Providence Blog: 26 October – 2 November 2021
Welcome to the third week of the 2021/2022 Providence season. Following the previous week’s fishing action we were all chomping at the bit to get back onto the flats and explore Prov’s wild and abundant waters.
Day one dawned with clear skies and a slight south easterly breeze. The GT fishing lived up to our expectations in spectacular fashion and delivered a total of 36 GTs for the day. Catches of note included Chris’s first-ever Giant Trevally caught on the fly, well done Chris! Dave enjoyed the catch of the day while stationed on a likely-looking area of scattered coral and sandy depressions. In no time a large grey shape came swimming past his position, and following a good presentation, the fish rushed forward and engulfed his fly. His trophy stretched the measuring tape to 102cm, the perfect way to start the fishing week, well done Dave!
Day two dawned with a complete glass out and a a mirror-like reflection out piece of on the Indian ocean. A total of 26 GTs were landed for the day with Greg managing to land his first ever GT, well done Greg! The tailing fish species appeared in good numbers as well, with a total of 5 Triggerfish and 4 Bonefish landed. A special mention for Chris who managed to hook and land a Bonefish at the end of the day to complete an Indian Ocean flats slam, well done Chris! Ed also went on to land a Bonefish in the last moments of available daylight, emphatically ending his day with a flats slam that included a GT, Bonefish, and Sailfish. Well done Ed!
Day three and another day of perfect fly fishing conditions on the weather front with clear skies and no wind to speak of. A total of 26 GTs were landed for the day with both Christiaan and John landing the pick of the catches, each landing a GT over the meter mark. The duo also enjoyed exceptional fishing for the atoll’s resident Triggerfish with Christiaan landing 4 and John with 2. Well done gentlemen!
Day four continued with the completely windless conditions and bluebird skies. The GT fishing was again otherworldly, allowing our guests to experience exciting fly fishing opportunities to GTs while they tailed aggressively across the flats. Our guests landed a whopping 55 GTs between them, Ed landing 15 GTs himself while his fishing partner Gary enjoyed similar results and managed to bring 11 GTs to hand. Providence then delivered yet another special catch for Gary, a 10lb. Bonefish caught between all the Giant Trevally action. The fishing on the triggerfish front continued to be particularly good with a total of 6 landed for the day, Greg enjoying his first-ever Triggerfish catch on the flats.
Day five and another day of glassed-off conditions and bright sunshine. A total of 35 GTs were landed for the day, Greg landing his first GT to break the meter mark, well done Greg! Gary experienced a moment of Providence Atoll magic shortly after arriving on the outer edge of a massive turtle grass flat. Gary saw a fish with its entire dorsal and upper parts of its back out of the water and after a quick presentation, he made just two strips before a monstrous mouth exploded out of the water connecting him to the catch of his 2 week trip with us. Gary managed to survive the fish’s first blistering run, eventually turning the fish allowing him to slowly regain some line. After a long tug of war and a few nervous moments while the fish nodded beneath the boat, it was tailed and landed. The GT stretched the measuring tape to 124cm! Well done Gary…truly a fish of a lifetime!
Day 5 had another special moment on the cards, this time for angler Christiaan who had been mentally preparing himself for a shot at the most elusive fish of Providence Atoll, the Indo-Pacific Permit. Christiaan neatly presented his crab to a large tailing Indo and after showing the fish the fly with two long strips, his line came tight and he was firmly connected to a the Indian Ocean’s golden trophy. His beauty of an Indo measured in at 71cm , well done Christiaan….what a great achievement!
Day six dawned with bright skies and a slight easterly breeze. A total of 22 GTs were landed for the day, with Chris enjoying the best day of his trip landing 7 GTs himself…great job Chris! With the wind tapering off and current lines forming during the afternoon, the Milkfish appeared on the surface in tight schools while hoovering along the distinctive compression lines. Dave presented his fly perfectly and managed hook and land a beautiful Milkfish. Nicely done Dave. Christiaan also got into the action capping off an amazing 2-week trip by landing a Milkfish in the dying hours of the day.
This brings us to the end of one of the most memorable fishing weeks in recent history on Providence Atoll. A special thank you to all that joined on this trip and we look forward to welcoming you all back soon.
Our catch tally for the week was as follows:
- GTs – 200 (9 over a meter)
- Triggerfish – 19
- Sailfish – 1
- Permit – 1
- Bonefish – 9 (1 over 10lbs.)
- Milkfish – 2
- Total tally of other species caught – 282
Until next week,
The Providence Guide Team
Two Bumpies were landed this week, a huge 103cm fish landed by Mark with Chantel getting our second. Two Sailfish were also landed this week, one by Alan and one by Andrew. In addition to the Sailfish caught offshore, George landed a nice Yellowfin Tuna and Genkel landed a nice big Wahoo.
A continuing trend of strong south easterly winds greeted us on the first morning with our new group of guests as the boats headed out. It was an eventful day on the flats with six GTs being landed. Congratulations to David, Peter, Peter, Kay and Mark for opening their accounts. With the cooler water being blown onto the flats there were a good number of Bonefish being hooked and landed, with an average of 6lbs for the session.
Day 2 dawned very windy but with clear skies the boats headed out with high hopes. With a slow neap pushing tide in the early morning the triggerfish were out in numbers. Chuan, Rob and Peter W managed to hook and land one of these feisty fish each. The Bumpies too showed us their massive tails and Mark hooked and landed his first Bumpie, well done Mark. The Bonefish were up and tailing hard again, with Dave and Rod managing to catch a Bonefish each to complete their Flats Slams of a GT, Bone and Trigger. Rod’s Bonefish was a monster, the fish weighing 10 pounds…Congrats! 5 GTs were landed, the day belonging to Dave, who after holding up on the apex of the flat with his guide, saw a monstrous commotion coming towards them in the shallow water. After getting in the perfect position the fly was presented in front of the pack of GTs. In unison the fish charged in the direction of the fly and a gargantuan mouth opened, inhaling the brush fly, the hook was set and after a massive tussle through a lagoon the fish was landed. With a fork length of 127cm, it was truly the GT of a lifetime, well done Dave!
Day 3 saw a shift in the weather conditions with high altitude cloud cover rolling in, obscuring the direct sunlight, making the fishing a little bit trickier. Due to the light conditions the Bumpies highlighted themselves as the targets for the day. A total of 6 Bumpies were landed for the day, the happy anglers being Mark, Kay, Chaun, Alfredo, Rod and Dave H. A great Bumpie day!!!! The GTs did manage to present themselves, Pete and Dave capitalizing on their shots. A special mention goes to Dave H whose fish came in at 105cm. With big seas comes great Sailfish fishing and Rob, Rocky and Dave F taking full advantage, Rocky and Dave landed theirs after doubling up from a pack attack.
Day 4 dawned gloomy with lots of cloud cover and high south easterly winds. After making a shift south to the midway point of the atoll the boats set out. A total of 3 GTs came to hand; well done to Peter getting 2 and Alfredo 1. Rocky managed to double down and land 2 Moustache Triggerfish. Kay and Dave R later joined the Sailfish club, landing a fish each. The day however belonged to Dave H who hooked and landed the first Milkfish for the week as the sun was setting, well done Dave H.
Day 5 saw a lessening of the cloud cover and with a mid-morning low tide the boats set out. The day was a well-rounded one on the species side with 5 of our 7 recognized species being landed. Pete E managed to land the Milkfish, whilst Rob and Dave R landed a Bumpie each. Rocky managed to land a Triggerfish of each species and Dave R managed to land a Moustache Triggerfish. Pete W landed a monstrous Sailfish, whilst Kay, Chuan, Dave R, Mark, Pete W, Pete E and Dave R each landed GTs. The day belonged to Dave R though, who after landing a Bumpy and Triggerfish in successive casts, saw a big bow wave coming up onto the flat. Despite a long chase to get into position, the fish dropped back into the deep water. Dave set up patiently above the area the fish had dropped off from. A couple of minutes later the bow wave reappeared and after presenting the fly it was engulfed on the second strip. The hook was set and the fish tore the line off the reel and ran straight back to the lagoon from where it came. After crossing the lagoon and reaching shallower water the fish was landed. At a fork length of 121cm it was another GT of lifetime for the week. Great fishing Dave!
Our sixth and final day of the week dawned with clear skies and dropping south easterly wind. With a morning dropping tide the Milkfish were up in good numbers around the edge of the atoll. Dave R and Pete W managed to land a fish each, bringing the Milkfish tally to 4 for the week. A total of 6 GTs were also landed. Rob and Dave R landed 2 fish each, with Chuan and Pete E landing a fish each. This brought the second week to a close. Some tough conditions, but as per normal some incredible fish and fishing was enjoyed by all!
This week weather conditions were a little tough. High winds and multiple passing fronts unfortunately made things more challenging them normal. Tides started off on springs, with lots of water movement on and off the flats, and we ended the week in neaps. 
In true Farquhar style, we did however enjoy some other great species fishing. Fifty Bonefish and three Triggers were landed. Craig landed one Moustache and one Yellow Margin, with Jarrett landing a large Moustache. Congrats guys! Three Bumpies were also caught this week, with William, Kris and Jason each landing their first. Well done chaps! And for the second week in a row, Eric landed an Indo Pacific Permit. This week he landed a trophy class fish of 73cm. Amazing fish Eric, well done!
The first day dawned with excitement and a slight south easterly breeze. With an early morning low tide the boats were straight onto the flats and with that the GTs came. Chris, Christiaan, Tom, Shiloh, Nic, Jordan and Jeorg managed to open their GT accounts, with Tom landing a great fish of 96cm and Chris landing a fish of an even 90cm. The Bumpies were up on the flats and Nic, John, Ron and Joerg manged to each land a fish. A special mention goes to Joerg, who, after landing a GT and Bumpy, managed to land an impressive 141cm Barracuda on the flat. With the water high on the flats later in the day we enjoyed a Sailfish session, with Tom and Joerg both landing a fish each before the day came to a close.
The second morning saw another enthusiastic start and the rewards were reaped as Tom, Chris, Shiloh, Jordan and Christiaan all landed GTs. A special mention goes to Christiaan and Jordan who managed to land twin GTs of 118cm each; Christiaan spotting his fish late on into the pushing tide crossing a turtle grass apex, he managed to present the fly in the perfect place and the big fish engulfed the fly on a second attempt. Jordan’s fish was an exceptional tale of the magic of Providence. After teasing up a sailfish offshore he presented his fly to the fish, it was engulfed as it landed but instead of the customary Sailfish jumps, the fish sounded and after a tug of war was brought up to the side of the boat. He rounded off his remarkable day by managing to pick a Moustache Triggerfish out of a school of tailing Bumpies.
The fourth day dawned clear and breezy. With some higher water on the flats in the morning, the boats had access into the unique inner lagoon systems of Providence. It proved to be fruitful as Joerg, Giles, Shiloh, Jordan, Nic, Tom and Joe managed to all land GTs. Tom finally being able to break the one-meter mark with a beautiful fish who was bow waking in super skinny water. Joerg managed to continue his stellar week landing 4 GTs before lunchtime. With access to the lagoons there is the potential for amazing Triggerfish fishing, and this was the case as Christiaan managed to land 3 Yellow Margin Triggers and Mike managing to get his first Moustache Triggerfish as well.
With the tides starting to move towards the neaps, the fifth day brought some more lagoon fishing. A total of 8 GTs came to hand with congratulations going out to Mike, Joe, Christiaan, Jordan and Ron. Christiaan managed to land another Yellow Margin Triggerfish and Shiloh managed his first Triggerfish. This was welcomed with great excitement after many previous disappointments. Joerg tamed another Sailfish in the morning to add to his incredible week.
Day 7 dawned breezy again but with the mothership moored close to the flats the boats spread out for another day of fishing. A total of 8 GTs were landed, a special mention going again to Jeorg who managed a beautiful fish of 106cm. He wasn’t done there though and managed to land his first Yellow Margin Triggerfish, almost completing his list of targeted species. It was a day for the tailing species and after landing two GTs Chris managed to land 2 Bumpies as well, finally catching a Bonefish to round off the slam. Christiaan also managed a slam, landing a GT, a Bonefish and 2 Triggers. John ticked the Yellow Margin Triggerfish off of his list to round off another stellar day out on the atoll.
Dark skies and gloomy weather greeted us on the last morning of the trip. After launching off the mothership a large school of Milkfish were found feeding for the first time this week. The boats quickly got into position and it wasn’t long before Giles managed to hook and quickly land his first Milkfish. After a few near misses, Tom and Christiaan managed to land their first Milks as well. A few pods of GTs were found in the eastern coral gardens and Joe, John and Mike managed to land 4 fish. A special mention goes to Mike whose fish came in at 102cm. With the high cloud cover the water on the flats cooled off and brought with it some epic Bonefishing. A great session was had on the falling afternoon tide. With the fish tailing hard, Shiloh, Nic, Christiaan, Joe, John and Mike capitalized, landing many fish. Christiaan and Shiloh managed to land two great fish both going 10 pounds, a great way to round off the first week of the season.
Another fantastic week of flats fishing has come to an end on Farquhar. We enjoyed great weather, with lower wind speeds and clear skies providing great sight fishing conditions.Tidal wise we start on neaps which built towards a new moon spring tide. This provided a variety of wading opportunities as well as large movements of water in and out of the atoll as the week went on.
Besides the great GT fishing, the rest of the flat’s species were active. Six Triggerfish were landed, including Craig’s personal best 60cm Yellow Margin. Mike landed a massive Moustache Trigger of 56cm. Colin got a 54cm Moustache Trigger which was his first and to top it off Jarret managed a Yellow Margin and a Moustache in the same day!
Thirty-four Bonefish were brought to hand during the week, the largest being a huge 68 x 38cm fish landed by Eric. Also, a big shout to Eric on his first ever Indo Pacific Permit…what a special fish! A personal best Bonefish was also landed by Colin.
