The 2024/25 season on Farquhar Atoll has has just kicked off and we will keep you up to date with all the latest fishing reports in this blog.
Farquhar Atoll is the most southerly atoll in the Seychelles islands, lying just over 700km to the southwest of Mahé. This remote atoll has a total area, including the large lagoon, of 170.5 km². The large ear-shaped lagoon provides easy skiff access to the countless flats, channels, and surf zones that make Farquhar such an amazing fly fishing destination.
The atoll is famous for the sheer diversity of fish species on offer to anglers, so if stalking bonefish in skinny water, chasing the golden sickles of a permit, throwing crab flies at crafty tailing triggerfish, trying to hold back the powerful runs of a bumphead parrotfish or holding your nerve as large giant trevally charges in at your fly… well, then Farquhar is certainly the fly fishing destination for you.
Farquhar Atoll 2024/25 Season Fishing Reports – 13th to 20th November
Ten anglers and friends from America joined forces and set out to conquer the flats of Farquhar, some returning guests and some seeing the picturesque atoll for the first time.
Day one of the week started off a little slower than usual with overcast skies, but Bill, a long time guest in the Seychelles, kicked his trip off with a GT right away. Guide Yousuf had a fantastic day with his guests Wes and Lake. Wes landed himself the first moustache triggerfish for the week and Lake was the angler of the day having caught a bumphead parrotfish, a GT and a bonefish all on foot and, all in the surf to round off his flats slam. Proving that when you find the right spot you can catch multiple species in close proximity.
Day two saw great weather conditions and better results all round among the team. Don, James, Wes and Dick all opened up their GT accounts for the week. Skip and Jim opened up their moustache triggerfish accounts, with Jim catching a trophy specimen of 53cm. On day three Skip landed his first GT for the week, while Bill and James both landed another one each. Wes managed to land another moustache triggerfish as well as another GT. Day four was the day of the GTs. Brett landed his first for the trip, while Don, Skip, Wes and Bill all landed another each. James was not to be outdone and topped the day’s leaderboard with two GTs.
Day 5 was another one for the books with many epic catches having been brought to hand. Don and Dick both landed a GT to up their tallies. Bill and Brett managed to land two GTs each. It was evident that Skip was becoming something of a triggerfish connoisseur and landed himself another two moustache triggerfish, which can be a difficult task for even the most skilled anglers to accomplish.
On guide Chad’s boat a monumental day ensued as one of the anglers would go on to catch the fish of a lifetime. Wes and Lake set out on a mission to try catch a large GT. Wes opened the account for the day with a small GT to get the ball rolling. After spotting a nice fish on a coral head, Lake laid out a beautiful cast to the fish and after a few strips the fish ate the fly aggressively and turned, immediately sending Lake’s fly line shooting up over his reel and rod butt. Using a Seigler reel with a lever for quick release on the drag, Lake managed to loosen up and sort out the line quickly. After some coral dodging and team effort the fish was landed and measured in at 99cm, just missing the ever sought after trophy metre plus mark. Still a beast of a fish nevertheless and one to remember for Lake.
Wes was shortly back at it again with another smaller GT, but would soon upgrade to most likely his permanent personal best. After polling a deep cut near the surf on the outgoing tide and having seen little, Chad decided to come back to the same cut on the pushing tide in search of cool, clean water and potentially more fish. The drift paid off and as Wes made a blind cast to nine o’clock a massive GT came up off the bottom at two o’clock. Wes had to strip the line in a hurry and put a quick back cast in at the fish. As he stripped the fly past the fish it lunged at the fly but missed. Wes slowed the pace of the strips down and the fish slowly turned around and followed the fly all the way to the boat. Nobody in the boat thought that the fish would eat the fly in such close quarters, but on Farquhar anything can happen and the fish sipped the fly in slowly like a trout. The first run was massive and took Wes into the backing in seconds. After chasing the fish down through precarious coral heads at every turn for some time, the fish swam deep and refused to come up for ages. Wes put just the right amount of pressure on the fish and managed to lift it up for Chad to net it boat side. The fish barely fit half way into the net and it took Chad and Wes to hold the fish, measuring in at 131cm, making it the biggest GT for the last few seasons on Farquhar and one that Wes will never forget!
With so much action already having taken place it was hard to believe there was another day still to fish and the final day of fishing did not disappoint. Dick and Bill managed to land another GT each, while Douglas got what he was after and landed his first GT for the week in the nick of time. On guide Shaun’s boat the fishing was on fire for the last day. Don landed himself two GTs, while Skip landed three and many more were seen during the course of the day.
On guide Casey’s boat, Wes and Lake were at it again and making every shot count. Wes landed two GTs to end off his trip, while Lake was the angler of the day once more. While walking the surf and with great light conditions, Casey spotted several GTs on stingrays and Lake managed to catch two of them. Not long into the surf walk and Casey found a large group of tailing bumphead parrotfish, clearly in feeding mode. After a few casts into the group, Lake went tight with a solid specimen and in full combat fishing style, battled the fish in the surf on foot in a tug of war until eventually tiring it out enough for Casey to net the fish. He then topped off his trip with a bonefish to complete his second flats slam for the week.
Week five proved what Farquhar can offer in terms of variety and quality. Great fish were caught every day and the species checkbox was ticked throughout the week. What a week of fishing on Farquhar!
Farquhar Atoll 2024/25 Season Fishing Reports – 6th to 13th November
Week four of the season started off with ten guests from across Ireland, USA and the UK. Good fish were seen, and several anglers made their shots count, coming away with many bell ringer’s during the evening ceremonies.
Firas and Peter both kicked off with a great start, landing their first GT on fly. Laurel also joined the list of firsts and landed her first bonefish on Farquhar. Day two proved tough with some trying overcast conditions, Peter kept the hopes up and landed himself another GT.
Day three was one for the books with Curtis landing his first GT for the week. James and Bill paired up on guide Chad’s boat, James landed his first GT for the trip and Bill took the angler of the day award. Landing his first GT on his first cast of the day, he then backed it up with another great specimen, with both anglers having landed fish Chad convinced Bill and James to go look for a big fish in the deep. Polling towards the first coral head it was apparent that multiple large black GTs were scattered amongst the corals. Bill made a cast into the middle of the black mass of fish and chaos ensued with multiple fish seeing the boat and spooking, after a great recast further from the boat a hefty black GT broke the surface violently and the black and purple brush fly vanished from sight. During the commotion of the fight Bill managed to lose the top section of his fly rod, with cool heads and some heart stopping moments the fish and the top section of the rod were netted together. Bill came away with a true gangster of the flats experience and became a member of the metre GT club. A stocky and healthy 100cm GT.
Firas also had a day to remember, teamed up with guide and manager Shaun, he started his day with a juvenile permit just to get the fish sense tingling. A little later in the day while having lunch, Shaun and Firas spotted a large permit patrolling the beach on a very specific route that Shaun had noticed before. Having identified the permit as one he had been after for some time. Shaun ran down the beach with Firas to line up a shot, armed with a white flexo crab, Firas laid out two casts and had no reaction. The third cast worked a charm and with a few strips, the permit ate the fly aggressively. Firas played the fish carefully and Shaun kept a close eye on the sharks in the area, managing to keep them at bay until Firas could tire out the fish enough to be netted successfully. Neither Shaun nor Firas could believe what had just happened. A 71cm Indo-Pacific permit and a trophy that only a short list of people have managed to claim. The GT count continued to tick over on day four and five, with Peter, Bill and Curtis all landing another and Simon joined the club with his first for the week.
Day six proved to be a memorable one for a few of our anglers finishing a phenomenal week of fishing on a high. Firas, Curtis and Peter all landed another GT each, ending their trip on a high. Andrew put all the stakes on the table and was able to catch a GT in the nick of time before weeks end. He and Simon then had an offshore session to remember when guide Chad spotted a bait ball just offshore. Racing out to the birds with GT brush flies in hand, hundreds of flying fish were spotted breaching the surface and taking flight, most likely escaping from yellowfin tuna. Simon and Andrew both managed to hook multiple tuna and in the end, three were landed. Two for Simon and one for Andrew, finishing the day off with a bang.
Farquhar Atoll 2024/25 Season Fishing Reports – 30th October to 6th November
Seven guests from the UK and Ireland joined forces to tally up the species and numbers as best they could for week three of fishing on Farquhar.
Day one proved fruitful right away and several guests walked away having caught decent fish at the end of it. Nick and Harry both landed their first GTs for the trip and Bill showed off a little, having caught two by the end of the day. Niall added the variety to the mix and landed a beautiful moustache triggerfish.
Day two was the day of the GTs with many being spotted and good numbers being landed. Greg, Nick, Bill and Harry all added GTs to their lists, while William who had been quiet on the first day, came back with a vengeance and landed two GTs. The angler of the day was Niall, who teamed up with guide Yousef and caught himself three GTs.
The momentum rolled over into day three with Dan, Bill and Harry all landing another GT each. Niall was top of the leaderboard once more for the day and landed himself two beautiful GTs. The diverse atoll offered up another moustache triggerfish, this time for William to end off another day of solid fishing.
The GTs kept coming on day four, with Greg and Dan both landing a fish each and Niall another two. Harry took the angler of the day though, landing a solid 100cm GT. Guide Gerry had spotted a solid fish and positioned the boat nicely for Harry to have a decent shot, with only a strip or two the GT lit up and engulfed the fly, but continued to swim directly at the boat after eating the fly. No tension was met for a while and it seemed that maybe the fish had spat the fly out already, but Harry persistently stripped until tension was once again gained. As soon as he came tight with the fish, it took off on a blistering run that GTs are famous for. After some drag tightening and tugging the 100cm fish was landed.
Day five brought diversity to the week and a mixed bag of catches were celebrated during the evening’s traditional bell ringing ceremony. Nick managed to land himself another GT. Niall continued with his fish whispering ways and landed another four GTs! Harry, teamed with guide Bailey, and managed to land himself another GT, but sweeter still he also managed to land a sizeable bumphead parrotfish before the day was over. A phenomenal week for Harry so far! Also coming home having had a fantastic day was Dan who caught a GT, a beautiful bonefish and the cherry on top was the 50cm yellowmargin triggerfish, making it a flats slam, and the first for the week.
The final day of the week saw some tough weather, but Greg, Niall and Nick stuck it out through the ominous clouds and shifting wind conditions to each land a GT to end their trip to Farquhar!
Farquhar Atoll 2024/25 Season Fishing Reports – 23rd to 30th October
After an unforgettable opening week, our new guests arrived with stories of good times shared by the previous week’s visitors. With the weather now settled, all anglers kicked off their adventures on a high, ready to reel in more memorable moments.
Day one began with rain clouds building and gloomy skies, leaving everyone with just an ounce of doubt despite the reputation that Farquhar has. The ominous skies did not put a damper on the fishing and several memorable catches were still landed. Jonathan, a returning guest landed his first GT of the trip. Ed, fresh from a successful week on Alphonse, started his trip strong with two GTs, while Jeff, also coming from Alphonse, landed his first GT of the trip. Lana started her trip off with a bang catching her first GT ever. Joel put in some effort trying to land a sizeable bonefish and came away from the first day having caught a trophy specimen of 64cm. Mike mentioned first thing in the morning that bumpies were on the top of his list for the week and in the final half an hour of the first day he made it happen, hooking a decent bumpy on the turtle grass flats. With his drag nearly locked and with the boat anchored away from the edge of the flat, Mike played the fish with as much tension as possible. After a few tense moments (even having a turtle swim into the leader mid fight) the fish was netted, making it the first bumpy of the season.
On day two, GT fishing heated up as the weather conditions improved. Lisa and John joined in on the GT action with their first GTs of the week, with Lisa catching two and John one. Lana, Ed and Jeff all increased their GT numbers with Jeff even landing three for the day. Mike was the man of the day having caught two GTs and a beautiful moustache triggerfish all on the same beach walk.
