St Brandon Blog: 22 Oct – 1 Nov 2018
St. Brandon Blog: 22 Oct – 1 Nov 2018
Our guests enjoyed some amazing fishing during their week out on the atoll. There were some incredible Bonefishing sessions, everyone getting well and truly stuck into good numbers of fish. We enjoyed another solid 6,5lb average weight for the week but there were some great fish landed by the clients as. Mike caught his first bonefish this week with us and then caught an 8.5lb fish, which is a great PB in anyone’s book. Phil landed 2 bones of 9.5lbs and Giles landed one of 9lbs and a couple of 9,5lb fish. The fish of the week had to go to Chris when he landed an absolute beast 11lb Bonefish on his very first morning of the week. Congrats Chris!
There were once again many Permit seen across the atoll this week and the guests all had some great shots. There were some tense moments with fish following and not committing as well as some fish which were pricked but came off. We did however manage to land a few including some really nice fish. Chris landed 3 Permit for the week, his fish weighed in at 5lbs, 5,5lbs and 9,5lbs. Andrew caught a real trophy of 12lb fish, after the fish was spotted tailing in a bay on one of our more famous islands on St Brandon. Great job!
The Trevally fishing this week was spectacular with many shots at GTs as well as the atoll’s notorious monster Bluefin. Chris, Giles and Derek all caught 15lbs Bluefin, Mike one of 17lbs, but the Bluefin of the week and perhaps the season went to Derek who landed an 81cm, 20lb beast. Awesome job Derek! As I mentioned, there were loads of GT’s out on the flats this week, our guests managing to hook 6 of these enormous predators. Sadly however, only one fish was landed but it was a really nice fish, Chris’s 104cm beast smoking the fly as soon as it saw it. This fish concluded a great Slam, Chris also landing a 6lb bone and the aforementioned 5,5lb Permit all on the same day. The GT’s on St. Brandon are tough at best but to convert a landed GT into an Indian Ocean Grand Slam is a once in a lifetime thing. Very well-done Chris!
Until next week
The St Brandon Guide Team
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The GT fishing was fantastic this week, 20 of the 39 hooked fish being landed. Matvey landed our largest for the week, his 99cm part of a truly special moment with good friend and fishing partner Alexander. Alfredo opened his GT account with a stunning 90cm GT on the first morning of the week. This was Alfredo’s first ever GT on Fly and he managed to land another later in the week. David in particular fished well and had a cracking week, landing 9 GTs of varying sizes. Superb fishing!
Despite having some rough weather around and losing a day to very high winds which are unseasonal for this time of year, the guests still had some great sessions targeting the atoll’s large and numerous Bonefish. All our guests all managed to land good numbers in shallow water, the average size for the week a very credible 6lbs. Some notable catches for the week included Allen’s 7,5lb Bone as well as Ray and Kirk’s Personal Best Bones of 8lb each.
High numbers of Indo Pacific Permit continued to be seen on a daily basis, all of our guests enjoying plenty of opportunities during their week. Permit being permit are however never easy to convince and despite many rejections and near misses, two fish did make it to the net before the week came to a close, both fish were landed by Steve, his first a solid 10lb fish that crushed the fly while feeding over some and his second a gorgeous 14lb fish that was spotted tailing over small patches of turtle grass on a large white sand flat. Congratulations Steve!
The various trevally species were out in force during the week and the guests all got to enjoy many shots at these powerful fish. On top of a few Goldens landed during the week there were some larger fish brought to hand. Included was Kirk’s very first Bluefin Trevally. The fish measured in at 69cm and took many yards of backing before finally surrendering. Good numbers of shots at the atoll’s very large GTs continued to present themselves and for the first time this season we were fortunate to land one. It was a beautiful 101cm fish which came to hand after Allen’s very first cast of the last day hit the mark. After a quick fight and a rapid fire photo session the fish was released and an Allen could finally give his arms a rest. What a fish! St Brandon GT’s can be tricky beasts and to have your first GT come in at over a meter is something Allen will surely remember for years to come.
We welcomed a very excited bunch of guests onto the atoll on the 12thof Oct, most of whom were pretty new to fly fishing. We were subsequently super excited to show them what Farquhar had to offer. From a tidal point of view we were on a full neaps, with the mid-morning high tides allowing our guests the opportunity to fish the last bit of the pushing tide and the entire dropping tide.
