Aardvark McLeod

My view of Iceland was of a land filled with volcanoes, glaciers and a few Vikings, of rivers with salmon and (probably) arctic char, and overall a largely pristine environment.  This is partly correct (fire and ice and Vikings), partly wrong (the pristine bit) and missing a key fact: Icelandic rivers and lakes support very good populations of big brown trout.  The quality of the fishing has been favourably compared to New Zealand by people who have experienced both countries in some depth, as the resident trout are big (catching fish averaging 5lb on some trips is not unusual) and if anything more plentiful and easier to hook - but not land- than New Zealand trout.  My curiosity is aroused.  Why does Iceland support such big wild trout?

My initial research showed that Iceland is far from pristine and has an environment that (superficially at least) is not conducive to any trout let alone large numbers of big trout.  The first settlers arrived from Norway in the 9th Century, and they rapidly cleared virtually all the forest and grazed sheep to such an extent that the biggest environmental issue in Iceland today is soil erosion.  Winters are long and tough – 5 months of the year with temperatures at or below freezing, four hours of daylight in December and January. Summers are short and cool, with average July temperatures of 8.6°C but with almost 24 hours of daylight. Three quarters of the island is covered by glaciers, volcanic ash or lava with little or no vegetation. Some of the rivers are fed by glaciers, and are cold, milky with fine sediment and have low  productivity. It is possible to understand how Arctic char thrive in these rivers, but not trout.

However, there are rivers that are spring fed, and the volcanic springs may be warm or cold and they are rich in nutrients and support an absolute explosion of plant and insect life during the short summer.  Where the springs feed a shallow lake, as they do in Lake Myvatn in the north east of Iceland, then the lake brews a rich organic soup to feed the river that flows from it, in this case the Laxá I Adaldal or ”Big Laxá”.  Myvatn means ‘lake of midges’ in Icelandic, and in still weather there are black clouds of midges. Very few of them bite, thank goodness. They just buzz around in your ears and up your nose. The ‘midges’ are both blackfly (Simulium ) and midges (chironomids) and they are all tiny.

Laxá trout can reach over 60cm long, but even these very large fish are feeding almost exclusively on tiny flies and snails. There isn’t much in the way of bigger prey, except for other trout and sticklebacks or the occasional terrestrial such as heather flies (Bibio ), but there is a huge volume of blackfly and midge larvae. By August, the slower sections of the Laxá are thick with green algae sprinkled with black fly larvae, and the trout are feeding 24 hours a day, rising to hatching flies or falling terrestrials. Dry fly heaven as long as you have good eyesight to see tiny flies.

The very high level of productivity of Lake Myvatn is driven both by nutrient rich springs and by the very long hours of daylight in summer (21 hours of daylight in May and June), which promotes the growth of algae and invertebrates. The river and lake bed is either black sand or lava, and these dark surfaces are exposed to long hours of daylight with no ‘night’ to cool down and no trees for shade, only periods of overcast skies, fog and cold winds. The result is surprisingly high water temperatures – up to 18°C. Oxygen levels in the river remain tolerable as the water froths and tumbles over hundreds of waterfalls and rapids. The short summer is followed by frosts in September and rapidly reducing daylight hours. Lake Myvatn is partly frozen from October until May or early June and the river is cooled by chunks of ice from the lake. The trout must move from very high levels of activity and 24 hour feeding for three or four months to very low levels of activity for the rest of the year.

Whilst Lake Myvatn and the Big Laxá are known outside Iceland  as highly productive ecosystems and attract bird watchers as well as fishermen,  other lakes and rivers in the apparently barren highlands of Iceland also support good trout populations and for much the same reasons. They are fed by volcanic springs rather than glacier melt or surface runoff, and benefit from an explosion of life in the summer. The single most productive trout fishery in Iceland is the complex of 30 lakes at Veidivotn in the south central  highlands. These are volcanic lakes, formed in 1477, and are fished by 80 rods and by nets. In 2011, these lakes produced 14,608 trout, the largest of which was almost 14lbs (6.3 kg). The largest lake in Iceland, Thingvallavatn, regularly produces trout of over 22lbs (10kg). Trout seem to thrive in the spring-fed rivers and lakes of the highlands, many of which are isolated from the sea by the huge waterfalls and gorges that drop from the plateau to the coastal areas.

Is there anything we can learn from all this? I think one thing is to be optimistic about trout and their ability to find some suitable habitat, to adapt and survive, whether it is in the sub-arctic volcanic deserts of Iceland or under a shopping trolley in the River Wandle in London.

My thanks to Magnús Jóhannsson of the Institute of Freshwater Fisheries in Iceland for his help in writing this article. Written by Denise Ashton from the Wild Trout Trust. The Wild Trout Trust stimulates hands-on, in-the-water projects, helping others to help themselves with habitat improvement in and around rivers and lakes. Every trout fisherman in the UK should be a member.

If you want to come and experience these giant trout for yourself then we still a few rods left on Alex and Charles Jardine’s hosted trips in July to LAxardal:

9 - 12 July: 3 Rods £1,670 (Jardine’s hosted trip)

12 - 15 July: 2 Rod £1,670 (Jardine’s hosted trip)

15 - 18 July: 4 Rods £1,670

For more information or to make a booking please contact us or call +44 (0) 1980 847 389

Arrival day

There is only so far that the human body can run on adrenalin before it finally decides it needs to sleep, and this is a common phenomenon that I have noticed occurs on all trips to the Seychelles islands. After months of build up and excitement the moment has finally arrived. After some frivolities of being set free the night before, everyone boards that IDC Beachcraft on the way to Farquhar and instantly falls asleep. This was to be no exception as my crew arrived on Farquhar Atoll. As usual Jako and his team were there to meet us, smartly turned out in matching kit and as eager as we were. After Jako’s normal introductory briefing where he outlines safety on the flats a torrent of fishing tackle erupted from carefully packed bags. The guide team set about ensuring everyone was rigged up to their satisfaction before we sat down to lunch under the palapa while watching the pack of pet GTs maraud around the bay. Some of those fish are well over 1 meter and are awe inspiring.

The first afternoon is always an unguided session as the guides finish up their weekly change over routine of boat and engine inspections and general admin. We split the team into three groups, one heading to the end of the run way, one to the west side and one into the bay. Jonathan and Ian went ahead as I was still assisting with some tackle refinement, and when I caught them up the tide was on the low and the push had just begun. I could see them half way across the large flat and as I slipped into the azure water strong memories came flooding back. Wandering out the edge I immediately came across a school of large bonefish feeding amongst the turtle grass and quickly caught one of  3 1/2lbs and one of about 5 1/2 lbs on a small sand prawn. Off the mark, I waded over to Ian and Jonathan. As Ian was a Farquhar veteran he went one way, and Jonathan and I took a walk along the bottom of the bay.

Although we did not encounter any GTs as I had done the previous November, I spotted a large yellow margin triggerfish tailing over the top of a small patch of turtle grass. Jonathan had never seen a trigger before, and put out a lovely cast to the right of him. He came flying over to inspect the fly and tailed on it twice before Jonathan raised the rod and pricked him. The hooked popped and the trigger went squirreling away. His first introduction to strip striking. As we headed back, another school of bones were feeding on the sand edge which got Jonathan out of the blocks. He had just released it when we saw a long dark shape wave into view. A five foot long Cuda had come out of the deeper water on the high spring tide looking for a snack. Although he followed Jonathan’s fly for a short time he quickly lost interest, but was a sight to see. We caught up with Ian and made our way through the trees back to the lodge for some cold refreshment.

Sunday, Day 1

The first day dawned clear and bright with most of the group awake early with anticipation. I was to fish with Gordon and Jako, and as the tide was still dropping we started on the inside of the bay above the “Manaha Gaps” looking for bonefish and permit. The water was crystal clear and the stunning white sand bottom slipped into aquamarine. Sure enough we immediately started to see small pods of bones cruising along the edge in search of food. Again the sand prawn proved effective and I caught a couple in quick succession from the beach, while Gordon picked up a couple with Jako a little further out. We moved up to “Jacks Peril” and were greeting by three or four yellow tipped permit hoovering small crustaceans on the edge of the turtle grass. I still firmly believe that permit are the most irritating fish on the planet, and after several follows and heart stopping moments, again, it was not to be. I am still convinced they eat the fly and spit it out before you have time to react. One of these days I shall take courage in both hands and strike… maybe…

We ran around to the back of “2nd Island”, had some lunch and then hopped out as the tide bottomed out. Along the edge of the turtle grass there are a number of large white sand holes making it the perfect habitat for triggers. Gordon had a couple of shots at tailing triggers but fly and fish did not connect. I think it is because seeing a disembodied head in sky camo is a bit scary. Suddenly out of the center of the blue a grey shape materialised… a GT! I yelled at Jako and Gordon fired his poodle out towards it. The fish heard the plop whirled around, and charged! As he frantically stripped to keep contact with the fly the fish smashed into it, turned and began to make good his escape. The rod went high, the line went tight, and the fly popped out of his mouth. Gordon hung his head knowing he had missed a chance and there was no need to point it out… much.

A short while later Jako spotted a flapping tail amongst the coral heads. A moustache trigger was tailing happily away. With a 17 lbs flouro point I dropped the sand prawn about a foot to the left and let it sink. When the fish turned in its direction I gave the fly a quick twitch, all that was needed to attract its attention. It came whizzing over and tailed hard. I tightened the line, felt the pressure and the fight was on. The trigger tore off, trying to thread its way through the coral heads to a coral bomie. I tightened up hard and began to fight him, knowing full well if he got in there the battle would come to a short end. Soon I had him into Jako’s waiting hands, my best moustache trigger of about 7 lbs. Outstanding! As time had marched on we had a quick dredge off a mark opposite the lodge, caught a couple of doggies - one of about 25 lbs which tore apart my gloves, and then turned the boat for home. Supper was awesome… but look out for the home made chilli sauce… oof!

Monday, Day 2

I was up early again on the second morning, and watched the grey dawn split apart with cherry crimson as the sun came up. Jonathan was to be my boat partner, and we had Keegan as our guide. I was excited as Keegan had fished with me on his first day on Farquhar in November, and we had got on well. Although as the guides stick flies in their hats Keegan was beginning to look like a Roman Centurion, the crest made from a giant black Sempra.

Our plan for the day was to fish the “Green Mile” on the drop and we hit the flat at waist depth. The drop was fast so we had to moor the boat as far out as possible. Keegan stuck close to Jonathan and I headed a little further across the flat. “Green Mile” is a massive flat of green turtle grass and normally has a good head of bumpies on it as well as GTs on rays. Sure enough in pretty short order Keegan spotted a GT on the back of a ray, Jonathan made the cast and bang! He was fighting his first GT of 70 cm. He very quickly found out that his reel was not up to the task and simply did not have enough drag to stop these bull dogs of the flats, and palming is not an option. I lent him a Hardy Fortuna X3 for the duration.

Along the edge as the tide dropped I came across a big school of bumpies waving their bluey green tails in the sunlight. I re-rigged my 9# outfit to 35 lbs flouro along with a crab pattern and proceeded to chase them 500 meters down the flat, but failed to hook up. They always seemed just out of reach, up tide and up wind. I veered towards the other two who were making their way across the apex of the flat and we encountered a large blue hole that connected to the inside of the lagoon. We could see some shapes nosing around in there, and thinking they were triggers I contemplated switching back to the 17 lbs rig. Jonathan and Keegan moseyed on round the corner and started casting. Suddenly Keegan yelled that they were golden trevally! Goldens are one of the rarest fish on the flats and one I have never caught so I quickly pulled off some line and waited. Jonathan had a couple of shots with the poodle which they chased but failed to hook up. Suddenly the small pack changed direction and came charging towards me.

I picked up the loose line and threw a tight loop across the wind, plopping my crab pattern hard down in front of them and let it sink in the water column. As they came in range I gave the crab some long strips and they charged it. As I speeded up the strip they slashed at it and my heart was in my mouth…. I stopped the retrieve dead. The front fish hoovered the fly and turned left across me. In one motion I struck sideways while strip striking and all hell broke loose. This trevally was sooo strong! He began to pull string, but knowing the hole was full of coral heads I allowed him little line, now thanking my laziness for not changing leaders. Keegan came sprinting across to the base of the hole in case the fish tried to cut me on the edge, but I already had him under control and on the edge of the flat. I am still stunned by how much power that Hardy Proaxis 9# and Fortuna X1 reel have. Keegan lunged for the tail as it went past and the battle was over. Huge waves of elation and relief washed over me and I knew it was a fish of a lifetime. In fifteen years of saltwater fishing I had never even seen a golden trevally, let alone caught one. They are stunning fish exhibiting a downward tilting mouth which they use for hoovering up crabs and crustaceans. Their golden flanks are adorned with three dark stripes making them extremely distinctive.

Jonathan was just as excited as Keegan and I and it creates a bond to share an experience like that. The three of us continued along the edge of “Green Mile” nearly as far as ”1st island” before crossing right across to the ocean side. The tide was well out now and the rough coral was exposed, interspersed with white holes that GTs like to sit in. The going was slow, but you just don’t know what you are going to encounter. Jonathan hooked a massive boha snapper in one of the white holes, but it coralled him almost immediately. Strangely it was the same bommie where I had lost another large boha on in November. We scrambled over the coral, looking out to the ocean side in case a dark cruising shape were to suddenly appear. As Keegan and Jonathan continued round the edge I investigated a small back area that still had some water in it. To my joy I found a moustache trigger rumbling around with his tail in the air. I cast the same crab out to it about a foot to the left on the white sand. With no hesitation it came screaming across and attacked it. I seem to understand better how triggers operate and how to feed them the fly without pulling it out of their mouth. I struck and the powerful little fish screamed off across the pool to try and hide in its coral house. I attempted to keep it out, but unfortunately he managed to get in there. Keegan came across to assist and as he pulled him out the trigger darted out and tried to bite him, feisty little guy. He was banked, photographed and carefully released to go about his business, if slightly upset.

We finally made it back to the boat for our lunch, and I could really feel in my legs we had covered some serious ground, maybe seven or eight kilometres. As the push came flooding in, the light vanished. Keegan took us over to first stop, and by the time we got there a river was flowing across and we were in waist depth water again. The flood was gaining strength and making walking difficult and we suddenly heard a huge commotion behind us to see on the edge of the flat one of the largest sharks I have ever seen. There had to have been 4 - 5 feet between the tip of his tail and his dorsal which was still clean out of the water. The fish had obviously come in on the flood and realized there was not enough water so was making its way back out. The tail thrashed like a propeller on half tilt. Hmm.. I decided at this point to stand on the front of the boat and keep a look out while using the anchor to slow the drift. Keegan spotted a ray with a fish on its back, but he must have X-ray vision as I really could see absolutely nothing. Jonathan whacked his poodle out and was rewarded by a spray of water a like someone had thrown a large stone in the water as the GT tore off.

Keegan moved down the line to tail the GT as quickly as possible while Jonathan battled it and as he neared the fish there was another explosion of spray as a six foot lemon shark buzzed him and spooked. He quickly brought the 90 cm GT to hand as by now “first stop” was getting deeper by the minute. It was a cracking fight and Jonathan beamed. We all climbed on the boat buzzing with excitement and slightly nervous energy. As I was on the verge of a grand slam we ran over to the beach side of the bay and “Manaha Gaps” to try and find a bonefish to complete it, but were unsuccessful.. We headed home elated after an extraordinary days fishing. On arrival back at the lodge it turned out Ty and Andy had an even more incredible day with them both landing good sized GTs including one of 108 cm for Andy. He had also caught a golden trevally along with two massive yellow margin trigger fish and a multitude of other species. What a day! There was some celebrating that evening I can assure you we did our best to make a large indent in the beer stocks.

