highdowns hunter Posted February 14, 2006 Report Share Posted February 14, 2006 I am working offshore about 100 miles west of Luanda, The locals here are catching wopping great Baracuda and other species I have never seen before on hand lines. They are catching a fish everytime they drop their line into the sea As there is not a lot to do on a night I thought I might bring back a rod and reel on my next trip out here. I have looked on e-bay and found lots of boat rods and reels for sale but I wondered if they are up to the job as we have very strong currents and the water is 100 metres deep. Has anyone done this type of fishing before and if so can you recommend the size (strength ) of rod I should buy and what type of reel (makes and models would be a great help. One guy out here uses a fixed spool reel with 140 lb braided line. He struggles to bring the weight up with it, Any suggestions would be appreciated I saw a school of Dolphins last night there must have been about 300 of them(well everyone said they were dolphins) and they looked like dolphins but were only between 4 and 5 ft long I thought that they were porpoises But maybe i was wrong. Thanks in Advance HH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davhope Posted February 14, 2006 Report Share Posted February 14, 2006 Im willing to bet a small wager that the "dolphins" you saw are actually dorado, one of the sweetest tasting fish you could catch. Whatever you use make sure it can carry plenty of line 400 or 500 yards and check if the barras are safe to eat, Depending on what they have been feeding on they can carry some pretty nasty bugs. Best of luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted February 14, 2006 Report Share Posted February 14, 2006 30-50 lb class boat rod and a multiplier reel (not fixed spool). Spool the reel with 50lb line, or braid. Its the reel that lifts the weight, not the line. These are good reels for heavy boat fishing. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ABU-GARCIA-AMBASSADE...1QQcmdZViewItem I'm surprised if there are other exPats out there, thay they haven't got any tackle for you to borrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highdowns hunter Posted February 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2006 Thanks for the information Gents Cranfield Im on an accomodation barge full of Nationals and Frogs. There are 285 of us living on this thing and only 2 of us from the UK at the moment. Finding it a bit hard at the moment as i dont speak French or portuguese but what the hell im getting paid for being here and the weather is warm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scolopax Posted February 18, 2006 Report Share Posted February 18, 2006 (edited) I did a few trips offshore Congo and Angola a few years back. I took a spool of 30 lbs line and a few dozen hooks. It was'nt strong enough. I just fished by handlining fish strips then drawing the bait back to the barge. I really wish I had a rod and reel set up. I gave up fishing for the big stuff as they just smashed me up or dragged the line across the rig legs and that was goodbye fish. I mainly entertained myself by fishing off the back of the barge (no snags) for small tuna and big garfish. It was something else though nightfishing from the landing jetty at the base of the platform. The rig lights illuminated the water and some of the fish were huge and only a few feet below my feet. When you hooked one it was like hooking a mini, there was no stopping them. I too saw large pods of dolphin, hundreds of them at a time. Keep an eye out for the whales aswell, I think they are usually humpbacks. Cranfields got the gear spot on I reckon, but I also think alot of serious sport could be had with 15 -20 lbs class spinning gear if you are fishing away from a platform, i.e snag free. Edited February 18, 2006 by scolopax Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave-G Posted February 18, 2006 Report Share Posted February 18, 2006 I passed that way a few times in the late 60's, to and from the far east - seen any flying fish yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tam Posted February 18, 2006 Report Share Posted February 18, 2006 I use a 30/50 lb class Shimanno Beastmaster & Penn 4/0 reel for common skate up to 180lb. 50lb nylon fishing 300/350 feet. Nylon is best because of stretch (more forgiving) Tam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikky Posted February 24, 2006 Report Share Posted February 24, 2006 make sure you set the drag on the reel...or you might end up flying off the barge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mag-man Posted February 24, 2006 Report Share Posted February 24, 2006 HH, ........would recomend you get the 8000 or 9000 series abu's, if you get a cheap reel it will brake when you are halfway through a decent fish....rods you can buy cheap, as long as is a downtiding rod.....50 lbs or heavier.....don't go lighter...preferably a rod with fuji guides....as for line get a braid that's over 80-100 lbs, try the berkley whiplash or the fireline......hooks get the O'shaugnessey ones, not the aberdeens, you would want from a 9/0 to a 14/0 hook size, a bit of elasticated bait cotton, as for leads you can always make a plan.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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