Fly Fishing Blog by Alphonse Fishing Co™

ASTOVE ATOLL FLY FISHING REPORT | 03 FEB – 10 FEB 2025

During week two of the Astove 2025 season, we had the pleasure of welcoming two anglers, Antti Vappula and Iiro Virtanen, to the island. Antti, a returning guest, was back with one goal in mind—completing his first slam. He had been working towards this elusive goal since his first trip to Astove, and this week, he was more determined than ever to accomplish it. Joining him was Iiro, who was eager to join the action. Despite the conditions at the start, the atmosphere on the atoll was electric from the moment they arrived.

The first couple of days proved challenging, with winds blowing consistently and poor visibility due to the cloud cover. These factors created glare and made sight fishing difficult, but they did little to dampen the enthusiasm of our anglers. On day one, Antti and Iiro set out with high spirits. Both anglers managed to catch giant trevally, with Iiro celebrating a significant milestone—his first-ever GT caught on fly. Well done, Iiro! Antti also had a memorable moment, landing a stunning 55 cm Moustache Triggerfish after a thrilling battle. The fish put up a good fight, with Antti and his guide, Tyron Knight, working together to land the catch. Although Antti didn’t manage to land a Bonefish to complete his slam on the first day, his determination only grew stronger.

On day two, Iiro raised the bar for himself after already landing his first GT. He managed to catch his very first indo-pacific permit at the iconic Astove location known as Paulie’s—a small island surrounded by coral, sand spits, and turtle grass flats. After photographing and releasing the permit, Iiro continued his success, landing a giant trevally and a bonefish to complete his slam. With the pressure mounting, Antti faced some tough challenges of his own. The GTs proved elusive, with fish lazily following his fly, missing it, or hooking up only to lose the fish. Despite these setbacks, Antti managed to redeem himself, landing a 41 cm permit and several big surf-zone bonefish, keeping his hopes for the slam alive.

As the week progressed, the neap jump tide approaching, the water temperature increased, and fish were less inclined to push onto the flats. However, we made the most of the short windows when fish would move onto the flats at the start and halfway through the tide before heading back to deeper, cooler water. Antti and Iiro rose to the challenge, with Antti landing a couple more giant trevally and Iiro catching a new personal best Permit at 45 cm.

To end the week on a high note, Antti and Iiro decided to head back to the lodge early, where they insisted on cooking for the entire team under the supervision of our master chefs—a generous and thoughtful gesture that capped off a great week of fishing and camaraderie. Congratulations to both Antti and Iiro for their impressive catches this week. We look forward to welcoming you both back to Astove in the future, and we can’t wait to see what you’ll accomplish on your next adventure.

Tight lines, Blue Safari Fly Fishing

EXPLORE OUR FLY FISHING SPECIES

Fly fishing tips, facts, flies, tides, rods & more

• Bonefish
• Indo-Pacific permit
• Triggerfish
• Yellowfin tuna
• Milkfish
• Bluefin trevally
• Barracuda
• Giant trevally
• Wahoo

EXPLORE OUR SALTWATER FLY FISHING DESTINATIONS

• Alphonse Atoll
• Astove Atoll
• Cosmoledo Atoll
• Farquhar Atoll
• Providence Atoll
• Amirante Islands