best caught from September to December while stripped marlins are caught from December to March.



In any season, it is common to hear of many fish being snagged. Although dorados are seen all the year round, they are especially prolific in this season. Your fishing expedition in Africa will also be made more thrilling by catching of huge sharks like makos, threshers, hammerheads and tigers.