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Years Experience

Captain Arno Matthee

Arno’s introduction to saltwater guiding was back in 1999, when he was one of the first guides to arrive on Alphonse island, in the Seychelles. During his second season with US Fly, he decoded milkfish on fly and developed the ‘milky dream fly’. He was one of the first guides to introduce triggerfish and indo pacific permit to anglers from around the world. He also developed flies and techniques for catching giant trevally.

Arno was a founding member of Flycastaway and during 2003 to 2005, he was one of the first to guide anglers on remote atolls like Farquhar, Cosmoledo, Astove and Providence. During his 18 seasons of guiding in the Seychelles, Arno not only trained several guides but also gained an immeasurable amount of knowledge, through his consistent exploration of these remote atolls. He then went on to guide a further 17 seasons for tigerfish throughout Zambia, Botswana, Mozambique and Tanzania.

The Tarpon obsession

The Tarpon obsession

In 2009 he started exploring West Africa for tarpon and became deeply passionate about decoding various gamefish species. In 2015-2018, Arno took to the waters of the West coast of Africa in Gabon and the Republic of Congo, as the captain of an exploratory vessel, called ‘Chagos’. He discovered large amounts of massive tarpon along this exquisite coastline and is still constantly researching and exploring the West African coast – thus offering anglers, the opportunity to experience an expanse of wild unpressured waters.

Arno has written many articles for various magazines over the years and has shared his life changing experiences on several television programs, like Supersport, BBC Earth, National Geographic and ESPN. He is the founder and director of The Guides Company and is extremely excited to impart decades of knowledge and experience with anglers from all over the world.

The most experienced guides

Guiding is at the forefront of everything we do. I have had the privilege and pleasure of training and guiding a number of the best guides in Africa’s waters, many of which now guide in the most sought after locations globally.

We employ the most experienced guides who have sound knowledge of the fisheries and species. Ambitious, hardworking and highly skilled, their primary objective will be to put you on fish and make your week the exhilarating trip of a lifetime.