St Brandon - FlyCastaway

St Brandon Blog: 14 – 24 May 2024

Our 7th week of the season is here and we greet our new guests arriving from Zimbabwe and Germany with Terry entering his second of three weeks with us. The week started off with very high winds blowing out of the south east accompanied with heavy rain. The tidal cycle moves from neaps into springs as we expect to spend more time around the islands, ridges and higher lying areas.

The Bonefishing proved to be slightly tougher than the previous week, with not as many fish seen on the flats and more fish schooled up in the deeper sections. The rough, choppy weather due to the high winds resulted in the Bones being a bit more spooky and reluctant to move up into shallower water making it challenging for the anglers to get close to them to make a good presentation. This did not deter the guests however as they made the best of the conditions still landing some good fish throughout the week. The average Bonefish landed for the week was between 5lb and 7lb with some fish reaching the 8lb mark.

The wild conditions also had an impact on our Permit fishing. There were fish seen around the islands and ridges as we moved into the spring tides but they were on high alert and were acting similar to the bonefish often staying just out of reach. As the week proceeded and the weather improved there were more opportunities to cast at happy, tailing fish. Some guests did have a couple of great shots at fish resulting in follows and even the odd eat from a Permit but unfortunately there were no conversions.

The GT and Bluefin fishing was again tough this week with only a couple of trevallies seen around the Atoll. The fish that were seen during the week were big but unfortunately the opportunities to make a good presentation to them were very few and far between. Even though the fishing was tough for the GT’s and Bluefin it is still exciting to watch as they crash into baitfish and terrorise the bonefish schools on the flats.

The conditions this week proved to be very challenging due to the unsettled weather. On a positive note this has kept the flats cool and once the weather settles down a bit we expect the fish to be hungry and moving back up onto the flats,ridges and around the islands. The prevailing south easter is in full swing as is standard for this time of year increasing the chances of finding some larger bonefish. Let’s see what’s to come…

Our catch tally for the week:

Bonefish- 31
Bluefin Trevally- 2

Yours in fishing,

The St Brandon’s guide team.

: KODAK Digital Still Camera

: KODAK Digital Still Camera

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St Brandon Blog: 7 – 17 May 2024

The 6th week of the season kicked off with guests arriving from the United States and Australia. This week we move away from new moon springs and go back into neap tides, these tides generally bring more fish onto the flats while also allowing us more time on the flats due to the less water movement around the Atoll. The wind for the week started off very strong, blowing out of the south east resulting in cool water flushing onto the flats, although it did make casting and presenting a fly a little bit difficult.

The bone fishing was off to a cracking start with many big fish seen tailing in skinny water and feeding happily on whatever was presented to them. Vince had a great start to his trip and with his first cast he landed the week’s first 10lb Bonefish! As the week went on, the bone fishing continued to be outstanding with many fish spotted and caught by our group of anglers. On the third day of the week, anglers Jeff and Terry both managed to land true monsters, with their fish pushing the scale over the 13lb mark ! On the 5th day of the week, Steve also got in on the big bonefish action, landing a beautiful double digit bone which was also just over the 13lb mark. The bone fishing this week was truly a sight to behold with the anglers getting into good numbers every day and the average fish weighing in between 6lb and 9lb.

The guests also enjoyed some phenomenal Permit fishing this week as we saw good numbers of fish around the flats during the pushing tides as well as the high tides around the islands and ridges. On the third day of the week, Alec landed a beautiful 14lb Indo-Pacific Permit during a slow pushing tide in the morning. The fish was sitting stationary on a turtle grass edge, Alec put in the perfect cast and with one strip his line went tight. He wasn’t quite done however as on the fourth day he landed another two Permit of 7lb and 12lb respectively, and yet another on the 5th day of just over the 7lb mark. As we moved into the neap tides there were multiple Permit spotted on turtle grass flats and cruising the edges of sand flats along depressions and cuts. On the last day of the week, Terry managed to open his Permit account landing a solid 8lb fish.

The Trevally fishing this week was once again a little bit slower which is normal for this time of year. A couple of big GT’s were seen around the Atoll with fewer Bluefin hunting around the higher lying areas compared to previous weeks. On the third day of the week however, Jeff had some amazing GT action hooking 4 fish in quick succession but unfortunately not getting a good hook set resulting in the fish having the final say.

