Fly Fishing Blog by Alphonse Fishing Co™

FARQUHAR ATOLL FLY FISHING REPORT | 05 JAN – 12 JAN

Eight guests from Japan, USA and Germany were greeted at the Farquhar slipway with postcard perfect weather and the ever present pet GTs.

On the first day of fishing the guides did their best to hit the ground running. The guests were not left wanting, as the perfect weather continued and the fish were in a feeding mood. Wes, a returning Seychelles guest, but a first timer on Farquhar, started off his week with his first GT on the atoll. Husband and wife duo Shannon and Josh both landed their first GTs on the atoll as well. Shannon was celebrating her birthday in style with her GT as here birthday gift. Returning guest, Ed, managed to bring two GTs to start his week.

Paired with guide and manager Cullan, Martin started his week trying to ease himself into the swing of things on the inside beaches of the atoll in search of bonefish. He got more than he bargained for when after already landing his first few bonefish, found himself casting at a few juvenile permit. By the end of his session he had landed two of the golden specimens. As if this wasn’t enough for his first day, he then proceeded to hook and land two GTs, making it the first for him and the first flats slam of the second leg of the season.

The GT madness carried momentum through the second day with Ed, Martin and Ichiro all landing a GT each, making the it the first for Ichiro. Wesley and Phillip had a great day of GT fishing having both landed two each. Josh kept the ball rolling on the GT action, upgraded the quality, landing a 94 cm GT. Buddy and Ichiro spent a decent portion of their day trying to get their hands on a bumpy and their persistence paid off when Buddy managed to hook one of the brutes. In the usual fashion there was a tug of war that ensued on relatively light gear. With coral around at every turn and the bumpy being hooked right on top of the coral heads, it was obviously a bumpy with Buddy’s name on it and he managed to land the fish.

Day three and Martin landed his third GT in three days. Wes was on a hot streak and landed another two himself with head guide Gerry, but topped off his epic day with a fish that is sought after by the guides especially as it can be elusive and tough to crack the code on. After seeing large shoals of batfish and golden trevally feeding together it was not long before Wes hooked into one of the goldens and he found out quickly that they are not pushovers, fighting very much like GTs, perhaps even harder. He managed to land the beautiful specimen and snap a few memorable photos. Paired with guide Chad, buddy and Ichiro had a GT filled day with Ichiro landing one and Buddy landing three. Buddy landed his personal best GT when a group of bluefins and large GTs provided for a tough but doable opportunity that required a very quick backcast with no time to think. The biggest GT peeled off from the group and ate the fly immediately as it hit the water. The fish was hooked too shallow to chase the boat with and so Chad had to run after the fish with the net and unstitch the fly line from multiple corals. After a mad dash and some tripping over loose rocks, the fish was netted and Buddy was elated with his new 97 cm personal best. Paired with guide Yousuf, Ed caught himself a bonefish and a GT fairly early on and finished off the day with a large moustache triggerfish of 53 cm to make the second flats slam for the week.

On day four the fishing appeared to slow down slightly, but the quality of fish remained excellent. Ed and Buddy landed another GT each, while Wesley, after some persistence of his own, finally put the brakes on a good sized bumpy and managed to break its spirit to land it. On the same boat and with guide Casey, Phillip managed to match  Wes’ energy and landed a golden trevally and a 64 cm bonefish. Josh and Shannon went out with guide Chad with the aim of finding big GTs first thing in the morning with the tides looking favourable. It wasn’t long before Josh had a large GT engulf his beast fly. Much to everybody’s dismay the fish bit through the leader and left Josh wanting. Luckily for Josh it wasn’t even twenty minutes later and another large fish appeared, riding high in the water column, but swimming away from the boat into the wind. After chasing the fish down for some time, it eventually made a turn back to the boat and provided a decent chance. Josh sent out a cast and the fish started coming over, but before it reached the fly a smaller GT ate it. Chad, yelled at Josh to not set the hook on the smaller fish. Josh waited for a few anxious seconds for the small GT to spit the fly out and as it did the bigger GT ate it with even more aggression than it was showing before. After some coral dodging and great work on the reel Josh managed to land the 107 cm GT, crossing the magic metre mark that he was hoping for.Ichiro and Martin both landed a GT each on day five. Buddy and Josh took it to another level again, landing three GTs each. Ed managed to add to the diversity for the day, landing another trophy moustache triggerfish.

The final day of fishing proved to be better than anyone could have asked for. Ed and Martin managed another GT each, while Buddy landed two. Ichiro ended his week off with a golden trevally, making it the third for the week. Josh and Shannon continued on their rampage on the last day and with guide Cullan, it was no surprise that they left the flats on a high note. Shannon landed her new personal best GT at just over 90 cm. However, before this, Cullan took the couple in search of permit on the white sand of the inside of the lagoon. It was not long and Josh made a shot at a good size permit. The fish ate the fly several times, but the hook found no purchase. Thinking that the opportunity had gone begging Josh was amazed to have another shot so soon after the first and the second fish also ate the fly, this time finding some real estate. After a few tense minutes of cautious fighting, Cullan managed to stealthily slide the net under the fish and the team was celebrating for the rest of the day. A beautiful indo-pacific permit of 60 cm. To add to his insane day, Josh also landed two GTs, one being another solid one at 94 cm. To end the day and the week he also caught a bonefish to complete his flats slam.

Tight lines, Blue Safari Fly Fishing

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