Providence Blog: 16 – 23 April 2024

The penultimate week of our early year stint at Providence saw us welcome several old friends to the atoll, a mix from the US, South Africa and Zimbabwe, with Paul staying on for the second of his 2 weeks with us.

Day 1 had us endure severe wind from the southeast, gusting north of 30 knots from time to time certainly made fishing challenging. Our team of anglers and guides somehow managed to make the most of a tricky wicket and picked up loads of GT catches to start the week off with a bang! The fishing trio of John, Watts, and Dave got straight into the action from the moment their feet hit the flats… GTs tailing and bow waking all over the place resulted in returns of 2, 1, and 1 respectively. Good job, boys! The action carried on in other areas of the atoll with Chris C and Bruce chipping in with 2 and 1 GTs while Paul kept up his good form landing 2 GTs himself. Kris and Tim closed off the catch tally for the day with a single GT each. Well done to everyone for soldiering on through the tough fishing conditions.

Day 2 delivered an improvement in the weather and a bit more variety on the flats. On the tailing species front Dave, John, and Watts enjoyed some classic Providence Bonefishing with the trio each landing a Bonefish each. Joe added a bit of colour to the days catch report with the only Triggerfish landed for the day. John, who had spent 2 weeks with us in 2022 without any success was determined to land a Bumpie, and that exactly what he did. On the second day of trip with us this year he managed to tame a respectable Bumphead Parrotfish to settle the score with Providence. Attaboy John! Meanwhile the Sage team of Kris and Peter each landed a single GT while Watts, Jim, and Chris C followed suit each getting their hands on lively Giant Trevally.

The third day saw a continuation of the slightly improved weather conditions with stiff breeze from the southeast and the odd squall passing by every so often. Chris W got the GT catch report going early on landing a small fish that passed through a channel. A little while later he added another to his name and shortly after that, his fishing partner Bruce crossed paths with a powerful fish that was following a large shark across the flat. Good job chaps! The Bonefishing continued to be good with Paul landing 4 Bones himself, the biggest in the region of 8lbs and his fishing partner Kris managed to get 3 to hand for the day.

Day 4 saw us enjoy some of the impressive grouper and snapper fishing available at Providence with most of the fishing teams catching loads of large line ripping fish. Chris C, John, and Paul all managed a single GT. It was however to be Watts’s day in the limelight. While waiting at a drainage channel, and during a heavy downpour 3 large GTs appeared at his feet. A single cast ahead of them resulted in a massive bust-up and line ripping from his reel at a frighting speed. He was quickly put onto the boat and through a bit of good fortune his fish was landed in a large coral garden! A special fish of 105cm, a genuine trophy… Well done Watts!

Day 5 saw us enjoy the best weather conditions yet, with perfect sunlight and a slight breeze from the southeast. It however turned out to be a tricky one on flats with most of the anglers struggling to put numbers of the board. Bruce managed to land 1 GT while his fishing buddy, Chris W, landed 3. 1 of which a fish that Chris had been hunting for several years… a beaut of 118cm that was encountered late into the pushing tide in the surf. A long battle fulled with nerves eventually resulted in his prized catch resting firmly in his hands. A moment that we’re sure he, his fishing mates, and his guide will remember for a long time to come. Great work chaps!!

The 6th and final day of the fishing week saw us enjoy decent fishing for the atoll’s GTs. John ended his stay with us in true style landing 3 GTs while his fishing buddy Dave landed a single fish. Peter landed 2 while Bruce and Jim landed a single GT each.

That brings us the end of the 7th weeks catch report from Providence. Our catch tally for the week was: