Fly Fishing Blog by Alphonse Fishing Co™

FARQUHAR ATOLL FLY FISHING REPORT |  19 MAR – 26 MAR

A group of energetic South Africans arrived at Farquhar beaming with anticipation of a week of potential firsts and broken personal records. Day one for most was a day dedicated to catching bonefish, as much of the group had never salt water fly fished before. Sergio, Cara, Mia and Sarah all ticked off their first bonefish, Mia’s fish measuring in at 64 cm, making it a trophy. Brent was the angler of the day having caught the first two GTs of the week.

Day two turned into a monumental day for a few lucky anglers. Jaco opened up his account for the week with his first bonefish. Dan, being a well seasoned GT fisherman, went out in search of the big ones most days and it wasn’t long before he found himself a great fish. With guide Cullan firing up the motor and chasing the fish down between corals and Dan using brute force and heavy gear, the fish didn’t stand a chance. Dan landed his first metre GT of the week at 102 cm. For most this would be a dream fish, but for Dan it was a good start. On guide Bailey’s boat, the plan was also big ones, with Brent on the bow ready to send a long line. Bailey spotted two decent fish cruising the deep corals towards the lagoon edge, but couldn’t pole fast enough to get a shot at the fish before they vanished into the deep. However, as the two fish disappeared from sight, another two bigger fish appeared from the deep water, made a brief visit to the flats and started to dip back into the deep water again. Just before the fish could vanish, Brent sent out a cast at them and they immediately both lit up and one smashed the fly. The fight was gruelling and lengthy. Brent managed to eventually bring the fish’s head up and steer it towards the boat for Bailey to land it. A personal record was broken for both guide and guest with the fish measuring 121 cm.

On day three Brent and Dan kept the GT numbers going up with Dan landing another two GTs and Brent landing one. Day four yielded some better results again with Brent catching another two GTs and Dan landing four. One of Dan’s fish was also a trophy specimen. Guide Chad positioned the boat to drift over a coral head that often holds good fish. Upon eventually drifting towards the coral, Chad spotted a large fish and lots of baitfish surrounding it, but as quickly as it appeared, it dipped into the deep water again. Dan sent out a long cast in the hopes to raise the fish from the bottom again. Sure enough the fish ate the fly not long into stripping it back to the boat. With heavy gear he managed to wrangle the fish up and away from the coral in no time. His fish measured in at 105 cm.

Day five and the GT numbers kept rising, with Faffa and Nick both landing their first GTs of the week and Dan managing to land another GT as well. Day six had come too quickly for everyone, but the fishing kept everyone’s hopes up for a good last day. Faffa managed to land another GT, while his son Alex landed his first for the week. Dan was at it again, this time with guide Chase. Dan had fished a shipwreck in the south a few days in a row, seeing some large fish almost every time, but never capitalising. On the final day Chase drove Dan straight to the wreck to make it happen. Not long after they arrived Dan hooked a large fish on the blind cast. Again, with heavy gear and experience in breaking the spirits of large GTs early on, Dan put the brakes on the fish and Chase reversed the boat away from the wreck. Several other big GTs followed the hooked fish, trying to steal the fly. After a high energy, but brief fight, Dan landed his best GT for the week at 114 cm, another trophy, making it the fourth trophy GT for the week and the third for Dan.

Tight lines, Blue Safari Fly Fishing

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