Aardvark McLeod

We are pleased to announce that we will once again be running trips to Cosmoledo atoll in the outer islands of the Seychelles. All boats registered or licensed in Seychelles are permitted to travel anywhere in Seychelles Waters as long as the vessel has a valid port clearance to the area travelling and is recommended to have security personal on board at all times.  All of our Cosmoledo trips will have security on board and our live aboard operation will commence in October to this salt water Mecca.October to this saltwater Mecca. Having made my last trip nearly two years ago I am desperate to return to this paradise, and the lack of fishermen will have returned the fishery to a virgin state. There is nowhere on the planet where Giant Trevally are so numerous or the variety of species so prolific. After all the numerous trips to other atolls Cosmoledo has remained one of the premier saltwater fisheries in the world.

For those not familiar with Cosmoledo it is an atoll located approximately 600 miles south west of Mahe and 200 miles North of Madagascar in the far reaches of the Aldabra chain. The atoll itself is approximately 152 km². There are 16 individual islets and cays along the rim of the atoll, with Menai (in the west) and Wizard Island (in the southeast) being the largest. The cuts and channels between these islets provide an extraordinary habitat for giant trevally, blue fin trevally, permit, milkfish, trigger fish and numerous other spieces. The internal flats that lead down to the lagoon provide miles of pristine sand flats teeming with bonefish. Fishermen are broken up into parties of three and four with their guide, and move around the atoll targeting whatever species the group prefers. The overhanging coral cliffs are a fantastic hunting ground, and on the huge open flats it is possible to wade and sight fish to individuals.

The new vessel will be an upgrade from previous years in the form of the Neptune Warrior. The Neptune Warrior is owned by our partner Mike Mason from the Masons Travel family. She is a luxury motorised catamaran fully refitted in 2009 for exactly this purpose. Accommodation is in five spacious double cabins and with a draft of only 1.3 metres she can easily cruise inside the pristine lagoons of Seychelles’ outer island coral atolls. She is skippered by Francis Roucou previously of Indian Ocean Explorer who has been taking trips to Cosmoledo for eleven years. To reach the flats Neptune Warrior has two Orca 350 Aluminium tender boats which are 5.3 m long with a draft of only 8 inches and powered by Yamaha 85 hp engines. These trips will be fully guided with experienced fly fishing guides familiar with the atoll with one guide between three rods.

Neptune Warrior will be operating at Cosmoledo from 21st October - 10th December 2010 and then from 11th February - 1st April 2011. The cost will be approximately £5,200 per person based on double occupancy and nine fishermen including the internal charter flight to assumption atoll. It does not include international flights or hotel nights that may be necessary on Mahe. As you can imagine space will be at a premium so please contact us immediately if you are interested in experiencing this saltwater Nirvana.

FlyCastaway, a company that specializes in finding new and remote destinations, as well as organising glitch free mothership operations in these areas, has once again found a gem of a flats fishing destination in the Indian Ocean. St Brandon’s (Cargados Carajos Shoals) is a group of over 50 small islands, coral ridges and vast sand flats which is cut by three major passes and extends 50 km from north to south. Situated 268 nautical miles north-east of Mauritius’s main island this area is rich in fish stocks, flora and fauna. The magnificent condition of the coral and the lobster infested outer reefs is proof that other than a small population of Creole natives who live on Raphael Island in the north this area has had very little human interference.

After a long wait since FlyCastaway’s first visit 5 years ago, the red tape has finally been cleared to legally allow international foreigners to visit the area. This exclusive deal allows for FlyCastaway to use the luxurious MY Gryphon for live aboard trips to St Brandon’s. Their 96 ft motor yacht is based out of Port Louis and boasts a top speed of 13 knots, has stabilizers, a large indoor and outdoor living area as well as a fully rigged game fishing aft deck.

There are 12 daily international flights into Mauritius and the airport is 45minutes away from Port Louis, which is the capital. Once everyone has settled into their cabins, the fully rigged and stocked Gryphon departs in a north-easterly direction along the Maskereina ridge on a 24 hour motor for St Brandon. The trip is a pleasant one as the stabilizers steady the roll and time flies as the card games and DVD’s are paused thanks to the occasional sound of screaming reels. On arriving at St Brandon’s no time is wasted as the guides put their vast Indian Ocean experience and planning into practice as you venture out to spend your days exploring the multitude of pure white sand flats and broken coral islands, all of which are infested with naive bonefish.

This will most certainly be the most spectacular bonefishing you will ever encounter as on most tides anglers can expect to see shoals of these shallow water speedsters as well as enormous singles and doubles. On FlyCastaway’s recent exploratory they landed Bonefish of up to 87cm fork length and weighing 15lbs. This fishery is also extremely well balanced and offers anglers a variety of species to choose from as there is plenty of Indo-Pacific Permit, a host of Trevally species including Bluefin, Golden, Yellow Dot, Green Spot and Giant Trevally of over 100lbs in weight.

The first part of the season runs from early October until mid December and the second part from early April until the end of May. As St Brandon is situated in the cyclonic belt it’s wisely rested from the end of December until late in May, which falls in the cyclone season. From June through to September the strong winter south-east monsoon winds blow incessantly which brings cold water onto the flats and makes fly fishing an unpleasant experience. For more information on this amazing St Brandon’s fly fishing experience that is destined to be one of your best, please feel free to contact us.