Farquhar: 5-12 Oct 2018
Farquhar Blog: 5-12 October 2018
Our second week of the season brought with it clear skies and a fairly strong south easterly. Added to this we had some really nice tides, our guests enjoying the prime periods of the dropping and pushing tides.
The Bonefishing was solid through the week, all our guests enjoying some great sport on the light rod including some bigger Bones of between 65 – 78cm. Things were a bit tougher on the Bumpy front, we only managed to hook one of the gentle green giants but thankfully we did land it. The species fishing however continued to impress with some really large Grouper, Bohar Snapper, Bluefin Trevally as well as a Napoleon Wrasse being successfully landed. GT wise we had a solid week hooking 18 fish and landing 11, but it was the Triggerfishing which really left its mark when all 7 of the fish we hooked were actually landed. This is an incredible feat as this species is notoriously difficult to keep attached to. Things offshore seem to be picking up and although we didn’t land any we did hooks two Sails.
Well known South African angler and owner of Mavungana Fly Fishing Jonathan Boulton who was hosting group of guests on the week landed a solid 82cm GT, a 52cm Moustache Trigger as well a tank 78cm Bonefish on the notables front. Brothers Warren and Craig had a great week fishing together, Warren landing two GT’s as well as a Dogtooth Tuna of 120cm to go along with numerous double ups on Bones and Bluefin with Craig who landed a few sizable Bluefin himself.
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.
Mike had a solid week on Farquhar landing GT’s of 73cm and 76c, as well as a 52cm Moustache Trigger. His boat partner Stephen flew in from the U.S to try and add to the impressive list of species he had caught on a particular fly he invented called “The Bouncer”. With Farquhar offering an incredible array of species it came as no surprise when he added 21 new species to “The Bouncer” by the end of the trip. He also landed Moustache Triggers of 40cm and 58cm, as well as a Yellow Margin Trigger of 52cm. Congrats Steve!
All in all, it was a pretty solid week with a really great bunch of guys who we would like to thank for joining us.
Until next week.
The Farquhar Guide Team
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- Farquhar Atoll – Seychelles www.flycastaway.com info@flycastaway.com
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- DCIM100GOPROGOPR0725.
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- Farquhar Atoll – Seychelles www.flycastaway.com info@flycastaway.com
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- Farquhar Atoll – Seychelles www.flycastaway.com info@flycastaway.com
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- Farquhar Atoll – Seychelles www.flycastaway.com info@flycastaway.com
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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.
The second week of the September – November 2018 season on St Brandon was an extended trip with guests spending 9 days out on the flats with us. The Bonefishing was slightly more patchy than normal although there were still plenty of world class sessions. We enjoyed another solid 6lb average for the week but many fish in the 7 – 8,5lb range were still landed. One of the more notable fish was Eugene’s 9.5lb specimen which caught as it snuck onto the flat from the lagoon. Mike however landed our two biggest fish of the week, his first fish of 11lbs caught on a huge sand flat and his second, a very fat 10.5lb fish after initially being spotted snaking up a turtle grass edge. The fish tried to eat the fly twice before crushing it and tearing off towards the horizon. A double-digit Bone is a very special achievement and to catch 2 in a trip is just amazing, well done Mike!
The Permit fishing we experienced during the nine days was nothing short of spectacular. With fourteen Permit landed during the trip this group of guests have now broken our previous record of twelve fish during a trip. Tim and Patito both caught solid 10lb fish each, Eugene landed three for the week including his first ever Indo Pacific Permit when he landed a fin perfect 6lb fish. His second and third fish were both weighed at 9.5lbs. Zack landed two Permit for the week, his first Indo Pacific ever came in at 7.5lbs and his second was a trophy 11.5lb fish. Zack’s first fish was not only special because it was his first Indo Pacific but it was also part of a Permit double up with his good friend Sandflea. This is only the second time ever on St. Brandon’s where a Permit double has happened, and it is truly an occasion that neither of them or their guide ever forget. As for Sandflea, the fish he caught in the double up was his second for the day and one of seven Permit he landed in during the trip. His fish weighed in at 9.5lb, 10lb, 4lb, 12lb, 11.5lb, 5lb and a massive 17lber. Just catching one Permit can be tricky at best but catching 7 in a trip and to be part of a double up is testament to skill level Mr Sandflea has at his disposal!
The first trip for the September – November 2018 season on St Brandon’s got off to a cracking start with some phenomenal Bonefishing. Both numbers and average sizes were impressive, the large numbers of fish found in shallow water reconfirming to our guests why St Brandon is so highly thought of in the Bonefishing world. On top of this we landed ten fish over 8lbs, three of over 9.5lbs and one trophy fish of 10.5lbs, Randy’s monster hooked whilst it’s back was out of the water. Randy presented his shrimp, the fish rushed over and crushed the fly before speeding off to the horizon. What a special fish!
