St Brandon Blog: 1 – 11 April 2019
St Brandon Blog: 1 – 11 April 2019
The opening week of the April – May 2019 St Brandon season kicked off with our guests experiencing warmer than normal conditions. Nevertheless they managed to land some impressive fish during the opening week.
The bonefishing proved to be tricky in the beginning of the week due to the warmer, calmer conditions. As the week continued the bonefishing really picked up with good numbers landed and a solid average of 5lbs. Despite the warmer than normal conditions a fair number of bigger fish were landed by Mike, Mike V and Riaan who all managed to get big 7lb Bones to the net. Mike V landed the Bonefish of the week with a cracking 8lb fish that was caught while it tailed in skinny water on a sand flat.
We had multiple shots at the atoll’s famous Indo-Pacific Permit this week. A few moments of frustration and heartache were experienced as we hooked and lost 3 Permit. Despite the lows of losing these Permit, the atoll provided us with more opportunities and we ended the week with 4 Permit landed. Douglas landed his first Indo on fly this week when he hooked a Permit that was feeding on the back of a stingray. Gavin also landed his first Indo-Pacific Permit this week on the last day of the trip, his 5lb fish was found tailing on a coral ridge in the surf, when the fish saw his crab it moved without hesitation and quickly tailed on the fly. Mike landed a beautiful 8lb fish on one of our famous Permit Spots whilst Riaan landed the biggest Permit of the week, it was also his first ever Permit landed on fly. His fin perfect 9lb fish was spotted cruising along a marl ridge and with an accurate back cast he made it happen! Well done guys, they are special fish and we’re glad we could be there to see you all catch your first Indo-Pacific Permit.
The warmer conditions meant that there were loads of Trevally encountered around the atoll this week. With numerous shots at large Bluefin Trevally, the notable catches were the two solid Bluefin caught by Mike and Riaan. The atolls large Giant Trevally were out in force this week with multiple fish seen everyday. We had a number of great opportunities to catch these brutes with 3 hooked for the week, however we only managed to land 1. Gavin hooked and landed a massive 124cm fish that was found part of a school of over 25. He made a great cast ahead of the school and with 6 strips the fish raced over and inhaled the fly. After a 20 minute fight the fish was brought to hand and after a quick photo session it was safely released. The GTs on St Brandon are large and elusive creatures and will test even the most skilled anglers. Well done on your fish of a lifetime Gavin, it’s a memory that will stay with you forever.
That wraps up the first week of 2019 on St Brandon. We’re looking forward to seeing what the rest of the season has in store for us.
The St Brandon guide team.
On the species front we enjoyed excellent fishing with several Napoleon Wrasse, Bohar Snapper, Marbled Grouper and Camouflage Grouper landed. A special mention for Alexander who landed an 80cm Golden Trevally as well as a 75cm Bonefish, Well done Alexander!
Day 1 – We began the week with an early morning neap high tide, with little water movement experienced the entire day we were able to spend large periods of time on the flats. The fish were seen in good numbers with some decent quality GTs coming to hand; David, who is a first-timer to the Seychelles, hooked 5 GTs but unfortunately lost all of them. Brummy, who has fished with us a few times before, really made the most of his opportunities and managed to land an amazing fish which measured 110cm, well done Brummy! Joern, Tim, Peter and Fred all managed to get one on the board for the day. All in all, a great start to the week and we look forward to what the rest of the week has in store.
Day 4 – Today turned out to be a very special day for Maria as she finally managed to tick the Holy Grail off her list by landing a beautiful 13lb Indo-Pacific Permit. This fish was hooked from a school of roughly 10 fish as they tailed their way across the flats. One cast, a couple of strips and the rest is history. Well done Maria, a truly special fish!
Day 5 – We began day 5 with a slow pushing neap tide and great light. The GTs were everywhere, with fish seen on the turtle grass flats tailing next to stingrays. Peter managed to land yet another 100cm GT, while Jim managed to bag two special fish; one of 90cm and the other coming in at 105cm. All the guests experienced amazing fishing for the day and the sight of big fork tails are stuck in our mind as we reminisce on yet another amazing day of fishing. John also managed to land his first Bumphead Parrotfish which is a great achievement, well done sir. On the blue water front Tim managed to hook and land his first ever Sailfish on fly, great job Tim!
