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Providence Blog: 3 – 12 March 2024

The opening week of our Providence 2024 season saw us welcome 10 guests onboard the Maya’s Dugong for an extended 8 day/9-night trip. With rather bumpy seas and gloomy skies we wondered what the first week in March had in store for us… This is how it went.

Much to our relief the first fishing day of the season saw us enjoy bluebird skies, brilliant sunlight, and very little wind. The tides allowed us to ease into things with a slow morning push and fly fishing opportunities for a wide variety of targets including GTs, Bonefish, Triggerfish, and Permit shared amongst the group. Charlie and brother Nick shared a fantastic day on the flats together with 3 and 4 GTs landed respectively. Nick’s 4 GTs also happened to be his first ever on the fly which is a fantastic achievement. Charlie later added a large Bonefish of the 9/10 lb. caliber, ending off a wonderful opening to their trip. Elsewhere on the atoll the rest of the group did just as well with Gerald completing a flats slam which consisted of a Bonefish, Triggerfish, and GT. His boat partners Margaret, Rob each landed a GT, however a special mention for Rob who managed to land his first 2 Triggerfish on the fly. Great job Rob! TJ and Ian also landed a Trigger each which rounded off a successful opener for our team.

Day 2 saw the wind do a complete 180-degree directional change, blowing hard out of the southeast. On the bright side we enjoyed good sunshine for most of the day and this reflected in our catch tally. Tim managed to complete a flats slam consisting of a GT, Bonefish, and Triggerfish. His fishing partner, TJ chipped in with a beaut of GT that measured 89cm as well as 6 Bones. Brothers Nick and Charlie got into the action early and landed a couple GTs each. Nick however had a score to settle, determined to tick off the Triggerfish from his catch list, he did just that, with 2 colourful Yellow Margins. Rob added 2 more GTs, one of which a nice fish of 90cm and last, but not least was Dale, who landed a GT to round off a pleasant day on the flats.

Day 3 had us hopeful for more action, and that’s exactly what we got. The action started on the weather front with consistent rolling squalls and strong gusts coming from the southeast. Despite the patchy light and tricky conditions for casting our guests enjoyed a fine day of flats fishing on Providence. This time, it happened to be Ian’s turn to complete a slam of 2 GTs, 2 Triggers, and a single Bone. Dale laned as many GTs as well as 4 Bonefish, one of which dropped the scale to an impressive 9,5 lb.! It was however their third boat partner who enjoyed a personal victory, smashing his PB with a staunch 100cm GT… Our hats off to you Eric. Gerry and Nick landed a GT each while team T&T (Tim and TJ) managed 3 GTs each during a busy lunchtime session.

The halfway point of the trip, day 4, had us endure continuous rolling squalls, high altitude clouds, and little periods of sunlight. These conditions made the fishing somewhat difficult, and our guests had to capitalize on the opportunities they got during the short windows of decent visibility. The bulk of the fishing action was shared between Nick and Charlie. The pair found themselves in the right place at the right time and had several large schools of marauding GTs at their feet at different points during the day. Charlie managed to land 3 from these schools, the largest, a respectable 96cm GT, he also pined a lively Triggerfish while Nick chipped in with 2 GTs and a single Bonefish. The rest of the group soldiered on and managed several decent catches with Margaret, Dale, Tim, and TJ all successful on the GT front. Rob, however, enjoyed a particularly special moment when he landed his personal best Giant Trevally, a brute, that measured 101cm!

Day 5 blessed us with perfect tropical weather, bright sunshine, and a slight breeze from the southeast. The standout catch of the day went to Nick, who managed to land an absolute giant of a GT. His 119cm trophy was spotted as it slowly worked its way along an exposed turtle grass finger flat, Nick’s fly went down and the fish immediately recognized it as prey, shooting forward and engulfing it before the second strip. A mad tussle ensued and due to some luck and some fancy boat work the fish was eventually landed! Charlie added to the day’s tally with another decent fish that measured 90cm while Margaret, TJ, Ian and Rob all enjoyed catches of GTs. Dale and Eric added a splash of colour to the tally with a Yellow Margin Triggerfish and Saddle Back Grouper landed respectively.

