Providence Blog: 19 – 26 October 2021
Welcome to the second week of the 2021/2022 Providence season. This week we welcomed a group of 12 anglers aboard the MV Maya’s Dugong. After a quick orientation of our mothership, we set about getting everyone’s tackle up to GT-proof standard before we hit the high seas on our way to the wild waters of Providence Atoll.
Day 1 – The first morning of the fishing week dawned with bright sunshine and a southeasterly breeze. A mid-morning low tide and loads of water movement experienced throughout the day provided favourable fly fishing conditions for Giant Trevally. A total of 7 GTs were brought to hand with angler Christiaan landing the standout fish for the day. His 119cm GT was sighted as it crossed a small white patch on the edge of extensive turtle grass rolling bank. He made a quick short cast and began retrieving the fly with a long medium stripping action when a monstrous mouth exploded out of the water engulfing his fly just 10ft from the tip of the fly rod. An intense fight ensued and after reeling in tons of backing finally got his trophy to hand. A special way to get his 2 weeks on Providence underway, well done Chris!
Day 2 – Conditions proved tricky with black clouds and continuous rolling sheets of rain. The inclement weather made the fishing tricky with a total of 6 GTs landed for the day. Fortunately, the large tails of the Bumphead Parrotfish are a welcome and easy-to-spot target, even when conditions prove difficult. Anglers Steve and John both went on to hook and land their first Bumpies on the fly, well done guys!
Day 3 – Sunshine! A fast-dropping tide in the morning provided ideal feeding conditions for the atoll’s resident Milkfish population. Angler Jeff got straight into the action and after making the perfect presentation came tight on his first-ever Milkfish on the fly. A titanic fight of an hour followed and finally to Jeff’s relief his Milkfish was firmly secured in the net. Well done, Jeff! The improvement from the weather gods showed in the catch tally with our group landing a total of 13 GTs for the day. Ed took the limelight in this regard landing a massive GT of 122cm. His fish was spotted while perched on a coral outcrop, overlooking some deeper channels. Following a long cast, the fish wasted little time closing the distance to the fly and hoovered the fly down without hesitation. A mammoth fight ensued and though there was a fair bit of coral in the area Ed managed to keep the fish clear of any unwelcome snags and eventually landed his dream catch. Well done, Ed, certainly a fish of a lifetime!
Day 4 – A continuation of the good weather and tides that allowed us access to the far-flung corners of the atoll delivered some unbelievable fly fishing action on the Giant Trevally front with 32 landed for the day. The high water experienced in the afternoon allowed for time spent searching for the pelagic species of the deep blue. After successfully teasing up a pack of Sailfish, Tim, and Greg both went tight and had to perform the comical Sailfish dance! Unfortunately, Tim’s fish came unbuttoned in the dying moments of the fight and right next to the boat. Greg however, managed to stay connected land his first Sailfish on the fly, well done Greg!
Day 5 – Providence delivered another day of red-hot GT action with our group managing to land a whopping 42 GTs between them. The 3 ball of Ed, Gary, and John were in the thick of the action on one particular turtle grass flat and landed a total of 31 of the 42 GTs, a day of GT fishing we’re sure these anglers will remember for years to come! Well done, gents!
Day 6 – The final day of the week saw overcast skies and a stiff south-easterly wind blowing. A total of 22 GTs were landed for the day. Angler Ed enjoyed yet another outstanding day on the flats landing 2 beautiful fish that stretched the measuring tape well past that magical meter mark. Well done, Ed!
That brings us to the close of the second week of fly fishing action on Providence, this week’s fishing delivered several moments that our guests and guides will remember for a long time. The distinct influx of GTs encountered on flats has us all excited for the fishing potential of the next fishing week.
Our catch tally for Week 2 was as follows:
- GTs – 122 (11 over a meter)
- Bumphead Parrotfish – 5
- Milkfish – 1
- Sailfish – 2
Until next time,
The Providence Guide Team
Two Bumpies were landed this week, a huge 103cm fish landed by Mark with Chantel getting our second. Two Sailfish were also landed this week, one by Alan and one by Andrew. In addition to the Sailfish caught offshore, George landed a nice Yellowfin Tuna and Genkel landed a nice big Wahoo.
A continuing trend of strong south easterly winds greeted us on the first morning with our new group of guests as the boats headed out. It was an eventful day on the flats with six GTs being landed. Congratulations to David, Peter, Peter, Kay and Mark for opening their accounts. With the cooler water being blown onto the flats there were a good number of Bonefish being hooked and landed, with an average of 6lbs for the session.
