The last report came a week early and I still owe the reason: after a long wait I had the chance to spend a week at Farquhar atoll, so my girlfriend and I went. Not with Blue Safari, but with the Island Development Company who manages several of the Outer Islands, running small guesthouses for Seychellois and for about two years also for residents like me on some of them. Only two guests at a time they allow on Farquhar and these spots are in great demand. This explains the 15 months wait for the trip after I had to cancel the initial date in March last year due to that stupid foot injuy I acquired only a few days before departure. But at last we made it there, and already the approach in the small plane was impressive.

Obviously my intention was to do some fly fishing in this famous place, which was thankfully possible, but not without limitations. Not being a Blue Safari guest meant of course no boat and guide to fish from and with, but all Do-It-Yourself and walking. This already meant a challenge considering the vast size of just the main “North Island”. On top came the information that IDC guests may not fish the lagoon while Blue Safari has guests there. Also the Southeast had already set in there and blew at around 20 knots but at times even more. But the famous Farquhar pet GTs provided enough motivation to overcome these difficulties though my goal was not really to tackle one of those monsters due to lack of experience with fish that size on fly and the unknown topography. 

Upon arrival in the afternoon it was just settling in and poking around a bit. Next morning the deputy island manager Eddy asked us if we would like to tag along to South Island with two bird scientists and their skipper in a small boat as they wanted to fly a drone to later count the Red Footed Booby birds nesting. As he expected the duration to be only an hour I did not take along any fishing tackle which turned out a bad mistake. Their whole activity took around 3.5hrs and along that time everything you could imagine was swimming past us along that beautiful shore: countless Bonefish, the only reasonable Permit seen along the week, several smaller Trevallies in the 5kg range and three proper GTs in the meter range. I bit my nails and swear all these birds were laughing at me for not bringing my gear.

With only a few hours of daylight left after return there was no time for another larger venture so I just went to blind cast at the current line at the north point for a couple of hours. Thought something must be passing around there but nothing happened. Next morning my girlfriend and I marched off at first light to a sandbank protected from the wind. At low tide that took us a good three hours and having to get back would take even longer as then some stretches would require swimming but it was well worth it. First fish seen already still in the dawn twilight was a Napoleon or Humphead of I reckon around 40kg happily feeding in between a mess of sunken trees and branches. On that sandbank Bonefish were plenty as I hoped for and they came easy enough. 

After some three fantastic hours there with numerous Bones caught and a few smaller Trevallies missed it was already time to head back but we were lucky. The island manager had given us one of their handheld VHF radios in case we got in trouble but I never switched it on as I understood to use it only if we were. So he had tried to radio us in vain and eventually sent the skipper over in the boat to check if were okay. Of course we were and the chap was nice enough to offer us a pickup at our time of choice which allowed me to fish for another three great hours for a better Permit that never came along though. Still it was a dream and even better was that I could get a morning drop-off and afternoon pickup at that place again the following day. Fishing was a lot different then though. The wind had picked up further and changed angle a bit, the water was murkier in most of the area and the Bones had become really picky. No way to get them on those Flexo Crabs any more and even proper Bonefish flies I had to try a few until finding something that worked. So got a handful more, one of those funny bearded Bastard Mullet, and at the end this pretty Queenfish while still no luck with the Trevallies. But there was only a pair of smaller Bluefins around there and no GT at all, which was a bit of a shame as that obstacle free area would have given me a realistic chance. Still no complaints.

No such welcome boat transfer any more along the last two days so I explored the slightly protected northern edge of the airstrip reef. 

Still 20 knots of wind there but at least rather calm water as opposed to the long stretch towards south around the corner where the wind was howling along and the waves were massive.

A shot at a Triggerfish went to waste as it was probably just the wrong fly. Again no luck with the odd smaller Trevally on that reef as I either spooked them, missed to set the hook properly or got cut off in the coral, but a few Bones that had no inhibitions to munch on the fast stripped clousers made up for that a bit. 

Right at low tide I checked the outer edge of the reef and getting there I saw that GT of about a meter strolling towards me in perfect casting distance. Just enough time to fiddle the #11 rod out of the belt clip and get ready. Cast was pitch perfect, the beast slammed the fly, I set the hook hard and proper (I thought …), it took off and after some 30m or so it just spat the fly. Shame. But all in all it might have been better that way as considering all those coral heads my chances to really get that fish had been much smaller than to lose it with a long stretch of line I think. Along the next hour or so I saw several more patrolling along,  well out of casting distance though. But it was cool enough to look at them like in an aquarium when they were lifted by the waves as I had only so far heard of such but never actually seen it. Next morning I was there again but it was very different: even more wind, choppier and murkier water, and definitely less fish under a gloomy sky and hefty rain showers every so often.

