Fishing in Tanzania

[Jin Kim]

Hi folks,

I´m planning my 2nd GT trip and one of the places my friends and I are thinking to go to is Tanzania (Latham Island).  Does anyone have any experience fishing in that area?  I´ve seen some pictures in the website and the GTs and Doggies are simply huuuuge.  My concern is that there are not enough reports in this forum regarding that specific area and that the pictures I´ve seen are rare strikes that do not happen often, leaving the angler casting and jigging all day long just waiting for that big one.  BTY, first GT fishing experience was in Fiji and we landed decent GTs between 20 to 30kgs.

Thanks.

[John Joubert]

Jim, I lived in Dar Es Salaam for over 2 years in the late 80's and worked a s a deckhand on a local game boat. Latham Island remains one of my very favourite places. 50mile offshore from dar Latham is a small rocky Island about 600m long its eastern edge drops into very deep water and its inshore side has a lagoon and bommies to fish over a fairly large area. Back in the 80's it was rare to see the lcoal fishermen out there but as they have better boats now days Id imagine it has been heavily fished and Karambesi(Swahilli for GT) are popukar eating fish in TZ.Jason Elexadriou(sp) runs a very good charter out of masasani penisula at Dar and has had many WR on Doggies and some amazing GT's as well.We had a claim in at the time for a alltackle GT of 62kg that ate a skipping 6kg rainbow runner set for Blue Marlin.

I trully hope that Latham hasnt changed much but the TZ govt did sell out there fishery to OS. boats some years ago decimating the YFT population in the process .

If you do go be sure to stop for a drink at the Fishermans Bar at the Dar Yacht club. I set out the initial foundations for the bar in 89' cutting a vertical slice into the cliff face to back the bar ,not 15m from the waters edge, nice spot to watch the sun set;)

http://fishingtanzania.20m.com/


JJ

[Jin Kim]

Thanks John.  Do you know the guys at www.fishingzanzibar.com?  They also run fishing trips to Latham Island and they seem pretty good as well.

[John Joubert]

No Jim dont know those guys( only 1 charter boat when I was the one I worked on  out of Dar). its a long way from Zanzibar to Latham but the Zanzibar channel fishs well for beakies at times and the eastern shore of the south end would have good GT fishing with a fringiing reef system.

JJ