The week the bill fish teased us

We have just come back from a week in Mozambique, blue water fishing out of the San Sebastian Peninsula off Vilanculos. It is one of my annual runs, and it still surprises me.

We were in a six star lodge right on the water, with two deep sea boats and two of the best local skippers in the region. That last part is the one that decides a fishing week. You can have the right water and the wrong man at the wheel and come home with nothing but photographs of the sea.

Fishing was productive. The big bill fish, marlin and sailfish, teased us all week: they came up on our baits, they hit them, and not one of them stuck. Every hit had somebody out of the chair. Nobody got the picture. That is fishing, and it is also exactly why I am not waiting long to go back.

The eating was a story of its own. Seafood extravaganzas every day, mixed up with local specialities: peri peri chicken, Portuguese fillet steak, and seafood pizzas out of a wood burning oven. Our own catches came back to the table as fresh fish and sashimi with every meal.

We did not spend all of it on the boats. We snorkelled a local wreck, and we went into Vilanculos to walk the market. I put both in as the quiet days between the fishing days, and both turned out to be the favourites. If you are bringing someone who does not want six days at sea, that coast has plenty for them.

I am going back in October 2026. Same water, same boats, with all the Gordy inclusions. Two places are still open.

If you want to be on one of those two boats, tell me now, and I will keep you posted as we finalize it.