St Brandon Blog: 23 April – 3 May 2024
The cooler water from the previous week continued into the fourth week of our season. The flats were teaming with life and our prevailing south easterly wind seemed to keep the fish happy. This week sees the tides moving out of springs into neap tides, allowing for more time on the flats targeting skinny water bonefish and tailing Indo-Pacific Permit.
The Bonefishing kicked off with many fish seen around the shallower sections of the Atoll. Although there were fewer fish seen in ankle deep water, areas with a depth below the knees made for some exciting opportunities at beautiful singles and double feeding scenarios. Micheal upgraded on his 8lb fish from the previous week landing the first double digit bone of the week which tipped the scales at just over the magical 10lb mark. The big bones were around during the week with our average fish being between 6.5lb-8lb and some fish exceeding the 9lb mark. As the week progressed and we moved into the neap tides, more big bones were seen on the flats which made for some exciting angling opportunities for our guests.
There was once again multiple Permit seen on the flats and around the islands although they proved to be quite tricky as it seemed as they were simply ignoring the flies that were presented to them. The guests had some good opportunities at tailing and feeding fish throughout the week. Michael made the most of a really great shot landing his fist Indo-Pacific Permit, a fish that had been on his bucket list for a while. He was over the moon when his 7lb fish came to hand. On the fourth day of the week, Stefan hooked into a beautiful 10.5lb permit, the excitement was through the roof as the fish slid into the net. On the last day of the week, Alex upgraded on his fish from the previous week landing a solid Permit pushing the scale just over the 12lb mark.
The Trevally fishing was a bit on the slower end this week with the tides slowing down and less water moving around. There were still multiple big Bluefin around the surf zones and the coral ridges, but they too seemed to be more focused on the baitfish than the guest’s flies. Stephan managed to get a couple of nice bluefins during the first couple of days of the week ranging from 50cm – 65cm in length. The atoll’s large GT’s were seen around a few of the southern sand spits but unfortunately the shots proved a little too tough to convert.
With our neap tides coming to an end this week and our next week starting with springs we hope to see some more Trevally around the islands, as well as some more Permit and Bonefish action on the flats. The temperatures on the flats continue to stay optimal with our prevailing south easterly winds keeping the water cool.
Our catch tally for the week:
- Bonefish- 158(1x 10lb)
- Indo-Pacific Permit- 3 ( 1×10.5lb , 1x12lb )
- Bluefin Trevally- 10
- Golden Trevally- 1
Yours in fishing,
The St Brandon’s guide team.
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.
The bonefish schooled up this week which made it a bit tougher to find them in skinny water and on the flats. We did however still manage to land some good fish, with Peter landing a beautiful fish of 9lbs. Well done Peter!
The trevally were still around in good numbers …most notably the Bluefin. Mike however managed to spot a school of GTs during one session and despite hooking up, it was the smaller fish measuring 85cm which got his fly first…oh what could have been!
The mornings provided some good bonefishing, with a couple of very nice fish caught. We unfortunately didn’t get any double-digit fish during the week but we got some double-ups on fish which is always fun.
The trevally tides were in full swing with many bluefin around keeping those rods bending and smiles all around. We managed to land one GT this week, with angler David hooking into a fish of 101cm which was landed after an intense 20 minute battle. Congrats Dave on an epic fish!
We enjoyed very good fishing for the different trevally species that call St Brandon home. The sand spits fished particularly well, with loads of sightings of large Bluefin and GTs smashing bait along their shorelines. Eugene found himself in the thick of the action here too, landing the one and only GT for the week, an incredibly strong fish that measured 100cm.
This week saw our guests enjoy the fly fishing experience St Brandon’s is most famous for; skinny water bonefishing. With cool water and loads of hungry bones around, our guests got stuck into the action from the moment their boots hit the white sand. Typical encounters included fishing for the bonefish while they tailed and worked their way up the gradual taper of the flats with the morning’s pushing tide. With productive fishing sessions enjoyed by everyone, we managed to rack up a very respectable catch tally for the week. As for the big fish, our standout catch on this front went to Trent when he hooked into a silver missile that not only ran him into the backing several times but also tipped the scales at 10 lbs! Great job, Trent!
Permit fishing is a cruel pursuit and although we had our shots, were only able to get 3 of these elusive creatures to hand for the week. Justin was the only fisherman this week who could convince the fish to pounce on a fly and he landed all 3 himself, 1 of which was a genuine trophy, weighing in at 15,5 lb! He managed to pick up this beauty while it followed a large stingray near a storm ridge. A very special catch late in the day. Well done Justin!
We experienced decent action on the trevally front as well, with favourable conditions in the way of good light and loads of baitfish found around the landmasses. This set us up nicely and we enjoyed several shots at large Giant Trevally. 1 of our anglers enjoyed all the spoils here, landing 2 beautiful fish, 1 of which stretched the measuring tape all the way to 105cm.