Day 6 dawned bright and fresh. With little wind and clear skies our team headed to the flats with great anticipation of good fishing. The action was shared between TJ, Gerry, Dale, Nick and Charlie, all of whom managed to land a couple GTs. The largest of the day went to Nick when he coaxed a beautiful 96cm fish from a large coral head in the dying moments of the day. On the species front, Rob, Margaret, and Gerry enjoyed a session of productive fishing over the atoll’s expansive coral gardens landing several Bohar Snappers, Napoleon Wrasse, Grouper, and a large Saddleback.

Day 7 saw a continuation of the flat calm weather, with the addition of a couple degrees Celsius to the days heat. The duration and intensity of the hot weather we experienced during the days prior had finally caught up with us and we experienced warm water in large areas of the atoll which had a negative effect on the fishing. On the GT front, Ian, Dale, Nick, Charlie, and Margaret all enjoyed success. TJ managed to land a massive Barracuda as well as a Napoleon while Charlie and Nick hit it out the park during a very productive session of bommie bashing catching Saddleback Grouper, Bohar, and several other novel species that call the atoll home.

The last day of the trip saw us endure heavy cloud, rain, and the odd rumble of thunder for duration of the time we spend on the flats. Despite the tough fishing conditions, we still managed to get the odd opportunity in front of our desired targets with Nick, Ian, Rob, and Gerry all bringing GTs to hand. Our shots were taken during brief periods of the tide where we were able to spot water disturbances created by moving stingrays and tailing fish. A tough way to end the trip but we all felt satisfied that we did everything we could to find and catch fish under trying conditions.

All in all, this was an incredibly enjoyable week of fishing shared with old and new friends. Despite the tough conditions we managed to make memories that’ll last a lifetime. A special thanks to everyone who joined us this week. As for our catch tally we landed the following fish:

GTs – 68 (3 of 100cm +)
Triggerfish – 14
Bonefish – 29
Total tally of other fish caught – 96

Till next week,

The FlyCastaway Guide Team

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Providence Blog: 5 – 12 Dec 2023

Before we knew it, the final week of the Providence October – December 2023 season was here.
Fate would have it that we welcomed back our friends from AOS, Alex and Stephan. They were hosting a full house of guests from Austria, Marco was staying on for another week and our friend from South Africa, Peter, joined the group. A few first-timers to the salt and some guests on their 10th trip to the Seychelles. We were set to finish the week and season strong.

On the first day, we had some patchy light and low winds. Manuel, Gernot, and Chris’s team got straight into the action when they came across a mob of nurse sharks with about 200 GTs with them. Chris and Manuel landed a few GTs immediately, but the day went to Gernot, who landed his first GT and 3 others, including a 112cm. Well done Gernot The husband and wife team of Klaus V and Christina teamed up with Peter. Peter got off the mark early with an excellent GT on a crab. They all landed 1 bonefish each, and Christina got a sizeable yellow margin trigger to hand. Klaus V also landed a nice-sized Napoleon. The new team of Freddy, Klaus and Lucas landed their first GTs for the trip. Alex, Stephan, and Marco also got into the gents and brought 6 to hand. Bring the first day to a close with 17 GTs landed and signs of good things to come.

Sadly, as we often experience on the atoll, the weather can change on a dime, and we woke on the second day to 360 degree glare and rain all day. The teams thus set out to find a few bonefish; Lukas and Klaus landed their first 2 bones each, whilst Freddy caught his first and five more for the day, plus landed his first ever sailfish. Well done gents! Christina and Peter landed the only 2 GTs for the day.

We rose to beautiful weather on day three and set out to try to make up for the previous day’s bad light. Freddy, Klaus, and Lukas kept their momentum going with 1 each and 5 more bonefish. Peter, Christina, and their husband Klaus landed 8 bonefish—five for Peter, 2 for Klaus, and 1 for Christina. Alex, Stephan, and Marco found five lovely bones in the morning, and Stephan landed the first and only bumpy for the week. But the day’s fish went to Marco, who hooked and landed a GT measuring 114cm after a stressful fight involving some coral heads and a few swims. Well done, Marco!

On the 4th day, we had much of the same momentum. The teams kept the GT tally steadily ticking over with many more memorable catches. The trio of Alex, Stephan, and Marco landed 8 GTs, but the most memorable was 1 of Stephan’s fish that ate spectacularly after a long follow-in; the fish also measured 97cm—well done gents! Klaus, Freddy and Lukas also landed 5 GTs, 2 for Freddy and Klaus and one for Lukas, including a nice GT caught by Klaus V. This brought the day’s tally to 13 more GTs.

