For any guide or host, the wish list for a good season is simple: great guests and great fishing. This Djibouti season offered all of that, and then some. The final group of the season arrived like the cherry on top of an already spectacular cake. Leading the team was Christoph Barra, a seasoned and well-known German angler. The rest of the crew were new to GT fishing but skilled in freshwater, and I knew they were in for a surprise. But of course, at the beginning of the trip, I was having my thoughts about how it would be nice to end an already good season on a good note, but life is not like that usually. I had my doubts about how fishing would be. We had a nice drop in temperature, which, after summer, can only be good, but the tides were strong, maybe even a little bit too strong for this fishery. Especially since the season started, the jigging was great, but this tide was sure to affect the possibility for effective jigging, and it did.

The opening day unfolded exactly as I like it for newcomers to tropical fishing: with some light tackle action to find the rhythm. We landed a few nice mackerel and barracuda, and even lost a big sailfish that set the tone, plenty of excitement ahead.

Day two brought our first encounters with giant trevally. They were smaller fish, but the perfect introduction to what was coming. A few anglers connected with serious fish early on, only to lose them, a mix of inexperience and plain bad luck. But as the days passed, they found their groove, and their luck was changing. Jigging at the beginning of the trip remained productive, particularly for amberjack, which are at their best in October. It’s what every guide hopes for: good people connecting with great fish, learning, and enjoying every moment along the way.

As we started to mix our fishing, our shore sessions brought more drama. Everyone had solid bites, though only a few managed to land their fish. Those who did were rewarded with serious GTs of 20 to 25 plus kilos, a remarkable achievement from land, especially in terrain riddled with coral and rock. As the water temperature dropped further, the topwater action came alive. The numbers and the average size of our fish grew, and nearly every new spot we explored produced. With a full moon approaching and the strong currents making jigging impossible, but the GTs were all up on the surface anyway. Aggressive and everywhere! We had bites left and right. One day, we were landing all the fish, the next day, we would land only half of the fish we hooked.

Beautiful fish for Christoph Barra on the last day of the trip.

It was magnificent to see Djibouti in such a healthy state this season, teeming with plankton, baitfish, whale sharks, sharks, sailfish, and GTs of every size.

It makes me genuinely happy to work in a place like this, and as an operator, I’m committed to keeping it protected by ensuring every fish is released in the healthiest possible way.

One night, to add a bit more spice, we gave the guys the option to try some night popping under the full moon, and it delivered in spectacular fashion. Chaos broke out on the boat as fish started smashing lures left and right. Some anglers made a cast, paused to check their reels, and got hit on a lure that was just floating there. Others thought they’d made a bad cast ( they hadn’t ) and suddenly found themselves holding on for dear life. We were all laughing, landing fish, losing some, and having an incredible amount of fun through it all.

As the season came to a close, I realized it had given me more than I could have hoped for. Good guys getting many connections with the fish as they become better in tropical fishing was a dream come true. I enjoyed every second of it. To all the anglers who joined us this autumn, thank you. You turned this season into one I will never forget, but for all the good reasons.

Now, a little bit of rest, and we ride again. Make sure to join us on our trips in Djibouti next year, or the year after. We guarantee a lifetime experience :)

Photos and text: Robert Pljuscec

Additional photos: Lazar Jeremic

Djibouti Season Finale: A Perfect Ending

Djibouti Autumn Season – Week Two Report.