Four friends who were completely new to fly fishing had a great week on Farquhar, Nick landed two beautiful Sailfish (200cm and 207cm) as well as a tank 185cm Wahoo and a 85cmGt. Gert enjoyed a solid week landing a Dogtooth Tuna, some big Bluefin Trevally in excess of 70cm and loads of species. Johan got stuck into a Dogtooth Tuna of 110cm and a Yellowfin Tuna of 110cm, whilst Henk hooked and fought multiple Sailfish and landed a great different number of flats and reef species. Father and son who were also new to fly fishing had a special week as father Kelvin landed a 220cm Sailfish on his birthday whilst his son Shaun landed a tank Dogtooth Tuna of 136cm as well as a 82cm GT.
Boat partners for the week Craig and Gregory had a good one, Gregory landing a Bumpy of 90cm, as well as a Moustache Trigger of 60cm and a small GT. Craig landed a tank 82cm African Marble Grouper amongst some other nice fish. Casper went on to land large numbers of species as was his target for the trip, whilst Neil got GT’s of 72cm & 84cm GT, as well a 103cm Barracuda. Christian who had come all the way from Argentina to target the mighty GT enjoyed some great success landing fish of 60cm,86cm and 88cm. Well done! He too hooked a Sailfish but unfortunately after a long fight the hooks pulled.
We enjoyed some truly great fishing on our first week of the Sept – Dec 2018 Farquhar season with a really fun but hard fishing group of South African anglers. Coming off a full moon spring tide we had large fluctuations in water level and with the strong SE wind still present early season there was plenty of cold blue water for us to explore. It made casting tricky at times but the guys never let it get to them and they were rewarded with some incredible variety as well as some great GT action.
The GTs were around in good numbers and by the end of the week we had landed 33 of these incredible predators including three fish over a meter. Patrick landed six for the week, two of which were over a meter (a 101 & 102cm). François had a few stellar days and capitalised with nine fish between 70 – 96cm. Tom also had a great week landing four, his biggest a 94cm beauty. Andrew too had a special trip landing our biggest fish of 104cm fish as well as two more impressive geets. Brent landed five fish between 75 – 96cm, whilst Duncan’s 96cm fish which was photographed in a suit an tie will not be easily forgotten. Rian got his prize fish with a GT of 92cm and when Brett added his 94cm specimen to the tally it was clear to all that Farquhar remains one of the finest saltwater fisheries on the planet.
As much as the GT fishing remains a huge attraction for all, it was obvious from the guys feedback that it’s the variety of species and scenarios which one of finds them in which really made their trip special. The Bones were plentiful and provided great sport with the lighter rods, Triggers too were present although never easy to land. Matt did however land a gorgeous Picasso and Francois a nice Moustache. Other notables included one Bumpie, a 138cm Dogtooth Tuna, some truly big Grouper, some Napoleon Wrasse, a small Permit (despite some bigger ones being cast to and pricked), Bohar Snapper, big Bluefin Trevally, a Black Tip Shark, Barracuda and last but not least a very large Yellowspot Trevally which was caught on the flat by Pat. A truly special fish as the adult specimens are normally only found offshore.
The second week of the September – November 2018 season on St Brandon was an extended trip with guests spending 9 days out on the flats with us. The Bonefishing was slightly more patchy than normal although there were still plenty of world class sessions. We enjoyed another solid 6lb average for the week but many fish in the 7 – 8,5lb range were still landed. One of the more notable fish was Eugene’s 9.5lb specimen which caught as it snuck onto the flat from the lagoon. Mike however landed our two biggest fish of the week, his first fish of 11lbs caught on a huge sand flat and his second, a very fat 10.5lb fish after initially being spotted snaking up a turtle grass edge. The fish tried to eat the fly twice before crushing it and tearing off towards the horizon. A double-digit Bone is a very special achievement and to catch 2 in a trip is just amazing, well done Mike!
