Game fishing

Game fishing on the internationally renowned Cuanza River estuary is one of the special activities that the MANGAIS resort can offer its clients. The Cuanza River is privileged in the number of world records it holds for well-known species of game fish such as Jack Crevalle and Giant African Threadfin. However, the river is particularly famous for the quality of its Tarpon fishing, where specimens of record proportions have been caught over the years.

The administration of MANGAIS SARL is dedicated to the protection of the natural fauna and flora of the area, so with this in mind, a decision was made to sponsor a Tarpon fishing tournament. In collaboration with local anglers and the IGFA representative, the first "MANGAIS TARPON INVITATIONAL 2002/03" was organized. This is the first tournament held at the Cuanza specifically for Tarpon since 1974! The IGFA (International Game Fish Association - www.igfa.org) is the ruling body for sport fishing worldwide. This tournament uses the IGFA rules and regulations and it is hoped that the reputation of this famous fishing spot will be enhanced with this tournament.

This event promotes the preservation of Tarpon by using a modified catch & release format to encourage the release of all but world record specimens of these magnificent fish. Tarpon killed that are under 100kg are not eligible for scoring. This means that only Tarpon of world record proportions (120+kg) can be killed and then only if the angler wishes to do so. The vast majority will be released back into the river to grow, breed and maintain a healthy population for future angling.

The first day of this tournament was held on the 14th December 2002 (see photographs) and the final day fishing will be on the 1st of February 2003. The boats will be leaving and returning to the restaurant "Varanda dos Mangais". This is located at the resort complex Empreendimento dos Mangais - Barra do Cuanza. During the first day three tarpon were caught & released and excellent specimens of Giant African Threadfin and Jack Crevalle were taken. The final day is expected to produce more good catches.

Date	Place	Angler	Specie	Height Kg	Line
10-12-2000	Barra do Cuanza	Nuno Abohbot da Silva	Jack Crevalle	26,5	All-Tackle
10-12-2000	Barra do Cuanza	Nuno Abohbot da Silva	Jack Crevalle	26,5	H-50lb
04-03-2000	Luanda	Bernadette Nicolson	Atlantic Sailfish	50,2	M-80lb
21-02-1999	Luanda	Iain Nicolson	Atlantic Sailfish	58,8	H-16lb
17-01-1999	Barra do Cuanza	Marco Silva	African Threadfin	49,6	All-Tackle
17-01-1999	Luanda	A. de Jesus G. dos Santos	Atlantic Sailfish	49,6	H-6lb
24-02-1998	Mancha Branca	Nisa Ekberg	Guinean Barracuda	30,3	All-Tackle
25-03-1997	Luanda	Renato Borges de Sousa	Jack Crevalle	16,5	H-Junior
25-02-1996	Luanda	Hakan Ekberg	Atlantic Sailfish	55,2	H-30lb
11-05-1995	Barra do Cuanza	Fergus Keirnan	Jack Crevalle	20,2	H-16lb
20-02-1994	Luanda	Bernadette Nicolson	Atlantic Sailfish	58,1	M-30lb
19-02-1994	Luanda	Alfredo S. Neves	Atlantic Sailfish	64	All-Tackle
10-10-1992	Barra do Cuanza	Cam Nicolson	Jack Crevalle	26	H-30lb
30-03-1975	Luanda	Mário Rui Alves da Silva	Atlantic Sailfish	58	H-20lb
15-03-1975	Luanda	Pamela Jean Durkin	Atlantic Sailfish	48,3	M-20lb
29-12-1974	Luanda	M. Quintela M. de Loureiro	Hammerhead Shark	42,6	H-6lb