Farquhar Blog: 21 – 28 April 2014

Cuba regular Richard French brought a group of his most loyal clientele to join us this week. Aside from one guests from Canada, one from Ireland and one from Slovakia, a large portion of the group were Southern Old Boys, from Kentucky. We restocked the fridge!

It was a week of good humor, with Bill Blodgett Senior keeping the guides chuckling throughout the trip. There was also a good consistent breeze throughout the week, which meant the water stayed cobalt blue and cold throughout. The Bumpies were in full force at the beginning of the week and Brendan managed to get Bill Snr a beauty on the day one. Keith Williams also enjoyed a great start to the trip but landing his fly perfectly next to pitch black GT that was piggy backing a stingray in the surf. Four other GTs were landed over the course of the week, with Randal’s fish in particular worth a special mention. The gorgeous fish measured 101cm and earned him the highly coveted “100 Club GT Hat”. Steve, David, Bill Snr also managed to get their GT’s which in truth was a really solid effort after some really strange behavior many of the from this usually aggressive species.

Our guests also experienced some really solid Bonefish fishing throughout, with some truly memorable sessions occurring on and around Dipose. Sometimes taken for granted on Farquhar, we have certainly experienced some great Bonefishing this season, with the average size being larger than in previous seasons.

Triggers proved challenging this week, with only Steve managing to bring one to hand, a lovely Yellow Margin. Those of you who have cast to Triggers know how freakishly spooky they can be and so each and every one is much cherished. An assortment of other flats and reef species were landed during the trip including a large Napoleon Wrasse caught by David Anchel.

Our guides enjoyed the week immensely with our new friends really soaking up this great atoll and fishery. Thank you to all of you for your hard work on the flats and for your good will and humor off them.

Next week is our last for the season, and if it’s just as much fun, we’ll certainly end the season off on a high note!

Farquhar Blog: 14-21 April 2014

Farquhar For many of our guests on our 7th week of the season, this would be their first time wading the remote flats of the Indian Ocean. This is always an exciting prospect, as we know the first one and the fish our guests will encounter will always be special and remembered forever. On day one Jeon started things off by ticking off his first Bonefish and to his credit later in day managed to trick a cunning little Moustache Triggerfish. Not a bad start considering it can take an angler multiple trips at any destination to land one of these hook-crushing critters. Greg Sr then landed an impressive 9 lbs. Bonefish, whilst Sidney got a monster Yellow Margin Triggerfish to eat and after a great fight brought it to hand. Greg Jr made sure the GT scoreboard was up and running by landing his and the week’s first GT. It was a solid start to the week with some great memories being made.

Conditions looked prime on day 2 and we all had high hopes as the boats putted out away from the lodge after breakfast. As day unfolded however it was becoming clear it was just going to be one of those days. We were seeing fish for sure, but for some reason, which only Neptune will know, we were just not converting. This was hugely disappointing for all the guides as we really wanted this great bunch of guys to get into the swing of things early doors. The guys to their credit stuck to their guns, with Evan in particular being rewarded by landing two GT’s as well as one of Farquhar’s infamous Napoleon Wrasse. Well-done Evan.

 
The third day started with some heavy cloudy cover that made the day fairly tough, as sight casting is the name of the game out here. The flip side of this is the water on the flats stays nice and cool which for Bonefish is always a blessing. Rob and Sidney together with their guide Brendan cashed in and had an epic Bonefish session with plenty of good fish being caught. The weather on day 4 had improved and again we headed out with high hopes. Greg Jr. got the ball rolling nicely by landing an angry 30 lbs. Black Tip Reef Shark. Later that morning he and Jim Klug from Yellow Dog Fly Fishing had some great technical Bonefishing as well as some great shots at the highly prized but finicky Indo-Pacific Permit which call Farquhar home.

Sydney and Frans cashed in on the great Bonefish we were being treated too and between them they must have landed around 20 fish. The Bumpheads’ were as per normal around in good numbers, although to date they had evaded us. Evan however showed one real tenacity that was reward with a great fish and another first. His brother Greg Jr the stepped up again by landing his second GT of the week as well another very cool Napoleon Wrasse. Yuzo then put his 9wt outfit and 17 lbs. tippet to the test by landing a 50 lbs. Bumphead Parrotfish!

And thus our week drew to an end. In truth it was challenging at times but a week that had offered good shots at all the major target species. We had however still managed to land 4 x GT’s, 2 x Triggers, 2 x Napoleons, 3 x Bumpies and lets not forget some cracking Bonefishing.

Thanks to everyone on the week…we thoroughly enjoyed our time with you.

