Farquhar Blog: 5 – 12 April 2019
Farquhar Blog: 5 – 12 April 2019
We began this week on Farquhar with windy conditions, a strong south easterly blowing from 15 to 20 knots and showers on and off for the first 2 days. The rain and wind slowly gave way and by the end of the week the wind had died down to a comfortable 2 to 4 knots with great sunlight and warm conditions. The tides this week started with new moon spring tides with midday lows, moving on to neaps later in the week.
The GT fishing this week saw 14 fish landed by our guests with 5 fish over a metre! Angler Angelika, a familiar face to Farquhar landed her first GT over a metre, well done Angelika. Angler Bill closed out the week with a brute GT measuring 105cm on his first cast of the last day of fishing. Angler James from the UK landed 2 fish over a metre this week with his largest measuring a massive 114cm. Our largest fish of the week was landed by Angler Joern from Germany. This beast of a fish measured a massive 124cm! After a long fight this monster fish was landed. After a quick photo session it was released strong and healthy. Father and son team of Hunter and Lewis landed their first GTs on fly while Anglers Keith and Maria landed 2 GTs each.
We hooked 7 Triggers this week, unfortunately we weren’t able to get any to hand. The Bumpies were seen in good numbers again this week however of the 6 hooked, only of 1 of 94 cm was landed by angler Colin.
Those willing to spend time peppering the coral heads with flies enjoyed great returns with loads of Bohar Snapper and Grouper hooked and landed. Gerhard from Germany landed two special fish this week, a large Barracuda and a Bluefin Trevally of 75cm.
Despite the tricky light we experienced at the start of the week our guests still enjoyed some fantastic fishing, with special catches enjoyed throughout the duration of our guests stay with us. We look forward to welcoming you back to Farquhar in the future.
The Farquhar FlyCastaway Guide Team
On the species front we enjoyed excellent fishing with several Napoleon Wrasse, Bohar Snapper, Marbled Grouper and Camouflage Grouper landed. A special mention for Alexander who landed an 80cm Golden Trevally as well as a 75cm Bonefish, Well done Alexander!
Day 1 – We began the week with an early morning neap high tide, with little water movement experienced the entire day we were able to spend large periods of time on the flats. The fish were seen in good numbers with some decent quality GTs coming to hand; David, who is a first-timer to the Seychelles, hooked 5 GTs but unfortunately lost all of them. Brummy, who has fished with us a few times before, really made the most of his opportunities and managed to land an amazing fish which measured 110cm, well done Brummy! Joern, Tim, Peter and Fred all managed to get one on the board for the day. All in all, a great start to the week and we look forward to what the rest of the week has in store.
Day 4 – Today turned out to be a very special day for Maria as she finally managed to tick the Holy Grail off her list by landing a beautiful 13lb Indo-Pacific Permit. This fish was hooked from a school of roughly 10 fish as they tailed their way across the flats. One cast, a couple of strips and the rest is history. Well done Maria, a truly special fish!
Day 5 – We began day 5 with a slow pushing neap tide and great light. The GTs were everywhere, with fish seen on the turtle grass flats tailing next to stingrays. Peter managed to land yet another 100cm GT, while Jim managed to bag two special fish; one of 90cm and the other coming in at 105cm. All the guests experienced amazing fishing for the day and the sight of big fork tails are stuck in our mind as we reminisce on yet another amazing day of fishing. John also managed to land his first Bumphead Parrotfish which is a great achievement, well done sir. On the blue water front Tim managed to hook and land his first ever Sailfish on fly, great job Tim!
Our Bumpies were seen in good numbers this week and although we had loads of hookups we only managed to land two, John and Yerlan getting one a piece.
Day 1 – The GTs were around in good numbers today with Kelly breaking the ice and landing our first of the season. Ivan, Scott and Kelvin also managed to land their first for the trip, Kelvin’s fish a very special one in that it was his first ever GT on fly. Kyle started his trip off with a bang landing 2 for the day, whilst Ryan had a superb day landing 3 fish. On the species front Scott landed a beautiful Yellow Margin Triggerfish but it was the late afternoon Milkfishing that stole the show. We found large shoals feeding just beneath the surface and not far from the Dugong’s anchorage. Ivan, Ryan and Kelly all capitalized on the action, each of them landing their first ever Milkfish. Well done guys! A great first day of the season and exciting signs for the remaining days of week 1 on Providence Atoll.
