Farquhar Blog: 9-16 Nov 2018
Farquhar Blog: 9-16 Nov 2018
It was a tough week from a weather point of view, a large tropical depression was circulating around the region bringing with it a strong Westerly wind and heavy rain throughout the week.
With the sudden change in weather the GTs were reluctant to come onto the flats and as a result the GT fishing was tough by Farquhar standards with only 8 fish being hooked and 5 landed. Sean managed to land 2 fish of 78cm and 82cm respectively, Ferdi and David also landed a GT each of 65cm and 77cm. The fish of the week was however a really good one, Tom’s first ever GT on fly a 115cm slab. The fish was seen cruising a turtle grass flat on the back of a Nurse shark. Tom made the cast just off the shark and a few quick strips later he got the eat. Epic fish, well done Tom! A few sizable Bluefin Trevally were also landed including Sean’s 78cm fish and Mary 72cm.
The Triggers were around in solid numbers as we saw many tailing all over the atoll, 8 were hooked and 3 landed. Mary landed her first, a fine 45cm Moustache Trigger. Tom also managed a 46cm Moustache Trigger and Sean got a personal best 58cm Moustache Trigger. This tank was spotted tailing hard over a patch of turtle grass during a surf walk. Sean put the fly right next to the fish and with a long draw of the fly the fish rushed over and crushed it. Well done Sean!
The Bumpies were scattered throughout the week and although we managed to hook 5 we unfortunately were only able to convert 1 fish. After plenty of perseverance Ferdi got his first Bumpie, a 90cm fish that was tailing on a turtle grass section close to the surf. Once hooked the fish took off like a steam train, nearly spooling him as he reached the last 30m of backing. He managed to turn the fish and get her away from the rest of the school and after a lengthy fight, Ferdi landed the fish he has been chasing for a while. Nicely done Ferdi!
With the constant overcast and rainy conditions throughout the week, spotting Bones was tricky, but our guests got it done with everyone landing Bones at an average size of 55cm. One particularly memorable fish was landed by Sean, an 82cm tank! The big fish was landed during a surf walk after Sean spotted the fish tailing in the swell all on it’s own. A good cast went out, the fish ate and a searing run towards the surf ensued. He manged to turn it and after a solid tussle the giant fish was landed.
The species fishing this week continued to impress, the grouper species in particular smashing anything that came near their coral head. Jonathan landed a 55cm Napoleon Wrasse, whilst Tom’s 80cm African Marble grouper were two of the better ones landed. Unfortunately it was a tough fishing week by Farquhar’s standards but a few superb fish did come to hand and with a great bunch of people ensured good times were still had by all.
Until next week
The Farquhar Guide Team
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- Farquhar Atoll – Seychelles www.flycastaway.com info@flycastaway.com
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Day 1 – our first day out and the GTs were around in good numbers. It wasn’t long when Mike was onto a solid oceanside fish whilst Mel, Bomber and Matt also enjoyed landing their 1st GT on fly. All the guys were was also very keen on adding to their species lists…they had come to right place land 14 different species on their first day out alone. The Bumpies are back and happily tailing on the flats, John managing to present a perfect crab imitation to a fish which kicked it up. He got a huge shock as to how strong these fish are, but after a good tussle the fish was finally netted and measured at 108cm!
Day 5 – The flats were a little slow but the guys managed to capitalise on the shots that did come our way, everyone now having landing a GT during the trip. The coral heads which are full of life continued to provide action full of life, a huge variety of grouper snapper and emperors ensuring a great day out was still had by all. The bluewater fishing has also been rewarding on the high tides with some nice Tuna, Barracuda, Rainbow Runners and Green Job fish coming to hand.
This week on Farquhar we welcomed back our great group of friends from Austria hosted by Stefan and Alex Haider of AOS Fly Fishing. This week started with morning neap tides which progressed to midday springs towards the end of the six days of fishing. The weather was perfect for 4 of the 6 days with clear skies, lots of sunlight and a light breeze which kept us from getting too hot on the flats. The wind picked up the tempo for the last couple of days and made the opportunities a little more challenging. The fish were out and about and plentiful this week, with the GTs being present in good numbers on the flats.
First timers to the Seychelles and Farquhar Atoll Christian and Helmut were treated to some fantastic fishing with numerous Bonefish landed. Christian managed to land his first GT on fly with a very respectable fish of 98cm. He also managed to hook and land a large Barracuda, a Golden Trevally, Bluefin Trevally, Sailfish as well as a massive Indian Mirror fish which is a very rare and special catch.
Also first timers to the flats of Farquhar were couple Sophie and Stefan. They started their week in style with a GT hooked and landed with Stefan’s very first cast of the trip! Stefan had a good week landing 2 GTs, lots of bonefish, countless groupers – of which one a giant Goliath Grouper and a couple of very decent Bluefin Trevally. Sophie managed to hook and land (amongst others!) two very special fish; a large bonefish of 68cm and on the last afternoon of the trip she managed a monster GT measuring out at 114cm, what a way to end her trip and land her first ever GT on fly.
Alex and Stefan both managed to bag some incredible groupers, Boha Snappers, Napoleon Wrasse as well as a couple GTs a piece. In total we hooked 40 GTs as a group and land 27. We saw a good number of larger fish on the flats which is a positive sign for the weeks to come. The Triggerfishing was tough this week, sadly none of the 4 we did hook coming to hand. The Bumphead Parrots also proved difficult, but we still managed to land two of the five hooked – one a piece for Alex and Micheal; this was Michael’s first Bumphead on fly which made it extra special.
Day 2 – The atoll was looking good with big numbers of fish patrolling the flats and it didn’t take long until the second GT over a meter was landed. Stephane managed to make the perfect cast on a beautiful oceanside fish after it had slowly drifted in with the surf. After a solid tussle his beast 109cm fish came to hand. Malik had a great day as well, landing 3 GTs for the day and unfortunately losing a big Napoleon Wrasse whilst fishing the north eastern lagoons of the atoll. The Triggerfishing was superb, countless fish spotted tailing on the edges and fingers of the lagoon. Well done to Jack, Bertrand and Stephane for all getting a Trigger to hand for the day. Bertrand’s Trigger capped off a special day for him with our first SLAM ( Gt, Trigger and Bonefish on one day).
Day 5 – We headed out early to enjoy a morning pushing tide, some of the guests on the hunt for Triggers and others more GTs. Jack landed another Moustache Trigger, whilst Jean Louis landed two beautiful yellow margin trigger fish. Jean Louis’s fish complete an incredible day of angling, other notable fish for him on the day including a solid Bonefish, a GT and to top it all off his third Milkfish for the week. Stephane who also managed to get a Milky to the net in an awesome session with good numbers of fish feeding hard in the late afternoon. A great day!
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!
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.