By day three, it was clear that most of the fish had gathered in a small area, drawn by baitfish trapped on the flats flanking the southern channels. Those who were in that small area capitalised on the abundance of hungry GTs. Outside of the area of abundant GTs, Ed managed to land another GT for his impressive tally. Inside the area of chaos in the south, on guide Chase’s boat, Jonathan managed to land himself another two GTs. Lana was on a roll through the week with catching GTs and she added another two to the list as well, however, one of the two was a special one. Chase, having seen two large GTs following a nurse shark, positioned the boat perfectly for Lana to get a downwind shot at the fish. As the fly landed one of the fish inhaled the fly without hesitation. The fish immediately ran off the flat into the deep coral filled abyss. After getting into the backing the fish managed to stitch Lana through several coral heads. Chase, with goggles in hand launched into the water and unstitched the line from the coral several times, until eventually the fish was near enough to be netted underwater before the breaking the line. With a great team effort the 114cm beast was landed, making for an epic story of overcoming difficulties.
On Gerry’s boat and in the same area, Greta had a day that blew everyone’s expectations out of the water. She managed to land nine GTs altogether, making it the highest number of GTs for a single boat in a long time. Amongst all of the GT chaos Gerry spotted a sizeable specimen circling a coral head. Gerry knew this fish well and had tried catching it the previous day with no result. He managed to drift down to the coral head with precision and positioned Greta for a great down wind shot. The pitch black GT ate the fly as if it would be the last bait fish it ever saw. Another epic tug of war around the coral heads ensued. Luckily this time no diving was required and with some crafty manoeuvres of the boat the fish was landed. A stunning dark GT measuring in at 103cm. Just to add to the already ridiculous day she was having, Greta managed to also land a moustache triggerfish on the GT fly, just proving how hungry the fish were.
Day four and the GT numbers kept climbing. Joel and John managed to land a GT each for the day. Joel’s GT measured in a 90cm and was a great consolation prize after losing a few bigger ones earlier in the day in the Deep South coral ridges. After a few broken leaders and one broken fly line he came right with his decent GT. Mike landed another two GTs during his day four.
The angler of the day was none other than Ed, who landed eight GTs. Guide Chad, having learnt of the chaos near the channels the previous day poled around one single flat for most of the day just to the right of the channel where most of the fish were landed the previous day and it paid off. As soon as the boat was in position the day kicked off with the first GT. There was a constant flow of GTs throughout most of the day and the shots were relatively easy. Large schools of GTs travelling through channels and on the lagoon edge were spotted as well as multiple GTs on stingrays. The phenomenon from the previous day seemed to still be in full swing.
Day five and the southern channel areas were still operating. Joel, Greta and Jono managed to land two GTs each. Mike and Lisa both landed a GT each as well. Lisa’s GT was her personal best so far measuring in at 92cm.
With most of the guests leaving the atoll for a Providence trip, there were only three anglers left to try and break the previous week’s record of 48 GTs. The anglers were currently sitting on 48 already so one GT for the day would get the job done. The anglers did not disappoint and didn’t stop at one. Ed closed out his trip with a GT in ankle deep water in a lagoon in the last half an hour of the final day. Jeff went to inspect if the chaos around the channels was still ensuing and although tapering off the fish were still around the channels in good numbers and Jeff capitalised, landing two GTs on his final day on Farquhar. A solid end to the week and beating the previous week’’ record, which had already beaten the previous whole season’s weekly record.
Farquhar Atoll 2024/25 Season Fishing Reports – 16th to 23rd October
The opening week of the Farquhar season started off with an aura of expectation. Seven guests from Russia, Germany and America were greeted with beautiful weather upon arriving on the island. The famous Farquhar pets were there in numbers and fired up, creating further excitement among the guests.
Day one delivered one of the best season openers we’ve seen in years. Sixteen GTs were landed on the first day, providing ample high spirits for everyone involved. Fran landed her first ever GT. Slav, a returning guest, managed to land himself a GT as well. Jason, another returning guest, along with his guide Bailey, managed to land six GTs. The man behind the fly fishing nation camera, Mats, put down his gear after a days filming and landed his first GT on Farquhar. Stephan, being the man on the other side of the lens for the day and paired up with manager and guide Shaun, had a monumental day on the flats, landing seven GTs with two being over a metre (102cm and 106cm) and were both caught on foot from the beach of Goullette island, which is famous for it’s bird eating GTs. Neither fish needed much convincing as Stephan laid out casts within the visual range of the GTs and after just a few strips the fish were already committed to the fly.