Until next week

Brad and the Farquhar guide team

Farquhar Blog: 31 Mar – 7 April 2014

The 6^th week of our season included some great guys from South Africa, Germany and the US, all ready for a taste of what Farquhar’s flats have to offer. Wayne, Jeff and Dean (regular visitors to Farquhar) were in the group and so the evening before our first day out, all us wondered what tricks or special flies they would have up their sleeves this time round. The first day on the flats was a solid one as the guys found their feet. Bill and Rich were the first to strike, each getting a Bumphead Parrotfish and Rich landing a good Napoleon Wrasse. Wayne true to form opened our GT account and amongst some Bones and other odds and sods we were up and running.

After a great first day the boys had high hopes. Jeff had his work cut out and landed a solid bumpy. Pat and Tom together with guide Brad landed a gorgeous Golden and a GT each. This was Tom’s first GT ever on the flats so he was super stoked. Pat has fished for and landed more than his fair share of GT’s and he showed his experience by landing a fin perfect fish of 111cm. Well done guys!!! Joern from Germany was on his final leg of three week trip in the Seychelles and so when his GT opportunity presented itself he stuck it good and proper.
The third day out and the fishing kept true to form. It was also Jeff’s birthday and his present came in the form of nice Yellow Margin Triggerfish that he and Head Guide James had bumped into. Bill subsequently landed his first GT for the trip, with Pat continuing on his merry way with a nice Bumpy.

Day 4 and the Bones were tailing hard. An epic bonefish session followed, added to which Pat was adding to his species list by stick a Brush Fly right into the scissors of nice sized Barracuda and then topped it off with another nice GT. Rich and Wayne added to our GT count for the week by each getting one numbers and landed a GT each. Joern then capped off the day with our third Napoleon Wrasse for the week.

Day 5 and our friends the Bumpies were around in good numbers. After some solid casting and near misses throughout the week Bill and Tom managed to grab hold of their first ever Bumpies which were quickly photographed and released. Wayne was busy taming the GT’s and subsequently landed his 3rd GT for the trip.

The last day turned out to be a good one. Kyle guided Bill and Rich onto GTs first thing in the morning. Gary and Art then got into some species with a fish filled “bommie bashing” session during which Gary landed our 4^th Napoleon for the week. The Bones too were around and there were some good ones to keep the guys focused. Pat landed a cracking 9lb fish, whilst Wayne seemed drawn to the GT’s and showed some classy angling by landing two more GT’s, one of which he tussled on the 9wt.

The end of a really enjoyable and species filled week on Farquhar with 13 GT’s landed (biggest being Pat’s 111cm) a Yellow Margin Trigger, 4 Napoleons, 6 Bumpies, a Barracuda, some good tailing Bonefish as well as a Golden Trevally. A big thanks to all the guests. A great time was had by all the guides both on and off the flats. We sure hope to see you all on the water again in the near future.

Cheers

Brad and the Farquhar guide team

Farquhar Blog: 24 – 31 Mar 2014

Week five of our season is upon us. With a group from Aardvark McLeod, plus Rob and Dennis staying for their second week we anxiously awaited to see what the fishing gods with throw our way this week. The first two days however were super tough as we were cursed by bad weather and a constantly change wing direction. Rod and Dennis were really the only ones who made any impact as they were fishing offshore,

Day three and looking over the horizon it seemed to be a repeat of the first two days. Thankfully however we were wrong and things improved a little! First timers to salt water, father and son Paul and Richard were eager to get stuck into some Bones, which we subsequently did. Peter Gibson later landed our first GT for the week. It was by no means fire works but it was a start.

Day four and the weather had definitely settled with a perfect sky and stable wind……the guides were optimistic things were about to happen. To start us off Tom and Peter got stuck into some good tailing Bones as well as a shot at a good-sized Permit. Peter Solovyov then showed some classy angling by landing his first Triggerfish on the flats. Another group then had a good tailing Bonefish session on one of our favorite Turtlegrass flats. There are some really good sized Bones on Farquhar at present and we managed to land one which weighed 9lbs. Mark and Paul stuck to their guns and with some momentum on our side, put their 12wt outfits to the test by landing a Farquhar GT each. Meanwhile Rob and Dennis offshore had an eventful day by landing 4 GT’s, the biggest measuring 112cm.