Tuesday, Day 3

When I poked my head out of my room the following morning the first thought on my mind was coffee… and the sky which appeared to be rather overcast. Looking to the south east I could see a buildup of cloud betraying a front. I was partnered with Jules that day with Scotty as our guide. Scotty is one of the most enthusiastic people on the planet, and despite feeling a little furry from the previous evening’s festivities I could not help but feel infected by his chat and excitement. Our destination, “Deposé Island” and the surrounding flats which are one of the most picturesque areas I have seen. As we ran around the edge of the atoll the sky split into beams of sunshine and the weather began to perk up nicely.. along with my head. Jules had a quick cast at a GT at the top of Deposé but it had also been celebrating the night before and was having nothing to do with him.

On arrival at “Have” it was just as stunning as I remembered. “Have” is essentially a large sand spit that runs eastward from the bottom of “Deposé” and is a little like a fish super highway from the ocean into the lagoon system. It is also blessed with near on perfect white sand that allows spotting from huge distances. This time we only saw a procession of milkies, so I jumped over the side and headed for the reef edge across the turtle grass as the water subsided from the flats to the edge. There was not much going on as we came off the edge, and then we came to the three lines of defense I remembered so well from my last trip. Three strips of turtle grass colored coral heads that made perfect watch towers across rollers. It does not get any more perfect.

As we neared the reef, Scotty pointed out a shark in the waves and sent me off in hot pursuit while he and Jules made their way to the edge. Everywhere you looked were the tails of surgeon fish feeding on the crustaceans in the turtle grass. I was scanning for the shark hoping he might have a friend tagging along when I saw Scotty pointing and yelling as he launched a bewildered Jules through the surf to the outer edge. Sometimes I could only make out their caps and back packs festooned with rods bobbing in between the coral heads. Finally they made it up onto the outer heads and Jules began casting frantically before dropping the fly and almost immediately lifting into a fish.

While this had been taking place I too had been making my way to the edge, albeit the coral heads I was standing on where nearer the flat than theirs. In front of me I could see the waves lift as I scanned for movement. I kept an eye on the battle happening, but just then out of the corner of my vision a dark shape lumbered into view. My first instinct was that it was a large ray, and there might be a fish riding shotgun. As it got closer I suddenly realized that the whole dark object was one massive GT. I quickly began stripping off line, popped the 6/0 poodle out of the ring and began to wave it around my head like some kind of demented conjurer. I slapped the fly down in front of the fish and it turned towards it, very casually and decided to follow although it looked like the beast barely cared. It ambled passively behind the fly as I gave it long strips. Suddenly it was if a light bulb come on inside its head, it suddenly identified the floaty thing in front of it as food. The fish accelerated into attack mode, pectoral fins out, mouth agape as it charged through the surf towards me. I took several involuntary steps backwards as this massive fish smacked into my coral bommie, so large it could only manage to rest its chin on the edge as it tried to smash the fly. I can only assume that beaching itself like some disorientated pilot whale made the fish forget its snack and spook in a massive fountain of spray as I stood there contemplating whether it was after the fly …or me. Either way the exchange was over and I was left somewhat disoriented.

I made my way out to the other two to hear their story, still slightly in shock. It transpired that Scotty had spotted a fish on the back of a ray, but as the GT had come after in hot pursuit a cheeky blue fin trevally of about 8 lbs had snatched the fly. A specimen in its own right, this bluefin had been unceremoniously hauled in and dumped straight back into the water in an effort to have another crack at the GT. However they had then both witnessed George the giant GT trying to attack me on my coral bommie before swimming past them on its way to terrorize the local shipping. Scotty reckoned that fish was 1m 50 +and was at least 100 lbs. So glad it let me go or I might still be there playing it now. We fished back to the island looking for triggers, but the water by this point was flooding back onto the flats and not much was happening. We then spent the afternoon doing some offshore dredging, but that also proved fruitless so we headed home for an early shower and a long cold drink.

Wednesday, Day 4

By the time we hit Wednesday the daily routine was feeling much more natural. I was to fish with Ty and Kyle as our guide. The lodge pets, a pack of 32 GTs that live in the bay varying from 40 - 120 lbs saw us off as usual. Kyle gave us a safety briefing along with a lay out for the day and we were to fish “2nd Island” which has always been one of my favourite spots. The islands act like highways between the lagoon and the ocean, and “2nd Island” has a number of white holes and channels cutting into it. The day before had seen a number of fish on the back of rays refuse poodles, and Kyle was convinced this was due to their focused feeding patterns off the back of rays. Somewhere in the depths of my fly pack I found some 6/0 tan and white Clousers which looked perfect. As we cut out to the ocean to run around the atoll Kyle spotted some busting fish so we headed over. He put out the pencil popper and almost immediately there was an explosion of water as it was savaged. Ty was frantically trying to get his synapses firing as sleep was still slightly befuddling his brain as a pack of GTs, headed by a beast well over 100 lbs, bore down on the boat. The fly flopped out, the line got caught around his foot and by then they had submerged again. They came twice more to the teaser, but it was not meant to be and we moved on. Ty did assure us that he was now completely awake!

We spent some time drifting in between “2nd island” and “3rd Island” and saw a couple of fish, but no shots. Kyle putted us back up to “2nd Island” and we hopped out to find a pack of bumpies tailing near the edge. While Ty and Kyle slunk around the corner so that Ty could get the optimum shot across the wind I decided to go for it and started slinging out some back hand casts on the 9 weight. The James Christmas Box Crab sank down into the pack, I saw a bumpie roll over to inspect the fly and then everything went tight. The fish charged off with the rest of the pack like an enraged bison following the pack and I hung on for dear life. The first task when hooking a bumpie is to separate him from the pack, so I began to apply some serious side strain and to use my legs to pump and wind, all the while knocking the fish off balance by pulling his head down in the opposite direction. Either the hook would pull or he would cut me on the edge, so there was no point in pussy footing around. Rather than chase after him down the flat I decided to dig in and fight him with everything I had. Finally the pack made its way off into deeper water and the fish calmed down a bit. Kyle was already heading towards him going for the long landing tactic. Without a net,  the only way to grab a bumpie is to try and slip a fabric band into its mouth and wedge it in the gums away from the beak.

After chasing it back and forwards while the constant pressure I was applying began to pay off Kyle finally managed to gag it and jump on the fish.. landed! I was exhausted but exhilarated. Leader, knots and fly had remained intact, and it was a stunner of about 40 lbs. They are still one of the weirdest fish you will encounter on the flats, but also one of the largest fish you will ever see tail. We chased bumpies up and down the edge for another two hours with Ty coming so close and even hooking up a couple of times before we called it a morning and headed to “1st Island” to meet Jules and Phil for lunch. We had heard over the radio that Jules had landed a GT of 102 cm and a 25 lbs bumpy, so he had had a hell of a morning and was beaming all over.

While we chatted and had lunch I saw a small trigger tailing below us. I grabbed a 9# and quickly hoicked him out while the others finished lunch. Very satisfying… The tide was pushing fast by this stage so Ty and I decided to give the offshore pinnacles another dredge. The few spots we tried proved fruitless so we had a quick scoot into the bay before heading home again for some cold beers.

Thursday, Day 5

When on Farquhar in November last year the wind and weather had really been too tricky to get on to the eastern side of the atoll which was a shame. Thursday dawned clear and sunny, and I was to fish the “Long Walk” with Dave and James. We used Keegan as a taxi, dropped our cooler off next to “Manaha Gaps” and then Keegan ferried us to “South Point”. As soon as we rounded the corner our little group were greeted by high sand banks that allowed a huge area to be seen from the higher ground. The sun came and went like someone turning off and on a giant light, but nevertheless it was possible to see from the shore right out to the surf. After a very short time we spotted a massive GT cruising the edge and Dave and James gave chase, but struggled with a cast directly into the wind. A short way down the beach he had a crack at a football of a moustache trigger on a coral finger, but after following the fly for a while it spooked. The three of us kept moving, and then as the tide dropped further we entered the water and pushed out to the surf line wading abreast. James spotted a small GT on shark. I chucked a speculative cast at it, the GT charged the fly and then turned away at the last minute before spooking away. Infuriating! I flipped to the reef side to make casting back hand easier for Dave.

