Providence Blog: 15 – 22 October 2024

And so we began our late 2024 season on Providence Atoll, where we welcomed a group of very eager travelers from Europe and South Africa. Conditions for the week were sunny with gentle winds blowing from a south easterly direction.Tides wise, were heading out of the neaps into springs as the full moon approached.

Our first day of the week provided a good start for the group. The fish were out and about feeding happily and very much in hunting mode. For most of the day the clouds stayed away, providing good spotting conditions for fish cruising the edges and flats. 4 GT’s were landed on the day, the biggest being 84cm caught by Pete. The Sailfish fishing was also on point, with one boat raising up a good amount of fish and converting 1 nice Sailfish to end off a great day. 

The second day the fishing was slightly tougher, the odd squall and heavy cloud cover made it tough to see fish cruising over the turtle grass. lan however managed to get into his first ever GT making him a very happy angler. There were a total of 2 GT’s caught on the day, the tough light forcing us to do some bommy bashing to keep things productive. Providence excels in this style of fishing, with Saddle Back Groupers, Bohar Snappers, Bluefin Trevally and other coral hugging species saving the day.

Day three of the week was also slow, with more thick cloud cover making spotting extremely challenging. Ian however was once again rewarded with a great fish after initially hooking a Bluefin Trevally. Whilst fighting the fish, a 114cm Napoleon Wrasse popped out and stole the fly right out of the Bluefin’s mouth. Congrats Ian…what a special catch! There were a couple of good GT’s cruising along the channels but unfortunately none were converted on the day. The rest of the day was spent drifting over coral bommies catching a variety of grouper and snapper between our anglers. As the day ended, heavy rain clouds rolled over the atoll and our thoughts moved towards the hope of better conditions for tomorrow.

Day four and there was a significant improvement in the  weather as well as the fishing. With a lot more fish seen cruising the flats and drainages, there were a couple of memorable moments from the day. Early in the morning, Steve managed to hook up to a very nice GT as a pack of 20 or more fish came rushing over the flats, his fish measuring 99 cm…1cm shy of that coveted triple digit number! Later in the day Vaughn managed to make it happen on a beautiful 103 cm GT that gave him a proper scrap in one of the drainages, a truly well deserved trophy fish. There was also good success happening for the boys on the other boat. lan managed yet another nice Napoleon Wrasse while walking along the flats looking for Geets, while Pete had a great day landing three GT’s during the course of his day out…..well fished Pete! Overall day four was a good booster for both clients and guides, the improved sighting conditions certainly lifting the spirits!

Day five and the wind started picking up again making casting tough to say the least ! Thankfully we still had sunlight and some fish swimming. Unfortunately not many were converted, however  two nice fish still came out, one fish caught by Pete and the other by Vaughn, well done to both anglers on their beautiful catches from the day. As for the rest of our anglers, good numbers of grouper and Bohar’s got the rods bent and ensured we ended the day looking forward to tomorrow.

As the sun rose on the final day of the week, we were woken by a hard wind blowing out of the south! As the guys set out to the flats, hopes remained high as there was very little cloud cover.  As such, we enjoyed some good action out on the flats including a couple of really beautiful fish. Steve managed to hook up to a monster 117cm GT, which showed him their world famous aggression when it charged in and ate the fly right at the rod tip. Truly a fish of a lifetime  and well deserved….well done Steve!!! During the day on the other boat,  Charlie also managed to get into a decent GT during the day, along with new Prov guide CJ who was training. The  boats also enjoyed some exciting Triggerfish and Bonefish fishing just to cap off a really pleasant day out! 

We ended our week with smiles all round! The weather had things challenging to say the least but with a terrific group of people it was still a hugely enjoyableweekl. There are signs the fishery is in really good shape for the seasons, so we look forward to the next few weeks!

Catch tally for the week:

⁃ GT’s: 30 ( 103cm Vaughn, 117cm Steve, 108cm CJ)

⁃ Sailfish: 1 (Vaughn)

⁃ Napoleon Wrasse: 2 ( 114cm lan)

⁃ Total tally of Grouper & Snapper: 115

Till next time,

The FlyCastaway Guide Team