Providence blog: 13 – 20 April 2021
Providence blog: 13 – 20 April 2021
Week 2 of the Providence Atoll April 2021 fly fishing season saw us welcome a group of 9 anglers, most of whom were Providence regulars. Brimming with the excitement of being some of the first few to visit the atoll in a little over a year, we set to work preparing their gear for the flats fishing action the following 6 days had in store for us.
The first morning dawned calm and still. A midday spring tide low provided us the rare opportunity of exploring the eastern side of the atoll. Our plan paid dividends as the group enjoyed a great day on the flats with everyone opening their Giant Trevally account for the week and a total of 23 GTs landed on day 1. Rod managed to land our first meter plus fish of the week, a beautiful GT that measured 102cm. A special mention must also go to Stephane who experienced a cracking first day out, landing 14 GTs during the day. As always, the various grouper and snapper species added to the diverse flats fishing experience with most of the group enjoying the raw power of these beautifully colored powerhouses.
The second morning dawned with a slightly stiffer south-easterly breeze and with another midday low tide. The boats set off for the day with the focus on working the outer rim of the atoll. A total of 13 GTs were landed for the day, Valter landing his biggest GT on the fly of 103cm. Well done, Valter! Tony danced with one of the atoll’s fabled jumbo-sized GTs, unfortunately an inconveniently placed coral head meant that the fight was over in mere seconds, fly line, and all lost in the chaos that followed the hook set.
The third morning saw darkened skies, rain, and a stiff south-easterly. The reduced visibility meant we had to focus on areas that would provide visuals in the way of bow waking or tailing GTs on the flats. A total of 11 GTs came to hand with Tony landing a brute of 106cm. Tony’s trophy was spotted as it tailed hard on the flat thus marking its position. Following a well-placed cast, a massive bow wake whizzed through the shallow water to take his fly. Well done Tony! The late afternoon Milkfish action continued and this time it was Mark’s turn to go 12 rounds with the incredibly powerful Milkfish. After acrobatic leaps, fast runs, and some fancy footwork around the skiff, Mark successfully landed his first-ever Milk on the fly, well done Mark!
The fourth day continued with darkened skies and persistent rolling squalls which made spotting fish over dark turtle grass challenging. The limited visibility on the flats resulted in just 4 GTs landed for the day. Stephane did however manage to land the first triggerfish for the week after shooting a precise cast to an energetic Yellow Margin. Upon seeing the fly, the fish wiggled and danced on it, eventually pinning it to the bottom resulting in a successful hookup.
The fifth day saw a move of the mothership to allow for easier access to the flats better suited for the neap tides and the tailing species that prefer a reduced amount of current over the flats. A total of 5 GTs were also landed for the day. Steve landed his biggest GT on the fly while drifting the edge of a lagoon. The shot required a short, fast presentation which Steve nailed. Two strips and the fish blasted forward and engulfed his fly. Following a tug of war that only GTs can offer, Steve’s fish finally came to hand and measured 105cm. Well done, Steve! The tailing fish species were about in good numbers and provided good fishing during the late afternoon incoming tide. A total of 13 Bones were landed, the average size in the 6-7lb range. Tony and Stephane both landed triggerfish late in the day bringing an end to day 5 on the flats.
The final day of the fishing week saw a return to relative normality on the weather front with clear skies and a strong south-easterly. We experienced an afternoon neap tide low which resulted in a consistent covering of water on the flats. A total of 10 GTs were landed on the final day. Michael managed to tame the biggest of the week that measured 109cm. His fish was hooked after 3 black shapes were spotted moving with purpose over a turtle grass flat. Michael placed the fly ahead of the lead fish, causing all three fish to charge the fly, fortunately, the largest of the pack getting to the fly first. A wonderful way to close out the week on the GT front. Well done, Mike! The neap tides provided another day of productive fishing for the tailing species with a total of 25 bonefish landed for the day. Steve enjoyed a particularly golden streak landing 11 bonefish himself with an average of 7 pounds. 2 wily Triggerfish were brought to hand with one completing a slam for Peter, well done Peter! Michael riding high after his big GT in the morning went onto land his first Bumphead Parrotfish and a few Bonefish completing a flats slam in the process. Talk about closing out the week in style, well done Mike!
A busy week on the flats of Providence provided us all with moments of flats fishing magic. Although the weather made conditions tricky at times, we enjoyed several special catches and busy sessions with our guests. As always, it was a pleasure to share the wild adventure that is Providence with all who joined us for week 2 of the season.
Our catch tally for week 2 was:
- GTs – 66 (4 meter plus fish)
- Bumpies – 2
- Triggerfish – 4
- Milkfish – 1
- Bonefish – 38
Until next week,
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!
The first day dawned with excitement and a slight south easterly breeze. With an early morning low tide the boats were straight onto the flats and with that the GTs came. Chris, Christiaan, Tom, Shiloh, Nic, Jordan and Jeorg managed to open their GT accounts, with Tom landing a great fish of 96cm and Chris landing a fish of an even 90cm. The Bumpies were up on the flats and Nic, John, Ron and Joerg manged to each land a fish. A special mention goes to Joerg, who, after landing a GT and Bumpy, managed to land an impressive 141cm Barracuda on the flat. With the water high on the flats later in the day we enjoyed a Sailfish session, with Tom and Joerg both landing a fish each before the day came to a close.
The second morning saw another enthusiastic start and the rewards were reaped as Tom, Chris, Shiloh, Jordan and Christiaan all landed GTs. A special mention goes to Christiaan and Jordan who managed to land twin GTs of 118cm each; Christiaan spotting his fish late on into the pushing tide crossing a turtle grass apex, he managed to present the fly in the perfect place and the big fish engulfed the fly on a second attempt. Jordan’s fish was an exceptional tale of the magic of Providence. After teasing up a sailfish offshore he presented his fly to the fish, it was engulfed as it landed but instead of the customary Sailfish jumps, the fish sounded and after a tug of war was brought up to the side of the boat. He rounded off his remarkable day by managing to pick a Moustache Triggerfish out of a school of tailing Bumpies.
The fourth day dawned clear and breezy. With some higher water on the flats in the morning, the boats had access into the unique inner lagoon systems of Providence. It proved to be fruitful as Joerg, Giles, Shiloh, Jordan, Nic, Tom and Joe managed to all land GTs. Tom finally being able to break the one-meter mark with a beautiful fish who was bow waking in super skinny water. Joerg managed to continue his stellar week landing 4 GTs before lunchtime. With access to the lagoons there is the potential for amazing Triggerfish fishing, and this was the case as Christiaan managed to land 3 Yellow Margin Triggers and Mike managing to get his first Moustache Triggerfish as well.
With the tides starting to move towards the neaps, the fifth day brought some more lagoon fishing. A total of 8 GTs came to hand with congratulations going out to Mike, Joe, Christiaan, Jordan and Ron. Christiaan managed to land another Yellow Margin Triggerfish and Shiloh managed his first Triggerfish. This was welcomed with great excitement after many previous disappointments. Joerg tamed another Sailfish in the morning to add to his incredible week.
Day 7 dawned breezy again but with the mothership moored close to the flats the boats spread out for another day of fishing. A total of 8 GTs were landed, a special mention going again to Jeorg who managed a beautiful fish of 106cm. He wasn’t done there though and managed to land his first Yellow Margin Triggerfish, almost completing his list of targeted species. It was a day for the tailing species and after landing two GTs Chris managed to land 2 Bumpies as well, finally catching a Bonefish to round off the slam. Christiaan also managed a slam, landing a GT, a Bonefish and 2 Triggers. John ticked the Yellow Margin Triggerfish off of his list to round off another stellar day out on the atoll.
Dark skies and gloomy weather greeted us on the last morning of the trip. After launching off the mothership a large school of Milkfish were found feeding for the first time this week. The boats quickly got into position and it wasn’t long before Giles managed to hook and quickly land his first Milkfish. After a few near misses, Tom and Christiaan managed to land their first Milks as well. A few pods of GTs were found in the eastern coral gardens and Joe, John and Mike managed to land 4 fish. A special mention goes to Mike whose fish came in at 102cm. With the high cloud cover the water on the flats cooled off and brought with it some epic Bonefishing. A great session was had on the falling afternoon tide. With the fish tailing hard, Shiloh, Nic, Christiaan, Joe, John and Mike capitalized, landing many fish. Christiaan and Shiloh managed to land two great fish both going 10 pounds, a great way to round off the first week of the season.
Another fantastic week of flats fishing has come to an end on Farquhar. We enjoyed great weather, with lower wind speeds and clear skies providing great sight fishing conditions.Tidal wise we start on neaps which built towards a new moon spring tide. This provided a variety of wading opportunities as well as large movements of water in and out of the atoll as the week went on.
Besides the great GT fishing, the rest of the flat’s species were active. Six Triggerfish were landed, including Craig’s personal best 60cm Yellow Margin. Mike landed a massive Moustache Trigger of 56cm. Colin got a 54cm Moustache Trigger which was his first and to top it off Jarret managed a Yellow Margin and a Moustache in the same day!
Thirty-four Bonefish were brought to hand during the week, the largest being a huge 68 x 38cm fish landed by Eric. Also, a big shout to Eric on his first ever Indo Pacific Permit…what a special fish! A personal best Bonefish was also landed by Colin.
The Permit were also around in decent numbers this week and we managed to get the guys into some really good opportunities, from tailing and cruising fish on the flats to fish high riding off sand banks and island structures, we had it all. A huge congratulations goes out to Andrew for managing to get it done, his 9lb fish slowly dropping down the flat when he presented the fly. The fish initially seemed to spook off the fly, but another cast was made, and the fish made no hesitations in inhaling the crab imitation second time round. Unfortunately, we did however lose a hooked Permit this week which is never nice, but that’s fishing and that’s why each fish landed is a special experience.
Good numbers of Giant Trevally were also around on the flats this week. We encountered fish riding on the back of Nurse sharks, big schools and single fish marauding bonefish in the shallows…any of these scenarios nail bitingly exciting. As it goes, we managed to have a few eat the fly as well as some missed opportunities, but Chris has done this before and managed to get it done with a gorgeous fish which measured 102cm! Well done Chris! Wessel also managed to get his 1stGt ever on a fly rod with a great 96cm fish, a really big fish for your first ever GT! The Bluefin Trevally were also around in decent numbers. Andrew managed to get a great fish which measured a whopping 78cm, congrats on yet another great fish. Bill also managed to get his 1st Bluefin Trevally on a fly rod this week adding to his species list. The golden Trevally were around in great numbers with Bill, Randy and Neil all managing to tick the box on this wonderful flats fishing species.
