Providence Blog: 19 – 26 March 2024
Perfect sunshine, soaring temperatures, and 100% humidity welcomed our third group of fishermen to Providence Atoll. Our 12 new guests, all from the United States, hosted by The Fly Shop out of Redding, California were newcomers to the Prov experience and over the moon to finally find themselves on her shores.
The first day of the fishing week was 1 of education. A new marine environment, with new species resulted in us having to spend a few hours couching and tweaking technique before we could get into the action proper. Pat managed to get his first Yellow Margin Triggerfish while Bob, convinced not 1 but 2 Yellow Margin Triggers to his fly as well as a feisty GT. What a way to start, Bob, well done! Evert, meanwhile, got stuck into the Bonefish landing his biggest ever of 9 lbs. and a little while later, he added a colourful Yellow Margin Triggerfish. Dick closed off the catch report with a single Bone.
Day 2 saw a delayed start due to a powerful squall with heavy wind and rain. The second the squall passed us we headed to the flats and enjoyed decent weather for the remainder of the day. The GTs made a good show of themselves with Mike G, Mike, Pat, Evert, Dick, and Bruce all tasting success on this front. Dave managed to land the only Bonefish for the day.
The third day brought with it tricky conditions in the way of dark cloud and little wind. The diminished visibility on the flats really made the fishing tough and only a single GT was caught for the day. Evert, the man of the moment caught a brute 93cm fish that was spotted sitting in ambush position in a small drainage channel. Evert made a great cast and before he could get through his first strip the GT rushed forward and engulfed his fly. Following an epic battle and with a bit of luck going his way, the fish was eventually landed! Great job, Evert!
Day 4 had us endure strong winds out of the southeast. Despite the challenging casting conditions, we still managed to convert several GTs for the day. Matt found himself in the right place, at the right time, and managed to land 2 GTs himself, while Mark pinned 2 hungry GTs from as many stingrays… His fish were found tailing next to the rays which is always a very exciting spectacle for both angler and guide. Dave and Tom added to the tally with a GT each and finally was Bruce’s impressive 93 cm catch, caught while it patrolled along a white sand beach. The fish ate his fly just a few inches from the shore and was certainly a moment of magic that Bruce will remember for a long time to come.
Day 5 was an absolute scorcher. No wind and incredible heat made fishing conditions difficult to say the least. Despite this we soldiered on and managed a handful of decent catches with both Bob and Mike managing to fool a GT each. Dennis added a splash of colour to the day’s catch report with the only Triggerfish brought to hand for the day. Though we experienced difficult fishing the seascapes we were treated too were exceptional… As has been said many times before, a day’s fishing sure does beat a day in the office!
The 6th and last day of the fishing week had us extra motivated to turn things around on the fishing front. All 4 boats headed across the atoll to the eastern side with high hopes of opportunities for the iconic species we so dearly wanted to catch. Mother nature however, had something else in mind for us and delivered a massive weather system by midmorning with incredibly dark clouds, rolling squalls, and periods of almost no wind. This made for exceptionally tricky fishing conditions, and this showed in our catch report with just 2 GTs landed for the day… 1 going to Bruce while the other fell to Dick.
All in all, the third week our season proved to be exceptionally challenging on the fishing front. A mix of hot water and difficult weather conditions culminated to produce the perfect storm so to speak… Nevertheless, we still thoroughly enjoyed exploring our favourite Seychelles fishery with our new friends and hope that they get a better set of circumstances the next time they visit us out here. As for our catch tally, we landed the following fish for the week:
- GTs – 19
- Triggerfish – 5
- Bonefish – 3
- Total tally of Grouper, Snapper, and others: 181
Till next week,
The FlyCastaway Guide Team
Ominous cloud banks and showers on the eastern horizon set the tone, weather wise, for the entire week. The first day nevertheless delivered exciting fly fishing for several of Providence’s iconic species… The GTs were out in full force, and we managed to land 11 for the day with the standout catch going to Joern when he was visited by a lunch time GT that wasted no time in grabbing a bit of lunch itself, charging the fly twice before eventually smashing the little brush fly. Joern’s beauty measured an impressive 102 cm, and was a wonderful way to get things going. Brummy, Steve, and James also enjoyed some hardcore action landing 6 between themselves when a large school of GTs were found with several sharks. Piers chipped in with a colourful Triggerfish and Peter M finally, after several years of fishing Providence, managed to land his first Bumphead Parrotfish, great job and well-deserved Peter! 
Day 3 and the weather took a turn for the worse. With little light and no wind, visibility on the flats was especially limited. Despite this we managed to catch a couple fish. Piers, Steve, James, and Peter M all landed a couple GTs. Fred, managed to land a feisty Triggerfish as well as a large Bumphead Parrotfish. Peter O added a GT and Triggerfish to the tally while his son, Jack, chipped in with a colourful Triggerfish to bring an exciting close to the day. 
The fifth day of the week delivered scratchy fishing with little returns. Peter M landed 2 GTs, Joern a single fish, while Peter O got stuck into the action on the Triggerfish front, this time landing a beautiful Yellow Margin. It was however Peter Mcleod’s day. As he waited on the edge of the atoll on the slack tide, he noticed a slight disturbance and the caught sight of the tip of a fin protruding just above the surface of the water. He quickly sent out a prospecting cast and before he could get through the third strip of his retrieve there was a massive explosion on his fly and he was tight. With line ripping off his reel in a blur and by the size of the wake caused by the fish as it tried with desperate determination to reach the open ocean everyone knew it was a giant. After a long battle the fish was eventually landed and pulled the measuring tape all the way to 113cm. A beautiful fish, and a deserved catch for Mr. Mcleod. Well done to everyone involved! 
The final day of the fishing week saw the weather continue in the same manor that had abused us for the entire week. The dark conditions and subsequent cool water on the flats however delivered incredible Bonefish fishing for the team of Peter Mcleod, Peter O, and Jack. The trio landed 23 large Bones between them for the day with the largest going to Jack when landed a massive 29-inch fish which put it in the region of 10 lbs.! A great catch for the young man! James, also landed a real beast of Bone, which was close to the 10 lb. mark while Gerry, Piers, and Joren landed the only GTs for the day. Piers, as you probably guessed it, landed another Triggerfish, this time an absolute bus of a Yellow Margin to close off the fishing for the week. 
Much to our relief the first fishing day of the season saw us enjoy bluebird skies, brilliant sunlight, and very little wind. The tides allowed us to ease into things with a slow morning push and fly fishing opportunities for a wide variety of targets including GTs, Bonefish, Triggerfish, and Permit shared amongst the group. Charlie and brother Nick shared a fantastic day on the flats together with 3 and 4 GTs landed respectively. Nick’s 4 GTs also happened to be his first ever on the fly which is a fantastic achievement. Charlie later added a large Bonefish of the 9/10 lb. caliber, ending off a wonderful opening to their trip. Elsewhere on the atoll the rest of the group did just as well with Gerald completing a flats slam which consisted of a Bonefish, Triggerfish, and GT. His boat partners Margaret, Rob each landed a GT, however a special mention for Rob who managed to land his first 2 Triggerfish on the fly. Great job Rob! TJ and Ian also landed a Trigger 
Day 2 saw the wind do a c
Day 3 had us hopeful for more action, and that’s exactly what we got. The action started on the weather front with consistent rolling squalls and strong gusts coming from the southeast. Despite the patchy light and tricky conditions for casting our guests enjoyed a fine day of flats fishing on Providence. This time, it happened to be Ian’s turn to complete a slam of 2 GTs, 2 Triggers, and a single Bone. Dale laned as many GTs as well as 4 Bonefish, one of which dropped the scale to an impressive 9,5 lb.! It was however their third boat partner who enjoyed a personal victory, smashing his PB with a staunch 100cm GT… Our hats off to you Eric. Gerry and Nick landed a GT each while team T&T (Tim and TJ) managed 3 GTs each during a busy lunchtime session. 
