Farquhar Blog: 30 Oct – 6 Nov 2019
Farquhar Blog: 30 Oct – 6 Nov 2019
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. Six GTs were landed this week. Reid landed two, Kris landed two, Jason Cassel one and, Craig one. In addition to the six GTs, we also caught our first Golden Trevally of the season, Rudy catching this prized fish on a crab pattern.
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 group did however enjoy some great bluewater fly fishing, with four Sailfish coming to the side of the boats! Craig landed his first Sailie on fly and followed it up with another fish later in the week for good measure. William and Jarret also landed one each for good measure.
Craig finished off his two weeks on the atoll in fantastic fashion by completing a Flats Slam on the last day of the trip. He landed a GT, a 54cm Yellow Margin Trigger and Bonefish to complete a wonderful day out on the water!
Thanks to all our guests for a fantastic week of multi species flats fishing!
Until next week
The Farquhar Guide Team
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.
The Permit were around in great numbers this week with all of our guests getting numerous shots at this incredible species. We experienced an array of different opportunities, including both cruising and tailing fish on the flats, islands and coral ridges. Jim did not waste anytime opening up the week with an wonderful fish of 10lb. The fish was slowly free swimming along the flats with the pushing tide, Jim’s cast hitting the money a few inches away from its nose the fish. The fish slowly turned on the fly and engulfed the crab midwater before giving him a solid tussle before eventually coming to hand. Jim then managed to catch the next Permit he made a shot at, this one was holding on the lee side of a sand bar. Another well-presented fly and the result was two permit within an hour….a great achievement. Dan also managed to hook a decent Permit but unfortunately the fish came off a few seconds into the fight. Jim showed no signs of slowing down though, his 3rd fish coming to hand after it crushed the fly over some white sand… a pretty fish with long sickles. His 4th was a real beauty weighing 14lb, this fish spotted tailing whilst we were heading back to the boat to have a lunch. His first cast gained no reaction and the fish continued to feed up the flat, but his next cast landed about a foot in front of the fish’s nose and it sipped it in. We were now 20 yards from the boat. When the fish came to hand the screams scared most of the birds off the atoll… it was a great moment! Jim managed to land his 5th Permit later on in the week, this special moment capping off a truly remarkable week of Permit fishing for him!
The Trevally too were around in decent numbers this week, with Arthur opening the account on the first day after we located a pack of Bluefin Trevally, Giant Trevally and sharks in a feeding frenzy off one of the storm ridges. Arthur made a great cast at the GT’s and before he could even get his first strip he was tight into a great fish. After a solid fight, a beautiful 105cm fish was tailed. Great job Arthur! We saw a few other GT’s during the week with Ben unfortunately being bitten of by the one he hooked. All in all, we had some great shots and saw some really big fish smashing bait which always a great experience to have out on the water.
We experienced fantastic Bonefishing all week. Opportunities to fish in ankle deep water at tailing fish, small and big shoals on the flats, sand bars and island systems…our guests got to see it all! Although our largest fish was 7,5lb we did see and hook some really big ones, unfortunately we couldn’t land them. Let’s just say they don’t get that big for nothing, these really big fish are smart and need to be fished at with precision casts and even when hooked they know exactly where they need to run to cut you off. All in all, still some superb Bonefishing as per usual!
Despite the weather it was a week of big fish. A Seychelles regular, Joern kicked things off with an absolutely massive GT of 134cm, the largest of the season so far! In addition to that giant Joern landed another 3 more GTs. Andrew captured 2 GTs while James managed his 1st GT along with Tim, Murray-John, Andrew and Hilton all landed a GT each.
An amazing Permit was caught this week by Andrew. Measuring 84cm it is the largest caught on Farquhar to date, and a truly special fish. Our group managed 29 bonefish this week with most anglers landing large fish. Alan caught his first bonefish, which was also his first fish on a fly. He went on to catch a bonefish of 66cm.
Our guests experienced true St Brandon’s style Bonefishing with numerous opportunities to fish to tailing Bones in super shallow water presenting themselves throughout the week. Joe and Charles both came away with the largest fish of the week which weighed in at 7.5lbs, well done guys! Large schools of Bonefish that are ever present during big spring high tides kept our group of anglers busy which allowed everyone to catch loads of Bonefish during these periods of the day.