Managed two more Bones in these tricky conditions but nothing else even just seen. So the only proper GTs I can show you here from close is a still from my short snorkel video with the pet bunch. Hope it`s impressive enough.

So all in all, despite the wasted opportunities and without that bigger Permit that had been my primary goal even just seen, I was quite happy with my fishing there. Especially when taking the mentioned difficulties and my zero knowledge about the place into account. It really is a stunning place in so many different ways, the accommodation was decent, and all the people there were really cool and nice. Definitely a place to return to if I ever get the chance. And maybe also spend some time on Alphonse where we had a short stopover on our way back to Mahe.

Sadly this else wonderful trip was overshadowed by dripping in news from Germany that my father developed a bad health state that went from bad to worse. No chance to get away from Farquhar and back home though as there is only that single flight per week. By the morning of our departure my old man`s state had become critical and while at last back on Praslin early evening and checking for flights to Germany I received the call informing that he had passed away. That was devastating. I still went next opportunity of course to sort out the most pressing issues and it was nearly mid of May until I was back on Praslin. Meantime apart from a few single trolling charters only Mervin had been fishing with his last group of the season. That had not gone too great as he said with some Amberjacks jigging, a Sailfish and some other catches but without any highlights.

Meantime the Southeast had also gradually set in. While along the week after my return it was still reasonably fishable there were just no guests for the charter boats as usually in May. Only guest still due from my side and to fish with Mervin for some days if possible was regular Armin from Switzerland but right on the day of his arrival the Southeast started to blow proper. Saturday the 24th it was already at the limit but still we went for a day of GT popping in rough seas and winds of around 16 knots that eased a bit along the day. Fishing also was tough in the rocking boat and the bite was slow: a few misses early morning, no activity for long hours and at last already at the harbour spot that so often saved the day Armin got this small GT. 

And crazy as fishing can be, right on the next cast his popper was smashed by a big one but on the strike the main line just snapped. Must have obtained a little damage from pulling the small one we think. For the next few days the Southeast blew even harder but Wednesday was so surprisingly calm at around 12 knots again that we ventured even to the Drop Off for a mix of jigging and trolling. As visible below, both worked somewhat but the day will be remembered as one of missed fish: a first Marlin checked out all lures but didn`t like any, Armin lost a decent fish trolling but also what must have been a massive Amberjack on jig. Generally he and also fishing Mervin saw numerous fish just drop the hooks, Armin had a big Wahoo cut his jig off right at the boat and to round it all off when trolling home there was another weird incident. Mervin was just trying to tease a Sailfish to eat a lure at the back of the spread when another Marlin knocked a Trembler style Nomad diving plug running close to the props high into the air. The briefly slack line wound around the rod tip, the Marlin smashed the lure hitting the water and we just heard a whiplash bang when the line snapped.

Still we saw a good bit of action and thus it was much better than the following day`s afternoon GT popping stint: not a single attack in more wind, bigger waves and strong current. A few GTs raised to look at the poppers but just dropped down again without striking. Yesterday the wind was very strong again so not the most pleasant perspectives for the freshly reinvented Praslin fishing tournament. The boats left at midnight, and when ready with this piece of work I will stroll up the beach to watch the weigh-in. Hope they are all safe out there.

April came and passed in the nicest way possible: with fair weather and low winds from changing directions most of the time, high activity for the charter boats and of course the usual decent catches. The anglers represented a good mix of hardcore fishing groups to vacationers eager for a tryout of our waters. An example of those were Robert and his wife from Germany. A half day GT popping was tough and had not produced for them but a jigging day at the Drop Off on Unreel and skippered by Evanio provided happy fishing.

Meanwhile Mervin fished along that first week of the month with a group that impressed not only by some quality catches but also really colorful hats. 

Brandon also had a group that fished and caught well but they kept all the pictures unfortunately. Still a glance at Greg`s selection of catches should provide sufficient proof that - whether it was trolling, jigging or popping – everything worked really nicely along that first third of the month.

On the 10th Robert made a second attempt for a GT out of Mahe with Stefan but it was again tough due to the extreme heat we got with those windless days, so they resorted to some jigging. See how mirror flat the water was and you will get an idea how killing the popping must have been.