The halfway point of the trip, day 4, had us endure continuous rolling squalls, high altitude clouds, and little periods of sunlight. These conditions made the fishing somewhat difficult, and our guests had to capitalize on the opportunities they got during the short windows of decent visibility. The bulk of the fishing action was shared between Nick and Charlie. The pair found themselves in the right place at the right time and had several large schools of marauding GTs at their feet at different points during the day. Charlie managed to land 3 from these schools, the largest, a respectable 96cm GT, he also pined a lively Triggerfish while Nick chipped in with 2 GTs and a single Bonefish. The rest of the group soldiered on and managed several decent catches with Margaret, Dale, Tim, and TJ all successful on the GT front. Rob, however, enjoyed a particularly special moment when he landed his personal best Giant Trevally, a brute, that measured 101cm! 
Day 5 blessed us with perfect tropical weather, bright sunshine, and a slight breeze from the southeast. The standout catch of the day went to Nick, who managed to land an absolute giant of a GT. His 119cm trophy was spotted as it slowly worked its way along an exposed turtle grass finger flat, Nick’s fly went down and the fish immediately recognized it as prey, shooting forward and engulfing it before the second strip. A mad tussle ensued and due to some luck and some fancy boat work the fish was eventually landed! Charlie added to the day’s tally with another decent fish that measured 90cm while Margaret, TJ, Ian and Rob all enjoyed catches of GTs. Dale and Eric added a splash of colour to the tally with a Yellow Margin Triggerfish and Saddle Back Grouper landed respectively. 
Day 6 dawned bright and fresh. With little wind and clear skies our team headed to the flats with great anticipation of good fishing. The action was shared between TJ, Gerry, Dale, Nick and Charlie, all of whom managed to land a couple GTs. The largest of the day went to Nick when he coaxed a beautiful 96cm fish from a large coral head in the dying moments of the day. On the species front, Rob, Margaret, and Gerry enjoyed a session of productive fishing over the atoll’s expansive coral gardens landing several Bohar Snappers, Napoleon Wrasse, Grouper, and a large Saddleback. 
Day 7 saw a continuation of the flat calm weather, with the addition of a couple degrees Celsius to the days heat. The duration and intensity of the hot weather we experienced during the days prior had finally caught up with us and we experienced warm water in large areas of the atoll which had a negative effect on the fishing. On the GT front, Ian, Dale, Nick, Charlie, and Margaret all enjoyed success. TJ managed to land a massive Barracuda as well as a Napoleon while Charlie and Nick hit it out the park during a very productive session of bommie bashing catching Saddleback Grouper, Bohar, and several other novel species that call the atoll home. 
The last day of the trip saw us endure heavy cloud, rain, and the odd rumble of thunder for duration of the time we spend on the flats. Despite the tough fishing conditions, we still managed to get the odd opportunity in front of our desired targets with Nick, Ian, Rob, and Gerry all bringing GTs to hand. Our shots were taken during brief periods of the tide where we were able to spot water disturbances created by moving stingrays and tailing fish. A tough way to end the trip but we all felt satisfied that we did everything we could to find and catch fish under trying conditions. 
Large schools of Bones were found in deeper water which provided consistent action, along with a few opportunities some really big fish. No less than two double digit fish came out, one fish just breaking the 10lbs mark and the other 10.5lbs. Really impressive fish! Congrats Allisandro!
Our Permit continued to present themselves and opportunities at some incredible sight fishing throughout the week. No less than 6 fish were hooked, but thanks to some incredible ill fortune all 6 opportunities slipped away.
On the Trevally front, we had one mightily impressive encounter, when during the course of day a shoal of about 20 GTs was spotted swimming with some Nurse sharks. Giles put in a great shot and went tight, eventually landing a 96cm Indian Ocean prize. Great fish Giles…congrats!
The cold water along with some welcomed low water brought the Bones back onto the flats. Good numbers of fish in the 8lbs range, along with a couple over 9lbs including angler Derrick’s 9,5lbs trophy provided some really exciting fishing. 
The permit were however very elusive this week, with only one being landed by Ryan.