The amount of Indo Pacific Permit seen out on the atoll during the trip was nothing short of staggering. The guests enjoyed multiple shots each day at these highly sought-after fish, but as can be expected with Permit, it didn’t always go to plan as there were a few eats that didn’t stick and fish coming unbuttoned during the fight. Fortunately, we did put six Permit into the net before the trip came to end. Randy fished really well and in the end was rewarded with fish of 4lb, 5lb and one of 10lb. Ferdie also got stuck into the Permit action with a perfect 5,5lb fish, however the biggest Permit for the week went to Andre who landed a 10,5lb fish that was feeding into some heaving current despite the shallow water. ‘Dre’ sent out a pin-point cast and the fish followed for 10 feet before inhaling the crab. After a tense and dogged fight, the fish was slid into the net and the celebrations began. Andre also added to his Permit tally on the last day of the trip with a stunning 4lb fish. Great job!
Day one started off with good numbers of fish coming to hand with a few schools of GTs midway on the atoll. Congrats to Patricio, Jose, Hill, Paul and Watts for managing to capitalize on their first GTs ever on the fly, well done guys! We also experienced some insane skinny water Bone fishing on the north eastern side of the atoll, with fish averaging 6+lb. The Triggers were also around in good numbers, as we are on the last few days of the neap tide, with Jeff managing to get not only his first, two Triggers to hand and Bryan also managing one for the day, great job guys!
The second day proceeded to deliver the goods with Patricio achieving a grand slam with a GT, his first Bumpy and Giant Triggerfish plus a solid Bonefish to put the cherry on top, great job! Jose also managed to land his first Yellow Margin Trigger and Bryan getting his first Bumpy to hand. Mark and Jeff also got it done to land their first GTs on fly, with Mark getting two to hand for the day getting the skunk off and putting them in the zone for the days that lay ahead. The week delivered us with some great shots at a lot of different species and the guys did a great job.
Hunter, after a few days of bad luck on the GT front, capitalized on his opportunities and landed three in one day, getting the monkey off his back. Jeff on the final day, after chasing Bumpies all week ended in style with a GT to start the day, a Giant Triggerfish later on and shortly after landing a well-conditioned Bumpy to complete his slam, well done Jeff!
The Milkfish were also around this week, but won the battle until, José finally managed to get one in the net on the final day after an hour fight before finally giving up. All in all it was a solid week with a lot of fish moving around giving the anglers good opportunities at a diverse range of species. This week gave them the true Indian Ocean flats experience. Most importantly a great time was had by all and with a lot of unforgettable moments throughout the week.
Calm conditions greeted the first group of guests for the 2018 April – June St Brandon’s season. With some warm water around at the start of the week the Bone fishing proved to be quite tough yet the guests still managed to land some great fish during their trip. The conditions improved as the week went on and thanks to some windier days and mid morning lows there was some phenomenal skinny water Bone fishing enjoyed later in the week with a solid 6.5lb average coming to hand. Rich had a great trip catching his largest ever Bonefish with 2 8.5lb fish. John and Eugenie got stuck into some really big fish, landing a 9lb and 9.5lb fish respectively. The Bonefish of the week has to go to Shaun who after landing 23 fish in a single session managed to get an absolute beast Bonefish and the first 10lb-er of the season.
During the week the guests enjoyed many shots at the Atoll’s famed Indo Pacific Permit and by day four 7 had been hooked but the fish had the final say. It was not all doom and gloom as 3 Permit were landed during the week. Rich continued his hot streak with his first ever Indo Pacific Permit of 3lbs. Brian got in on the Permit action too, landing a respectable 5lb fish that was tailing on a marl ridge around an island in the north. There are good numbers of Permit seen on Raphael island every season and Dave managed to land an 8lb fish right next to where the fisherman moor their boats behind the island.
The warmer conditions meant that there were many of the Atoll’s Trevally around and the guests enjoyed some amazing fishing. Many large GTs were around, harassing baitfish and bonefish alike. Brian Noyes managed to hook one of these brutes on the very first day only for the hook to pull mid fight, tough luck Brian! We have been seeing large numbers of Golden Trevally tailing aggressively amongst schools of Bonefish and John took full advantage when he hooked and landed a beast 14lb Golden while fishing to a very large Bone fish. Shaun had a cracking week and added a 12lb and 15lb Golden to his double digit Bone from earlier in the week. The Bluefin Trevally on St Brandons were ever present and although there weren’t many landed during the first week there were some notable catches from Rich who landed a 69cm fish that was hunting in a pack behind a Nurse Shark in a coral garden at the edge of a flat. Dave landed the largest Trevally of the week when he hooked an aggressive 78cm Bluefin that was terrorizing baitfish in a lagoon. The fish smashed the fly and proceeded to tear off into the distance taking many metres of backing with it.
After arriving on the island, our guests were shown to their accommodation and then we got straight down to business with a safety briefing and tackle setup. The guests were then free to fish for the afternoon on the North Island. Nicholas made the most of it landing a tank 110cm GT which set the tone for the week. Great job Nicholas!
