St Brandon:11-23 April 2018
St Brandons Blog 11-23 April 2018
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.
Until next week
The St Brandon Guide Team
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.
This exciting session did however set the tone for the week and with all our guests being first time visitors to Farquhar we knew they were in for a treat. Petro managed to land a GT of 105cm and another of 77cm. He also had fun catching large numbers of Bones, a Picasso Trigger and some impressive grouper and snapper species.
His good friend Daniele racked up good numbers of Bones throughout the week. He also got to tussle with a few GTs (some winning the battle) but he did end up with two solid fish, an a 87cm and 78cm. He also landed a decent Moustache Trigger of 51cm and on the final day he got a decent Napoleon Wrasse who shattered his rod into 7 pieces…good news being he still landed the fish.
As the week progressed the wind remained low and direction constant which meant there was an inevitable build-up of warm water. Drifting over likely spots gave us opportunities to cover water and find fish ….and find fish we did. Most of the of the GTs landed this week were spotted swimming on sting rays and sharks. There were some free swimming targets though, Bill’s 78cm and 82cm GTs both sighted cruising on their own. On top of these great fish, Bill got to sample the huge variety of species on the atoll as he landed numerous different species including a huge 80cm Boha Snapper. His good friend Charlie also got stuck into some Farquhar specials including an 80cm GT, some good Bones and a host of other species.
There were really high numbers of Bones around on the atoll this week, including some big singles and doubles. Kay and Sharon got stuck into the big bones recording catches of 66 and 67cm bones respectively, Luigi also getting in on the action with a solid 57cm Bonefish. Kay had a great weak and demonstrated some great fishing skills as she landed two GT’s for the week, including a 95cm fish which was spotted on top of a ray. Sharon landed some truly special fish as well, including a 50cm Permit as well as 91cm ,77cm & 70cm GT’s.
Always a pleasant surprise, good numbers of Golden Trevally were seen on the atoll during the week. Although a few of them came unstuck, Sharon stuck hers good and landed a 60cm fish that couldn’t resist a crab pattern. Michele and Matteo experienced a great session for them in particular, between them landing some beautiful specimens including fish of 81cm, 80cm and 71cm. Michele had really fished well, on top of the Golden she got, she landed four GT’s for the week (82cm,72cm,68cm and a 67cm) as well as the only recorded Indian Mirror Trevally on fly.
Amongst a bunch of other species, Matteo landed a solid 82cm GT which had been spotted cruising the surf, whilst Sandro had an impressive week landing good numbers of Bones, three GTs (the biggest 93cm), a really nice Bluefin and a memorable Napoleon wrasse. All in all, a superb week of fishing on Farquhar with a diverse range of species landed and some impressive catches.
Our second group of guests for the season were a bunch of great guys led by Peter McLeod of Aardvark McLeod. The week started off exceptionally well, with good numbers of GTs landed on the first day. A big congrats to Igor for landing his first GT on fly, the fish measuring a solid 85cm. George too joined the GT club soon after, landing a few great Triggerfish as well to get his trip underway.
The weather and fishing for the rest of the week was great, with solid numbers of fish coming to hand. Mark, Peter and Igor all managed to get Triggerfish Slams, the huge numbers of them tailing across the flats throughout week providing some exceptional fishing. The Bumpy fishing was also really good with large numbers hooked and Brummy, Peter, Mark and Joern all managing to landing their first Bumphead before the trip was done.
Although not advertised as a Bonefish venue, Providence can provide some spectacular Bonefishing for some very large fish. We experienced some great skinny water action this week with some solid fish coming to the net, including a stonker of 10lbs which was landed by Mark. Congrats!
Two very special GT’s were landed during the week in between the solid numbers, Alex’s well-conditioned fish of 108cm taken on the second day of the week and Joern’s 123cm fish of lifetime once again showing that in terms of average size and one’s chance of landing a real trophy, Providence is right up there as one of the finest GT fisheries on the planet. Well done guys!
Two Sailfish were also landed this week which added a nice touch to the species count. Although the Milkies were around in small numbers this week, Fred managed to get stuck into a solid fish in stoppage time and tick off a species that has been playing on his mind for a few years now. Congrats Fred! Overall the species fishing was incredible, the highlight of the week however being Joern’s mature Saddleback Grouper which was pulled off a coral head in a remote lagoon on the eastern side.
Despite some really tough weather conditions during first trip of 2018, our guests still enjoyed some incredible fishing for many of the notorious species Providence. A large majority of our guests landed their first ever GT’s on the flat, the guys who have caught them before adding to their tallies. Of special mention were David’s 102cm, Bowen’s 101cm, Gerhard’s 102cm, Tony’s 104cm, Terry’s 100cm & 101cm fish all adding to the 75 fish landed during the week. It was Jim however who in particular showed some great angling skills and was rewarded with four fish over a meter during his time on the atoll, his fish measuring 102cm, 104cm, 105cm & 108cm. Great fishing!
On the species front, Mike and Terry landed two Triggers each during a morning session, whilst Jim landed his first ever Yellow-margin Triggerfish. Gerhard and Mike landed added to our Trigger tally, landing two and three respectively before the end of the trip. On the bumpy front, Jim landed a good one, but it was Bowen who made the biggest impact with our large green friends, landing three during his time on the flats.
