A fishing rod question
Discussion
HarryW said:
Rod rests, forceps, spare line/traces/hooks/swivels, priest!, net/gaff, torch (wind up), hat(s), sun cream, mossie spray/deet, mossie net, anti histamine tablets, savlon, emergency charger for mobile phone, in country compatible sim card for mobile, plenty of spare nicks and socks, talc for foot rot/crutch itch, spare sunglasses, spare prescription glasses?, greenback/USD for when you need to run, rape alarm - for scaring something that wants to eat you...
Good list and got all of.Except the sim card. I will probably be 100 miles from the nearest phone reception which is quite liberating
KemP said:
How much deadbury on the bottom are you expecting? Are fishing baits on the bottom? How long a rod are you casting with?
Id make my leader as long as possible. Normally if I fish with a 6ft rod I have about 8ft of leader. I prefer the leader main knot not to be on the spool when casting. Make sense?
Id go flurocarbon rather than mono.
Yes it does make sense. The rods are 12 ft and the answer to the bait-bit is two fold. In the day I will be fishing near the surface and at night I will put some on the bottom for catfish. I wont be doing much casting as Ill probably fish from the boat in the day and place the baits with the boat at night.Id make my leader as long as possible. Normally if I fish with a 6ft rod I have about 8ft of leader. I prefer the leader main knot not to be on the spool when casting. Make sense?
Id go flurocarbon rather than mono.
Rosscow said:
BSR, I get the horrible feeling that if you actually hook a monster like the picture above that you are going to s
t your pants! 
Be careful out there!
You are 100% correct. Everything about this trip terrifies me including hooking one of these things.t your pants! Be careful out there!
Oddly, though, that is the appeal. Only other fisherman will appreciate the adrenaline rush that hooking one of these things will give you, particularly given the difficulty of even getting to them.
Well I am back!
After a ten year wait, 18 months organisation and a small fortune I have caught exactly the same amount of Goliath tiger fish as all of you!!!!!
However I am not slightly bothered and it was definitely the trip of a lifetime and I loved every minute of it (apart from the beginning where I arrived in Kinshasa and all my gear didn't !)
I was lucky enough to get 6 takes for zero fish due to a combination of incompetence, inexperience and significantly the fact that these things are unbelievable. I'll do a more detailed write up when I get chance
After a ten year wait, 18 months organisation and a small fortune I have caught exactly the same amount of Goliath tiger fish as all of you!!!!!
However I am not slightly bothered and it was definitely the trip of a lifetime and I loved every minute of it (apart from the beginning where I arrived in Kinshasa and all my gear didn't !)
I was lucky enough to get 6 takes for zero fish due to a combination of incompetence, inexperience and significantly the fact that these things are unbelievable. I'll do a more detailed write up when I get chance
Cheers all. As to the bad luck part I'm still unsure. Before I went I thought there was every chance I wouldn't even encounter one so you could argue I was lucky. I definitely don't feel like it was a failed trip- as otoliths says, the adventure and the taking part was plenty and with the lost rod debacle I only did 4 full days fishing. As for not falling in, the heat and humidity were high and the only way to cool down and get clean was to jump in and swim at the end of each day. It was a pretty nervy experience particularly after dark
Oh and as to going back- probably next year as I am thinking currently. It has become my nemesis and I'm currently defeated.
Plus I've hooked some pretty incredible fish in my time but I have never experienced speed and raw violence like these things. The adrenaline rush was intense. There was a point at the end of the first day where I had just had the 4th run of the day and played a fish of about 30lbs for 15 minutes and right at the boat it dived under and cut off on the propeller. 4 fish and 4 failures all for different reasons and I sat there for about 10 minutes too depressed to speak or fish genuinely beginning to think they were uncatchable
Plus I've hooked some pretty incredible fish in my time but I have never experienced speed and raw violence like these things. The adrenaline rush was intense. There was a point at the end of the first day where I had just had the 4th run of the day and played a fish of about 30lbs for 15 minutes and right at the boat it dived under and cut off on the propeller. 4 fish and 4 failures all for different reasons and I sat there for about 10 minutes too depressed to speak or fish genuinely beginning to think they were uncatchable
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