How I Got On When I Played A Street Fishing Game In Marrakech
19th October 2022- New Experience Number 24.
I hadn’t anticipated I’d be standing in the middle of a busy market square with a rod trying to win big on a street fishing game in Marrakech. (I say win big – that’s definitely pushing it!)
I knew my first time in Africa would provide opportunities to try new things and it didn’t let me down. As well as big new experiences such as spending a night in the desert and camel trekking, there were plenty of other smaller new things to have a go at.
Night time in Marrakech is amazing. Manic and bewildering, there is a ridiculous amount going on. I wanted to immerse myself in it all, which included taking part in a street ‘fishing’ game.
Bottle Neck
Causing a bit of a bottle neck in the square of Jemaa el Fna, seemed to be a circle of people in deep concentration with what looked like fishing rods.
They were playing what looked a bit like a giant hook a duck with full size rods.
Only there weren’t ducks to win but bottles of pop. (Big prizes hey?!) The rods had plastic hoops dangling from them which needed to go around the neck of the bottle in order to win it.
It looked so simple yet despite some very close attempts, nobody was winning any prizes.
Having watched for long enough, we were hooked and decided to have a go.
Taking A Gamble -Playing A Street Fishing Game In Marrakech
Handing over our 10 Dirhams, which was about 80 pence, the odds were surely stacked in our favour. We had 10 minutes to try and hook a prize. 10 minutes? That seemed incredibly generous.
Pah! They knew exactly what they were doing. Given twice the amount of time I still don’t think we’d have won anything.
There was no issue with getting the hoop near the bottles, but getting the hoop around the bottle neck? Impossible! It hung horizontally at the end of the wire.
All it needed was a little patience to steady the rod, and a flourish of the wrist to flick it over the bottle
It got so close. It missed so easily. It was so frustrating!
Could It Be Done?
We asked the man running the game to show us that it actually could be done, as we were getting mightily suspicious that it was impossible.
Using our rod to prove there was no trickery involved, he gripped it, lined it up, and deftly landed that darn hoop right over the bottle.
It could be done! He even gave us the top tip of not holding the end of the rod in your hands, but gripping it further up so that a majority of the rod was firmly steadied next to your arm.
Well, we tried that too. It didn’t help.
Five of us all had a go in those long ten minutes. It was the same for all of us – so simple, and so frustratingly fun.
Not Got The Bottle Playing A Street Fishing Game In Marrakech
There’s definitely a knack. We definitely didn’t have it. In fact nobody in that circle seemed to have a knack.
I can only imagine the celebrations that must occur when someone finally does hook a bottle!
Let me know if you’ve ever had a go, and especially if you managed to hook one of those blooming bottles!
Want To Try It Yourself?
We stumbled upon this on our evening exploring Marrakech as part of our tour with Much Better Adventures.
If you’re there on an evening, make sure to visit Jemaa el Fna and keep an eye out for people standing in a circle.
Cost Of Experience
We paid 10 Dirhams, although they were happy to accept Euros too. It converted to around 80p.
Recommendations
- Be patient.
- If you are very competitive and a particularly bad loser, you might want to give this one a miss!
- Whilst we felt safe in the busy night market, there are a lot of people about it’s hard not to bump into people, so keep your valuables safe and be vigilant.
- Don’t forget your camera!