ALPHONSE FISHING REPORT
Another fantastic week of weather and fishing was enjoyed by the guests who joined us for the third week of the high season. We enjoyed some massive spring tides with more or less two meters of tidal movement on and off the flats every day, this coupled with the calmer breeze allowed for surf walks and easier fishing in the deeper areas. Overall we had fantastic flats fishing conditions.
Angler Wylie B has visited our island previously and has had his fair share of success in the past. His week began with a bang catching the biggest yellowmargin of the week, measuring 54 cm. On day two, after a slow morning, Wylie’s guide suggested popping offshore. On the last cast of the day, a black missile charged from the depths and smashed Wylie’s popper, he quickly put pressure on the fish to keep the hook pinned. He landed the geet, his first of the week, a beauty of 95 cm. The following day he got another yellow margin trigger which kept his fish tally on the rise. The day after however it all came together with some bonefish action alongside his father Bob in the morning. On the low tide towards the middle of the day his guide suggested targeting triggerfish. After barely starting the walk a solid trigger was spotted on the edge of the finger flat. Wylie made a perfect shot and once the fly had sank, Wiley began stripping to get the trigger’s attention. With fury in its eyes, it charged the fly down and began crunching, Wiley hit back and the fight was on, with his guide charging after the fish to land it before it reached any coral. Wylie landed the fish, a beautiful moustache trigger of 48 cm.
Satisfied with another solid trigger, Wylie hit the deep water in search of another GT. He was casting a ‘beast’ fly around coral bombies in an area known as the Badlands, when his fly was t-boned by a nice geet which immediately turned and began heading for a coral. Wylie has a serious reputation for pulling back with incredible force, and this GT felt his wrath. In just a few minutes he landed the 87 cm Beauty, and completed an excellent flats slam.
In his final days Wiley closed out his already great week in style with another monster moustache trigger of 51 cm and another 90 cm GT. Congratulations on your epic week of fishing Wiley!
Angler Marthinus V S made his debut at Alphonse and was chomping at the bit to get his hands on as many species as he possibly could. He began his week with a number of bonefish, the speed and power of which blew his mind and he absolutely loved it. The next day however his attention turned to the notorious giant trevally, a fish which any fly angler dreams of catching. The day proved fairly difficult with a number of chances not coming to fruition. The tide was now very high and Marthinus’ guide took them to the final spot of the day for the last bit of the afternoon. His guide, Matt, was up on the platform when he saw a sight every guide loves to see on the flats - a nurse shark cruising along the bottom. Knowing that there was a high chance of a good geet with it, Matt polled closer to inspect. He saw what he’d hoped to see, a massive geet swimming tightly against the shark, which was now moving into the glare of the sun making seeing it difficult for Marthinus. Matt expertly described to Marthinus where he needed him to cast, with the fish now almost invisible due to conditions. Marthinus in turn made a great cast and began stripping slowly with both hands and the rod under his arm - making the fly move slowly and consistently. As a lot of big fish do, it approached the fly lazily, and then sped up slightly as it inhaled the fly with its massive bucket-mouth. The beast turned and put up a great fight, ripping line off a locked up reel with ease. Marthinus survived its powerful surges and put pressure of his own on the fish, and bought it to the net wielded by Matt. It measured an incredible 110 cm, an absolute monster, being our biggest GT of the week.
Marthinus built on this success and also caught himself a beautiful 46 cm moustache trigger the next day and the day after went on to catch himself two gorgeous permit. Congratulations on your incredible fishing Marthinus!
Angler Kevin S had a great first week of his ten-day fishing expedition. He caught the joint biggest yellow margin of the week, with a tanker measuring 54 cm. On the same day he ticked off the GT and some bonefish for a brilliant flats slam. The highlight of his week however came on his third day, when his guide took him permit fishing. It was quite late in the day and the sun hovered just over the horizon, casting glare over the water making spotting fish challenging. Some permit were spotted hanging around the drop-off between the flats and the lagoon, but the glare made spotting their exact movements difficult. On the instruction of his guide Kevin made a cast over the edge to where his guide believed the fish were moving to. In GT-like fashion, one of the bigger fish made a charge and smashed the fly off the surface much to the surprise and excitement of both guide and angler. A tense thirty-minute fight ensued, where Kevin fought gently to not break the thin leader. The perm eventually hit the net which set off an eruption of cheering from Kevin and his guide Branden. The Beautiful fish measured a very impressive 62 cm, a giant of a permit. Congratulations Kevin!
Angler Steven P, who is also here for two weeks, enjoyed some great success in his first week by catching two nice GT’s and a massive 53 cm moustache triggerfish. He was also keen to try out the dry-fly action for some batfish. He couldn’t believe the way these beautiful fish come to the surface to try and eat our blue-bottle imitations. He was fortunate enough to hook and land our only bat of the week, well done Steven!
A big congratulations to Laura D who caught her first ever yellowmargin trigger of 31 cm and to Joseph K who caught a beaut moustache trigger of 47 cm and a sailfish on fly.