Day five turned out to be a good one too. Peter Solovyov and Vadim each landed a Triggerfish and Vadim grabbed a highly coveted Farquhar Slam by landing a GT of 97cm, a nice Trigger and to cap it off his Bonefish. Well done Vadim! Tom was next to follow and got himself a GT, a Trigger as well as a Bone for the second Farquhar Slam of the day……EPIC! But we were not done just yet as Mark put his fly down perfectly in front of a nice GT which subsequently charged and ate, whilst Peter Opperman had another classic GT eat later landing his first Farquhar GT.

The last day was going to be for that fish species that had eluded the guests to date. Vadim had a severe case of ‘Bumpy Fever’ and after losing a few the day before again, we did our best to make it happen. Sadly however it was not meant to be as the large paddle shape tails eventually disappeared off the flat. Peter Solovyov had a mind-altering day of Triggerfishing, one which we are sure he won’t forget in a hurry. After stalking and hooking 12 during the course of the day, we thankfully landed 2 of the little blighters. After hooking his 4th fish I heard him shout out “Peter the trigger killer”. Rod and Dennis ended their trip on a high and landed 12 GT’s offshore, the biggest measuring an impressive 134cm.

The end of the week had sadly arrived just as the fishing had peaked. If only the group could have had one more day!  After a very slow start, we managed to land 6 GT’s on the flat, 7 Triggerfish, plenty of epic shallow water Bonefish and a bucket load of Grouper, Snapper and Bluefin Trevally. It just shows that with stable weather, some nice cool blue water and some more than capable anglers Farquhar does provide some truly special fishing. Thanks to all for hanging in there with the weather, it was really a pleasure guiding you all. Well-done on all your fish……we hope to see you out on the water again soon.

Farquhar Blog: 10 – 17 March 2014

It’s hard to believe we have just completed the third trip of our early 2014 season on Farquhar. We, the guides, are very much into the rhythm of the atoll and it is now our home away from home. Our group for this week included some new friends from Sweetwater Travel, plus we had the bonus of some of the guests from the previous trip remaining behind for their second consecutive week. Everyone was eager to get started and once everyone was settled in, a few adventurous anglers headed out for the half day around North Island, with Zack first to make his mark with a nice Yellow Margin Trigger. It was a great way to get the line stretched and a fun way to start the week.

Ben was busy with his second week and promptly landed his second Golden Trevally of the trip. We are currently seeing really good numbers of big Goldens at the moment, which is really adding to the ever-impressive diversity that Farquhar has to offer. Zack too was at it again as he managed to get in front of a tailing shoal of Goldens and picked up a really gorgeous fish. Later that day he landed our first GT for the trip and got within a few seconds of landing an impressive Wahoo. Unfortunately it chewed through the leader right next to the boat…..bleak! To top it off however, Penelope and Laurel made sure no one was going to go hungry that evening by landing (no release here) two tasty Yellowfin tuna. Thank you ladies!

As the week stretched into third day Zack added to his species tally by landing our first Bumpie of the trip. Congrats Zack! Amos and Wilder were hard at work as well, they too now had the Bumpy obsession and pursued the tailing shoals with a tremendous amount of enthusiasm. Mark added to the day with a good-sized Bluefin Trevally, whilst Ramsay promptly landed a much coveted Dogtooth Tuna.

Day four and Amos eventually sealed the deal by landing his Bumpy. Everyone was super thrilled! In truth however the day could have been even better as he connected with a monster GT only for the fish to roast us. Zack, however, did manage to bag another GT and got ever so close to landing another Trigger and his second GT before lunch.

With the weather looking good for Milkies on the 5th day, we wasted no time in heading out offshore after breakfast. They were there and Ben showed his experience early in the game by hooking our first Milky for the season. He fought it like a pro and had it at the boat in no time. We leadered the fish twice but through some cruel twist of fate up swam a green Job fish and grabbed hold of the second fly. What are the chances! On the other boat Zack was into a good fish too and after a 1 hour 30 min battle of skill and patience our first landed Milkfish for the season came onboard. Later that day, John had to work a bit but managed to land his first GT for the trip. It had been a good day but we were not done just yet as Amos landed a 76cm fork length Bonefish..…a monster by any destination!

It was sad, but our last day of this trip had arrived. Thankfully John made his mark early by landing a GT on his first cast of the morning. Zack and Amos pushed hard during the last day but both their luck seemed to run out as both sadly lost Triggerfish. Nonetheless it was clear they had enjoyed themselves. And so with the wind switching to a Westerly and the clouds rolling in, everyone headed back to the lodge slightly earlier than normal to grab a shower and a cold beer.

All in all another enjoyable week on Farquhar. The guide team would like to say a big thank you to everyone on the trip for an awesome week, it was really an absolute pleasure guiding you all.