Day 2 – We started our day on the flats with a couple hours of a small neap dropping tide, followed later by a slow rising tide at midday. The GTs greeted us in decent numbers with Mike and Dick both landing their first for the trip. Kyle, Kelly, Ryan and Kelvin all landed good quality fish but it was Ivan and Scott who stole the show with two fish each. Well done guys. We experienced some great Bonefishing today with Kelvin’s 22-inch fish the nicest of the bunch. Good numbers of Triggerfish and Bumphead Parrotfish were encountered during periods of the day. However it was the late afternoon Milkfishing that once again grabbed our attention. Multiple hook ups were experienced, sadly however Ryan’s second fish for the week was the only one that made it to the net. The group is clearly having a blast and we are looking forward to what the rest of the week has in store.
Day 3 – We began the day with a good dropping tide in the morning and a solid push in the afternoon. As expected, the GTs continued to present us with great opportunities. Kelly landed a bunch whilst Mike enjoyed a stellar day by getting three to hand. A couple larger fish were encountered today, Scott’s beautiful 99cm fish and Ryan’s 113cm brute rounding off yet another very successful day. The Milkfish continued to provide some really exciting fishing, however we were unable to land the numerous fish that were hooked.
Day 4 – The GT fishing impressed again, providing our guests with numerous opportunities as well as a couple shots at some real giants. The highlights today included Ivan’s 104cm trophy and Kyle’s absolute monster which stretched the tape to 115cm. Congratulations Kyle, certainly a fish of a lifetime! The Milkfish continued to provide exciting late afternoon sessions, Dick showed great composure and landed his 1st ever Milkfish on fly after losing a couple earlier in the week. Congrats Dick!
Day 6 – No changes here and some great fish coming to hand during our 6th day out. A huge congrats to Kelly on an unforgettable fish which measured 109cm and to Kelvin who celebrated his birthday by landing an awesome 104cm fish. Another great day out on the wild flats of Providence Atoll.
We enjoyed good Tiggerfishing this week with 3 coming to hand. 1 each for Sandro , Jaromir and David. Our Bumpie fishing provided us with numerous opportunities and hookups. Despite the constant action we only managed to get 2 to hand, A 58cm fish for Nadim and a monster 105cm fish for Steve.
The outstanding fishing continued with 20 Triggerfish hooked, sadly only 6 coming to hand but still some truly exciting skinny water fishing. Of the 11 Bumpies hooked our first of the season was landed by Olafur, well done Oli!
The Species fishing was good with our first Yellowfin Tuna of the season landed by angler Matt. A couple of Dogtooth Tuna and Jobfish added to the bluewater tally. The numerous Grouper species caught throughout the duration of the week such as Bohar Snapper, African Marbled Grouper and
This week we enjoyed generally calm conditions throughout the week, with blue bird skies and very little wind. Visibility was good and the days heated up quickly. On the last day of fishing we did however experience a morning squall but it passed by 9:30am and it was back to fishing as usual shortly after. Early on during the week we had neap tides with early morning lows, whilst towards the end of the week we experienced midday lows as we moved into spring tides.
14 GTs were landed this week out of the 36 fish we hooked. Angler Brian landed the largest fish with a specimen of 92cm, he also landed the most with a tally of 4 to his name. Brothers Wes and George landed their first GTs, whilst Mike completed a Slam with a GT, a Trigger and a Bonefish all successfully landed in the same day.
The Bonefish fishing this week was great with all anglers landing multiple Bones. Large schools of fish were seen cruising the flats with one school of up to 2000 fish seen! Anglers Brian, Gary, Geoffrey, Joe and George all landed Bonefish over 60cm with the largest measuring just under 70cm.
Our species fishing was great! 3 Triggerfish were brought to hand this week out of the 12 we hooked, and despite us hooking 5 Bumpies sadly none were landed. Anthony landed a Napoleon Wrasse whilst Alex landed a very special Farquhar Permit. Congratulations! 4 Dogtooth tuna were landed (the biggest 20kg), several Rainbow Runners as well as Grouper up to 81cm. Out of the ordinary Jonathan also managed to land a 9 foot Nurse Shark after it ate his grouper!