For the 5th and second to last day of the season, it looked like we would have excellent light and low winds. Peter got off the mark first with an absolute cracker of a fish, which after a short chase and another swim, the fish measuring 115cm was landed. His fishing partners Klaus V and Christina sadly ost a bumpy each shortly after. The other teams used the light well and caught many more GTs. Freddy, big Klaus and Lukas landed 7 GTs between them. The trio of Alex, Stephan and Marco matched this number. Emanuel, Chris and Gernot landed four more, whilst Chris ended the day off with a sailfish. Well done to everyone!

The season’s final day was here and thankfully the weather was going to play fair. We set off with blue skies and high hopes. Big Klaus landed his final GT for the trip which was spotted sitting in a white hole. Marco, Stephan, Klaus V and Peter also finished with a final GT each for their trip. Gernot and Manuel also landed a fish each, but it was Gernot who topped the teams with a second fish in the afternoon. Well done to all on a great week fo fishing and fun to close out our season!

This brings the week tally and the season to a close as follows:

GT – 63 (3 > 112cm)
Bonefish – 33
Bumphead Parrotfish – 1
Triggerfish – 1
Sailfish – 2
Napoleon – 2
Other – 112

Till next season,

The FlyCastaway Guide Team

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Providence Blog: 28 Nov – 5 Dec 2023

For the seventh week of the Providence October-December season, we welcomed back some new and old faces, along with great friend Tony who was staying on for his second week. A team of 5 from South Africa, including Andy, Andrew, Mark, Hilton and George joined us, whilst Dan and Charles from the USA made their first trip to Providence and Marco returned for another crack at what the atoll has to offer.

We rose on the first day to almost no wind and bright blue skies, an absolute relief given the conditions we experienced the week prior. Hilton got off the mark early with his first GTs of the trip and the guys got stuck into some excellent Bommie bashing to stretch the lines and see what their gear was made of. Andrew managed to get a GT for himself, but the rod of the day was Tony who made up for the terrible weather the week before. He landed 5 GTs, 2 over a meter (107 cm and a 103 cm) as well as a fish of 97 cm. It is an excellent example of making it count when it matters. Well done, Tony.

We had the same beautiful weather on the second day including some severe heat. There was zero wind but amazing blue skies. Tony landed a nice GT, whilst the team of Hilton and George landed a GT each for the day. Andrew landed a beautiful GT of 93 cm in a big drainage and Mark simultaneously hooked a giant Bluefin, making a great double-up of the photo. The trio of Charles, Dan, and Marco got 6 GTs to the boat between, during which Charles landed 3 and Dan landed his first of 101 cm. Well done Dan! Charles landed an exceptional fish of 109 cm as well.

We went to a completely different weather conditions on the third day: gloomy grey skies and all-day rain awaited us. We waded out into the gloom with high spirits. Andy landed his first triggerfish on his first trip to the Seychelles, an excellent achievement that can often take many trips to achieve. Andrew landed a beautiful sailfish and Marco landed another GT for the day.

On the fourth day, we hesitantly peeked out the window hoping that the weather had gone! To our joy we were back to beautiful blue skies and low winds. Tony kept his momentum going by landing a GT and a sailfish in the morning. Hilton also managed to bring a sail to hand, however George was the hot rod on his boat by landing 2 GTs before the end of the day. The ever-steady Marco landed yet another GT for the day, whilst Charles and Mark found a few bonefish and brought 6 to hand.

The 5th day held more incredible weather and the teams were well into the swing of things.
George caught his first trigger of the trip….well done George. Hilton and Andrew landed 1 GT each and Tony also kept his average up by getting yet another GT. The ever-consistent Marco landed two GTs out of a drainage, 1 of them measuring 90cm.

For the final day, it almost felt like the weather might be too nice in that warm water might play a part. The trio of Andrew, Hilton and Mark found some GTs, and Andrew cashed in by landing 3 by himself. Hilton also snagged one to bring his Prov trip to a successful close. Andy caught his second trigger for the trip. Well done. Tony did exceptionally well to land four triggers for the day, a personal record for himself. Well done, Tony. The trio of Charles, Dan and Marco landed 2 GTs and Charles and Marco landed their first triggers of the trip. Well done gents!

This brings the week’s tally to:

GT – 32 ( 4 > 1m biggest 109cm)
Bonefish – 6
Triggerfish – 7
Sailfish – 4

Till next week,

The FlyCastaway Guide Team

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Providence Blog: 21 – 28 Nov 2023

We welcomed a near full boat of return guests, some from South Africa and some from New Zealand, along with Tony who was about to start a 2-week stint with us.

