I have always loved visiting a country while doing an activity. Getting to know a country and its people better by sharing nice moments with them allows, for me, to go further in understanding their lifestyles, their customs, their beliefs.
So, for several years, I have been going fishing in Madagascar with the Vezo (South of Madagascar) or Sakalava (North) fishermen.
I have just returned from a fishing trip to Morondava and Belo sur mer, carried out last November. Duration: 3 weeks
What can I say, except that it’s still so cool.
Descent from the plane at Tana (Antanarivo). After the usual formalities including obtaining the short-stay visa, transfer to the hotel.
I am beginning to soak up the mora-mora atmosphere of Madagascar and the friendliness of the Malagasy people.
And then, as I know a little about the good places near the Ivato airport hotel, I found good Malagasy dishes spiced just right, including the famous mutton curry (and yes, it’s not just zebu, humped beef from Madagascar and the fish dishes that I often eat on the coast 
The next day the journey can begin. Takeoff for a 1.5 hour Tsaradia flight to Morondava.
Arrival in Morondava. I find my guide and my canoeist friends, always happy to see me because we have good fishing trips together, me who brings the technology made of lures and they who bring their expertise in navigation and detection of fishing spots.
Rest at the hotel. Preparation of fishing equipment.
In the evening, we all meet at the restaurant facing the sea to finalize the organization of the fishing session which will last more than two weeks.
Then, I fall asleep at the hotel dreaming of big fish and fights in the canoe. And yes, here, no super-motorized Open Deck type monohull boat with GPS and depth sounder.
Here, we fish in a traditional canoe, their canoe, with a 15 HP booster motor, without GPS or depth sounder. It is the knowledge of the canoeists that will make the difference.
I like this return to basics, this more authentic approach to traveling with big game fishing.
Besides the skill of Malagasy fishermen, the canoe does not scare me because this means of traveling and fishing is ancestral. It has therefore proven itself over the past centuries.
And then there is:
- these games of fun between us, offshore (25-30 km from the coast),
- these snacks often interrupted by THE big touch, while you have your sandwich in your hand,
- these fishing lines which get tangled because a garfish of almost 1m50 had the crazy idea of struggling out of the water while shaking energetically from head to tail.
First day, early departure (it will also be like this on the following days) from Morondava for Ankevo located 50 km further south, but making a “small detour” out to sea, just to catch a few fish.
Ankevo is a camp run by villagers with huts with basic and clean comfort, and delicious meals cooked by the camp cook or the canoeists (because they also have the habit of cooking when they go out to sea for several days).
I stay 5 days in this dream place where there is no noise of the city, only the laughter of children, the women who pound the rice and, of course, the waves and their light or muffled noises, depending on the sea conditions.
Simple rhythm: get up at 4 a.m., leave at 5 a.m., fishing until 1 p.m. before the sea conditions get tougher, return to camp, meal with the Malagasy people and rehydration (not necessarily in water: ha, the THB), nap , checking fishing equipment, evening meal with the Malagasy people, sometimes with lobsters as cooked dishes.
Then, towards Belo sur mer where I will find, there, the great comfort of a hotel facing the sea. After the few days spent in rustic conditions which were similar to the living conditions of Malagasy people in the bush, I found this comfortable hotel where I also like to spend my fishing holidays.
The rhythm of the day is the same: fishing in the big morning. Then, rest in the comfortable room of this hotel with its idyllic setting, refined and delicious meals, attentive hotel team. All the conditions are required to recharge your batteries after each fishing trip.
You can even kayak there at high tide OR relax on a hammock, lulled by the trade winds facing the sea.
Fishing actions and offshore combats:
In short, a great place for relaxing and fishing!
And then, there is the village itself located 300m from the hotel, a village where you can visit the schooner shipyard initiated by the Breton brothers Joachim, more than a century ago, for the little story and perpetuated by the Malagasy people who, with rudimentary means and ingenuity, managed to build boats weighing several tonnes and over 20m. Hat!
The saltworks, of course, where at high tide we see the ballet of dhows heavily loaded with salt crisscrossing the mangrove with a shallow bottom, dhows which transport salt throughout the country, even for export.
Further north, a fishing village which prepares me a meal after swimming in the clear waters of the slack waters and seeing lots of small multicolored fish which will soon become big lol
The Belo market (to see in the morning) for local fruits and vegetables (don’t expect the profusion of our stalls) and the meat which arrives when the seller is ready to sell it, in pieces of 10 kg minimum for final cutting.
You see, in Belo as in Ankevo, there is more than just fishing. And then, on windy days when it is impossible to go out to sea, I take the opportunity to visit the surrounding area, often by canoe because it is the most practical way to get around the Malagasy coast. I also take the opportunity to repair my fishing equipment because it suffers a lot, between the salt water and the sometimes hard and long fights.
After 10 days of intense fishing in Belo, it is already the day of the gradual return to France: transfer by canoe Belo – Morondava, then by plane by the domestic flight Morondava – Tana and finally the international flight Tana – Paris.
What good memories!
I can’t wait to come back to meet my Malagasy friends and experience new canoe fishing adventures.
In April 2024, surely.
To find out a little more about my fishing trips to Madagascar