The atoll produced a fair number of opportunities to tailing Permit in typical fashion; on the shallow water flats and broken coral storm ridges. Charlie and Jim both experienced heartbreak by losing Permit that they managed to entice to their flies during the week. Charlie, who was determined to turn his luck around managed to make his next shot count from a high riding school of fish off a sand bar near the northern side of the atoll. Well done Charlie, the first Indo-Pacific Permit landed are always fondly remembered!
The Trevally fishing proved to be good this week with loads of shots at large Bluefin Trevally. Joe and Charles both made the most of their shots and each landed their first electric Bluefin Trevally on fly. Charles then went on to land a lively Golden Trevally and a 72cm Island Trevally; which is an awesome achievement well done Charles! The GTs proved to be a little difficult to come by and although we still managed to get the odd shot at some real giants, we couldn’t convert our opportunities.
The neap tides allowed us to spend more time on the reef hunting the different Trevally species that frequent these waters. Our focus was on finding these predators either riding on the backs of sharks and stingrays or free swimming in schools. We managed to feed some giants this week, unfortunately most of these fish got the better of us. Tom however had better ideas and made the most of his opportunities by landing a trophy GT measuring 103cm. George followed Tom’s example and went on to land a trophy himself, measuring 102cm. Both were amazing fish that these anglers will remember for a long time to come. Seeing these fish speed up to eat a fly with their eyes and head exposed out of the water while engulfing a baitfish pattern is one of the most exciting moments in saltwater fly fishing!
Our opening week of the 2019/2020 St Brandon’s season welcomed a small group of guests to this remote and pristine environment as two of the original group unfortunately had to cancel at the last minute (they were sorely missed). After a quick tackle setup ensuring all our guest’s gear was in good order for the next morning, we settled in for the night with an overwhelming feeling of excitement for the start of the season.
The abundance of Indo-Pacific Permit that this atoll hosts is of special proportions and often delivers an opportunity to cast to trophy fish on any given day. From skinny water tailing fish on the flats and storm ridges to schools of fish cruising along lagoon edges and islands, the numbers often encountered is mind blowing. This week we managed to craft a couple great opportunities which resulted in hook-ups; however, we were dealt with some bad luck at inopportune moments which resulted in these notoriously difficult fish evading our eager hands. The sight of exposed golden sickles gives even the most experienced of anglers a few sleepless nights, these fish are certainly the holy grail of saltwater fly fishing.
The various Trevally species of St Brandon’s were encountered in decent numbers which resulted in Igor managing to land a good Bluefin and Greenspot Trevally. Unfortunately, the brutish large GTs that frequent St Brandon’s flats managed get the better of us as well and although we weren’t able to get any to hand we had shots at some real monsters. Encouraging still was the numbers seen and we hope to get a few to hand in the coming weeks.
Our guests were treated to phenomenal Bonefishing during the week with loads of larger fish landed. Some days the average size of the fish landed was as big as 6.5lbs. Many fish in the 7-8lbs range were caught with Tristan landing 2 large 8lbers this week. Terry, who was completing his third back-to-back week with us landed a solid 9.5lb Bone. Charles also landed a 9.5lb Bone but he landed an even larger fish when he hooked and landed a 10.5lb fish on the first morning of the week! An absolute monster of a fish and a fine way to end the season on the Bonefishing front.
We experienced excellent Trevally fishing on the last week of the season which is no surprise as we have encountered big numbers of Golden, Bluefin and Giant Trevally around the atoll this season. We were able to hook a couple Goldens this week with the standout fish caught by Jarod, who landed a strong 10lb Golden on the first morning of the trip. The Bluefin Trevally fishing picked up this week too with shots at many larger specimens. Charles landed a solid 72cm fish while Jarod kept his good fortune going and landed a 77cm Bluefin that was found while it was riding the back of 2 large Nurse sharks along with a bunch of other Bluefin and GTs.
Our GT fishing this week turned out to be fantastic with just about everyone in the group getting quality shots at these apex predators. 4 were landed in total for the week, 2 by Tristan with the aforementioned 90cm fish that led to his Grand Slam and a few days later he landed an even larger fish of 92cm; to land 2 GTs on St Brandons and pull off a Grand Slam is no mean feat! Well done Triston. Justin also got stuck into the atoll’s large GTs and managed to land 2 large fish in as many days. First, he landed a 110cm fish that was giving a school of Bones a seriously hard time and the next day he went one better and landed a 111cm fish that was caught while it was holding in the current just below a coral ridge.