After an early dinner and a good rest, all the guests rose on the first day to storms, rain, and almost no light. The teams headed onto the flats to look for bonefish and other tailing species. Despite the conditions, Chris M got off the board with his first GT of the week with the rest of the group enduring a torrid time on the flats due to the weather. Eventually after a massive storm we all scampered back to the safety of the Dugong in the early evening.

We had great hope that would be the last of the weather, but the second day held much of the same. With the tides still okay for a few bonefish, we tried to make do with what we had. Chris M landed another GT while Tony added a perfect GT of 92 cm to the tally. The boat grouping of Charles, Richard, and Craig found a few bonefish, it was however Charles who enjoyed the bulk of the action landing 5 bones, 2 Napoleons, and a barracuda. Richard meanwhile joined a unique club, the Bills and Bones Club, landing his first of each. Well done guys!

By the third day, we had become low light and strong wind specialists. Craig, Rich and Charles continued to enjoy the bonefishing despite the weather hammering us relentlessly. Craig managed to finally land his first GT as well as a powerful Napoleon. The father & son team of Chris and James managed 2 bones, a special moment shared between the pair as this was James’s first-ever experience with a bonefish. He later added a GT to his catch tally for the day. Tony found a triggerfish somewhere in the haze and did very well to land it while his boat partner David landed another Napoleon.

We finally rose on the fourth day to what looked like a little bit of a break in the weather, with some patches of blue sky showing up amongst the clouds. Tony and David did very well; Tony landed a GT in a channel of 85 cm and later he landed a speedy sailfish. Chris W, Chris C, and Pete managed to land 1 GT each for the day while Richard finally got the monkey off his back when he landed his first GT of the trip. Well done Rich!

The fifth day saw us battle the wind, rain and lack of light once again. Restricted to a few white sand flats available to us we managed to scratch out the odd opportunity for the iconic species we were after. Catches of note included Chris W’s 2 GTs, a handful of bonefish for Tony and David as well as a big dogtooth tuna landed offshore.

Before we knew it it was the final day of the fishing week and we finally had some pleasant weather consisting of manageable wind and patchy sunlight. Chris C was the rod of the day landing a beautiful 101 cm GT. His fish was encountered as it attempted to cross a shallow area on an isolated flat. With a full quarter of its body exposed, Chris’s fly went down and the fish rooster tailed 10 meters in a second to smash it. A lengthy battle ensued and eventually the fish was landed – A tremendous fish for the week despite everything thrown at the group! Chris C’s success didn’t stop there, he along with his fishing buddies Chris W and Pete got stuck into 3 enormous grouper, culminating in an awesome triple, a massive Napoleon wrasse, an even bigger saddleback grouper and a large bohar snapper. Later, Pete would add yet another trophy Napoleon to his tally for the day. Special stuff guys, well done. Chris W then, in the dying moments of the last fishing day managed to hook a sailfish that actually spooled him. With the fishing gods on his side, the knot to the reel spool held strong just long enough to gain some line on the fish and then eventually land it. What a way to end the fishing week!

Week 6 goes down as one of the tougher weeks we’ve encountered. Hats off to the guides and guests for hanging in there, all while laughing, joking and fishing hard every single day.

The week’s catch tally was:

GT – 14 (biggest 101cm)
Sailfish – 4
Bonefish -12
Triggerfish = 1
Total number of other fish species landed – 143

Yours in fishing,

The FlyCastaway Guide Team

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Providence Blog: 14 -21 Nov 2023

We welcomed a full group of anglers from our friends at Yellowdog for the 5th week of fly fishing during our end-of-year season. Most of our new arrivals had never been to the Seychelles before, while a few others had recently spent limited time fishing another atoll in the region. Eager to show our new visitors our office for the next 6 days, we quickly got their gear ready and set off for an afternoon in the deep blue, hoping to catch a couple of edibles for the week ahead.

We got off to a great start on the first full day with 14 GTs shared between the group. Matt, John, George, Jarret, and Jud all opened their Providence GT accounts during the day, Jud’s fish a special catch breaking the fabled 100 cm mark. The top rod of the day however was Andy who landed 4 GTs, both impressive fish measuring 105 and 97 cm respectively. These 2 fish were caught in as many casts and within a minute of each other! Exciting stuff, well done, Andy!