Our guests during the rest of their time on the atoll enjoyed loads of opportunities at GTs with 37 fish hooked, of which 24 were landed. Whitney and Sarah really got stuck in, Whitney landing 4 Geets for the week (77cm, 83cm, 85cm and a 98cm specimen on the final day) and wife Sarah landing 2 small GTs along with a solid 72cm fish.
Wayne landed the biggest Bumpy of the week with a fish 105cm, as well as a really pretty 80cm GT. Dean managed 2 fish of 72cm and 83cm respectively while Jeff had to wait until the last day to land his first GT. He also had the incredible fortune of landing 3 Napoleon Wrasse on one day, the fish measuring 55cm, 57cm and 62cm fish.
Jean-Christophe and friend Francios had a solid week racking up the numbers of species including some great Bonefishing. Francois also landed 3 GT’s, 70, 75, 75cm. After starting his week off with that impressive 110 cm fish, Nicholas went on to land 3 more GT’s (78cm, 80cm and 81cm) and lose 2 fish to snapped fly lines. He also landed a really solid 64cm Bonefish.
Peter had a great week landing 5 GT’s, including fish of 75cm, 80cm, 81cm as well a tank 114cm fish on the last day in the surf. Andre too was on top form this week, landing the only Trigger for the week (a Moustache Trigger of 52cm) as well as a solid Bumpy of 93cm. He also got stuck into the GTs, hooking up with numerous fish and successfully landing fish of 72cm, 82cm, 85cm and the biggest fish of the week which stretched the tape at 118cm. It was a fin perfect GT caught during a surf walk on the final day. Well done Andre!
Our guests got solid numbers of Bones this week as well and over the high water periods we enjoyed some great species bashing. The Bumpies were around in the early parts of the week but as the low tide depths increased, conditions became less optimal for Bumpies and Triggers. All in all, it was however a great week to be a part of and we would like to thank all our guests for coming out to fish this incredible fishery with us!
The first day of our fourth trip of the season started off solidly with good numbers of fish on the flats. Shamal, who is no novice when it comes to landing big fish got the monkey off his back with a solid GT of 101cm, whilst his teammates Deon and Mike also got in on the action before the first day came to a close.
The opening day will however be remembered for a very special fish, Lee’s 120cm certainly the biggest fish of it’s species we are aware of coming out on the fly. Congrats Lee! John who was only 16 years old had a great time with the multitude of species Prov has to offer, whilst Matt, Hal and Spencer all new to the Indian Ocean managed to get their first ever GTs on fly during our first day out.
Hal came in with an amazing fish on the second day, his 109cm GT our second metre plus fish for the week. Jim too joined the GT club with his first GT on the fly and when Lee landed his first GT on fly, everyone had ticked the box.
Shamal had one fish that he really wanted to tick off his bucket list. So when he landed a rare Saddle Back Grouper his excitement was audible for all to hear, The Milkfish were a bit scarce this week, although a few Sailies and large numbers of Yellowfin Tuna busting up bait provided some exciting blue water action.
This week we experienced a full moon spring tide which brought about large tidal fluctuations. With mid-morning low tides to start the week and a midday low tide to end the week our guests were able to fish a full drop and a full push, giving them ample opportunities on the flats. On top of this we enjoyed stable weather, moderate southerly winds and cool water throughout the week which provided ideal conditions. Our guests really capitalised with 35 GT’s being hooked, 23 of them being landed and photographed. Well done everyone!
There were loads of Triggers on the flats as well, our guests hooking 17 and landing 7. The Bumpies also provided some great sport play but like the GTs and Triggers not all hooked fish resulting in a fish being landed. Two of these very special were however brought to hand an provided great excitement to angler and guide alike.
As for the Bones, solid numbers came to hand including a few large specimens. The species fishing during the high water periods plan with some large Grouper, Bohar Snapper and Green Jobfish coming to hand. All in all we enjoyed an excellent week on Farquhar, with loads of fish seen throughout the week. There were large pods of tailing Bumpies, GTS on stingrays and surfing in on waves, good numbers of tailing Triggers and plenty of Bones.
Day 1 started off straight into the goods, with great numbers of GT’s landed, Joe a 1st timer to the Seychelles not only getting his first GT on fly but also breaking the meter mark with a cracking fish of 101cm. Warwick who has been anticipating this trip for a good while, also managed to get rid of the skunk on his first day of the trip with a well-conditioned GT, with Mark also getting the hit 1st ever on the fly. This is always a privilege to be a part of!
The Triggers and Bumpies were around in decent numbers considering we are moving into the full moon spring tides. Vadim capitalised and was super chuffed when he landed his 1st Bumpy, whilst Andre managed to land his 1st Triggerfish. The Bonefish too were around in great numbers tailing in skinny water, the fish which averaged a respectable 6lbs keeping the reels singing and the chaps happy!
The rest of the week was nothing short of crazy with some impressive fish coming to hand. Andre had returned to the atoll for more of the addiction and promptly cashed in with a beautiful 107cm GT. Randy who had also returned from a recent trip followed suit, this time however landing the fish of a lifetime which measured 125cm. It did not stop there, not by a long shot.