A little further along I caught sight of a blue shape out of the corner of my right eye as a GT came surfing in on a wave. This time I was ready and immediately threw a long back hand cast to intercept it. The black and purple fly slapped onto the surface, the GT roared in just like it was supposed to and trashed the fly before thinking it could just head back out to the ocean. I had other ideas and rapidly put the gears on him. In a short space of time I had him to hand, a lovely little GT of 15 - 20 lbs. I slipped the hook out and quickly sent him on his way. A little later we started picking up bones in the waves.

I landed seven and lost 2, biggest about 5 ½ lbs. Dave landed one and lost a beast through the waves, pinged on coral. Finally the ramblers made it up to the gaps, and after an amusing near hook up with a 3′ black tip shark we finally turned the corner to our awaiting cooler. It had been a 9 km walk and we were shattered.

Friday, Day 6

So, the last day was here already. It is amazing how the time flies by. As I sat under the palapa sipping a coffee and staring out across the bay the sky was overcast, and a stiff breeze betrayed that the south eastern monsoon had started. It was going to be a tough day for sight fishing, time to put the Costa 580 sunrise “happy” glasses on. The long suffering Kyle was going to have to put up with Andy and I. As predicted, it proved to be a tough day, and after pottering around “Green Mile” and seeing a few spooky GTs on rays in the morning we moved round to “Jack’s Peril” in the afternoon to look for bones and permit. After stepping on a few bones as we could see very little Andy and I decided to bow out gracefully and head home. As we had both been lucky enough to get amongst some good fish over the course of the week we really did not mind. Let the long process of cleaning and packing begin and the last nights festivities commence.

On returning back to the slipway and saying goodbye to the pets Ty and Jonathan returned after encountering some beasties at “Goulette”. Ty had landed a GT of 104 cm finally acquiring the much coveted white “1m on the flats” hat. Jonathan had also produced the goods and landed another fish of 90 cm. It was a very satisfactory end to an excellent trip with a really cohesive group.

We finished the week having landed 10 GTs, biggest 109 cm to Andy. 5 bumpies were landed, biggest 45 lbs, but we lost 14. Also landed were 2 golden trevally, 2 bluefin trevally, 6 triggerfish, 26 bonefish, 3 doggies, 1 cuda, 4 bonito, and the usual numerous assorted grouper, snapper and mixed species. 3 GTs were lost in battle but what was very interesting is that we estimated seeing over 120 GTs including 3 behemoth fish. Top rod of week went to Andy with his slam (bonfish, GT and triggerfish) and largest GT.  Jonathan landed four GTs and was top GT rod. The guides are some of the finest I have fished with, and are incredibly motivated. Farquhar is not an easy atoll to fish, and without them not only would it be very dangerous wandering around, but so much time would be wasted. Thanks guys for putting up with us and our odd sense of humour….

I learnt a lot over the course of this week, and I think it is worth re emphasizing some key points. Although I knew of the symbiosis between GTs and rays, this was a week of hunting them on the backs of rays on the flats rather than free swimming. Often these fish started black like their buddies, but would then change colour to electric blue as they charged off to attack. When bait fish patterns don’t perform go to large tan Clousers or crabs. When casting at a GT it is quite often a good idea to slap the fly down behind them as they will then whip around aggressively as they are already looking for the noise. Also if possible it is a plan to let the fly sink as when a baitfish is spooked it will flee to the surface to get away.  While spotting in deep water, a hard task at the best of times, always look for movement or dark objects as they are often rays. GTs like to hang around in cuts and pots at the bottom of the tide, and then move onto the flats as the tide comes in to hunt. The larger ones can be territorial and feed in a similar area, a bit like a good restaurant. Larger fish will often attack a fly slowly before accelerating to attack mode. Fish like to cruise the surf line on the hunt and often like to follow sharks as well. We are returning to Farquhar in November 2014, and I am already excited.

It took me 12 years to propose and when I did the ring was hidden away in a fly-box and the question popped alongside the Clarence River in New Zealand. Needless to say that my biggest catch knows me all too well by now and the honeymoon was to follow a similar trend.

Granted, we did take in some fantastic non-fishing stays during the honeymoon in areas such as Mendoza, but a holiday without a fishing element was never really going to be a holiday, was it? After all travel rods and multi section rods were designed for that very purpose; ‘getting away with it’.

‘Let’s go stay at Pira Lodge. Yes, it’s a fishing a lodge, but it does offer far much more and we are guaranteed a relaxing time’ I said, trying my best to hide my excitement at the prospect of tussling with a dorado once more.

Plans were made and we were scheduled to visit Pira Lodge for 3 days. We took one of the overnight buses from Buenos Aires, which are not only very reasonable, serve food and wine but also offer an extremely comfortable way of covering vast distances in Argentina – the beds drop down to 180 degrees and they supply you with a blanket and pillow with some buses even offering a film on demand service. We left Buenos Aires the night the destructive and fatal flood hit Buenos Aires, being a mere drizzle when we departed around 22:30.

We arrived early morning into the sleepy town of Mercedes in the Corrientes, home to around 40,000 inhabitants. The rains had stopped but it soon became evident that they too had taken a hit from the recent rains. Indeed, we later found out that in Pira Lodge’s 12 years of existence these were the second highest levels they had ever experienced.

We were greeted by a lodge representative who soon collected and safely stowed our bags. To my surprise a familiar face also disembarked the bus, someone I hadn’t seen for three years or so since my trips to Tsimane in Bolivia. Noel Pollack is ‘the’ aficionado when it comes to dorado and dorado fishing. What this guy doesn’t know is not really worth knowing, and he had probably forgotten more about dorado than most of us know about this magical species. Dorado is not just a target species for Noel, it is a lifelong obsession.

My wife knew what to expect during the 90 minute journey to the lodge, so she opted for some sleep as Noel and I chatted about anything and everything fishing related.

The road was horrendous after the floods. Indeed, the day before there was actually a river with a decent current flowing across most of the road. This had left huge silt deposits and had filled every depression to the brim. The driver handled the road masterfully, but we did go ‘off piste’ twice, once being dragged free by a lorry (the cause of us having to go ‘off piste’) and then secondly by two gauchos and their horses – the toyota hilux was being dragged along like a sledge with huskies, it was amazing to see the power these horses had’.

Soon enough Pira Lodge was in sight and what a sight it was; almost a mirage emerging out of the muddy road and waterlogged fields.

Pira Lodge really is more than a fishing lodge (this is the part you want unsuspecting, non-angling partners to read as you try to persuade them that your visit isn’t really for fishing). It is a place where the saying ‘there’s more to fishing than catching fish’ becomes more evident that almost any other place I have been fortunate to visit. The lodge itself is amazingly comfortable and you are certainly well catered for with the ultra-attentive staff who really could not have been more helpful or nice. The rooms are well equipped and extremely spacious of a three room construction. The first entrance room is like a storage room for all your equipment, whilst also having a fridge that is stocked daily with an array of beverages. You then enter the main bedroom with another room to one side for the bathroom. A unique place to have in such wilderness. Don’t be put off by the colour of the water in the bath/shower though – this is just a peaty stain from the surrounding marshlands. Outside the rooms you have large, hanging seats along with recliners with a swimming pool within easy reach and on the way to the private fishing dock - a mere 100 metres from the lodge.

The wildlife is truly spectacular – it’s like being in a zoo rather than a nature reserve. To put this into perspective the area is home to around 350 bird species. However, probably the oddest creature you will come across is the capybara, which is the world’s largest rodent. They are plentiful in the area and are often hunted with their hides which are used for making shoes, wallets etc. You will often see them grazing around the lodge and certainly as you venture through the network of rivers and lagoons accessible from the lodge. They’re a strange creature, almost like a cross between an otter and a guinea pig!

The Ibera Marshlands are the second largest marshlands in the world and you cannot begin to fathom its expanse as you fish the area. You are in fact only exploring a tiny section of the marshlands as you do so, yet in actual terms you’re covering quite a distance. The marshlands cover an area of around 1.3million hectares making it over twice the size of the Everglades in Florida.