With good weather conditions and energy levels that matched that of the day before, we headed to the flats excited about the fly fishing potential that lay before us. Pete got off the mark early with a nice GT, while Andy kept his good form going with another GT. Jud got off to a flying start as well with 2 GTs early during the day. On the tailing species front, John C got his and the group’s first bumpy to hand, as well as a Napoleon in a busy afternoon session somewhere deep in the atoll. Well done, John! In the deep blue, the team of Jay, Jeb, and George experienced some extraordinary fishing for speedy sailfish; landing three and hooking many more!

On the third day, the light continued to play ball, but the wind had other ideas, cranking up several notches. Jay got his first GT of the trip, while Matt and John landed their first-ever Bumpies. Well done, gents! The late afternoon Bluewater run produced a very respectable yellowfin tuna for John C, something that was greatly appreciated by everyone on board the Maya’s Dugong!

On the 4th day, we focused our attention on the tailing species and our guests made quick work of the opportunities that presented themselves. John D and Andy landed their first trigger each, as well as 5 bones and 1 small GT, resulting in a slam for John D. Ian and Rob also managed a GT each for the day while Jud added a triggerfish, bumpie, and greater barracuda to his growing list of species landed for the trip. Elsewhere on the atoll, George, enjoyed a purple patch of action landing his first bumpie, 2 GTs, a triggerfish, and a large barracuda. His boat partners, Pete and Jay, chipped in with a bumpie each bringing a busy day of flats fishing action to an end.

The 5th day had us dealing with bad light and strong wind, which resulted in very challenging fly fishing conditions for our guests to contend with. Despite the conditions, Jeb and Jarrett both enjoyed success, each landing their first bumpies, a colossal achievement! John C managed the only GT of the day, while his boat partners, Andy and Rob got stuck into the bones landing 16 between the pair. Ian, Pete, and John D landed 5 bonefish as well as several shots at Big Permit between the bonefish action. The anglers that caught fish on day 5 should be proud of their efforts considering the severity of the weather conditions.

We woke on the sixth day to clear skies, and we thought that we might be in luck, but shortly after breakfast, the clouds closed in, and the wind blew gale. Despite this, the teams did very well. Jud and George landed some bonefish and got some shots and truly massive GTs. John C and Jeb each landed bonefish of 10 lbs. Well done, guys! Andy, Matt, and John D landed 13 bonefish for the day. John D also added a giant barracuda and another triggerfish to his collection, which is a perfect way to end the week.

The week’s catch tally was as follows (tough light and strong winds made it difficult, but we still managed to record some great catches):

• GT – 27 ( 2 of 1m ) biggest 105cm

• Bonesfish – 56 ( 2x 10lb)

• Triggerfish – 5

• Barracuda – 3

• Sailfish – 3

• Napoleon – 3

• Total tally of other fish landed for the week – 356

Till next week,

The FlyCastaway Guide Team

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Providence Blog: 7 – 14 Nov 2023

For the fourth week of the Providence season, we welcomed a mix of seasoned guests and first-time Indian ocean fishermen to the Maya’s Dougong. Julius and Rob stayed on for a second week to see what they could find, while Mike, a seasoned Providence guest, joined Mark and James as first-time anglers to the Indian Ocean. We were also excited to welcome back the Mako Reel team of Justin and Matt who made up a two-ball while Vladimir and Gregory, both seasoned anglers finished off our roster of guests for the week.

The first day of week 4 started with a bang for both Mark and Mike. The pair managed to land their first GT and several bonefish. Julius, now entirely in the swing of things, got his first Providence Slam consisting of a GT, bonefish, and triggerfish. Well done, Julius! Matt and Justin got stuck into the GTs, landing 12 for the day and 2 bones and a triggerfish, resulting in a Providence slam for Justin. Gregory and Vladimir landed 3 GTs, a trigger, and 1 milkfish.

On the second day, we woke to beautiful weather, clear skies, and almost no wind. Mike kept the momentum going by landing 4 GTs. Gregory landed his second GT of the trip as well as a large yellowmargin triggerfish. Justin chipped in with a huge trigger, while Julius did the same adding another trigger and a bonefish to his trip’s catch tally.

On the third morning, we rose to yet of the same weather-wise with low winds and good sunlight. The team of Justin and Matt did incredibly well to land 1 milkfish and 1 sailfish each for the day. Vladimir got himself a beautiful GT of 95 cm with several bones while Gregory added a lovely triggerfish to the catch tally. Rob and Julius landed 3 GT’s, 2 milkfish and a triggerfish.