Until next week

Brad and the Farquhar guide team.

Farquhar Blog: 3-10 March 2014

Our second bunch of guests for the season was a group from Sweetwater Travel that we all really look forward to having out there. Some of them have been to Farquhar on multiple occasions, whilst on this trip some would be new friends…either way they were all geared up and eager to be to be stretched.

First day out and Ben showed his experience by landing our first GT of the week. Dotty, who was out to chase some records then proceeded to land a Bluefin Trevally which will be nominated for a new world record. Well done! Jim too got into the swing of things early by landing a nice Trigger. We were off to a good week!

Day 2 and Ben was at it again landing his second GT for the trip in as many days. On the same flat Fred and Penelope each got a tricky and colorful Napoleon Wrasse, whilst Perk Perkins had no problem in dishing out some justice of his own with the 12wt subsequently landing three GTs before the sun sank below the horizon. Laurie proved she was up for it too when she landed a bus Bluefin Trevally.

Day 3 and Laurie continued where she had left off by landed her first ever GT. Perk then enticed a Blacktip Reef Shark to his fly and had it on the beach in no time. Later that day Dotty hooked a Milkfish on the flats but after a short run it broke her off on some coral. What a shame…hooking these fish on a flat is just the most insane rush. Fritz then added to our GT count, whilst Ben continued to increase our species list with a quality sized Golden Trevally. The rest of the day was made up of Bluefin, Bones and chasing Permit….pretty cool day to say the least.

On the fourth day, all the ladies decided to do a bit of walk, one which we call Paris to Dakar….it’s a bit of stroll but there is nothing these ladies can’t do. A 8km walk along the surf with endless opportunities at all kinds of creatures cruising the shoreline…it was worth it considering the cool fishing and overall fun was had by them and their guides. Meanwhile the gents were out looking for some GT’s, with Jim obliging and sneaking our tally up by one.

The 5^th day out and sadly we had some tough weather to deal with. Rain made it challenging to say the least, and so most of the group opted to head back to a warm shower and hot cup of tea. Fred did however manage to catch the first Lionfish on fly that we have ever heard about!

Thankfully the weather improved for our last day and Head Guide James decided he needed another long stroll for the week. This turned out to be quite productive decision, with Perk and Laurie both bagging another GT. On the other side of the atoll Penelope got a good Bluefin Trevally and when they headed offshore to take a look, BANG up came our friend the Dogtooth Tuna. Fred joined in shortly after with a nice GT and another Doggie. On the flats Ben eventually landed our first Bumpy for the week after a week full of break offs etc. Fitz then showed his experience (he is a legend in the Tarpon fraternity) as to how hard you can actually pull a good size GT…on a 9wt to boot.

But our last day was not done just yet. Not by along shot! Tim had opted to take Peter and Steve offshore. What ensued will be hard for those anglers to forget for sure. Yellowfin tuna, Wahoo, Rainbow Runners and to top it off even a brief encounter with a Black Marlin, it was crazy. They then headed back to the flats and Peter landed a young but gorgeous Farquhar Permit, our second for the season!

With week two under the belt it was time to take stock. We landed 12 GT’s, a big Golden Trevally, a Bumpy, two Napoleons, a Permit, Bluefin Trevally, a multitude of groupers and snappers, Yellowfin Tuna, Rainbow Runners, Doggies, as well as Lion fish and a potential new world record summed up the week. In total 43 species were landed, simply emphasizing the amazing diversity Farquhar has to share. To our group, thank you for a super week……we had a truly great time sharing Farquhar with you.

Until the next trip

Brad and the Farquhar Guide Team

Farquhar Blog: 24 Feb – 3 March 2014

The start of the 2014 season kicked off with a great group of guys and one terrific lady from the US. Being the first group of the season everyone was amped to get out onto Farquhar atoll to see what was cruising around. So after all the gear was brought forward for inspection, leaders, knots and flies were rigged up and our “saltwater warriors” were ready to tackle anything that moved in front of them.

The first two days on the flats saw us jumping around the atoll to get a feel for what was going on. Excitingly enough a monster shoal of Bonefish had moved into the Dipose area and the chaps got stuck into, including a few very nice fish up to 9lbs.

Our first GT brought to hand happened on day 2, when Louis made a nice cast and the fish devoured the fly. Textbook! Although it proved to be the only GT for the day, spirits were high and a multitude of other species ensued.