You could not escape the flooding; it really was all around us, and actually within a few feet of the lodge. Noel having seen almost all conditions thrown at him at his several seasons guiding at Pira decided it was always worth a cast as the marshlands acted as a huge sponge and rarely did the water get coloured. It was very late season and we were quite literally the last guests, as the lodge closes because of the weather fronts that can push in as winter approaches. However, such conditions and especially such high water does bear future fruit, as this brings the big fish up from the lower reaches of the Corrientes river, where they then reside in the water accessible from Pira Lodge in following seasons.

Noel masterfully navigated the skiff through the ever moving reed channels – inexperience could soon get you into trouble here, as the reeds can move during a fishing session, closing one channel off but opening another up. Soon we cleared the channels and arrived onto the very start of the Corrientes River. Corrientes literally translates to ‘currents’ and there was certainly enough of that flowing when you found the river. It was amazing to see, given that the land had very little gradient, yet the water certainly pushed on its journey at quite a pace.

Dorado are amazing fish. Quite simply if you haven’t fished for them then you are missing out. They appeal to both saltwater and freshwater anglers alike as they combine both worlds. You are obviously fishing in freshwater, but the tackle and the intricacies of catching a dorado are more similar to that of a saltwater fish, such as a tarpon. They act like a fry-feeding trout, hit like a GT and then fight dirty like a tarpon, where quite often more fish are lost than landed. Lift strike like a trout angler and you are going home fishless. Play them like a trout and you’re going home fishless. Fish for them without wire and you are going home fishless and flyless. You need to use wire as they have teeth that will make light work of nylon and you need to keep that rod bending to have any chance of landing the fish – they have notoriously hard mouths where the hook seldom finds a good home. In addition, most will give an aerial display like no other species, often throwing the hook in the process, much like a tarpon.

When you begin to understand the species – which is always easier with someone like Noel around – you then begin to understand what needs to be done to hold your prize and soon enough you will be holding one of the finest sporting fish you will ever come across.

Noel drifted us quietly down the river, slowing when we got to likely juts of land or deep depressions. The fish can often be seen bursting onto the surface as they attack their prey, but not in these conditions, unfortunately. Indeed, normally you need nothing more than a floating line, where the fish can often be tempted on poppers. Now it was the turn of the 400 grain lines – not pleasant, but needs must.

Soon enough we found a contender. The take was a rather subdued affair, certainly not what you come to expect from dorado. A strip strike later and the fish was on. Dorado at Pira have been caught up to 25 lbs, with the majority being between 3-8 lbs. A double figure dorado at Pira is a good catch, but by no means rare or exceptional. This one, however, was not going to break any records, but pound-for-pound it gave a terrific fight and certainly wasn’t going to have its photograph taken without giving up a fight first. A nice 4lb’er soon made it to the boat. We had a couple of snaps before releasing it back to the peaty depths. The dorado take on a fantastic colour in this water, more so than in coloured or milky water where they have an almost bleached appearance.

We continued to fish for a while longer but soon enough another weather front came through and made us call it a day.

The rain continued that evening and the following day there was little change. Indeed, there was no fishing until the afternoon at least. Again, no problem, as Pira is such a wonderful place just to kick back and unwind – I really would recommend it to non-anglers, especially those who welcome solitude and appreciate nature and beautiful surroundings.

The weather finally broke mid-afternoon, but there was little point venturing out in the boat at this time. However, fish could now be seen cruising and feeding around the lodge where the fields once were. I asked Noel about them and he said they were a fish called ‘taradida’, which seem to disappear when the water recedes. There were two species, one of which could reach a few pounds, but these were the smaller species. We decided to have cast for them. Noel fished with his trusted split cane rod – he does not fish with carbon any more, preferring the tradition and feel behind split cane. Having seen him fish with the cane rod, no-one could really question his ability or his judgement to rely on cane. He did even tempt me into a few casts as I looked on curiously and I must admit that after you get over the ‘I need to be careful or it will break’ feeling the cane rods are actually great fun to use and feel more pure. As Noel rightly said, the cane rods feel like they have a soul whereas mass produced carbon rods are at totally the other end of the spectrum.

Taradida are a strange ‘fish’ to say the least. They look more like a snake, even having scales like a snake. They are amazing little fish and cruise around the bankside vegetation hitting off any unsuspecting insect that comes across its path. We targeted them with chernobyl ants and fat alberts, but basically any terrestrial pattern would do, they really weren’t fussy.

You needed to get into the grass and underneath the bushes, that’s where they hid ready to ambush their prey. The great thing about Taradida is that they are super aggressive and would nail any fly that entered their vicinity. Even if you cast across a few blades of grass and you fly climbed a foot out of the water, the fish would propel themselves to try and eat it. Amazing sport, and how I wished I had a lighter rod with me to make the most of these 20-25 cm long fish.

Our final day followed much the same routine with the bad weather not abating. However, with my new fond appreciation for Taradida I didn’t care much and was happy to chase them around for a few hours.

Whilst I fished my wife did what comes natural during a stay at Pira lodge; relax. It’s not a place for non-anglers that like to be kept busy, but certainly suits those that like to unwind in beautiful and tranquil surroundings. A visit to the local town can be arranged, as can horse riding trecks, wildlife tours etc. beyond that a good book and a glass wine is the way forward, as you kick-back on one of the huge swinging sofas dotted around.

The three days at Pira came and went far too quickly, but then doesn’t it always when you’re having fun? There were certainly no regrets about visiting Pira and it’s fair to say that ‘I got away with it!’. If you’re contemplating ‘getting away with it’ then I cannot recommend Pira highly enough, it really is a gem of a place and somewhere that much like Noel’s split cane rod enters and enriches your soul.

For more information on Pira Lodge check out our webpage here or contact Steffan Jones at steffan@aardvarkmcleod.com or phone 01980 847 389

The 2012 -2013 Alphonse fishing season has finally come to an end, and what a season it has been! 

The last week of the season saw 6 anglers visit our shores from afar-a- field as Alaska and as close as South Africa. True to form the South Easterly season has arrived, which brings cooler water to the flats and an amazing influx of bonefish to areas that would normally be too warm. The staggering amount of bones that are around does border on too many and too easy. However, the great thing about this time of year is that on a falling tide the water stays cool and the fish hang about for long periods in the really skinny water, which makes the fishing sessions for tailing singles and doubles last for hours.

Along with the vast schools of bonefish come the predators that like to eat them.  The last 2 weeks have seen an increase in GT action with some really big fish being taken. Kenneth Collins ended the week with a last day personal best GT of 111 cm, an exquisite silver female, which was estimated at 65 lbs.

The triggers were around in good numbers and both Bruce Stewart and Kenneth Collins managed to outwit these feisty creatures. The milkfish seemed to be all over the flats but unfortunately not in a situation where they were deemed to be targetable. The teams who ventured offshore experienced some long fights with big fish, which eventually won the battle. The anglers who did persevere were rewarded with some nice dog tooth tune in the end.

 
The Alphonse team is already looking forward to next season as they think back at the incredible guests, all the fantastic catches and magnificent memories. Thanks to all our fishing friends who offer their continued support for Alphonse and its magnificent surrounding ecosystems. We bid farewell to both Chris and Ann Leslie, who have been a wonderful part of our team this season.

So until the 5th of October 2013, when the season kicks off again, we bid you fare well and tight lines!  Keith Rose-Innes and the Alphonse Island team

The crystal clear waters of “Cosmic Lagoon” is a marine playground of juvenile fish, rays, turtles, sharks and this time of year, full off big bonefish. This weeks extremely high equinox spring tides added a new dimension to the week. The cool water, which pushed up into areas that would normally be exposed, allowed fish to feed in new unfamiliar areas. It simply doesn’t get any better than walking the palm lined shores of St Francois island while fishing to tailing bones, as they forage in the shallows.