Our Bumpies were seen in good numbers this week and although we had loads of hookups we only managed to land two, John and Yerlan getting one a piece.
Day 1 – The GTs were around in good numbers today with Kelly breaking the ice and landing our first of the season. Ivan, Scott and Kelvin also managed to land their first for the trip, Kelvin’s fish a very special one in that it was his first ever GT on fly. Kyle started his trip off with a bang landing 2 for the day, whilst Ryan had a superb day landing 3 fish. On the species front Scott landed a beautiful Yellow Margin Triggerfish but it was the late afternoon Milkfishing that stole the show. We found large shoals feeding just beneath the surface and not far from the Dugong’s anchorage. Ivan, Ryan and Kelly all capitalized on the action, each of them landing their first ever Milkfish. Well done guys! A great first day of the season and exciting signs for the remaining days of week 1 on Providence Atoll.
Day 2 – We started our day on the flats with a couple hours of a small neap dropping tide, followed later by a slow rising tide at midday. The GTs greeted us in decent numbers with Mike and Dick both landing their first for the trip. Kyle, Kelly, Ryan and Kelvin all landed good quality fish but it was Ivan and Scott who stole the show with two fish each. Well done guys. We experienced some great Bonefishing today with Kelvin’s 22-inch fish the nicest of the bunch. Good numbers of Triggerfish and Bumphead Parrotfish were encountered during periods of the day. However it was the late afternoon Milkfishing that once again grabbed our attention. Multiple hook ups were experienced, sadly however Ryan’s second fish for the week was the only one that made it to the net. The group is clearly having a blast and we are looking forward to what the rest of the week has in store.
Day 3 – We began the day with a good dropping tide in the morning and a solid push in the afternoon. As expected, the GTs continued to present us with great opportunities. Kelly landed a bunch whilst Mike enjoyed a stellar day by getting three to hand. A couple larger fish were encountered today, Scott’s beautiful 99cm fish and Ryan’s 113cm brute rounding off yet another very successful day. The Milkfish continued to provide some really exciting fishing, however we were unable to land the numerous fish that were hooked.
Day 4 – The GT fishing impressed again, providing our guests with numerous opportunities as well as a couple shots at some real giants. The highlights today included Ivan’s 104cm trophy and Kyle’s absolute monster which stretched the tape to 115cm. Congratulations Kyle, certainly a fish of a lifetime! The Milkfish continued to provide exciting late afternoon sessions, Dick showed great composure and landed his 1st ever Milkfish on fly after losing a couple earlier in the week. Congrats Dick!
Day 6 – No changes here and some great fish coming to hand during our 6th day out. A huge congrats to Kelly on an unforgettable fish which measured 109cm and to Kelvin who celebrated his birthday by landing an awesome 104cm fish. Another great day out on the wild flats of Providence Atoll.
We enjoyed good Tiggerfishing this week with 3 coming to hand. 1 each for Sandro , Jaromir and David. Our Bumpie fishing provided us with numerous opportunities and hookups. Despite the constant action we only managed to get 2 to hand, A 58cm fish for Nadim and a monster 105cm fish for Steve.
The outstanding fishing continued with 20 Triggerfish hooked, sadly only 6 coming to hand but still some truly exciting skinny water fishing. Of the 11 Bumpies hooked our first of the season was landed by Olafur, well done Oli!
The Species fishing was good with our first Yellowfin Tuna of the season landed by angler Matt. A couple of Dogtooth Tuna and Jobfish added to the bluewater tally. The numerous Grouper species caught throughout the duration of the week such as Bohar Snapper, African Marbled Grouper and
This week we enjoyed generally calm conditions throughout the week, with blue bird skies and very little wind. Visibility was good and the days heated up quickly. On the last day of fishing we did however experience a morning squall but it passed by 9:30am and it was back to fishing as usual shortly after. Early on during the week we had neap tides with early morning lows, whilst towards the end of the week we experienced midday lows as we moved into spring tides.
