ALPHONSE FISHING REPORT

The last week of September was an incredible week of weather and fishing alike with almost all of our well renowned species showing their faces and taking flies. The South Easterly is now slowly changing to the North Westerly and that resulted in calmer conditions on the beautiful St Francois flats.

Angler Kane H made his way to Alphonse from the US as part of his Honeymoon. Kane got his week off to a flying start with two GTs on his first day, a massive bucket list species ticked off for him. The next day Kane and his wife Maggy went on a blue water outing, armed with some conventional gear but also the 12wt Fly Rods. Kane caught our first Wahoo on fly for the season, and it was a giant measuring an impressive 148 cm! 

Back out on the flats the next day, Kane’s momentum couldn’t be stopped when he hooked into and landed his first ever permit, a beaut of a specimen measuring 41 cm. Kane took a day off and then hit the flats of St Francois one more time. Once again Kane showed off his fly fishing skills, landing a further two GTs, bringing his tally up to four for the week. On the way home Kane’s guide noticed some disturbance on the surface and immediately knew it was a massive shoal of Milkfish. After just a few casts Kane went tight with a milk that steamed off toward the horizon. After an intense fight, which they always are, Kane subdued the beast and got some awesome photos with his 95 cm Milkfish. Congratulations on your epic week of fishing, Kane! 

Angler Adam C has been out to Alphonse on a number of occasions and caught plenty of incredible fish. The one however that had always eluded him is the Indo-Pacific permit. After starting his week warming up on some bonefish Adam decided it was time to target the golden nuggets which frequent the sandy high spots. A beast of a permit was seen circling a mudding stingray. A well placed cast and a slow strip saw the permit light up and eat the fly in a fashion more similar to a GT than a permit. Adam was in shock as he went tight with the giant, but following the advice of his guide he carefully fought the fish and brought it to net. Our biggest permit of the season and an absolute giant measuring 67 cm! Congratulations, Adam that is a fish of a lifetime. 

Adam’s father Murray was also fishing this week and was overjoyed with his son’s success on the permit. He however, also wanted one for himself. Murray started his week by taming a milkfish, a species which he loves to spend time targeting. The permit however continued to be difficult, with numerous good shots not getting a bite. Persistence always beats resistance though, and on his second last day Murray managed to convince a beaut of a perm to take his fly. After working so hard for the bite Murray took his time with the fight and ensured a net, the beautiful specimen measured in at 50 cm, congratulations Murray! 

Angler Johannes M had a few days of fishing booked and was also itching to get his hands on as many of our flats species as possible. On his first day he caught a solid GT of 70 cm and a number of bonefish. A couple of days later he went out again, and in the morning he started off on the Milkfish hunt. After finding a shoal feeding aggressively on the surface Johannes didn’t take long to hook up, and he took the fight to the fish landing it in good time. The milk measured in at an impressive 93 cm. After getting his milk Johannes went onto the flats where he bagged another GT, and later in the day got his bonefish to complete an awesome flats slam. Congratulations, Johannes! 

Johannes’ son Zoran was keen to try his hand at some saltwater fly fishing. He had practiced extensively before coming out here, and considering he is just 10 years old had a very impressive handle on casting a fly rod. He caught his first bone with relative ease and was ecstatic. He now had the itch for fly fishing. A couple of days later he went out and caught over 20 bonefish in a short session, and then to put the cherry on top Zoran caught his first ever GT on fly! Congratulations Zoran on your awesome fishing and what will no doubt be the start of a new obsession! 

Almost all who cast a fly rod this week had some excellent success, and so we must also congratulate Jack ‘Chunky’ C who caught a 92 cm milkfish, Lily C who caught her first ever yellow-margin triggerfish, Chantelle C who caught a very infrequently caught Orange-Line triggerfish, James W-S who caught the biggest GT of the weekend measuring 86 cm, James R who caught two yellowfin tuna on fly and Maggie M who caught her first bonefish which was her first ever fish on a fly rod. Congratulations on your amazing catches guys!