The GT ‘s also took full advantage of the equinox tides and pushed right back into the mangroves when hunting.  David Hall caught a number of nice GT’s as they scoured the backwaters of the “Cosmic”. Marian Walecki also landed a nice GT after a hard fight, which was estimated at 45lbs. 

The big tides and tricky weather made the Trigger fishing even more challenging than it normally is. Jerry Hollweg however managed to entice a lovely Moustache Triggerfish to eat his fly while fishing in the surf. Grayham managed an incredible feet by landing 3 large Barracuda in a single day

One week to go in the season, and what a season it has been!

What a species week it has been! Dogtooth tuna, yellow margin triggerfish, moustache triggerfish, bonefish, emperors, giant trevally, permit, yellowdot trevally, brassies, bluefin trevally, bohar snapper and grouper - they have all been around.

Week 26 has just come to an end and the guide team can’t stop commenting on how good the bonefish stocks have become, as the season progressed. It’s hard to believe that the quantities could get any better than brilliant, but they have.

Every season we get an array of anglers, some of them experienced and some first timers. A true testament of just how good the bonefishing gets is when our first timers to the flats experience landing 30 to 40 fish in a day,  while casting to singles and small groups of tailing fish.

The big dogtooth tuna are around and some fantastic specimens were landed by the team while dredging offshore. Stuart Du Toit, landed a fish of a lifetime after a brutal 45 minute fight on his 12#, which was estimated to be 60 – 70 lbs.  The fish almost spooled them at one stage in the fight, while fighting hard and deep.  Andrews Roos managed to entice a 50 lbs doggie to eat his fly, which he too landed after a back breaking fight. On landing the fish, Andrew admitted that for a while he was uncertain whether he would be able to stop the turbo charged gas bottle. There were other dogtooth also landed during the week, one of them by Mark Cottrell.

A flurry of triggerfish saw Oliver Gilbert land 3 fish on his first day, which is a real feat. Barry Davidson also landed a really nice yellow margin trigger on his day, while doing a long walk out to the “Wildside”. The were apparently many shots had before Barry was able to finally convince the big fish to eat. The permit were around even if no one was successful. Some nice GT’s were landed with both Barry and Andrew joining in on the action, which expedited some serious bell ringing in the evening. Sadly the milkfish have been scarce this week, probably partly due to the tides and the strong south easterly winds. 

All in all another great weeks fly fishing here in Bonefish heaven. Two weeks to go and the fishing is as good as ever!

Desroches Island in the Seychelles not only has great flats fishing but also boast extraordinary Gamefishing, see the pictures below to get a taste of what this island has to offer…

If you would like more information about Desroches Island please contact Peter McLeod or Charlotte Chilcott or call +44 (0)1980 847389

It’s amazing to think that there are only 3 weeks left in the 28 week long 2012-2013 season.  Soon the crew will be all packed up and heading off: the annual off-season migration of the guides to different parts of the world is almost upon us. April can be one of best fishing periods in the season and before any packing takes place, there is likely to be some fantastic weather and great catch reports. As the North Westerly starts giving away to the South Easterly, the lull in weather opens up all sorts of opportunities. Still days with flat calm seas often mean that milkfish will be around on the various current lines. Darrell Ewer was quick to hook up on day one, with only one cast. Instantly the fish headed off on a blistering run, only for the hook to pull.  Even though the milkies were around in good numbers it isn’t easy and the fish seemed to be more eager to feed on the late season bloom of algae on the white sand flats rather than offshore. This meant that there was only a short low tide period in which to target them. The persistent anglers would however have plenty of shots at daisy-chaining milkfish - a real game of skill. Darrell, Roddy, and Carl Ohrman were all rewarded with some nice milkfish after long grueling fights.

The “Wildside” seemed to full of GT’s on the turn of the tide with some teams having as many as 12 shots at different fish in a session. One team had some incredible sessions for GT’s, with fish of 98 cm and 111 cm caught in a couple of casts. Paul Davidson, Roddy and Carl all caught nice GT’s during the week. Accompanying the stories of successful catches will always be a fair amount of tales of of how fly lines, leaders and backing where broken by these monsters.

Wayne Haselau described the bonefishing as “off the charts”, with huge numbers present on most the flats during any falling tides.  Wayne also said that he was confident that in his 12 years of experience at Alphonse, he has never seen the bonefish population as healthy as it currently is - a great indicator for the future of the fishery.

There where a fair amount of permit around with Giovanni Mutti landing the only fish for the week. The other species like bluefin, brassy trevally, triggerfish, snapper, grouper and barracuda were around to add some variety to the catch including a high flying 30 lbs barracuda landed by Paul (with guide Scott at the helm) whilst fishing a nylon leader.

Another great week! 2 more to go!

We have two hosted weeks next season (30 November – 7 December 2013 and 15 – 22 March 2014) so please do contact us if you would like to join us or if you would like more information on Alphonse and the Seychelles.

Week 6 - 13 April 2013

It was clear from the get-go that the group was taking their fishing seriously. The night before at the guides planning session Jako said “Alright boys, two weeks to go- let’s give it the full treatment” and so we were on that slipway ready to roll before the morning sun had shrugged off the palm tree horizon. So it was still early days when Bill opened the scoring, in an early week GT shootout that’s becoming a weekly tradition. True to form, that big ol’ fish came cruising along the beach without a care in the world. Bill derailed it’s flight plan with the black brushie, and what resulted was one of the best GT eats you could possibly ask for.

Wayne, not to be outdone, showed everyone what GT fishing at Farquhar is all about. Later that week he landed a 120cm behemoth on the flats. The smaller fish might take the fly with spectacular abandon, but watching a massive fish of that calibre casually inhaling the fly is a spectacle that would make most anglers come apart at the seams. Wayne managed to keep it together though, and it was up to Jako to ensure the fish came to hand. The fish had managed to weave its way through several bommies, and must have been surprised to see Jako follow suit. In a spectacular display of underwater aerobics he was only just able to wrap both hands around its massive scoots.

Coincidently Wayne also landed three triggers, a fish he had previously battled to come to grips with. Just to cap it off, Jako netted a large free swimming Yellow Margin Trigger after the fish had refused to take any of the flies being offered. Hey, it counts, right? To prove it wasn’t entirely “Wayne’s Week” Jeff stole the limelight on the last day by boating a large Dogtooth Tuna on fly, earning strutting status for the flight home.

So while it was the end of the week for the South Africans, we had another week of the trans-Atlantic contingent to keep us going in fishing paradise. It should be a good one, these guys are just getting in the swing of things, and so to is the fishing.

Week 13 - 20 April 2013

Fishing is among other things about good memories. I thought compiling a list of a few from the last week that spring to mind would give you more of an idea of what happens during a week on Farquhar Atoll:

• The Walk. A session with Bill, Rich and myself where every cut in the reef held at least a pair of GT’s. Bill Landing a beautiful fish, Rich saying “God Damn it” every time he missed one.

• Rich and Rob giving me the day off after The Walk due to epic chafe. The subsequent snorkelling session and listening to Rich’s tunes while eating pizza.

• Jonathan’s freak Bumpie, hooked and landed over the biggest, whitest sand flat on the atoll.

• Roberto’s Italian swearwords usually associated with some sort of fishing related catastrophe.

• Roberto’s 107cm GT and Jako once again landing the fish 100 yards away, right at the end of its initial run.

• Rob Ramsey’s 108cm GT, and Rob’s bewilderment at finding that Keegan had somehow lifted him onto the boat during the fight. No one knows when, where or how that happened.

• Rich’s 108cm GT and the pot of money that was lost on the fish. Oh, and Jako having to change his underwear after the fish ate the fly right next to the boat.

• Jim’s one liners, and someone saying, “boy he don’t say much, but when he does he sure packs a punch”

• Jim’s Bumpie, and the fact that it was huge, and that he only let it take about twenty yards of backing, landing it in about three minutes- over coral.

• Craig laughing about “going commercial” on fish throughout an epic bommies bashing session.

• Seeing the guides gobsmacked when Paul returned from one of many early morning runs just after they’d made their first cup of coffee.

