The second day will be more sportive since it was a question of leaving with AntsaPêche to discover sport fishing in the Mozambique Channel. Here again, the idea is to have a responsible fishing practice by no-kill fishing with adapted hooks that do not harm the fish and by keeping only a very limited volume of fish. This is then sold on the market and part of the money is given back to the villages where fishermen in small boats are less well equipped.

Vincent the skipper and his village sailors whom he has trained in sport fishing is above all a passionate person. Settled for a few years in Antsanitia, he is proud of his daily vigilance on fishing boats coming illegally to raid with their large nets. He is ready to fight and does not hesitate to call on the Minister of Fisheries. This has concretely allowed a return of fish for the traditional fishermen, and everyone in the village knows that

Embarked with all the equipment and a picnic, it warns the novice from the start of a "you'll understand why we say sport fishing! ». The sailors are busy with the preparations and take the boat out to sea. After a few minutes, we joined the few boats of the villagers for some quick catches of small fish. These will be used as bait..

Then comes the search for the hunts, i.e. the areas where the bonito beds are located in order to make bigger catches. They can be spotted by the birds flying over them because they too are fishing. Of course, you have to have an eye and Vincent and his sailors seem to have a sixth sense. The boat having reached its goal, the spectacle is incredible with a large quantity of fish and birds diving to catch them. With the small baits, our sailors catch a few bonito which will in turn be used as bait for much larger fish

While we are in the middle of the Mozambique Channel without seeing the coast, Vincent is now heading towards his favourite fishing spots. Aided by a small GPS screen, it monitors depth and the presence of schools of fish, and a sonar system allows you to see what's happening under the boat. It is with 30 meters of depth that a first stop is made and it will quickly make a big catch. Receiving the cane in the hands with the mission to pull it up, we'll have to be sure. First reflex: do not go into the water even if the fish pulls hard. The sailors are attentive and ready to catch up with me. Second reflex: don't let the fish unwind the line too much as you'll have to reel it in. The battle will be tough: bend down while grinding, then straighten up with the duck and start again... After about ten minutes of very sporting activities, a shark weighing about thirty kilos appears, having finally given up fighting against my efforts. Once close to the boat, the sailors untie him and he will go back to swim in peace... while I recover! A little further on with a depth of 100 meters, other bigger and some more colorful fish, but it will take tenfold efforts to bring the catch up

Today, Jean-Claude, who founded AntsaPêche, accompanies Vincent on the boat. While he is an accomplished fisherman who has sailed many seas, he has never managed to catch a marlin. The latter is the object of all covetousness in sport fishing because it is a very fast fish that can reach 120 km/h and can reach 900 kg. The adapted hardware is therefore installed to make an attempt. It's a whole, living bonito that will be used as bait. After about ten minutes of sailing, a fish seems to have taken the bait. Vincent puts the throttle on and rushes off to hook the fish. In the case of a marlin, he could have swum faster, since the boat can only reach 70 km/hour. The plug is shod, a lot of wire has been pulled... the fight is about to begin

Jean-Claude puts on a solid apron where his fishing rod will be fixed. After about fifteen minutes, a marlin jumps out of the water in the distance, it is indeed the coveted fish. It will be a hard fight and intense efforts to get him back to the boat. At one point he's almost there, but the sailors can't manage to grab the hook, and the marlin will unwind the line over dozens of metres... So we're going to have to reel it in for a while yet. Weakened, the marlin will be brought back a second time. It seems to weigh 200 to 250 kg and Vincent measures it before harpooning a small beacon, because Antsapêche is part of an association that lists the big fish

In the end, Jean-Claude will have fought for 45 minutes to see his dream as a sports fisherman come true. Vincent and the sailors, happy with the catch, set course for the shore crossing towards the coast, the fishermen also returning to their traditional wooden boats and their light fabric sails. Exhausted by the day's fishing but happy with the experience, I fall asleep dreaming of calmer activities for the next day

More information for a sport fishing in Madagascar on the site of Antsapêche

More photos on Madagascar on Terimakaci website - Madagascar, the red island