Alphonse and St Francois atolls continue to amaze on the fishing front, and with the added leisure facilities at Alphonse, it has become a perfect destination for a family holiday and an unforgettable fishing trip. This season was quite easily one of the very best we have seen, starting off with incredible permit fishing while the southeast wind still blew. The magnificent catches did not stop there, with spectacular fish coming to hand over the course of the last nine months. Here’s a dive into some of the season’s noteworthy catches and statistics, giving a great view of the phenomenal fishing on Alphonse and St Francois.
Alphonse’s signature species showed true to form, with a total of 4,616 bonefish caught. That this number is slightly lower than in other years can be attributed to the increased catches of the other popular species. Of these, 69 permit were caught along with 482 GTs. While no match for Farquhar, a solid 20 GTs over a metre were landed. The largest was 128cm, which was the biggest GT across all of our destinations this season. Triggerfish and milkfish came to the fore too, with 127 and 61 caught respectively. An incredible 26 flats slams were achieved, and two super slams, which is close to a record for any destination.
Ghosts of the Flats – Bonefish
The bone fishery on Alphonse is undoubtedly one of the best in the world, proving itself year in, year out. Countless guests landed their first bonefish, and what is more remarkable is that almost all go on to catch 20+ bonefish in a day. Notable fish include two measuring 66cm, caught by long-term returning guest Brian, and the bonefish of the season, a magnificent 68cm landed by Art.
The Golden Nugget – Indo-Pacific Permit
Permit were abundant at the start of the season. Justin landed four in the opening week, the biggest being 67cm. Neale also managed to land himself one after many years trying.
Dudley also took advantage of the great permit fishing at the start of the season and equalled Justin on the top spot for biggest permit of the season. The Kurschat family made permit fishing look easy over the Christmas period, landing four.
Tactical – Triggerfish
As most are aware, trigger fishing is not for the faint-hearted. Anglers on Alphonse rose to the challenge this season, landing a remarkable amount, along with some very notable specimens and sessions.
Ashely and Logan both landed lovely moustache triggerfish measuring 53 and 45cm, respectively. Logan then added another spectacular 47cm yellowmargin to her triggerfish tally. The race for the biggest yellowmargin was on from early in the season, with Noah landing a hefty 51cm fish; Swifty also rose to the occasion, landing 51 and 52cm fish. The biggest yellowmargin goes to Alan, though, with a spectacular fish of 54cm. Swifty did not stop at his two impressive yellowmargin and went on to target some moustaches, successfully landing three impressive fish measuring 51, 52 and 53cm. Tom, a long-term returning angler, landed eight during his stay, with the biggest measuring 51cm. Chris took the honours for the biggest moustache triggerfish of the season on Alphonse, and all our other destinations, with an astounding 56cm fish.
Ginormous – Giant Trevally
Alphonse has never been well known for its GT fishing, but there is change afoot with more fish being caught each season. The first notable GT catche went to Sarah who joined her Dad on the boat to try land her first GT.
She landed it alright – an incredible 100cm fish! Long term guest Mike has been on the hunt for a very big GT for many years and this year he finally accomplished his quest landing a superb 128cm specimen and the GT of the season across all our destinations.
Massive – Milkfish
Alphonse accounts for 90% of the world’s landed milkfish and this season showed exactly why, with some phenomenal catches during the Christmas period. Gary got in on the action and landed himself a lovely fish of 105cm after a lengthy 55-minute fight.
Nikita landed a phenomenal 110cm fish. John took the honours for milk fisherman of the season, though, landing one every day for five consecutive days, with his largest coming in at a spectacular 111cm.
Incredible Angling – Flat Slams
The most note-worthy weeks were from three anglers, starting with a big congratulations to Reade and Julian for landing the two super flats slams this season. Achieving these is no easy feat, but it is a phenomenal accomplishment! Lastly, to Niall, who didn’t land a slam but had a spectacular week landing multiple GTs, two hefty moustache triggerfish measuring 47 and 45cm, and a stunning 55cm permit.
If you are keen to visit this extraordinary fishery here is the latest availability:
Alphonse availability 2024
21 – 28 Sep 24 (10 rods)
28 Sep – 5 Oct 24 NM 2 Oct (5 rods)
5 – 12 Oct 24 (6 rods)
12 – 19 Oct 24 FM 17 Oct (3 rods)
2 – 9 Nov 24 (2 rods)
21 – 28 Dec 24 (2 rods)
28 Dec – 4 Jan 25 NM 31 Dec (4 rods)
Alphonse availability 2025
4 – 11 Jan 25 (7 rods)
18 – 25 Jan 25 (4 rods)
8 – 15 Feb 25 FM 12 Feb (1 rod)
15 – 22 Mar 25 (4 rods)
29 Mar – 5 Apr 25 NM 29 Mar (5 rods)
5 – 12 Apr 25 (2 rods)
19 – 26 Apr 25 (2 rods)
26 Apr – 3 May 25 NM 27 Apr (2 rods)
3-10 May 25 (6 rods)
10 – 17 May 25 FM 12 May (6 rods)
20 – 27 Sep 2025 NM 21st (10 rods)
27 Sep – 4 Oct 25 (10 rods)
4 – 11 Oct 25 FM 7th (7 rods)
11 – 18 Oct 25 (8 rods)
18 – 25 Oct 25 NM 21st (5 rods)
25 Oct – 1 Nov 25 (5 rods)
1 – 8 Nov 25 FM 5th (1 rod)
22 – 29 Nov 25 (7 rods)
6 – 13 Dec 25 (6 rods)
13 – 20 Dec 2025 NM 20th (6 rods)
20 – 27 Dec 25 NM 20th (3 rods)
27 Dec – 3 Jan 26 (1 rod)
If you would like more information on Alphonse Island 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.