Providence Blog: 26 March – 2 April 2024

The midway point of our Providence March – April 2024 fly fishing season saw us welcome a mix of familiar faces from South Africa and US with the addition of a handful of newcomers. Excited to see what the atoll had in store for us, we went to work reading everyone’s gear and headed to our anchorage for the week.

The first day of the fishing week dawned dark, with heavy rain and strong winds out of the west. With limited visibility and buckets of rain falling continuously throughout the day our team had to improvise and spend time on the few white sand patches available. Despite the torrid conditions we made the most of the day with most of the group enjoying phenomenal fishing for grouper, snapper and Bluefin Trevally. As for the iconic species… Dave, Paul, Doug, Ben, and Ian all landed a single GT each while Bruce managed to get 2 to hand. Derek got stuck into the bonefish, landing 4 with the biggest estimated to be in the region of 9 lbs. These were fantastic returns considering the trying conditions we endured. Well done, gentlemen!

The second day began with much improved weather… Sunshine, and almost no wind, then by mid-day we were pelted with rain and powerful winds out of the southwest. This massive squall made fishing almost impossible for the duration of the afternoon. Paul, Wayne, and Mark pulled off the impossible bringing a GT each to hand. Thrown into the mix were a few groupers, snapper and Bluefin Trevally split amongst the group. All in all, a tough day on the flats.

The halfway point of the week saw improvement on the weather front, as well as the fishing. With decent light, and more fish on the move our group made the most of their opportunities with Doug managing to land 2 GTs… Wayne, David, and Mark all got stuck into the action too with a 1 GT each. It was however Graham’s Day, when he crossed paths with a genuine trophy GT that was encountered while it patrolled along a lagoon edge. His cast went in and before he could get through his third strip, he was tight to 114cm of pure power. After a long battle he eventually got his beauty to hand, an impressive fish. Great going Graham! Dean later closed off the catch report with a respectable GT of 96 cm.

The fourth day brought with it more action on the flats. The flats team of Wayne, Graham, and Dean enjoyed several opportunities in front of skinny water GTs with the team managing to boat 5 GTs for the day. Well done guys! Derek, however, was the standout angler for the day and landed 4 GTs and 1 Yellow Margin Triggerfish… Excellent returns for a day out saltwater fly fishing! Ben managed to land his first Triggerfish on the fly, a large Yellow Margin. Great going Ben, well done. Add to the impressive action for the iconic species were phenomenal catches of grouper, snapper, and Bluefin Trevally which kept our anglers entertained for most of the day.

The fifth day dawned bright and calm with no cloud cover to speak of. The picture-perfect conditions reminded us of the beauty of the place. Ben went tight early on landing a hefty 87 cm GT while his boat partner, Dereck went 1 better landing a fin-perfect 100cm GT just a few moments later. He wasn’t done there and landed a strong 94 cm fish in the dying moments of the day. Mark, Doug, Jo, and Bruce each landed a single GT while Paul tasted epic success while walking along a finger flat. He saw 2 large fish swimming along the edge of the flat and quickly chased them down, sent out a long cast, and went tight into something massive… After an epic tussle he eventually landed a beautiful 104cm GT. Paul’s PB, a special and well-deserved moment! Dean found himself in the hive of pufferfish and managed to land 4 which must be some kind of record. He also managed to land a 2 beautiful Triggerfish. His boat partners, Wayne, and Graham each landed 2 Triggers bringing the boats total tally for the session to 6 Triggers landed. A very special session, well done boys!

The last day of the fishing week saw us dealt with warm water throughout the atoll. This had a negative effect of the fishing. Jo and Ian landed a GT each while Doug caught his first Triggerfish of the trip. Wayne landed 2 GTs and a Bonefish, while his boat partners Paul, and Dean landed a couple bones each as well.

That brings us to the end of the 4th week on fishing Providence Atoll. We enjoyed improved fishing from the previous week and we all felt rejuvenated with the prospects of the weeks to come. A special thank you to everyone who joined us this week, we hope to see you all again sometime soon.

Our catch tally for the week was: