Fly Fishing Blog by Alphonse Fishing Co™

FARQUHAR ATOLL FLY FISHING REPORT | 19 FEB – 26 FEB

Ten anglers teamed up to take, to the pristine flats of Farquhar for another week of phenomenal fishing. Several of the guest were return guests to our operations however, all where here to experience Farquhar for the first time and the anticipation levels were high.

Day one presented challenges with rain clouds and squalls overhead, it was obvious first thing in the morning that the rain jackets would come in handy later in the day. Despite the testing conditions the fishing did not let up, continuing with momentum from the previous weeks’ fishing. Oleg and Steven both landed a GT, while Mark landed two. Several interesting catches took place amongst the rain and wind, one of which was in the form of a beautiful golden trevally caught by Chris. Ivan started his week strong with a bonefish, a GT and just before the weather turned he managed to complete the flats slam in style. Walking the beaches on the inside of the lagoon with guide Cullan, he managed to lay a beautiful cast to a pair of good sized permit. One permit refused the fly and the other broke away and inhaled the fly. After several minutes of cautious battling, he landed the 57 cm permit. Another solid fish from the day was a GT that Ping landed. While walking with guide Gerry on the one beach on the islands of the atoll in an attempt to stay on land during a large squall, Gerry spotted a large single fish patrolling the shallows against the beach. Ping put a cast a few rod lengths ahead of the fish and waited for the fish to react to the fly’s presence before stripping. The fish ate without hesitation and began to empty the spool. This was combat fishing in the Seychelles at its finest. Ping did a great job of muscling the 114 cm silver-blue brute to hand.

Day two was not quite as eventful, but turned out to be a much better day weather wise. Mark, Biker and Bill all landed a GT each. Ivan went in search of a bumpy after already ticking off three species from the list the day prior. In the dying minutes of the day he eventually came tight on a sizeable specimen. Guide Yousuf managed the coral seeking fish with class and managed to net it in fairly deep water, making it a first for Ivan. Day three and fishing was improving daily. Steven managed to land a trophy bonefish of 61 cm, while Chris and Ivan landed a GT each, Ivan’s GT measuring just under a metre at 98 cm. Biker, Bill and Colin landed two GTs each. Biker and Bill were on the same boat with guide Gerry, making it four GTs for their boat for the day. One of Bill’s fish was another metre GT, this time measuring in at 101 cm and caught  in pristine crystal clear white sand potholes on a large beast fly. Oleg also had a belter of a day, landing a GT and his first ever bumpy.

Day four was quiet in terms of numbers, but the quality was not lacking. Colin landed another GT, while Steven landed a golden trevally, making it the second for the week. The man of the day yet again was Ivan, who was paired with guide Chad. On a shallow coral ridge near the surf, the pair spotted a large GT following a nurse shark. The shark turned towards the boat and started coming towards Ivan with the GT tucked behind the shark’s pectoral fin. Ivan could not see the fish at first but made a short cast in close range at the shark, following Chad’s advice. The fish broke away from the shark and swiped at the fly, but missed. A few more strips and the fish turned back around and ate the fly right in front of the boat. The fish took Ivan far into the backing on the first run, even with the drag eventually locked. Chad landed the fish in shallow water, making it easy to keep the fish in the water and making for a great photo and an easy release. The fish measured 110 cm and was the third metre plus GT for the week.

The fishing on day five picked up significantly, with Ping and Mark landing a GT each, while Colin landed two GTs. Ivan picked up the pace even more and ticked off almost every box for the week in a day, guided by head guide Gerry. He managed to land two triggers first thing in the morning. A moustache measuring 60 cm (the biggest of the season) and a yellow margin, measuring 53 cm. Between the trigger chaos he also landed two GTs. To finish off his dream day he then landed two bonefish to make it a double slam. The final day of fishing was a day of GTs with Mark and Ivan landing another GT each, Ivan’s measuring 93 cm, making it his third GT over 90 cm for the week. Oleg had a great day, landing two GTs for himself.

Tight lines, Blue Safari Fly Fishing

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