Day 2 dawned very windy but with clear skies the boats headed out with high hopes. With a slow neap pushing tide in the early morning the triggerfish were out in numbers. Chuan, Rob and Peter W managed to hook and land one of these feisty fish each. The Bumpies too showed us their massive tails and Mark hooked and landed his first Bumpie, well done Mark. The Bonefish were up and tailing hard again, with Dave and Rod managing to catch a Bonefish each to complete their Flats Slams of a GT, Bone and Trigger. Rod’s Bonefish was a monster, the fish weighing 10 pounds…Congrats! 5 GTs were landed, the day belonging to Dave, who after holding up on the apex of the flat with his guide, saw a monstrous commotion coming towards them in the shallow water. After getting in the perfect position the fly was presented in front of the pack of GTs. In unison the fish charged in the direction of the fly and a gargantuan mouth opened, inhaling the brush fly, the hook was set and after a massive tussle through a lagoon the fish was landed. With a fork length of 127cm, it was truly the GT of a lifetime, well done Dave!
Day 3 saw a shift in the weather conditions with high altitude cloud cover rolling in, obscuring the direct sunlight, making the fishing a little bit trickier. Due to the light conditions the Bumpies highlighted themselves as the targets for the day. A total of 6 Bumpies were landed for the day, the happy anglers being Mark, Kay, Chaun, Alfredo, Rod and Dave H. A great Bumpie day!!!! The GTs did manage to present themselves, Pete and Dave capitalizing on their shots. A special mention goes to Dave H whose fish came in at 105cm. With big seas comes great Sailfish fishing and Rob, Rocky and Dave F taking full advantage, Rocky and Dave landed theirs after doubling up from a pack attack.
Day 4 dawned gloomy with lots of cloud cover and high south easterly winds. After making a shift south to the midway point of the atoll the boats set out. A total of 3 GTs came to hand; well done to Peter getting 2 and Alfredo 1. Rocky managed to double down and land 2 Moustache Triggerfish. Kay and Dave R later joined the Sailfish club, landing a fish each. The day however belonged to Dave H who hooked and landed the first Milkfish for the week as the sun was setting, well done Dave H.
Day 5 saw a lessening of the cloud cover and with a mid-morning low tide the boats set out. The day was a well-rounded one on the species side with 5 of our 7 recognized species being landed. Pete E managed to land the Milkfish, whilst Rob and Dave R landed a Bumpie each. Rocky managed to land a Triggerfish of each species and Dave R managed to land a Moustache Triggerfish. Pete W landed a monstrous Sailfish, whilst Kay, Chuan, Dave R, Mark, Pete W, Pete E and Dave R each landed GTs. The day belonged to Dave R though, who after landing a Bumpy and Triggerfish in successive casts, saw a big bow wave coming up onto the flat. Despite a long chase to get into position, the fish dropped back into the deep water. Dave set up patiently above the area the fish had dropped off from. A couple of minutes later the bow wave reappeared and after presenting the fly it was engulfed on the second strip. The hook was set and the fish tore the line off the reel and ran straight back to the lagoon from where it came. After crossing the lagoon and reaching shallower water the fish was landed. At a fork length of 121cm it was another GT of lifetime for the week. Great fishing Dave!
Our sixth and final day of the week dawned with clear skies and dropping south easterly wind. With a morning dropping tide the Milkfish were up in good numbers around the edge of the atoll. Dave R and Pete W managed to land a fish each, bringing the Milkfish tally to 4 for the week. A total of 6 GTs were also landed. Rob and Dave R landed 2 fish each, with Chuan and Pete E landing a fish each. This brought the second week to a close. Some tough conditions, but as per normal some incredible fish and fishing was enjoyed by all!
This week weather conditions were a little tough. High winds and multiple passing fronts unfortunately made things more challenging them normal. Tides started off on springs, with lots of water movement on and off the flats, and we ended the week in neaps. 
In true Farquhar style, we did however enjoy some other great species fishing. Fifty Bonefish and three Triggers were landed. Craig landed one Moustache and one Yellow Margin, with Jarrett landing a large Moustache. Congrats guys! Three Bumpies were also caught this week, with William, Kris and Jason each landing their first. Well done chaps! And for the second week in a row, Eric landed an Indo Pacific Permit. This week he landed a trophy class fish of 73cm. Amazing fish Eric, well done!
