As with the permit our run of success continues with triggerfish. It’s been an incredible year for triggerfish catches at Alphonse. The new Alphonse flexo crab, called “AlFlexo Crab” flies have certainly unlocked the door to both triggerfish and permit catches as the numbers have been unbelievable! We are two thirds through the season, which is staggering to think that we have already landed 142, without taking any other destination into account. 
The two species of triggerfish targeted by the Alphonse Fishing Co. guides on St. Francois atoll are the Moustache (Giant) and the Yellow-margin. These fish have become a favourite of flats fishermen as they are not only beautiful to look at but they are also technically difficult to catch, being notorious for their spooky nature and fighting dirty. Not only will triggerfish try to swim straight to a coral hole as soon as they are hooked they also have incredibly powerful teeth and jaws capable of breaking a hook in two.
This season St. Francois atoll has produced an incredible number of triggerfish (Moustache and Yellow-margin). At the end of week 22 (two thirds of the way through the season) 142 triggerfish have been landed by the guides of Alphonse Fishing Co., which is nearly 50% more than the previous best season total of 106 fish. The 10 weeks since Christmas have been particularly productive with an average of 10.5 triggerfish per week for that period. 
A recent spike in numbers in week 21, which saw 28 triggerfish landed appeared to coincide with a spawning event around the full moon, which lead to much higher numbers of fish than usual being seen on some regularly walked finger flats. The numbers of fish encountered and the amount of nesting triggerfish seen by SCUBA divers at the time must mean good things for the health of the fishery in the future.
There have been a number of other reasons for the increase in catches put forward. As for Permit the Alphonse Flexo crab has proved to be a fantastic fly for catching triggerfish. This fly has a texture that the triggerfish seem to respond better to and it has also been partly responsible for increasing the amount of time that can be spent fishing for triggerfish during spring tide cycles. This means that triggerfish are now being increasingly caught on any tide. 
The Alphonse Fishing Co. guide team has worked very hard on the approach to fishing for triggers and the use of poling and African queening has helped to consistently get anglers closer to triggerfish, increasing the likelihood of hooking one. All these factors combined mean that more Alphonse Island guests are getting the chance to land one of these magnificent fish.
If you would like more details on Alphonse Island, or to join Charlotte please contact Charlotte Chilcott or call the office on ++44 1980 847389. 