14 GTs were landed this week out of the 36 fish we hooked. Angler Brian landed the largest fish with a specimen of 92cm, he also landed the most with a tally of 4 to his name. Brothers Wes and George landed their first GTs, whilst Mike completed a Slam with a GT, a Trigger and a Bonefish all successfully landed in the same day.
The Bonefish fishing this week was great with all anglers landing multiple Bones. Large schools of fish were seen cruising the flats with one school of up to 2000 fish seen! Anglers Brian, Gary, Geoffrey, Joe and George all landed Bonefish over 60cm with the largest measuring just under 70cm.
Our species fishing was great! 3 Triggerfish were brought to hand this week out of the 12 we hooked, and despite us hooking 5 Bumpies sadly none were landed. Anthony landed a Napoleon Wrasse whilst Alex landed a very special Farquhar Permit. Congratulations! 4 Dogtooth tuna were landed (the biggest 20kg), several Rainbow Runners as well as Grouper up to 81cm. Out of the ordinary Jonathan also managed to land a 9 foot Nurse Shark after it ate his grouper!
Day 3 – The GTs were around in really good numbers. Saul landed his first GT for the trip. A short while later he landed a second, this fish charging off a stingray and ate the fly so close to him that the fish just about bit the end of his fly rod! A lovely 92cm GT, well done Saul. Dale also managed to hook and land an awesome fish that was sitting stationery just off the edge of a sand bank. This fished missed the fly twice before eventually engulfing the whole thing. Allan and Mike enjoyed the good fishing too by landing a GT each. Mike added a lively Sailfish to his list whilst Jim also landed his first ever Sailfish on fly. Well done Jim!
Day 4 – Although we had a number of shots at some really special fish today, we unfortunately didn’t make the most of these opportunities. Mike and Allen, however kept their good run going by landing a couple GTs each. The species fishing however continued to impress. Amongst others there were good catches of various Groupers, Emperors, Snappers and Bluefin Trevally which always bring a smile to those interested in the lesser known species of Providence Atoll.
Day 5 – Dale and Mike landed two GTs each for the day while Allan almost broke the meter mark with a beautiful GT of 98cm. This fish launched out of the water to eat his fly and then tore off into a channel that was full of coral heads. After some quick boat work, the fly line was freed from the snags and the fish was landed, photographed and sent back to see another day. Jim also managed to get a GT to his name whilst Pat chipped in with a fine GT to end the day. We hooked and lost quite a few fish today, but it was encouraging to see good numbers of fish on the flats.
Day 6 – Both Mark and Pat started their final day on the flats in style by landing a GT each. Team Mike and Allen enjoyed fine fishing with the pair landing two GTs each as well. The species fishing too was great, with loads of big Groupers and Snappers coming to hand. This was a fun week which was definitely enjoyed by all. With that we concluded our final week of the 2018 season. It was a memorable one and we look forward to our next stint in March 2019 on the atoll. Our fish tally for the week was as follows:
Day 1 – The GTs were seen in good numbers on the flats with some really great fish coming to hand. Dick who had fished the Seychelles before but hadn’t landed a GT yet managed to get it done within the first 20 mins after hooking an awesome fish cruising on the back of a stingray. Skip managed to get a fish of a lifetime in the deep south dungeons of the atoll, his beautiful GT measuring 117cm. The action continued with a second fish of a meter plus landed by Bjorn. At 103cm, it was his new personal best. There were also some Triggerfish and Bonefish seen moving around the flats, but we looked forward to fishing to them later in the week.
Day 6 – We were treated to some awesome Bonefishing with shots at large single fish tailing in skinny water. The GTs were around in decent numbers as well, however the overcast conditions made it tricky to spot them in time. Mike did not let anything stop him on the last day and managed to get a couple GTs to hand. Dick also made the most of his last day on the flats by landing an incredible Moustache Triggerfish and finally he added a beautiful Sailfish to his catch list for the week. This meant two new species for Dick on the last day, well done! Thank you to everyone who joined us this week, we had loads of fun on the flats and look forward to catching more great fish together in the future. Our fish tally for the week was:
