The road up to Pemba, our embarking point, was long and arduous. Two armed convoys didn't help. It took me 5 days, a broken exhaust system, and countless stops by officials to question where I was going. My guests came in by plane, first from San Paulo, then from Johannesburg with SAA Air link. It took them 2 hours. This service runs 3 times a week.
St Lazarus Banks is a shoal that is 70 nautical miles NE of Pemba, lying in 1000m of water, with a wall on the north end coming up to 8m. It is 3.5 nautical miles wide, and 20 nautical miles long. It is a spearing and fisherman's heaven. There are few places in the world like it, and it produces big fish! People come from all over the world to experience it. First expectations are big Dogtooth Tuna and GT's- prize fighting fish, and difficult to shoot.
I had a mixed bunch of 6 other spearos from Brazil with me that hadn't yet experienced Open Blue Water diving. The oldest was 58, and the youngest was 27. Three of us were over 50- young enough! This form of spearfishing revolves hanging around off a flasher in 1000m of water and drifting onto the north wall. Anything can come and visit your flasher, which we experienced on the 3rd dive, with 4 of us at the same spot. Who would have expected it? A Blue Marlin, about 150-170kgs, with all its lights on, came in quick. It slashed at the teaser twice, uninterested in these strange awkward creatures hanging from the surface starring at it. Alberto had just purchased a new 4 rubber Riffe 1.5m gun, and took the opportunity first. His spear went over the top of the fish, and the fish sensed the bungee on its back and came screaming at full speed past me, close! WOW! what just happened? All of this in 4 or 5 seconds flat! It was his first marlin seen underwater, his first shot with his new gun, and the imprint was burned in his, and our, memory for ever. That is what happens with Open Water Spearfishing. It's a surprise package, and you got to be ready, focused, and quick to react.
A 10m meter whale shark swam past behind one guy who was focused on the flasher, and he didn't even see it. Likewise, I saw a Dorado swim 2 meters in front of my buddy, just under the surface. He was watching the flasher, 10m down, and didn't see it either. Its surreal.
Marcel, a coffee farmer, swam down on top of a Yellowfin Tuna (estimated at about 70-80 kilos because of the size of its sickle fins) and put in a perfect shot on its head, and the spear bounced off. I had a chance at a similar fish, but it turned and swam away with me swimming after it at speed. My speed, its stroll. It's not easy....
Daniel got the knack early with the Wahoo's and got quite a few- his first time at these fish. Biggest was around the better side of 30 kgs. With these fish, and most others, when they come onto the teaser to have a look, you got to not dive at them, but kind of in parallel, act uninterested, and wait for them to turn and look at you. If you dive at them, they turn away and you have no chance. There were up to five Wahoo's at a time that came in- truly incredible. The wahoo were thick, and usually came in twos and threes. Doggies weren't big yet, with the biggest we saw, around the 40 kg mark. They appeared as we hit the wall. Almost as if the wahoo and dorado were in the deep, and the doggies were on the wall. Doggies here are known to breach the 100kg mark, and so are the yellowfin tuna.
In the afternoons we would start the drift in 10m and drift off into the deep on the opposite side. Here there are GT's, Barracuda, Job Fish, Reef Sharks, Snappers, and Groupers.
Days would start in the water at 7.30am, and we would take a light breakfast and lunch between dives. Each drift was 25 minutes long, with a current that screams at 3.5 knots. The ride back to get repositioned was when you got to take something for the rehydration and energy. The sun goes down quickly, and we would dive until it became darker and difficult to see, around 4.30p.m. Sounds long, but the day goes by in a flash. This we did 5 days continuous, and then sailed back after the days spearing, arriving with the current at 2am at Pemba.
We had a bit of wind on the first two days, but then was blessed with flat seas and calm conditions after that. The visibility was 15 – 25 m, depending if you were in shallow water, or deep. Because of the current, the vis goes down in shallow water because of the sand swirling.
There were a lot more stories of the fish that got away, close but didn't happen. That's fishing, and that's the way it goes. How much fish can you eat anyway?
St Lazarus banks is one of the top places in the world to get big fish. Its relatively easy to get to Pemba, jump onto a yacht, and the next morning you are diving/fishing. September, Oct, November and into December is the best time, with March and April also good. There is limited space, and you need to book at least a year in advance, with a deposit. Get a group of 6 spear fishermen, or 6 rod and reel fishermen, and let's go do it again. I'll definitely be back.
You will need a good strong gun, a big bouy, a thick bungee of at least 25m, a 3mm suit/hoodie. If you are going rod and reel, you will need popping lures/rods, jigging rods/jigs, sailfish and tuna lures, and maybe even marlin equipment. One of the fishermen's boats hooked up to a Marlin, which broke the hook after an hour and a half. Don't skimp on quality- these fish will test your equipment...