On the fourth day, Julius and Rob got off the mark in spectacular fashion, with a GT double…..the fish measuring 107cm and 101 cm respectively. This incredible achievement was made even better by 2 more GTs for the day. The cherry on top of Julius’s day was a speedy sailfish he managed to get to hand in the dying moments of day 4. An absolute cracker of a day shared between father and son. Well done guys! Meanwhile, elsewhere on the atoll, Mark managed to get another GT and Justin and Matt’s team added 3 more milkfish to the score, as well as 1 bumpy and 1 GT… A busy day on the flats indeed!

The fifth day saw us deal with tricky conditions in the way of weather, with strong wind and rain making for incredibly tough fly fishing scenarios. Thus, Justin and Matt were the only team to catch any of Providence’s iconic fish, each landing a single GT for the day.

The final day of the fishing week saw Justin and Matt keep their good momentum going. Justin landed an outstanding catch in the way of a 60 kg dogtooth tuna as well as a fantastic GT of 98 cm. Rob and Julius managed to land a couple GTs, 1 triggerfish, and sadly, lost a sailfish. The trio of James, Mark, and Mike managed one each for the final day.

Our catch tally for the 4th week of the season was:

• GTs – 43 (2 of 100cm)

• Triggerfish – 9

• Sailfish – 3

• Bonefish – 14

• Bumphead Parrotfish – 1

• Milkfish – 8

• Total number of other fish caught – 155

Till next week,

The FlyCastaway Guide Team

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Providence Blog: 31 Oct – 7 Nov 2023

The third week of our Providence fly fishing season saw only 3 new guests arrive as 8 of last week’s group remained to complete their 12-day stay with us. Our new arrivals, Rob and Dale, both Providence regulars were joined by Julius who was about to enjoy his first-ever saltwater fly fishing experience.

This week began with extreme winds and lousy light. Despite the adverse conditions, our group enjoyed fantastic fishing for GTs. Ed, Gary, and John made quick work of their opportunities and landed an impressive total of 12 GTs for the day. The action wasn’t limited to just one boat as, Dale, Mike and Wendy shared the spoils with 7 GTs, along with the standout catch of the day going Mike’s way when a powerful 105 cm trophy jumped on his fly. Dave, Steve, and Ron also added 7 more GTs to the total tally, while over on the other side of the atoll, Julius’s introduction to the experience got off to a great start when the young man landed his first-ever GT. Well done, Julius!

We were dealt with more tricky light and several cloud bursts during the second day. Our group soldiered on and added another 13 GTs to the total tally. Wendy, Mike, and Dale managed to boat 6 while the trio of Ed, Gary, and John continued to enjoy their good fortune with 5 large GTs landed all of which stretched the measuring tape to the mid-90s. The standout catch, however, went to Steve when he landed his first ever 100 cm GT. Well done, Steve.

We finally rose to a beautiful clear morning sky and set out, eager to see what Prov had in store for us. Day 3 turned out to be one for the books for Ed, Gary, and John as the trio were treated to some of the finest fly fishing available in Seychelles. Their flat was alive with action from the moment they arrived and by the time the day was over they had managed to land a whopping 19 GTs for the day. Great work, guys! Other than the GT action the atoll’s tailing species began to show up more regularly which resulted in a slam for Mike who caught a tiggerfish, bonefish, and a GT. Dale’s primary focus on this trip had been to catch a triggerfish, and he ticked that box when he landed a cheeky moustache triggerfish. Well done, Dale!

We enjoyed more of the same weather during the fourth day with almost no wind. Julius kept the firsts coming by landing his first sailfish with a beautifully executed bait and switch. Well done, Julius! Wendy, Mike, and Dale had a fantastic day by adding 7 more GTs to the tally. Wendy landed her biggest, 85cm, and Dale landed a beautiful 90cm off a stingray. Ed, Gary, and John added another 3 GTs to the tally landing 1 apeice which brought the day GT tally to 13.

By the fifth day, our group were very well settled into the rhythm of Providence and this showed in the catches. Dale landed a lovely yellowmargin triggerfish that wasted no time in gobbling up his strong-arm crab. A few bonefish started to trickle onto the flats, something that John, Dave, and Ron capitalized on, landing a few bones each. Those who added to the GT tally were Ed, Wendy, Mike, and Dave who all landed a single fish each.