Two days later I came along on a half day GT popping with Dutch angler Nick and Mervin. The breath of wind that morning made it bearable and Nick really worked his butt off just to experience a tiny one, a very few raises and a proper GT that seemed safely on but dropped the hook after a few seconds. Eventually after three actionless hours Mervin called for the last cast and unbelievably a GT first missed, turned around and hammered the popper. A second attempt of those is rather rare here but no-one deserved it more that Nick. Joy all over of course.

A few days before he had done a trip out of Mahe to Bird Island in the north and done well there too. The Yellowfin came on jig and gave him hell. But good to see those around. 

They appeared here and there, not reliably and not always big, but some quality ones showed themselves every so often. A few days later Mervin found those barrels and his group got three on poppers. Still Mervin complained a bit that the anglers were not the youngest and strongest which caused them lose a couple even bigger ones and some very strong jigging fish also. That one Yellowfin lost a few meters under the boat that he estimated at around 80kg haunted him for a while.

But at least they were there and also found by Greg who doesn`t usually go to the Drop Off on his boat TopWater unless it`s reliably calm. They had a great day out there, cool big Doggies these are.

Also Brandon continued to do well with a new group that did not bother to keep their splendid catches secret. Nice mix of species once more.

And Mervin finished with his senior group at Easter Saturday.

The last few days I was not all that close to the action due to some obligations and preparations for an absence along until the end of the month. This also explains why this edition comes a week early. But last night Brandon sent a few more pics from another great day at the Drop.

Also in the mix was this huge Sailfish that is a pending National Record for Seychelles. The cool thing about that fish is that it was not caught trolling, but on jig. Fantastic feat.

To wrap it all up a few words on fly fishing that I concentrated on. Partly as my boat is still out of order so I had no ther way to fish and also as these two recent months are traditionally the best ones for that here. Still not much to shine though: results were rather unsatisfactory despite over two dozen stints done and my quest for a proper Permit (that would be +40cm) continues. I had been roaming the flat on the west coast of Praslin easy 20 times since late January. The small ones came reliably but anything better remained a dream. Sightings of bigger ones were few (maybe 4 or 5) and my only two opportunities, once on a single one and the other time on a pair that even offered two shots, led to nothing as the Flexo Crab was inspected but eventually found unworthy each time. Had a few shots at tailing Golden Trevallies and each of that casts produced a bent rod but every time it was just one of those tiny Permits again that move around with those Goldens.

So all rather pitiful. One must consider and accept that the fly fishing there comes with all sorts of headaches. One is the condensation cloud that builds nearly every single morning above the island when the sun comes up. And it inevitably shades the area from the so important sunlight. Would estimate that at least 70% of the time spent there went without sunshine. Add other adversities like tourists coming close to ask about catches. Of course I remain friendly. Or these dogs that have learned that fair-skinned people are usually tourists that are amused by them chasing the Stingrays and splashing around. I still remain friendly. Only on the really most stupid question if there possibly are any fish here at all, I allow myself the little rudeness of just replying “no” without even looking. Which ends any further conversation reliably.

Here in front of my place at Anse Gouvernement I saw a massive Permit twice. Surely +50cm, rather around 60 I would say. That fish of my dreams just swam at arm`s length when I was snorkeling for the lost part of my mooring on those two early days of clear water end of February. Naturally I spent a good part of the following days casting into the wind and again murky water but nothing ever happened. The Mackerel for a third year in a row now did not come into the bay in noteworthy numbers after in had happened reliably along the previous decade. Thus there was no reason for the Trevallies and other larger predators to stick around. Subsequently I picked up just two Brassies along the weeks, both rather small.

The small catches of Trumpetfish, Snappers and such stuff came of course. This one was a bit better and quite pretty. 

Bonefish remained totally elusive, both on the western flat and in front of Hotel l`Archipel where I used to get one here and there. But these all came on a certain patch of sand that has overgrown with seaweed over the last couple of years, and so far I have not been able to find them again. So I can pretty much only hold on to the fact that there is probably no nicer environment in the world to catch nothing but here.

Comparing my findings while wading with those during occasional snorkels I have the impression that the better fish avoid the wadably shallows more that in previous times. Some sort of skiff or other platform to fish these deeper waters will probably be a gamechanger to some degree. Serge on Mahe must have his reasons to fish that way with his guests and the results speak for themselves. But surely his vast experience from guiding in the Outer Islands play a significant role, and possibly also the larger choice of fishable areas over there around Mahe. 

Still the Inner Island can not match the Outer ones as far as fly fishing is concerned and I am really looking forward to roam one of those in the week ahead. What might come up there and what will happen here along this last week of April you will learn in the next edition.

For the preceeding reports check the archive.