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| Joined: | Wed Nov 11th, 2009 |
| Location: | Antananarivo, Madagascar |
| Posts: | 636 |
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Cameroon has some very large river systems including the Sanaga and Dja river systems and many other smaller rivers which are scattered throughout the country. The annual rainfall in Cameroon is unreal and the level of the river that I used to fish near the capital Yaoundé, the Njong River, varied as much as 3m between the wet season and the dry season in March.
Njong River …
Dry Season Njong River..
There is brilliant fishing in the North where very large tiger fish and Nile perch can be caught, unfortunately I did not get a chance to experience it myself, but it is something that is still on my list of things to do. The salt water fishing in Cameroon is also very good with outstanding fishing for Red Snapper and Jack Crevalle.
The area around Yaoundé which is 300 km from the coast is dense rainforest and access to the river is difficult and most of the fishing that I did was out of a dugout canoe drifting along the banks of the river where fish ambush anything that falls into the water. I found foam beetles to be the most successful fly as the louder the plop the more aggressive the fish were.
Foam Beetles...
One of the most prolific species in the Njong river is the Pellonuline and this fish is surely the most crazy fish I have ever seen; I have caught many in mid air before the fly even lands on the water and when hooked they go like a missile on top of the water for about 15m before settling down.
Pellonuline, crazy fish!..
Local fisherman net catch of Kafue pike, Kangha and others...
Other species include Alestes and a fish that must be a tilapia of sorts, Kafue pike and another huge fish Kangha which does not take fly, but gets your heart racing when they slap their tails on the water. I have seen some very large Barbus species on the Sanaga River, but never managed to catch any on fly; I was shown a 15kg + fish by a local who had caught it on a crab.
Casting Vibrax spinners is also very productive and the Alestes seem to whack them purely out of aggression; these are beautiful fish that come in a variety of different colors and they put up a great fight.
Alestes from the Sanaga River…
Alestes from the Njong River…
Alestes on fly…
I also caught some good Kafue Pike; still have a vivid picture in my mind of the largest Kafue pike that I hooked about 3 feet in the air tossing my spinner into the trees!
Kafue Pike…
Eric, my guide on the river knew a bit of English and enjoyed the fact that I was South African as his favorite artist was Lucky Dube and I spent many an afternoon floating down the river to the tune of “I am a priiiisoner sitting on a mountain..” The only discomfort that I experienced on the river was the scourge of the black fly; those little bastards take a chunk of flesh and the bites itch like hell for weeks. I used to go through a can of Deep Woods OFF every day and that stuff is so potent that it melts plastic and still did not keep them away; I often thought that there had to be something stronger like a can of *** OFF! The black fly’s are a concern though, as river blindness is still very common in Cameroon.
On the Njong River our boats were hollowed out logs..
On the Sanaga River the boats were made of planks and leaked like a sieve…
The big tree, sadly it has probably been chopped down by now…
I would love to know what species these fish are, must be some kind of Tilapia of sorts..
The best fishing that I experienced was around the dry season and I caught some large Alestes which put up a fantastic fight. In general the fish are not very large, but the experience is certainly worthwhile so if you are heading to West Africa take your wand with and you will have a great time.