The Permit fishing we experienced during the nine days was nothing short of spectacular. With fourteen Permit landed during the trip this group of guests have now broken our previous record of twelve fish during a trip. Tim and Patito both caught solid 10lb fish each, Eugene landed three for the week including his first ever Indo Pacific Permit when he landed a fin perfect 6lb fish. His second and third fish were both weighed at 9.5lbs. Zack landed two Permit for the week, his first Indo Pacific ever came in at 7.5lbs and his second was a trophy 11.5lb fish. Zack’s first fish was not only special because it was his first Indo Pacific but it was also part of a Permit double up with his good friend Sandflea. This is only the second time ever on St. Brandon’s where a Permit double has happened, and it is truly an occasion that neither of them or their guide ever forget. As for Sandflea, the fish he caught in the double up was his second for the day and one of seven Permit he landed in during the trip. His fish weighed in at 9.5lb, 10lb, 4lb, 12lb, 11.5lb, 5lb and a massive 17lber. Just catching one Permit can be tricky at best but catching 7 in a trip and to be part of a double up is testament to skill level Mr Sandflea has at his disposal!
The first trip for the September – November 2018 season on St Brandon’s got off to a cracking start with some phenomenal Bonefishing. Both numbers and average sizes were impressive, the large numbers of fish found in shallow water reconfirming to our guests why St Brandon is so highly thought of in the Bonefishing world. On top of this we landed ten fish over 8lbs, three of over 9.5lbs and one trophy fish of 10.5lbs, Randy’s monster hooked whilst it’s back was out of the water. Randy presented his shrimp, the fish rushed over and crushed the fly before speeding off to the horizon. What a special fish!
The amount of Indo Pacific Permit seen out on the atoll during the trip was nothing short of staggering. The guests enjoyed multiple shots each day at these highly sought-after fish, but as can be expected with Permit, it didn’t always go to plan as there were a few eats that didn’t stick and fish coming unbuttoned during the fight. Fortunately, we did put six Permit into the net before the trip came to end. Randy fished really well and in the end was rewarded with fish of 4lb, 5lb and one of 10lb. Ferdie also got stuck into the Permit action with a perfect 5,5lb fish, however the biggest Permit for the week went to Andre who landed a 10,5lb fish that was feeding into some heaving current despite the shallow water. ‘Dre’ sent out a pin-point cast and the fish followed for 10 feet before inhaling the crab. After a tense and dogged fight, the fish was slid into the net and the celebrations began. Andre also added to his Permit tally on the last day of the trip with a stunning 4lb fish. Great job!
This week on Farquhar we welcomed a group of 10 guests from the UK for our 6th week of the 2018 season. After a short fight from Mahe our guests touched down on the atoll. This week we are into full neap tides meaning minimal tidal fluctuations between low and high, ensuring large volumes of water on the atoll throughout the day. With an early morning push and a late afternoon low our guests got to enjoy the entire drop throughout the week. The weather was tricky during the first part of the week as our guests were greeted by dark and windy conditions with a north easterly changing to north westerly blowing 40 knots at times but as the week progressed the weather improved and with it, so did the fishing.
This group of guests are already looking at dates and planning a trip back to this incredible fishery as all of our guests hooked numerous GTs and got to experience the power and agility of these incredibly strong fish as well as the Bones, Triggers, Bumpies and all the other species that Farquhar has to offer. The guests were highly impressed with the guest house and accommodation as well as the food making the week a resounding success.
As the week progressed the weather turned for the worst with dark skies and rain for the majority of the week which made for tough spotting. The fish were around in good numbers still which forced us to concentrate even harder, Nicole and Kevin (after having just completed a week on Farquhar) did not take long to tail their first Geets for the week, together with Basil (who has been having a love hate relationship with these fish after them winning the battle on a few previous trips) he finally won this time landing a couple GTs for the week, congrats Basil!
Bully got it done as well by getting the second fish over a metre for the week, measuring in at 101cm, well done Sir. The Bumpies were around and making their presence known in huge numbers on the later neap tides of the week with Penka, Brian, TJ, Roger, Judah and Rob all managing to capitalize and land their first ones ever which was an awesome achievement as anyone who has ever tangoed with one of these beast would know you feel completely under gunned – hooking it is one thing but the landing part is where things get challenging! We also experienced some really good Bone fishing despite the bad light, it wasn’t tough seeing 5+lb fish tailing in super skinny water.
The Triggers were around in decent numbers with Penka and Brian managing to get one each of these tricky fish to hand. On the final day the skies finally decided to clear which increased everyone’s hopes for a great final day and it sure paid off with good numbers of GTs, Bumpies and species coming to hand. Judah landed his first GT ever on a fly rod and as he is a conventional angler says it was an unforgettable experience and the whole charge and eat will stay clear in his mind for a long time to come. All in all it was a tougher week out there but we still managed to get some good fish to hand and most importantly we all had a lot of fun.