We also enjoyed an incredible day of had an incredible day of Bonefishing, landing good numbers of fish, Chase landing our largest of 9lbs. So despite some really tricky sight fishing conditions we still enjoyed some great fishing, the below numbers registered on our catch cards:
John racked up the slams, recording a Bumpie slam on the third day, this special feat comprising of a 90cm Bumpie, an 82cm GT and a nice sized Bonefish. John continued the good fishing with a 90cm GT the following day and a Trigger Slam the next. These included a 50cm Moustache Trigger, an 85cm GT, a Bonefish and numerous other species. Tom got to tussle with some solid GTs this week and managed to land four fish, all between 75-86 cm. Chad also got into the GT action with five fish ranging 70-90cm. He also managed to land 48cm & 58cm Moustache Triggers, an 82cm GT and a solid Bonefish on the final day. Erik later showed great perseverance and after a lost Bumpie he held his nerve and converted a shot at what proved to be a 77cm GT that was seen cruising with a shark over a white sandy flat.
With the wind making casting very tricky over the first few days some shots did Andy showed the group how it’s done landing his first GT for the week towards the back end of the trip and then another on the final day, the fish measuring 75cm & 85cm. Dave also got in on the action landing a solid Geet of 84cm to go along with all the Bones and species he had racked up through the week. Michael unfortunately lost a large GT of 90cm which he had hooked his 8wt. Randy put in some serious casting time with the 12wt this week. Despite some near misses he kept at it and the atoll rewarded his persistence with a solid GT of 86cm. David also hooked a GT on his 9wt and fought the fish for a while before it cut him off. He did however manage to get two solid Napoleon wrasse on the 9wt, with fish of 52cm and 60cm respectively, rounding off his trip with two very special fish. Marilyn got well and truly stuck into some big Bones during the week with her biggest measuring an impressive 69cm. Congrats!
On top of the GT’s, some really good Bones were caught by every one of our guests despite the tough windy conditions. The species count too was solid, good numbers of Triggers and Bumpies encountered throughout the week although we did lose more than our fair share. There were a few Permit and Milkfish around as well but we’ll need to wait until next week capillaries on one or two of them, unfortunately only the bluewater fishing not really providing any opportunities due to the very rough conditions offshore. All in all the week was a huge success, our guests getting loads of shots and some really positive numbers coming to hand.
Tough weather conditions challenge anglers and guides alike. I was out on Providence Atoll to shoot some images and being March I was expecting blue skies and puffy white clouds! Sadly this was not the case, we were dealing with the aftermath of a massive tropical depression that passed south of us. The systems (Dumazile) hung south of us for most of the trip, sucking in moisture from the north resulting in thick band of clouds hanging over Providence for the entire trip.
Sometimes overcast conditions can actually play into your favour, low overhanging clouds tend to keep the fish calmer, especially on shallow water sight fishing fisheries. When the skies are blue and the sun acts like a massive spotlight overhead the fish can be very nervous, often they are a lot more comfortable when there is some cloud cover around. Sure its a lot more difficult to see them but the ones you do see seem to be happy and relaxed and can be a lot easier to catch.
This week guest included some regular anglers with whom I have been fortunate enough to fish with all over the world. Tony has a beautiful farm on the North Island of New Zealand where I was fortunate enough to spend some time over Xmas. His river is by far the best piece of trout water I have ever fished and is filled with big hungry rainbows. Not since my first exploratory expeditions into the Indian Ocean almost 20 years have I fished virgin waters like Tony’s river. I looked forward to spending some time on Providence with him and hoped that the weather and tides would play along and I can somehow “repay” him for the incredible time I had on his farm.
We had fished the pushing tide and they landed around 10 GT’s for the session, all good fish in the 80-90cm fork length category. Eventually the tide got too high and pushed us of the flat. It was getting towards mid afternoon and after the excitement of the session everyone was hungry. GT whisperer Tim Babich got everyone onto the skiff and told me that we must go and look for a “donkey”. He slowly motored down the flat and dropped the anchor on the edge of a small drainage a few hundred yards from the edge of the atoll.
We enjoyed our lunch over some friendly banter, stories of fish caught that morning were swopped and everyone was in a good mood. At one point I looked up and saw Tim standing on the bow of the skiff, he was intently looking down the flat and I realised he has been up there for probably twenty minutes already and hasn’t touched his lunch. This must be serious I thought, a guy with this much experience won’t stand there like this if he wasn’t pretty sure of the situation. I looked back towards Tony and Jim and noticed that neither of them had a 12# ready. I took one of the rods from the rod rack and put it behind me where I could get to it quickly if needed.
Everyone continued eating and we were just about finished when Tim said “here he comes, big fish, someone get a rod”. Tony and Jim both being courteous gentleman offered the other the shot. I looked up and saw the massive fish drifting in over the sand flat about 50 yards from the boat. The fish was fresh out of the ocean and glowing bright blue, slowly floating in on the swell of the rising tide. “I don’t care who casts, someone just get ready”, I could hear the urgency in Tim’s voice, this was a very very big fish. I reached behind me, grabbed the rod, flicked the fly into the water and stripped 50 feet of line from the reel. The fish was going to pass about 40 feet from the boat on our 9 o’clock. Tony turned towards me and I stuffed the rod in his hand, as he gripped the rod the command “cast now” came from Tim.
We all stood there gobsmacked by what we had just seen happen 25 feet from the boat, the massive blue body of the fish shining like a beacon over the green turltegrasts bottom, just lying there for a second. Tim and I both knew what was about to happen, he reached for the anchor rope and I focused on making sure that the loose fly line clears without hitting any snags. Then it was over. The hook never found purchase in the mouth. We stood there in disbelief. I had to sit down, my knees were week and had to take a few sips of Coke to get rid of the taste of bile that was now in mouth. I handed the can to Tim and he took a few sips.
