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Fishing Ghana
By CAPTAIN JOHN ANDERSON
Photos by Jason Holtz
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Next record blue marlin could come from Africa
There are places for blue marlin fishing that seem to exist only in
daydreams and conversations at the bar after a day of fishing. Anglers tell
stories of villages enclosed by palm tree hammocks, situated at the mouth of a
river that empties into a remote section of the ocean. The allure is that
these remote areas could be home to the next world record blue marlin. I was lucky enough to visit a place
like that last April and fish with an all-star crew aboard one of the most
famous boats in sport fishing history.
Ghana is a former British colony on West Africa’s
Gold Coast between the Ivory Coast and Togo. The country
boasts the longest running democracy in West Africa. The
natives are English-speaking and very friendly. My African
journey began in Accra, the capital. After a 16-hour plane ride,
a short drive took us to the Hooker compound – my group’s
home for the next week. The compound is in the town of Ada
Foah at the mouth of the Volta River. Ada Foah is sparse with
a few private homes, a hotel, and a native fishing village.
The accommodations at the Hooker house, however, are
comfortable and the staff of seven made us feel welcome.
For centuries, Ghana’s natives have fished offshore for
snapper and small tuna. Yet, only in the past decade have the
first lures been plunked in the water for blue marlin. From the
time boats began venturing out for blue marlin, the rumors
began to spread about the size of the fish caught. These were
partially true because the initial forays had reaped large
catches in short periods. A few well-known skippers brought
boats from Madeira, and set up charter operations. They
quickly put Ghana on the map as a major destination for large
blue marlin. Today, many consider the waters off the coast
of Ghana one of the prime places on the planet to catch large
Atlantic blue marlin. The list of anglers who have tried their
luck off Ghana reads like a Who’s Who of marlin fishing.
Peter B. Wright, Stewart Camble, Don Tyson, Jerry Dunaway,
and Skip Smith are just a few.
Capt. Clay Hensley brought the incredible action to the
mainstream fishing community on his DVD, “Ghana.” The
video, shot aboard Hensley’s boat, the Hooker, showed several
large blue marlin caught, including the 1,030- pound marlin
hoisted in April 2003. Also shown is Candace Meyer catching
the women’s all tackle world record
yellowfin tuna that weighed 314
pounds, and the women’s all tackle
big-eye tuna record that weighed 370
pounds.
The Hooker is an icon in the
fishing world. A beautiful 43-foot
G&S, the vessel made its reputation
as the game boat that accompanied
the Madam around the world, setting
countless light tackle billfish records.
The crew onboard the Hooker is as
well versed in blue marlin fishing
as any in the world. Hensley, who
brought the boat to Ghana from
Madeira, has more than 20 years
of blue marlin experience from
Hawaii to Africa and everywhere
in between. He spent six seasons
fishing in Madeira before moving to
Ghana and has caught 10 blue marlin
that weighed more than 1,000 pounds apiece, including
two “granders” in one day for Guy Harvey while fishing
off Madeira. Australian Bo Jenyns works in the pit on the
Hooker. Many consider Jenyns to possess one of the most
colorful personalities in sport fishing and to be one of the
top wiremen in the industry. He has “wired” more than 30
blue and black marlin granders all over the world – most
from his seasons fishing for black marlin on the Great
Barrier Reef. [Editor’s Note: To “wire” a fish is to grab the
leader in order to bring the fish boat-side to release it for
conservation.] The second mate on the boat was Frankie
Kogolegba, a native of Ghana. Kogolegba has spent the
past six seasons fishing on the Hooker and the Shy II off
Ghana, and has wired 150 blue marlin weighing more than
500 pounds. The Hooker fishes a basic spread consisting
of two lures with hooks in the long riggers and two large
bridge teasers, with a pitch-bait in the cockpit. Most of
the lures the Hooker fishes are Black Barts, Pakulas, and
Aloha lures. Hensley also wanted to pitch-bait as many
fish as possible. The fish in Ghana tend to be lazy eaters
due to the amount of bait available. Over the years the
different crews have tried everything possible, legal or
not, to try and improve their catch ratio but haven’t found
it yet. After I left Ghana, the Hooker went to all bait and
switching to end the 2006 season and caught 16 marlin for
its last 23 bites. [Editor’s Note: To “pitch-bait” is to tease
a fish and then switch the teaser with real bait after the
fish is excited.] After leaving the river mouth, the trolling
grounds run east to west along the coast and take a halfhour
run to reach them. The “café,” the “slope,” and “pram
pram” are all proven areas that hold fish and lots of bait.
The fishing grounds are surrounded with local netting
boats. These large colorful dugout canoes set out small
“sain” nets for skipjacks that are abundant in the area,
and gill nets for flying fish found on the drop off. After
watching the game boats in the area catch big marlin next
to them while trolling, several of the net boats now troll
when moving from spot to spot and have caught a few big
blue marlin from their canoes.
With one boat fishing such a large area, it took three
days to find the right conditions and raise our first fish.
The small blue took a shot at the left long lure and was
only on for seconds before the hooks pulled. Later that
afternoon we raised our second fish on the long corner
teaser. The small fish attempted to eat the mackerel pitchbait,
but we were unable to get a solid hook up on the small
fish. The fourth day proved to be our best. Returning to the
area where we had the two bites on the previous day, we
proceeded to raise five blues. None of the fish committed
to any of the lures or pitch-baits, but usually gave a halfhearted
swipe or two with its bill before returning to the
thousands of small tunas that it had balled up on the bottom
to feed on.
On the fifth morning, Hensley got a good mark of
a fish above a bait ball. At that instant, a very large blue
marlin crashed the long rigger, ripping off several yards
of line before coming unglued. Hensley just smiled in
disappointment. The last fish of the trip was a perfect
example of how frustrating blue marlin can be. The 250-
pound fish came up on the short corner and proceeded to
swim back and forth looking up at the pitch-bait for about
five minutes. Then it put on a show five feet behind the
transom. The blue, all lit up, did little more than stick its
bill out of the water and flip the mackerel into the air before
fading off. These are the moments that make blue marlin
fishing frustrating, yet addictive.
Our group saw 11 blues and got nine bites in six days.
Unfortunately, we did not catch one. As frustrating as it was
to travel so far and not catch a fish, the experience of being
in Africa made it worthwhile. Clay and Bo are two of the
most laid back people with whom you could ever book a
charter. I am already planning to return in 2007 because the
next world record blue marlin could come from Africa, and
I know the crew on the Hooker will be ready to catch her.
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