Farquhar Blog: 6 – 13 April 2013
If you’ve been reading our weekly catch ups, long time client and friend Rob Ramsey has been on Farquhar. This week the rest of his mates from Fly Water Travel joined us on the island. To make sure that the island wasn’t taken over by a full scale American invasion, Headquarters sent us three South Africans- apparently to keep us in check. Considering Wayne Osborne and his mates Jeff and Dean have been on trips with us from the company’s conception, you’d think HQ would know better than to send these fishing fanatics and mischief makers to keep us in line. Those of you who’ve had the opportunity to meet these practical jokers would hardly be surprised to know that we were soon corrupted by the Buffalo Rule from the get go.
It was however also 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 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 Fly Water Travel trans Atlantic contingent to keep us going for another week 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.
James Topham