Day two saw some decent action although not quite what day one offered up, it was still a successful day with Aleksander landing his first two GTs ever. Jason kept the good times rolling by catching another GT to add to his already impressive tally. Stephan and camera man Mats were at it again with Stephan landing two GTs and Mats completing the first slam for the season; a bill and bones slam. He landed a sailfish in the dying minutes of the day and bonefish earlier on to secure the slam. He also added another GT to his growing list of commendable catches.
Day three and the GTs were still on the loose with another five landed among the team, Mats, Aleksander and Jason all increasing their GTs numbers.
Day four was by far the standout day of the week, if one could believe that after the epic days already had. Greg managed to join the GT train and landed his first one. His wife, Fran, also landed a GT and Stephan added to his numbers with two more of his own. Two men, both on the same boat, with guide Yousuf, had a day they’ll never forget. Jason, landed three GTs in the morning and during a surf walk later in the day landed himself two moustache triggers with a bonefish as the cherry on top, completing his first ever flats slam. Mats also landed two moustache triggerfish during the same surf walk and landed one GT in the morning. In the final few minutes of the day in the deep waters off of Goullette, Mats decided to blind cast a large black and red beast fly in the hopes of raising a GT of a different calibre. His persistence and good thinking paid off as the beast fly was decimated with violent intent. After a tug of war in the deep water from the boat, the 112cm GT was brought to hand. Mats had already broken his personal best GT twice earlier in the week and took it up a few notches.
One man really stood out on day four and had a day that will likely live in his memory for as long as he lives. Aleksander, paired with guide Chad, took to the inside of the lagoon to scout the white sand beaches for any signs of GT and bonefish action. While walking the beach and stalking a school of sizeable bonefish, Chad spotted two substantial GTs well out of casting range from the beach cruising past the area. With a mad dash to the boat and GT rod already stripped out and ready to go, a chase ensued by polling the boat over to intercept the GTs before they went completely out of sight. As the fish turned broadside in front of the bow, Aleksander laid out a cast in trying wind conditions that landed between the two fish. The fish at the back noticed the fly as soon as it moved and as the fly stripped over its head it inhaled the tan and grey baitfish imitation. The fish swam directly at the boat and made setting the hook difficult, but Aleksander took the advice given and continued to strip set until the line tightened fully and the hook was firmly set. Having been hooked on the white sand with no coral in sight, Aleksander played the fish slowly and carefully until eventually it was landed. A solid 121cm GT that Aleksander will never forget. As if his day couldn’t get any better, Aleksander took to the bluewater in the afternoon in search of a sailfish and after just a short while of looking for them he managed to come tight with a beautiful specimen that he fought well and managed to land with ease.
Day five and the action continued. Stephan, Fran and Slav all managed to land a GT each. Greg, having never caught a triggerfish before, tried his hand at the tricky specimens while walking the surf. The very first triggerfish that Greg cast at ate the fly with aggression and Greg did an expert job of setting the hook and with some dancing around and chasing the trigger away from coral danger the fish was brought to hand. Just a short while later and Greg had learnt well from his first triggerfish experience and landed another, making it two moustache triggers for the day. The angler of the day was Jason, who, for the second day in a row, came away with a flats slam, landing himself a moustache triggerfish in the surf, a sizeable bonefish on the white sand and a GT on a stingray.
Day six, the final day of fishing, came all too quickly for the guests. Slav and Jason managed to land another GT each, Stephan managed to land three GTs, all while wading, making the catches just a little more special. Greg and Aleksander both continued their hot streaks and both completed flats slams on the final day. Aleksander managed to land some bonefish, a GT and the first permit of the season, guided by Chase. Greg managed to land a GT, several bonefish and another moustache triggerfish, making it three triggers for him in two days.
All in all, the Farquhar season could not have started any better with a total of 48 GTs (four over 1m) and the guests left the island with expectations exceeded. What a start to the season!
If you would like more information about Farquhar Island and availability please contact Charlotte Chilcott or Peter McLeod or call us on +44 1980 847389. Alternatively click HERE if you would like us to contact you.