My first fishing trip
Six steps, taken from the book, to go from wanting to fish to your first bite without breaking the rules or putting yourself in danger.
1. Being legal
Fishing in Côte d'Ivoire is governed by Law No. 2016-554 of 26 July 2016 on fisheries and aquaculture. This 121-article text sets out the principles: conservation of resources, the fight against illegal fishing, and sustainable management of marine, lagoon and inland waters. The supervising authority is the ministry in charge of Animal and Fisheries Resources (MIRAH).
The law requires a licence for artisanal and commercial fishing. For recreational and sport fishing, the framework is set out in orders and may change: check with the MIRAH or its departmental office before fishing on your own. On a guided trip (club, charter, guide), the operator holds the permits: this is the simplest way to start.
Three absolute prohibitions, whatever your status: explosives, poisons and chemicals, and the capture of fully protected species (sea turtles, manatee). For other species, this book gives the conservation status and good release practices species sheet by species sheet.
Every year, fishing is partly closed during the biological rest period, which lets fish breed: it usually starts on 1 July and lasts one to four months depending on the sea, lagoon, lake and gear. The dates change from year to year: before your first trip, check that year’s notice from the Ministry of Animal and Fisheries Resources (appendix B).
2. Choosing your spot
Around Abidjan, everything is less than an hour away. The Vridi jetty and the canal surroundings concentrate hunting predators: jacks, barracudas, threadfins. Note that the shipping channel and its immediate surroundings are in a regulated port zone: fish only in authorised sectors. The beaches from Port-Bouët to Grand-Bassam offer miles of surfcasting. The Ébrié lagoon, accessible from Cocody to Jacqueville via Bingerville, remains the ideal training ground: calm water, plentiful fish, pirogues and guides available.
Further afield, four destinations make a fishing weekend. To the east, Assinie and the mouth of the Aby lagoon: fish-rich channels and coconut groves. To the west, Grand-Lahou and the mouth of the Bandama: the meeting place for threadfins. Then Sassandra and its rocky bottoms, and finally San Pedro, the gateway to offshore trips in the west.
Each species sheet in this book specifies the habitat where the fish is found. The calendar in the appendix says when. The map opposite shows the main spots mentioned in the book.
[MAP TO BE INSERTED: annotated Ivorian coastline, from Assinie to San Pedro, with the spots mentioned and the habitat colour code.]
3. Choosing how to fish
1. From the shore: beaches and jetties
The entry point. One rod, a few rigs, local baits, and the miles of beach do the rest. Surfcasting is done at daybreak and nightfall, jetty fishing with the tides. A modest starting budget, guaranteed thrills: a jack hooked from the shore shows no mercy to flimsy tackle.
2. In the lagoon: calm-water fishing
Pole fishing and handlining from a pirogue or small boat. This is the fishing for learning and for steady results: catfish, tilapias, croakers. It is also the fishing that brings you into contact with fishing communities, the foremost experts on these waters.
3. In coastal waters: trolling and bottom fishing
With a motorboat, the continental shelf opens up: light trolling along drop-offs, bottom fishing over rocks, jigging over structures. Day trips leave from Abidjan, Assinie or San Pedro.
4. Offshore: the big game
Tunas, sailfish, marlins, dolphinfish. Ivorian offshore fishing remains a well-kept secret: during the upwelling season, tunas sometimes hunt less than ten miles from the coast. It is done on a charter or with Abidjan’s nautical clubs.
4. Packing your bag
The basic bag, whatever the trip
Beyond the technique-specific checklists given in Part III, a basic kit never leaves the Ivorian angler: multi-tool pliers and scissors, spare leaders and hooks, knife, headlamp and batteries, sunscreen and hat, drinking water, waterproof pouch for phone and papers, small first-aid kit (disinfectant, plasters, tweezers for scorpionfish spines), and a bag to bring back all your waste. It all fits in five litres.
5. Rigging your line
Three rigs are enough to start: the running ledger in the lagoon, the handline over the bottom, the surf leader on the beach. All the others are in the technical notebook.
The technical notebook: knots, rigs, baits
6. Getting home safely
The Ivorian sea demands respect. The barre, the powerful shore break that pounds the beaches, makes swimming and launching dangerous along most of the coast: never turn your back to the waves when fishing from the shore. Near the channels and the Vridi canal, tidal currents are violent and ship traffic constant: safe distances are compulsory.
In the lagoon as at sea: a life jacket for every person on board, a charged phone in a waterproof pouch, plenty of drinking water, serious sun protection. Check the weather before every trip and beware of rainy-season storms, which are sudden and fast. Offshore, a VHF radio and telling someone your trip plan are not optional.