• Peter’s flybox. It was beautiful, now it’s empty.

• Peter’s Golden Trevelly, and then his 120cm GT!

• Bud, quietly catching seven GT’s - all in a gentlemanly fashion so as to suggest…this is easy.

• Rob getting the guides to sign his trip shirt, making us feel like rockstars.

• Craig and Jim getting a double up with some big snappers, and Craig saying  “Jim I’m glad you’re here to see this with me” while posing for the photo’s.

So there you have it, these are just a few moments from a truly memorable trip. As always we had a really great time guiding on Farquhar.

Till next week

James Topham

I was on the finger flats, visibility was perfect. I saw the trigger fish hone in on my fly and follow it.  With pounding heart I saw its head go down and … I felt an elbow poking me in the vicinity of my ribs. 

I wasn’t going to be easily distracted but the elbow was persistent and with a begrudging sigh I focused on its owner.  Quiz night and I had just been busted daydreaming about trigger fish on Alphonse!  At that point, there were only a couple of weeks to go before heading back and I was spending more and more time thinking about triggers on the finger flats and looking forward to blowing the cobwebs off my 9# Hardy Proaxis.

A group of 12 plus me and including two non fishers, we were travelling to Mahe from all over the UK and France with some arriving a day early, others arriving the same day we were heading out to Alphonse.  Personally, I prefer to arrive a  day before as the extra time on the ground lets me catch up with myself before heading out to Alphonse - and with only one flight to Alphonse it is nice to be on Mahe the day before! Meeting new faces and seeing old friends once again is a wonderful part of hosting a trip.  Ian and Julian (two eminent surgeons), Bas, Peter and Jacquie, Katy and Michael had their first visit ahead of them while Bruce, Graham, Tim, Geoff and Robin were returning to settle some unfinished business on the flats of St Francois.

The hot island air hit us as the door opened and the excitement level rose as we piled out on to the runway.  Waiting to greet us all off the plane were the resort managers, Ann and Chris Leslie and Devan van der Merwe, the fishing manager.  It was lovely to see other clients and have a quick catch up before they headed home.  

Swiftly taken over to the bar for a welcome cool towel and drink, it was wonderful to see Jemma, Yousef and the ever smiling Miriam.  Forms signed, talk given and rooms assigned we were all dropped off and the rush to find the tackle for setup was underway.  Having once not paid attention to what I had used as packing (I turned around once to see an unsuspecting guide uncover a reel from a pair of knickers and no, it really wasn’t funny), I try to take time to make sure I have all that I need.  Being somewhat clumsy, with a gimpy leg, the possibilities for disaster around me are endless. I nearly started the week by falling off my bike in front of the fishing centre while waving a reel in the air. 

I love the hustle and bustle off setup;  the debate between guides and guests about lines, leaders and why one fly is better than another.  After a flurry of assembling and checking it is done and it is time to head back for a shower before heading to the bar to relax and unwind.

Dawn comes far too soon on Alphonse but conditions were ideal. Paired with Geoff, and rods (eventually) identified, we had our safety briefing and spent some time initially looking for GTs and milks before heading off in search of bonefish. Where else in the world can you work out the kinks in your casting arm, get your eye in and still absolutely fill your boots with bonefish? I hope I never tire of watching these ghosts of the flats turn and follow my fly. Of that adrenaline rush when the fish takes and the line screams out.  I heard Geoff laugh when his line went tight for the first time.  It was wonderful to hear - the sheer joy of being out on the flats, with a hard fighting fish on.  I have retired my 8# for a 7# and it wasn’t long before my reel too was screaming time and time again.  It was a bonefish bonanza for both of us, mostly in the 3 lbs range and I added to my species list by landing a rather surprised little marble grouper. 

The boat was full of the excited chatter of returning anglers as we all tried to catch up with one another at the same time. There had been some serious action elsewhere on the flats and the general consensus was that the day belonged to those experiencing these flats for the first time. On their first visit and on their first day Peter and Bas (our intrepid journalist) landed their first GTs and not to be outdone by them, Bruce landed a permit.

Smiling quietly and saying frustratingly little, inside he must have been doing the fandango!   It wasn’t all back slapping sadly as on his very first cast of the day, Tim hooked and lost a GT and Bas returned to the boat covered in blood having cut his finger. I still don’t think that the proud beam was just directed at the GT;  having a hero wound added to it - I think using your own blood to attract GTs is OTT.  Much to my own surprise, I hadn’t yet managed to fall in or fall out of the skiff or rip anything but the week was still young …

Monday dawned equally clear as Robin and I headed off to see what the St Francois menu had to offer in the way of permit and triggers.  We shared a boat two years ago and with the memory of that particular permit hunt in mind we were primed. Visibility was great and we spent some quality time warming up on bonefish – it wasn’t that often that our rods didn’t have a bend in them and again, most fish were in the 3 - 3 1/2 lbs range. As conditions changed, we headed off to hunt for triggers - my passion for them seems to grow rather than diminish and while they can be totally infuriating there is, for me, something magical about seeing a trigger tail beckoning on the flats.  Taking turns, we both had plenty of shots at triggers but obviously nothing we presented was enticing enough.  I was up, walking up the left hand side of the finger flat when a lump of coral morphed into a very chunky yellow margin trigger.

Heart pounding, we snuck quietly up on it (actualy Ryan did, I just tried not to fall over) and I cast up and past, letting the current move my mesh crab ever closer. A look.  A twitch.  Nothing more.  Carefully lift, cast, let it swing in.  Another look.  Another twitch.  Again no follow.   One more try with the same of result and we changed the fly.  We changed the angle of the cast.  We changed everything. The infuriating fish did nothing more than have a peek.  Once it teased me - pretending to follow for a split second before returning to its holding position.  I realised I was muttering ‘take it take it take it’ when it casually flipped its fins at me and swam off.  Frustrated and irritated, I received a consoling pat on the shoulder and we carried on up the flat. 

Permit.  I don’t know who shouted first but that flash of yellow and silver was unmistakable.  A group of about ten fish were casually working their way across the upper end of the flat and were in no hurry.   Robin was up and while not spooky, the fish just weren’t interested.  Time and time again he cast, had a little interest and again they moved on.  He has the same passion for permit that I have for triggers so I told him to carry on - the permit were moving left to right up the flat with us in their wake.  Trying to be quiet, and trying not fall over, we stopped for a minute and just as Ryan turned to indicate we move on, my leg gave way and down I went.  Inelegant but quiet and the permit were still there, feeding in front of us.  Robin was oblivious or if he wasn’t was too much of a gentlemen to comment.  We soon ran out of flat and with much frustration watched them swim off into deeper water.  We spent the rest of the day trying to over our failures and consoled ourselves by landing a healthy variety of species including a stunning blue spangled emperor for Robin.  On our return to St Francois at days end, we were met with what seemed like a tale of GT after GT.  Once again, it was the first timers to Alphonse who had taken the GT crowns with Ian landing his first GT and not to be outdone, Bas landed not one, but two GTs, 30 lbs and 50 lbs respectively. However, the bonefish crown for the day (and ultimately for the week) went to Michael with a very chunky 6½ lbs specimen bonefish.   Thankfully no more blood … at this point.

As we were an odd number, I really wanted everyone to be able to have the chance to fish a single boat so Tuesday saw me stay on Alphonse meaning we had two single boats with Tim and Graham heading out on their own.  I missed the excitement of the trip out and the happy, exhausted feeling on the boat on the way back but it was another beautiful day, less wind than the day before and amongst the great takes of the day were a 6 lbs bonefish and a 10 lbs bluefin trevally for Peter. Between them, Geoff and Peter had some very nice boha snapper, both big specimens - I love seeing that telltale red flash coming up behind my fly. Michael landed another nice big bonefish and Graham’s species tally for the day included a memorable blue fin trevally, stunningly patterned peacock grouper, green job fish, blue spangled emperor and a lyre tailed grouper.   Tuesday belonged to Geoff - he blew up his 12# … and still didn’t stop smiling.  I on the other hand, had a brilliant day on Alphonse which included lunching with Jacquie and Katy in the shade and envying their quiet time by the pool. Quite a change to the normal hurried lunch with rod close to hand. All too soon, the day was gone …. again.