Day 3 and Bill showed he was here for action. He managed to land a Moustache Trigger, a GT and a Bonefish for our first Farquhar Slam of the season. Congratulations Bill! Mike and Louis together with their guide Kyle got a tank Yellow-Margin Trigger and as well as highly illusive and nerve busting Permit. Lawson was next up and he too capitalized on a GT which swam into range and monstered his fly. Well done guys, awesome fish! Loads of Bonefish and a number of the other very cool reef species were added to the list and ended a truly terrific day out on the flats.

With Triggerfish and GTs being on everybody’s wish list we headed out on day 4 and 5 with a strong sense of purpose. The Triggers were around in decent numbers but we just couldn’t catch a break. Break offs, being corralled, fussy fish…we had it all. Nonetheless fishing for Triggers is always super fun and exciting if one considers the stalk in super skinny water. Louis did manage to land his second GT for the trip and together with more great Bonefish fishing (Ed and

Patty rightly took full advantage) ensured the two days went by in the blink of an eye. Our last day on the flats arrived and with it a super low tide and some tricky weather conditions. John’s persistence thankfully landed his GT for the trip, whilst James had found a large pool filled with all kinds of weird and wonderful species including some big grouper and snappers. The day ended much the same our week had started, with some good bonefishing and more shots at GT’s.

The first week had flown by in the blink of an eye. The fishing was by no means off the charts but one the guide team will remember fondly, thanks to some of the nicest and interesting guests you can wish for. The guide team would like to thank them all for an awesome week both on and off the flats and we hope to see them out on the water again soon.

Until next week

Brad and the Farquhar Guide Team

Farquhar 18 – 25 Nov 2013

 34 x GT’s (9 over a meter – largest 115cm); 5 x Bumpies; 3 x Sailfish &  2 x Triggers

The flats were cooking this week with the GT’s in particular making an impressive appearance, 34 “Gangsters of the Flats” came to hand, 9 of which measured over a meter. The largest GT was a 115 cm beast caught by Beat. What was equally impressive was that for every fish landed there were another 10 or so that were seen or cast to but did not come to hand. Schools of 10-15 fish were seen marauding the flats on a daily basis which allowed for several double ups.

For some strange reason the pushing tide flooded the flats with tepid water, while the dropping tide provided ice cold blue water. This is the polar opposite of what we’re used to. It was just as well though, as throughout the week we had a long dropping tide in the morning and a late afternoon push, which provided us with cool water for most of the day. It worked out perfectly!

Plenty of nice Bones, as well as 5 Bumpies were also landed (who knows how many were lost….perhaps a couple dozen), whilst 2 wily Triggers made a cardinal error and got a crab pattern stuck in their jaws. Other notable catches this week were the 3 Sailfish we boated. Rather surprising considering we were under the impression they had all but vanished. Thomas also lost a permit that took 150yards of backing before finally opening the hook….what a special fish that would have been! All in all though we had a cracking week and I’m sure there were 10 very satisfied, although tired gentlemen, which flew home.

Until the next week

James & The Farquhar Guide Team

Farquhar: 28 Oct – 4 Nov 2013

It’s the end of week 5 on Farquhar and moral amongst the guide team is high. The boys have worked hard to produce great fishing for our guests and this week was no exception.  It must be said upfront that the GT fishing was tough, and while we saw plenty of fish throughout the week, converting shots to fish landed was tricky for a number of reasons. The fish that were hooked often managed to escape, breaking fly lines and leaders over razor sharp coral. Those that questioned the 130lb leader at the beginning of the week soon understood that it was still fair game, perhaps leaning more in the fishes favor. Despite these challenges we still managed to land six GT’s for the week…. you’ll forgive me if I care not to mention how many were lost.

Jamie Hammond opened the scoring, following up the next day with his second for the trip. Larry Wasserman got his fish not long after Jamie’s second fish. In fact, it was so soon afterwards that I thought it could be the fish we’d just released. But the fish was swimming towards us and without too much time to dwell on it Larry put a cast in which produced a lovely, pewter GT of 87cm.

On the very last day our two Russian guests landed three fish right in injury time, emphasizing the importance of trying right until the end. Boris landing two with Alexi eventually getting an extremely anticipated single!!!! The rest of the group had their hearts broken by many good fish. One tragedy that springs to mind is Chris Francis’ GT that broke him off in the coral. We’d found a group of mating nurse sharks, with a shoal of tailing GT’s feeding around their commotion. Chris put an impressive cross wind cast into the fish, and half a strip later was into a good fish that promptly roasted him. Before we could replace the leader and fly, the marauding fish had moved to greener pastures.

In between these moments of frantic GT fishing anglers took advantage of some other exciting opportunities we had run into, including Bumpies and two Sailfish.

Till next week

James Topham