Any week with Dave Hall is going to be fun, but add two South Africans, a German, a Brit, and a bohemian Texan and you have a recipe for a pretty good time. I could go through all of the great fish this week but I am mainly going to pick on Rob, one of the South African lads, who probably had one of greatest fishing weeks I have seen in the Seychelles for quite some time. Rob’s luck was quick off the mark; on the first half day “warm up” session he caught a metre-plenty GT only a short walk from the lodge. I might add that, as it was the arrival afternoon, he was unguided and so between him and his mate Richard, they spotted caught and landed the brute all on their own. Who needs a guide anyway, right? Coincidentally, Uwe also did well on that session, and landed a Permit by himself.
Afraid of being made redundant, the guides set to the last week of the season with a sure determination. After all, it seemed we had very capable rods to work with.
Rob’s luck continued. Milkfish: check; brace of Triggerfish: check; another metre-plus GT: check. Then the unthinkable came. The tide had pushed, so Christiaan took team South Africa for an offshore session to finish the day off. Rob generously resigned his way to the back of the boat after giving Rich choice position of starting the session on the bow. He casually unhitched his fly, lobbed it into the water and began stripping running line off his reel. His fly had sunk a few metres by the time he looked up and saw a colossal GT having a good look at the ball of feathers. Rob’s a quiet guy on the flats so when he said “What is that?” Christiaan was immediately alert… “Big GT!”. One strip was enough to convince the GT and the fly was inhaled. After a lengthy fight the 132cm GT was landed. That is substantially bigger than a very large trophy GT and is a fish of a lifetime.
Brad (our Dude from Texas) caught the second Permit of the week, an accomplishment that should earn him a couple of beers from his Permit fishing buddies back home.
Fun was had by all, the final tally was:
6 Fly Anglers
GTs – 48 (8 per angler for 6 days), the biggest at 132 cm.
Milkfish -1
Permit – 2
Dogfish Tuna – 1
Bonefish – A pile of seriously hefty Bonefish
And that’s it for another fantastic season. All the best!
James Topham and the Alphonse Fishing Co team. If you would like more details please contact Charlotte Chilcott or call the office on ++44 1980 847389.