The last day of the fishing week saw us enjoy the best weather of the week with good light and little wind. The action started almost immediately when Ed and Gary both hooked into absolute monster GTs, unfortunately, both fish managed to evade our longing hands when Ed’s fish shook the hook loose during its first run and Gary’s found the only coral head within 500 meters. Heartbreaking stuff but still very exciting! The pair redeemed themselves with a GT each to end the last day of their 2 weeks with us. Ron, Steve, and Dave ended their 2 weeks with us in style by landing 11 bonefish and 1 GT each. Ron’s fish measured 101cm, a fantastic way to end his trip. Well done, Ron! Rob and Julius had another week to look forward to and calmly went about landing another sailfish and 11 bonefish. Team Wendy, Mike, and Dale finished in style, with Wendy landing her first bonefish and 18 more amongst the team. The momentum continued, with the group landing 3 triggerfish and losing another 4. Wendy had really wanted to get a trigger to hand and she managed to do that on the last day of her 2 week stay with us… Well done, Wendy!

That brings another exciting week of fishing to an end. With most of our group heading home it was a bitter-sweet goodbye. Sad to see them all go but excited to see what the next week had in store for us on the fishing front.

Our catch tally for week 3 was as follows:

GT – 85 (3 of 1m plus) biggest 105cm
Bonefish – 54
Triggerfish – 6
Sailfish – 2
Total number of other fish caught – 122

Till next week,

The FlyCastaway Guide Team

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St Brandon Blog: 13 – 23 Nov 2023

Our 11th and final week of the season saw us back into the neap tides with our last group of 7 guests. Fishing conditions were sadly far from easy, persistent cloud cover and unusually high water making things complicated. Thats said, St Brandon is an incredible fishery and so there is always good fishing to be had if you know where to look.

Large schools of Bones were found in deeper water which provided consistent action, along with a few opportunities some really big fish. No less than two double digit fish came out, one fish just breaking the 10lbs mark and the other 10.5lbs. Really impressive fish! Congrats Allisandro!

Our Permit continued to present themselves and opportunities at some incredible sight fishing throughout the week. No less than 6 fish were hooked, but thanks to some incredible ill fortune all 6 opportunities slipped away.

On the Trevally front, we had one mightily impressive encounter, when during the course of day a shoal of about 20 GTs was spotted swimming with some Nurse sharks. Giles put in a great shot and went tight, eventually landing a 96cm Indian Ocean prize. Great fish Giles…congrats!

Our last week of the season’s catch tally was:

Bonefish – 108
Permit – 0
Bluefin Trevally – 17
GT – 1

Until next season!

The FlyCastaway Guide Team

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St Brandon Blog: 6 – 16 Nov 2023

Welcome to our 10th week of the season! We were back into the spring tides with lots of cold water moving onto the atoll, but again next to no wind for the week which made things challenging at times.

The cold water along with some welcomed low water brought the Bones back onto the flats. Good numbers of fish in the 8lbs range, along with a couple over 9lbs including angler Derrick’s 9,5lbs trophy provided some really exciting fishing.

The permit were however very elusive this week, with only one being landed by Ryan.

The GT fishing was also pretty tough, with one smaller fish of 75cm coming to hand, but we did enjoy some good Golden & Bluefin action at times.

All in all, not the most productive fishing week unfortunately for our guests, but we feel the lack of wind was the major culprit here.

Our catch tally for the week was:

Bonefish – 100
Permit – 1
GTs – 1
Bluefin Trevally – 4
Golden Trevally – 3

Till next week,

The FlyCastaway Guide Team

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St Brandon Blog: 30 Oct – 9 Nov 2023

Our 9th week brought us back to the neap tides with a slightly higher water level and less current throughout the week. Unfortunately we had little to no wind the entire week, which kept the warm water on the flats for most of the week which made the fishing challenging at times.

The bonefish schooled up this week which made it a bit tougher to find them in skinny water and on the flats. We did however still manage to land some good fish, with Peter landing a beautiful fish of 9lbs. Well done Peter!

Jim, who was busy with his third week with us, was in full Permit hunting mode. His sights clearly set in, he landed another 5 during his final week with us, including another 14lbs fish. Congrats Jim on some great angling!

The trevally were still around in good numbers …most notably the Bluefin. Mike however managed to spot a school of GTs during one session and despite hooking up, it was the smaller fish measuring 85cm which got his fly first…oh what could have been!