Have not reported anything on fly fishing for quite a while simply as there was nothing noteworthy to say to show. Like in all those past 10 years apart from the preceeding one no better fish are to be found along the shores during the Southeast. The reason is that about no baitballs come close at this time of the year and if they do they don`t stick around. That phenomenal 2019 looks to have been an absolute exception. Along the first days of October though some Mackerel had come in here for a change and in their wake a bunch of Trevallies. So ran for the rod and my home rock to at last have a good time there again. Had a spectacular miss and just after lost a good fish to a breaking hook but at last managed to get this not so small Brassy Trevally.

That thing gave me a proper fight  running deep into the backing and felt really good. But it was only a handful of fish getting ever more skittish and munching up the bait within a few days. As that baitball seeked shelter every morning in the shade of a tree on my veranda its reduction was easy to observe and after the buffet was cleared the predators moved out. Until then only one smaller specimen could be caught and since it is only lightweight stuff again in the shape of rarely more than handsize Trevallies of all kinds and Snappers as well as the skinny Garfish and Trumpetfish. The baitballs are clearly the key to quality fish. Subsequently I watch out for any indications multiple times a day but no findings again yet. Meanwhile boat fishing was the alternative as the weather was decent at times while not good throughout. A trip heading northeast on the 5th produced top class jigging and right the first fish after an extended struggle on the light PE2 turned out a dream of a Threadfin Trevally. 

Catches kept coming all along and in between the 30 or so kitchen size fish were a few more providing a proper pull. Was really lively down there and one of the small jigs ruined like this was a new experience on the plateau as such is usually Doggie`s work.

On top a Wahoo grabbed a lure trolled when changing spots. Long time no see.

All in all a great day which just missed perfection by a small margin as three GTs mishit the lure offered topwater casting along a short afternoon session. Wanted to get me one of those on the 15th in the west but it did not go according to plan. Along the morning around low tide activity was surprisingly good with a small GT coming off and a Jobfish plus a Barracuda caught. On top a Sailfish followed the stickbait but did not take. By the book it should have turned ever better along the afternoon in a sharply rising strong high tide but instead nothing more happened apart from a Shark attack and another Jobfish. Thus I was most grateful for this Bluefin Trevally caught early morning along one of the first casts and rued the miss of another slightly bigger one just after.

Four days later I went once more to that jigging spot fished before but no big silver plate this time and in the still dropping tide it was very slow in the beginning. After the water started rising again it became livelier with a few good fish showing up.

The GTs though did not at the again fished afternoon popping spot. Had no luck at all with them this month as also along a determined topwater fishing trip for those on the 28th they were a no-show. Thought I missed a not so large black one early at the first spot but it might have been something different. Saying this as a few casts later I was on something that fought very differently and to my surprise eventually this not so bad Yellowfin Tuna surfaced. Wonder what this one had been looking for just a 100m from shore in only 10m of water. Either way it found my lure and later the way into the kitchen. 

After this promising start things turned really dull though. A Sailfish twice hit a small lure trolled to the next spot hard but did not hook up. And the whole day`s relentless casting no matter where or what only produced a follow of a lackluster Shark in the afternoon despite seemingly perfect conditions and bait all around. Weather would have permitted for a few more trips along the month but as my starboard motor does not trip up any more the very low tides around the new and the full moon provide logistical problems. The water at my mooring getting too shallow for a week each time then enforces anchoring a good stretch out and getting halfway close to shore for refueling, loading and offloading is possible only in certain small time windows. Always quite an effort so a few days good enough to fish and thus probably the odd GT just slipped through. But thanks to the by now well known private angler from Mahe this report comes not all without one. Brilliant catch and pic once more.

As conditions permitted such trips again at least occasionally he also went to the Drop Off for jigging and it worked.

Also a jigging charter out of Mahe to the far away southwestern edge of the plateau went fantastic for Bruce and his guests on SeyAmigo.

The chaps caught about every kind of fish to wish for and provided some really nice footage. 

Am most grateful for that as presenting pretty much only my own catches from always the same GoPro perspective here along the last half year without charter activities got ever more frustrating. One reason is that my limited radius of reach made the catches, pics and reports a bit repetetive. But also because of the pressure I feel every time I go out to catch at least one presentable fish for not having to produce too many and too long descriptions of failures as apart from the small fly fishings all my outings get reported here. Subsequently any good fish caught ideally early in the morning is sort of a millstone falling off and the rest of the day my fishing becomes relaxed as the activity should be. It`s been always like that ever since I started this project but along the persisting CoVid related standstill it got a lot worse. Subsequently any external input is more than welcome these days. Unfortunately there has been little of that for months as you figured and it does not look to get back to normal for a while. Thus I was very pleased about what Swiss angler Sergio provided from his cat trip between the Inner Islands. Like last year I gave him some hints and were in cosntant exchange but in the beginning his daily trolling did not produce. Along the days though things improved steadily. After a first Sailfish and Tuna the Wahoos went crazy. Another also released Sail along with a large Barracuda and several more fish came on top.

So looking back it turned out a great week for him all in all. And I am pleased to have a bit of long missed variety in this edition. Also happy to get an idea of the pelagic activity again with still about no regular day charters taking place due to the continueing lack of tourists. The local boys at best troll a bit to and between their bottom fishing spots. There on top they usually anchor as with a view to the ever more tense economical situation for most saving fuel and money is a priority these days. Hopefully better times are not too far ahead but at least we still live safely and healthily here for now. That`s exactly what I wish for you wherever you might be.

The first week of September was seasonally typical with strong winds permitting for just a bit of light jigging in the La Digue Channel on the 6th once more. That went well with a load of kitchen fish and some better ones in between. Sad though that 3 quality fish came away.

The 9th was calm enough to try for GTs in the west but along a hard work`s day only a single one came up. Chasing the lure along the surface it was safely on but inexplicably dropped the hook when already visible right under the boat. That usually never happens and sucked a lot. The next day with a view to my upcoming Germany trip I took the boat to the safety of Baie St. Anne. The popping rod was with me to fish until noon but only a lackluster Shark and a duo of smaller GTs following twice showed despite all efforts. So no luck for me with the Geets before my departure but the private angler from Mahe who contributed a lot to this format along recent months was on the roll with reliably getting one each week.

That`s impressive and the fotos are just great on top – many thanks! Am quite surprised as according to all my sources the rather few GT spots around Mahe are said to be heavily overfished. But this angler either fishes elsewhere or is getting a few things really right. He is also really skilled in other fishing techniques and gave proof of that by catching 4 Milkfish on fly from a boat on the 27th. I am most impressed.

During my absence from the 11th to the 25th here on Praslin nothing happened as far as sports fishing is concerned. But the small commercials ran into several Marlin of which one was caught on a lure trolled to the bottom fishing spot. Two more were landed as they took fish hooked on the baited handlines of which the bigger one was 150-170kg. This looks promising for the upcoming season and I hope we will see anglers visiting Seychelles to enjoy it. Yesterday I fetched the boat home from Baie St. Anne and again cast at the same spots as on they way there. First fish was indeed a GT but at 55cm too small to be satisfactory. After that came a Garfish, then a Shark and some point there was only a last and usually not so promising spot to try. But it produced.

At around 35kg a really good size GT and most welcome of course to close the day and my fishing for this month on a high. October should provide for more calm days to fish and I hope it will.

For the preceeding reports check the archive.