St Brandon Blog: 1 – 11 April 2025

Hi there, and welcome to the start of our 2025 season on what is arguably one of the most remote and incredible fisheries in the world—St Brandon’s Atoll.

We welcomed our first group on Raphael Island, and it was great to see a crew of excited, ready-to-go guests. This group was with us for two weeks as part of our back-to-back fishing package, and everyone was eager to see what 14 days on this world-class fishery would bring.

The week fell over neap tides, which allowed us to fish certain areas of the atoll for longer periods compared to spring tides. All our anglers enjoyed multiple opportunities, targeting the happy, skinny-water bonefish of St Brandon’s—tailing and feeding along the sand and turtle grass sections of one of our main flats. The neap tides allowed for extended time in these areas, and we saw some great results. Multiple bonefish were caught throughout the week, ranging from an impressive 7 to 9.5 pounds. Rex came heartbreakingly close to the double-digit mark with a beautiful 9.5 lb bonefish that fell for a well-placed spawning shrimp.

The first week also brought numerous opportunities to target the atoll’s famous Indo-Pacific Permit. Many fish were seen around the islands and on the flats. Brian and Tim both managed to connect with solid 10 lb Indo-Pacific beauties. This also marked Tim’s first-ever Permit—a dream come true. Your first Permit is always a special one—well done, Tim!

The trevally fishing started to pick up later in the week as we transitioned into spring tides. The increase in current and water movement brought in good numbers of bluefin trevally, and guests had shots at some cracking fish in the surf zones on the atoll’s eastern edge, as well as around the islands. We managed to land a few of these electric blue speedsters, all ranging between 65 and 70 cm.

During the week, we also encountered a couple of monster GTs that call St Brandon’s home. Unfortunately, we weren’t lucky enough to connect with any of these true giants. However, we did bring two to hand—the biggest being a respectable 89 cm GT landed by Steve. Congratulations, Steve!

The first week of the season has definitely given us a positive outlook on what lies ahead. The atoll is clearly in a healthy state, with plenty of fish seen throughout the week. We’re looking forward to what the coming weeks will bring on this epic fishery.

Catch Tally for the Week: