We met up with a great bunch of guys on M.Y. Gryphon for the start of the next trip, including good friends Jon and Gary from Canada, John, Tim and Mike from the US, Kresten from Denmark and Mike from England. Needless to say we were psyched to get back out to the atoll and get them into some world-class flat fishing!

On arriving we went to work and as a result some solid fishing was enjoyed by all during the first two days, despite our group needing adjust to the typical wind we get on St. Brandon’s. Low tides were relatively early in the mornings, which saw most guides making use of the small window we had for the classic skinny water for big Bones we are so accustomed to. Once the tide flooded in the majority of the skiffs began the search for some of the other notorious species the atoll has to offer. As luck would have it, on John’s first day of fly-fishing he managed to hook into +/-15lb Permit. Sadly there was no happy ending to this story however, with the leader snapping after too much pressure. His partner declared: “You don’t realize what you just lost, that was a huge Permit!”. John responded with the most classic line I’ve ever heard “Was that good?” A sad moment for sure but one which will surely be relived time and again! Other notables during the first few days included some nice Golden’s and very big Bluefin that was landed by Kresten. The wind died down quite a bit over the next few days and with some overcast conditions the fish came to the party.

With longer low water sessions the Bonefish and Permit showed up in good numbers. Special fish that need to be mentioned were Canadian Jon’s personal best Bonefish that weighed a whopping 12lb and Tim’s hard-earned Indo-Pacific Permit. Congrats guys those are certainly memorable fish!

The GT’s and Bluefin too were on the rampage, with opportunities presenting themselves frequently. The fish seemed angry but for love or money we could not get the fly in their kill zone for long enough. Incidents of sharks, accompanied by marauding GT’s, Bluefin swimming through our legs etc. will certainly be etched into our angler’s memories for some time to come! Mike however did manage to break our GT “Duck” by landing his first ever Caranax Ignoblis. The big fish measured a mere 4cm shy of a meter. A gorgeous fish and so well deserved!

The last two days saw everyone enjoying some classic Bonefishing to singles and doubles in ankle deep water. It was the Bonefishing people write books about and with some shots at very large Permit (12lb – 20lb) mixed in-between, ensured the week was a big success. The final day’s morning session in particular left a lasting impression, we spotted Bonefish feeding in ankle deep water up to a hundred meters away, the early morning light lighting up their dorsal fins and tails each time they found something to snack on. It was textbook!

All in all we had a great time with each and every member of the group. We really look forward to meeting up with them again in the not so distant future.

Until next week
Cheers from the St Brandon’s Guide team

for more details about diving on Alphonse, please contact Charlotte Chilcott or call the office on ++44 1980 847389.