The fishing this week was nothing short of spectacular with our guests experiencing what St Brandon’s truly has to offer. The conditions are prime with cool water and the prevailing wind constantly pushing cold, oxygenated water across the atoll. This has the guide team extremely excited to see what the next few weeks will bring us. We await our new clients arriving as the neap tides end and we move back into springs again.

Our catch tally for the week:

Bonefish- 272 (1x 10lb, 3x 13 lb+)
Indo-Pacific Permit- 5 (2x 10 lb+)
Golden Trevally- 1

Yours in fishing,

The St Brandon’s guide team.

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St Brandon Blog: 30 April – 10 May 2024

We have reached the halfway mark of the season, hosting our two eager guests from the United States and South Africa. The tides for the week will see us moving back into springs where we expect to see more action around the islands with slightly shorter windows of opportunity on the flats. Our wind direction has shifted slightly from the previous weeks being more from the south as opposed to the prevailing south easterly.

The bonefishing got off to a tougher start than the previous weeks with the fish sitting a bit deeper than usual, schooled up in high numbers and reluctant to move up onto the flats. We still managed to find some nice skinny water tailing fish during the first couple of days on the afternoon dropping tide. There were big pods of bones surrounding the islands and coral ridges with the guests making the most of the situation, targeting fish on the edges, picking out the biggest ones from the schools. As the week progressed the bones started moving into the shallower sandy sections of the flats with some larger fish seen. Our average Bonefish for the week was between 5 lb-7lb with the biggest coming in at just over the 8lb mark.

The atoll’s famous Indo-Pacific Permit were out and about during the higher water and feeding happily on the coral ridges and islands. Many good fish were seen in various scenarios and our anglers had some great shots, often making pin-point casts but the fish just did not want to play ball. On the last day of the trip, Brent’s persistence was rewarded when he finally landed his first Permit, and to top it all off he hooked and landed a second shortly after that ending his trip on high.

With the higher tides and increased current through the Atoll, good numbers of bluefin were seen herding bait around the islands and sand spits. There unfortunately weren’t as many GT’s around but the few we did see were big! On the second day of the week Bill had a great opportunity at a true giant but just couldn’t get the right shot in as the fish started sliding away into deeper water following a big Nurse shark.

We end our week with the tides moving from springs into neaps. This should give us more time on the flats in the coming week, allowing us to target Bonefish and Permit for longer periods. With the cooler water temperatures around we feel the fishing will continue to improve as the season progresses and we are looking forward to what the rest of the season has in store for us.

Our catch tally for the week:

Bonefish- 24
Indo-Pacific Permit- 2
Goldens:- 1

Yours in fishing,

The St Brandon’s guide team.

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St Brandon Blog: 23 April – 3 May 2024

The cooler water from the previous week continued into the fourth week of our season. The flats were teaming with life and our prevailing south easterly wind seemed to keep the fish happy. This week sees the tides moving out of springs into neap tides, allowing for more time on the flats targeting skinny water bonefish and tailing Indo-Pacific Permit.

The Bonefishing kicked off with many fish seen around the shallower sections of the Atoll. Although there were fewer fish seen in ankle deep water, areas with a depth below the knees made for some exciting opportunities at beautiful singles and double feeding scenarios. Micheal upgraded on his 8lb fish from the previous week landing the first double digit bone of the week which tipped the scales at just over the magical 10lb mark. The big bones were around during the week with our average fish being between 6.5lb-8lb and some fish exceeding the 9lb mark. As the week progressed and we moved into the neap tides, more big bones were seen on the flats which made for some exciting angling opportunities for our guests.

There was once again multiple Permit seen on the flats and around the islands although they proved to be quite tricky as it seemed as they were simply ignoring the flies that were presented to them. The guests had some good opportunities at tailing and feeding fish throughout the week. Michael made the most of a really great shot landing his fist Indo-Pacific Permit, a fish that had been on his bucket list for a while. He was over the moon when his 7lb fish came to hand. On the fourth day of the week, Stefan hooked into a beautiful 10.5lb permit, the excitement was through the roof as the fish slid into the net. On the last day of the week, Alex upgraded on his fish from the previous week landing a solid Permit pushing the scale just over the 12lb mark.

The Trevally fishing was a bit on the slower end this week with the tides slowing down and less water moving around. There were still multiple big Bluefin around the surf zones and the coral ridges, but they too seemed to be more focused on the baitfish than the guest’s flies. Stephan managed to get a couple of nice bluefins during the first couple of days of the week ranging from 50cm – 65cm in length. The atoll’s large GT’s were seen around a few of the southern sand spits but unfortunately the shots proved a little too tough to convert.

With our neap tides coming to an end this week and our next week starting with springs we hope to see some more Trevally around the islands, as well as some more Permit and Bonefish action on the flats. The temperatures on the flats continue to stay optimal with our prevailing south easterly winds keeping the water cool.

Our catch tally for the week:

Bonefish- 158(1x 10lb)
Indo-Pacific Permit- 3 ( 1×10.5lb , 1x12lb )
Bluefin Trevally- 10
Golden Trevally- 1

Yours in fishing,

The St Brandon’s guide team.

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St Brandon Blog: 16 – 26 April 2024

Our third week of the season saw us welcome our good friends from Austria for another back to back, 14 day fishing experience on St Brandon’s. The week started off with a lot of rain and high winds, making the fishing conditions a bit tough to start off with. however This did not deter the anglers as spirits were high and they were all looking forward to finding good numbers of bonefish, Indo-Pacific Permit and any trevally species the Atoll has to offer. This week saw us fishing the back end of the neaps as they head into spring tides. This meant the bulk of the fishing would be taking place around island flats and high spots moving back to the shallow areas later in the week.

The conditions meant that the bonefish were a bit shy during the first couple of days with the high winds and rain also making it tough to both see and present to fish. As soon as the weather cleared a bit and the wind calmed down we started seeing the fish doing their thing around the flats and the islands. The week saw a lot of the bone fishing happening in knee to mid thigh depth with the odd fish seen tailing in shallower water around higher lying areas. There were multiple Bones caught ranging between 5 lb – 7lb with the biggest fish caught the week by Michael weighing in at 8lb on the dot.

The higher water during the middle parts of the day meant that the islands, coral ridges and high lying flats and sand bars fished well for permit. As the light improved it made it somewhat easier to spot the fish, but the permit proved to stay step ahead of the anglers, proving to be very technical. There were many good casts made at happy fish but the guests could not convert as many as they would have liked. On the third day of the week however, Alex connected with a stunning Permit of 5lb during his afternoon session.

With the increase of water movement due to the stronger spring tide, there were more trevally species seen hunting around the coral ridges and islands. There were multiple Bluefin caught ranging from 40cm-70cm in length.This week also saw our first golden trevally landed for the season with Alex landing a strong 6lb fish. A few big GT’s were spotted around the atoll during the week and Klaus made the most of his opportunity, landing a 74cm GT on one of the western sand spits.

As this group’s first week draws to an end it sees the tides moving from springs into neaps. This will definitely excite the anglers because going forward we will have more time wading the flats in ankle deep water looking for tailing bones. The water temps were good throughout the week with all the rain and wind cooling down the flats. If the cold water sticks around we can expect an action packed week to come.

Our catch tally for the week:

Bonefish- 96
Indo-Pacific Permit- 1
GTs- 1
Bluefin Trevally-6
Golden Trevally- 1

Yours in fishing,

The St Brandon’s guide team.

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St Brandon Blog: 9 – 19 April 2024

We started our second week of the season with the weather being slightly on the warmer side, hoping for a big southeastern wind to come through the atoll and cool the water down. This week we fished the spring tides as they started moving into neap tides, meaning we could expect a bit more skinny water fishing on the flats during the long low tides in the late mornings and early afternoons.

The bone fishing was off to a good start, with us seeing more fish on the flats than the previous week. The guests were able to target more fish in single and double feeding scenarios and it was clear that there were some big ones out and about feeding happily in the skinny water. There were multiple fish landed during the week in the 7-8lb range as the tally of fish landed reached the triple digit mark. Guests Mark and Peter started off their week with a bang, both hooking into beautiful 10lb and 10.5lb bonefish respectively. What a way to start your second week on the Atoll! A double digit bone is not something you see everyday so for our anglers to double up on these prize fish is truly something special. It once again shows just what a phenomenal Bonefish fishery St Brandon’s is!

The permit fishing remained consistent into the second week as there were many fish spotted feeding and tailing around the many rocky ridges and islands scattered across the atoll. Even more Permit were seen on the flats and the guests enjoyed multiple opportunities at these fickle yet rewarding fish. Andrew opened his permit account with a solid 6lb fish. Peter, carrying on where he left off in the previous week, connected with a beautiful 11lb Indo-Pacific Permit on the first day, and with his last cast of day 3 he landed yet another double digit fish which weighed in at 10lb.

The trevally fishing was on the tougher side this week. There were a couple of solid Bluefin seen smashing into schools of bait in the southern side of the atoll, but unfortunately the shots proved to be tricky, meaning few were converted. The rush for the Giant Trevally still keeps us up at night as we once again saw some very large fish cruising the flats and lagoons, so it is just a matter of time before an angler connects with one of these brutes!

We end the week feeling positive and are looking forward to the rest of the season as the wind from the south east picks up, cooling the water down and keeping the fish happy. It was very positive to see good numbers of large Bonefish on the flats this week, setting the tone for the rest of the season.

Our catch tally for the week:

Bonefish- 100 (2 of 10 lb+)
Indo-Pacific Permit- 3 (2 of 10 lb+)
Bluefin- 3

Yours in fishing,

The St Brandon’s guide team.

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St Brandon Blog: 2 – 12 April 2024

Welcome to the start of our April – June ‘24 season on St Brandon’s Atoll. We welcomed our first group on Raphael island and it was great to see a couple of familiar faces returning to this special fishery. This group was staying with us for two weeks as part of our back to back fishing package and everyone was excited to see what the next 14 days of fishing would have in store as they would in essence be fishing half of a lunar tidal cycle.

The week consisted of fishing over the neap tides, which meant that we could fish certain areas of the atoll for a longer period of time compared to the springs. The weather decided to turn on us for the first couple of days with very high winds as well as severe rain coming through in the early mornings and evenings. This made the visibility a bit tough but the guests still made the best of the testing conditions.

The anglers enjoyed multiple opportunities at classic St Brandon’s skinny water bonefish, tailing and feeding happily along the sand and turtle grass sections of our main flat. The neap tides allowed us to spend extended periods in this area and there were multiple bones caught ranging from an impressive 7-9 pounds throughout the week. Peter was the first angler to land a double digit bone for the season with a beautiful 10.5lb bonefish that fell for a well-placed spawning shrimp.

The first week also saw the guests have numerous opportunities at the atoll’s famous Indo-Pacific Permit with many fish seen around the islands and on the flats. Mark managed to connect with a beautiful 8.5 lb Indo-Pacific Permit on his second day. The fish was feeding along a slight sandy depression with 3 fish of similar size. Mark made a great presentation and with one strip the fish tailed hard on his fly as his line went tight. A lifelong dream finally became a reality for Mark, your first Permit is always a special one, well done ! On the 3rd day of the trip Rich also got in on the Permit action, hooking and landing a beautiful fin perfect 5.5lb fish. Peter who was already having a great week carried on with his good form, landing two Permit in two days. Both fish tipping the scales between the 5 – 6lb mark.

The trevally fishing started picking up later in the week as we entered spring tides. The increase in current and higher tides led to the bluefin trevally showing up in good numbers, with the guests having shots at some absolute cracking fish in the surf zones of the atoll’s eastern edge. The Biggest Bluefin for the week was landed by Hunter who put in a pinpoint cast to fool his 70cm fish. During the week we ran into a couple of monster GT’s that call St Brandon’s home but were unfortunately not lucky enough to connect with these Apex predators.

The first week of the season definitely gave us all a positive outlook on what to expect for the rest of the season and that the Atoll was in a healthy state with many fish seen for the week. We look forward to seeing what the next week will bring on the best bonefishing destination on earth.

Our catch tally for the week:

Bonefish – 86 (1 of 10.5lb)
Indo-Pacific Permit – 4
Bluefin Trevally: 5 (1 of 70cm)

Yours in fishing,

The St Brandon’s guide team.

: OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

: OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

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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: 23 Oct – 2 November 2023

Our 8th week on the atoll and we were back into the spring tides which provided some early morning skinny water and midday highs. We had 6 clients this week with 3 boats exploring the atoll.

The mornings provided some good bonefishing, with a couple of very nice fish caught. We unfortunately didn’t get any double-digit fish during the week but we got some double-ups on fish which is always fun.

The permit were around this week around the western sand spits, with Jim managing to land 3 permit in one day and topping it off with a big fish of 14,5 lbs, all before 12pm. Well done Jim on a great day of fishing.

The trevally tides were in full swing with many bluefin around keeping those rods bending and smiles all around. We managed to land one GT this week, with angler David hooking into a fish of 101cm which was landed after an intense 20 minute battle. Congrats Dave on an epic fish!