St Brandon’s Blog: 9 – 18 December 2012
As I write the last blog entry for the year 2012, my mind wonders off and I begin to reflect on the season passed and some of the finest fishing I have ever experienced in my seven years of guiding in the Indian Ocean. Added to this, our beloved vessel the MY Gryphon is now well and truly firing on all cylinders which certainly adds to what can only be described as a once in lifetime fishing trip….only that we tend to see a fair amount of regular faces such is the quality of the fishing!
In any case back to this past week! The weather experienced this week was in truth picture perfect, with almost no wind and what wind we did have coming from the West which is very unusual for St Brandon’s. As nice as it is to fish in windless conditions it added a new dynamic to the atoll, one I have never had to deal with before and for the first time we had complications with having to deal with some warm water on the flats. However with a bit of planning from the guides we still managed to find good fish throughout the week all be it in some very different areas…..quite a nice change if it must be said!
This week also had a real mix of nationalities, with our group consisting of Italians, Bulgarians, South African’s and Brits. Yet despite the different cultures they all shared a single passion, the great love for fly fishing and so it was on day we all headed out with high spirits and expectations. It didn’t take long for the teams to start sampling some special fishing, with Helgardt Muller and guide Nick landing a BUS of a Permit which weighed in at 20lb….a truly special fish! Not to be out done, the other teams also made their mark with six Golden Trevally, two Greenspot Trevally, along with a whole heap of solid Bonefish coming to our nets. Not a bad way to start the trip!
As the week progressed the fishing only improved, with many Bones between 8lb -10lb falling prey to our flies. In addition to this we also managed to land four superb GT’s, the biggest one of 115cm caught by Roger. A great fish Roger…well done! As for the Permit, some justice was served this week with four fish landed amongst the numerous opportunities and near misses.
All in all we enjoyed a terrific week with a fantastic group of people who were a real pleasure to guide!
In closing I would like to thank all our guests on St Brandon’s this season, it remains a true privilege guiding guests on this remote spec of land in the Indian Ocean!
Until April 2013…All the best!
Timothy Babich