I can’t remember whether it was Monday or Tuesday night that saw heavy rain and rattling roofs but whichever it was, we couldn’t have asked for better weather during the day and Wednesday was no exception to that.  Staying on Alphonse with Katy for the day, Bruce came out to retrieve a rod before returning to the island and we set off once more for St Francois. I was out with Graham, with Scott at the helm and who knew, on that calm and peaceful morning, quite what a brilliant day we would have.  We started off well and very sensibly – both landing some nice bonefish in the 3 lbs – 4 ½ lbs region although with Graham’s rod being bent quite so often, I did wonder if he wasn’t actually standing on the line and having a rest!  The light was tricky first thing and in a particularly murky period I saw what I thought was a pouter bream and, in the temporary absence of bonefish, thought I’d see if it fancied a slightly ragged Pillow Talk.  As my fly landed, I realised I had another reminder that those prescription sun glasses would have been a good idea.  It was a picasso trigger.   Heart once again in mouth, I tweaked my fly.  It turned and followed, nibbled and exited stage left at light speed.  To my surprise, it slowed down and turned back. I picked up, cast again. Twitched.  Second time round, it all worked beautifully and I think Scott was slightly surprised by the sheer volume of my cry of joy.  Honestly, I have never seen one before to cast to.  I have had small picassos chase down my fly before when targeting giant triggers or yellow margin triggers but never deliberately.  By picasso standards, it was a bit of beast.  Immediately forgetting the gnashing of teeth the day before, this little beauty was very welcome.  While all of this was going on, Graham was calmly continuing to land bonefish after bonefish.

We eventually moved outside to see what was lurking behind Baghdad. The answer was plenty of big fish and after a nice boha for Graham we had to retire his rod as the line was twisted badly and I handed over my 11# Proaxis so he could carry on.   Having taken the rod, had a few casts, Graham loudly announced that he couldn’t use it as it was right hand wind not left.  Dismissing the concern with a nonchalant wave, I told him to get something on first and worry about that afterwards.  Spotting birds, we headed over to see what big predators were lurking under the bait ball.  The answer was quick in coming, two casts and some fast stripping and Graham had on what we thought was a tuna.  Wrong – change that to wahoo.  It worked him hard, right hand wind also giving him some crushed knuckles but he got it to the boat quite quickly for Scott to tail and bring in.  Outstanding! One happy angler back in the seat and we were off again to see what else was about.

The answer came quickly.  Up the front I watched a boha snapper follow my fly, hit it but move off.  Fly retrieved and out again, I saw the glint of blue and bang, I was attached to a beauty of a bluefin.

It was a pure action filled, adrenalin pumping couple of hours.  Graham then landed another nice sized boha snapper, and I watched an enormous barracuda porpoise out of the water and make off with my fly. I couldn’t see what hit my replacement purple streamer shortly after that but it fought hard and Scott hollered that I had a ‘cuda on.  A decent size and great fight later, we had it to the boat. Scott had the leader and was just about to tail the fish when the leader snagged on a tooth and poof – that was it, it was off and gone … along with another purple streamer.  Last streamer in place and a big dark shadow was following my fly. I thought it was the pesky big ‘cuda again and but Scott’s voice went up an octave as he shouted ’GEET! GEET! GEET!’ from behind me.  What a take!  What a punch! What a fight!  The line had just come back onto the reel when the bugger corralled me.   Arrrghh .. what a loss!  GT and purple streamer headed off in a flurry of two fins, not to be seen again.  Graham was back up the front – or not as was nearly the case. One minute he was up, and the next he was down and heading fast towards a deep water dunking before I realised what was happening.  By the time I grabbed him, he was already hanging on to the leaning bar with a very impressive grip and a very big grin! 

Back on St Francois, I had to laugh at Ian’s recounting of his lemon shark incident.  He had decided to ‘have a go’, the shark took his fly and feeling quite happy with proceedings about five minutes after he had hooked it, commented that he had it under control.  His guide was heard to remark that the shark hadn’t realised it was hooked. It did not long after that, ramped up the gears and left him standing.   Team Toes (well, they are both eminent podiatrists) was definitely on top of the species leader board with 17 species at this point including a jumping milkfish.  Geoff was shattered after being worked hard all day by Serge in a single boat.  The remains Julian’s wahoo provided visual proof back on Alphonse of the sheer speed and power of GTs as we watched them decimate the remains in very short order.

Back for a quick shower and change before cycling up to the point for sundowners. Cycling back through the palms in the dark with one torch to four was an experience most of us had not had before – great fun!   It was a truly lovely end to the day.

Thursdays are pressure days I think.  The penultimate fishing day, it always feels like the day when ‘it’ has to happen because if ‘it’ doesn’t, there is only one day left in which to make anything happen.  Trying to make sure everyone got a chance at a single boat, I opted to fish on Alphonse for the day and waved them off, knowing that Peter was going to be worked hard by Serge!  It was a hot and pretty still day on Alphonse and I was hoping that they had a bit more of a breeze out on St Francois.  No such luck and they returned, visibly wilting but again, with some stunning catches to report.  Bas had a beauty of a GT, about 40 lbs, Bruce landed another permit and a big bluefin, Michael landed another big bluefin and a lyre tail grouper and Geoff came up trumps with a green jobfish, another big boha snapper and a cuda.  Keeping up the pressure on Bas, Tim landed two big bluefin trevally and an impressive lyre tail grouper .

Friday always seems to come around far too soon. Robin was in the single boat hot seat with Wayne and Geoff and I were together again hoping for more chances to try for triggers.  It was the only day of the week when the weather wasn’t great – overcast for much of the morning it did make spotting fish more difficult but it didn’t stop any of us catching fish and rounding off our amazing week with a stunning total tally.  I lost count of my species but Ian and Julian landed 26 species during the course of the week – testament to the variety of both species and environments on St Francois. 

Courtesy of Scott, the main tally for the week reads something like this …. 571 bonefish (biggest 6 ½ lbs), 6 GT’s (to 50 lbs), 1 monster Picasso trigger fish (the biggest ever landed there I’m sure – ever – by anyone), 45 bluefin trevally (to 15 lbs), 39 green jobfish (to 14 lbs), 26 bohar snapper (to 20 lbs), 2 dogtooth tuna (to 13 lbs), 2 permit (to 11 lbs), 1 sailfish (40 lbs), 3 wahoo (to 20 lbs), 2 cuda (to 20 lbs).  What was more impressive was that the guides logged 119 GTs seen in the week and I saw more permit on this trip than I have on any of the other trips added together.  It is without doubt a healthy and productive fishery and a very special place to boot. 

It really was a week of firsts (not all of them quite what we expected) for both those on their first visit to Alphonse and those returning …. Bas, Peter, Ian and Bruce landed GTs, Bruce landed two stunning permit, Ian got bitten by a needlefish, I was beaten to the bar every evening by Bruce and Katy, I got a monster picasso trigger fish, Geoff destroyed his 12#, we had three wahoo on the fly courtesy of Graham, Ian and Julian, Katy went bonefishing with Yousef (we are hoping she will convert in time).  Bas got up close and chatting to the nice giant tortoise (as opposed to the slightly smaller and definitely techy one that hisses a lot) and Jacquie enjoyed the tranquillity of the island.  Most importantly for me, the GTs didn’t manage to eat the GoPro when I filmed them being fed the remains of a tuna.  Oh, and we rescued baby turtles.

My thanks to everyone for such a great week, we had fantastic company and great fishing.  Chris and Ann were wonderful hosts and the food was amazing – we even managed to avoid the Braai night curse of rain. The guides did a sterling job as usual and it was a truly memorable week.  

We have two hosted weeks next season (30 November – 7 December 2013 and 15 – 22 March 2014) so please do contact me if you would like to join us – Geoff is already working on new and irrisistible trigger flies so next time, we will triumph ….. we hope.