TACKLING TROPHIES IN THE DESERT

Going carping locally is easy but going to a foreign country you need advice and quite a bit of assistance. Morocco Carp, a charter specimen carp company is highly spoken of and they did indeed help me to make this dream a reality. They look after your entire adventure and really makes it accessible. This was by far one of the best trips I have so far had in my fishing career and is something I would recommend to any specimen carp angler worldwide. BEO is well known around the world for its massive carp and the real chance of landing fish in excess of 20kg. The setting in the beautiful Atlas mountain range that surrounds the lake is another bonus! The current lake records are 33.4kg for a Mirror and 28.4kg for a Common - and are what attracts so many anglers to this carp heaven! The carp in Lake BEO have extraodinary shapes and scale patterns and the mirrors are something extra special. My biggest mirror of the trip at 12kg. How to book? A very reasonable 200 Euro secured my booking for my requested dates and then it was the next step of booking flights to Casablanca. Once the flights were booked I had to apply for a Moroccan visa which took a few days. And as soon as I had my flights and dates booked all I had to do was pack my bags and get ready for the adventure of a lifetime.The total cost for a 10-day all inclusive package to fish BEO worked out to about R30k including flights, accommodation (2 nights in the hotel and 7 nights in tents at the lake) and food which really is not expensive if you think about it. My biggest fish of just over 15kg. What you get? Obviously going fishing in South Africa is one thing - you pack your bakkie with all your gear and head out to the dam, but fishing overseas is another animal and your first thoughts revolve around whether you will have everything you need. That is where using a company like Morocco Carp is so convenient. They take care of everything that you will ever need for a week’s fishing - tents, beds, food, tackle and bait. They also provide you with a very decent boat, lifejackets and battery (which they replace every day). And you get a daily food box which has all sorts of food and drinks for the day. The only thing you have to buy extra is beer or extra cold drinks or if you run out of bait and need more mielies delivered. All you really need to take is clothing, your sleeping bag, terminal tackle, leads, reels, alarms, swingers and I would recommend as many tigers as possible. A very nice 13kg common. My fishing I managed to land two beautiful mirrors which were definitley the highlights of my trip. The biggest common I landed tipped the scales at just over 33lb, far from the lumps I was after, but oh so welcome! The fish are strong and fight like hell! I caught in excess of 25 fish of which 20 were over the 10kilo mark, an average that I am very proud of. Bait-wise I used a mixture of maize and Atlas boilies supplied by Morocco Carp. I also took along tiger nuts, boilies and hookbaits of my own. The most successful bait was definitely the double 24mm bottom bait fished with a size 2 Curve shank or XX Wide Gape hook from Korda. I had a 100% hit rate on this rig.The kit they provide is perfect; obviously it has been used throughout the year but everything worked well and I had no issues. If a deep cycle battery was dead, the guys came out and replaced it. The Morocco Carp staff are very friendly , helpful and the service is excellent. I met some amazing people on this journey and made some amazing contacts and friends from across the world. One being UK carp angler Simon Parker with whom I spent a couple of days on the bank; he is a great angler and friend to many South Africans. We had a good time on the bank and I hope to fish with him very soon again – “thanks Simon!” I will definitely be back in pursuit of that 20kg-plus fish! Typical Moroccan Tents that are provided in your package. *For those looking to book a trip, the author can be contacted on tel. 084 556 8918 or email: sntucker68@gmail.com. Also check out the Facebook page: Morocco Carp South Africa and leave a comment or message.