Photo courtesy of Luena Amaro. All Rights Reserved.
Blue Marlin
Angola is an excellent and relatively unknown spot for BIG Blue Marlin. Fish are usually over 450 lb (210 kg) and much larger fish are around. Two Granders have been weighed off Angola and various fish close to the mark have been weighed or released, so considering the limited effort, this gives an idea of the potential of this fishery. Small blue marlin are very scarce here, so this is not a destination for fly fishing for Blues! The Blue Marlin season is long and although blues have been caught in the winter months (July & August) in cold green water, the best times are from September until July. Off Luanda the best times are from September to mid-November and off Lobito from January to early March and again from mid-April until July.
This is not a big numbers destination, but more than makes up for that, with the big average size of the Blues. Analysis of blues raised per day 2014-2019 shows an average of a 1-2 fish a day during peak times. On good days there can be multiple big Blues caught. If you are strictly after Blues, then bait and switch with teasers is the preferred method in summer, as sometimes the Sailfish can be thick and will go for even the largest Marlin lures. Dorado can be a similar 'problem' and can be avoided by using hookless teasers. If you are happy to target any billfish, then we will use a mixed spread to allow best chances at Sails, Whites and Blues.
Every year an interesting phenomenon occurs off Luanda in Late August -September when the water is still cold (69-74ºF/20.5-23ºC) and often green. Big Blue Marlin can be seen tailing or even feeding, in the narrow band of slightly warmer surface water. At this same time of year you can also see many migrating humpback whales heading South. Sight fishing for big Blue Marlin is a very unique, but really exciting experience. Normally Blues appear in the spread, with no prior warning, whereas with these you can get your cameras ready before these tailers come into the baits.... These blues are ALL big fish and most of them are very aggressive especially later in the day once they have warmed up! We are not aware of anywhere where big tailing blues can be seen like this.
See below some photos and videos of these tailers.
This is not a big numbers destination, but more than makes up for that, with the big average size of the Blues. Analysis of blues raised per day 2014-2019 shows an average of a 1-2 fish a day during peak times. On good days there can be multiple big Blues caught. If you are strictly after Blues, then bait and switch with teasers is the preferred method in summer, as sometimes the Sailfish can be thick and will go for even the largest Marlin lures. Dorado can be a similar 'problem' and can be avoided by using hookless teasers. If you are happy to target any billfish, then we will use a mixed spread to allow best chances at Sails, Whites and Blues.
Every year an interesting phenomenon occurs off Luanda in Late August -September when the water is still cold (69-74ºF/20.5-23ºC) and often green. Big Blue Marlin can be seen tailing or even feeding, in the narrow band of slightly warmer surface water. At this same time of year you can also see many migrating humpback whales heading South. Sight fishing for big Blue Marlin is a very unique, but really exciting experience. Normally Blues appear in the spread, with no prior warning, whereas with these you can get your cameras ready before these tailers come into the baits.... These blues are ALL big fish and most of them are very aggressive especially later in the day once they have warmed up! We are not aware of anywhere where big tailing blues can be seen like this.
See below some photos and videos of these tailers.
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These videos are slightly unsteady (particularly the one on the right) but hopefully they demonstrate what we mean by tailing Marlin. Bear in mind, we're fishermen, not camera men!