Tag: flycastaway

  • Seychelles Best Flats Fishing – Farquhar Atoll

    The Seychelles became a bucket list destination because it’s a beautiful, remote destination with fantastic wading for bonefish on hard sand & coral flats and a variety of other species both on and off the flats that added depth to the fishery.  Recently, a new fishing operation has opened on Farquhar Atoll, which has taken those credentials to the next level.  

    Beautiful and remote? Farquhar is called the “Jewel of the Seychelles” and considered to be the most beautiful island in the archipelago and also the southern most atoll (2 hour flight from Mahe).  The staff and guests are the only people on the atoll, living in the islands only accommodations.  Check.

    Fantastic Bonefishing? The fishing is 100% wading.  The average schooling bonefish is 4 – 6 pounds and there will be quite a few bonefish in the 6 – 8 pound range.  Most anglers end up leaving the schools to find fish in single and doubles for a bit more of a challenge.  Check.

    Variety of Species?  In addition to Bonefish, there are the normal fish you’d expect to see on a flat in the Seychelles: Shark, Barracuda, Snapper, Triggerfish, Trevally (including Giant Trevally), Milkfish, Napoleon Wrasse and Indo-Pacific Permit.  The guides on Farquhar have also figured out how to catch Humphead Parrotfish, which were previously though to be uncatchable on the fly and become experts at targeting GT’s (Giant Trevally).  You can also fish deeper water for Sailfish, several Grouper species, Yellowfin Tuna, Wahoo, Job fish, and more.  A client of our landed 18 different species on the fly…all with a floating line!    Check.

    This is truly one of the special fishing destinations in world, and the reservations book shows it – the first availability is for late-October 2013.  If you’re interested in fishing Farquhar, we suggest getting started now.  Like Farquhar, but more interested in Bonefishing?  Check out Farquhar’s sister operation St. Brandon’s Atoll, which has better bonefishing with less variety

    Farquhar Bonefish
    Bonefish!
  • Tanzania Tigerfishing

    Tanzania offers one of the finest fisheries left on the planet – Tigerfishing on the Mnyera and Ruhudji Rivers.  This is the place if you’re looking to catch a big Tigerfish on the fly.  The season runs from August to November (15 weeks) each year, with a maximum of 8 rods per week (4 rods per river). 

    The early part of the season is good for big fish with less numbers and late season in better for more fish with a decrease in average size. Early season the water levels are higher and guests can expect to hook around 10 fish per day.  During the later part of the season, water levels are lower and warmer, and this attract more small male fish into the system from floodplains downstream, accounting for the increase in smaller fish in the system.  During this time, clients will expect to hook up to 20 or so fish per day.

    The strikes are violent and when a Tigerfish hits your fly, she’s moving at top speed.  Due to the voracity, strength, and size of these fish, a 50% hook up to landed fish ratio is considered doing well.  Tigersfish will actually hold the fly in their jaws for an entire fight, unhooked, only to open their mouth at the boat and spit the fly.  Similar to Tarpon fishing, it’s all about the take, the acrobatic jumps, and the fight. 

    The past 2 seasons on the Mnyera and Ruhudji were superb: 578 fish landed between 10 and 20 lbs and 31 fish breaking the magical 20lb mark.  To put this in perspective, a trophy Tigerfish from any other river would be 12 pounds.  On the Mnyera and Ruhudji, the average fish is between 8 – 12 lbs. 

    The cost for 7-nights / 6-days fishing is USD $6,750 per person person based on double occupancy accommodations and a shared boat / guide daily.

     

    20 lb Tigerfish? I’d be smiling too!
  • St Brandon’s Atoll Bonefishing

    FlyCastaway has arrived in Connecticut and we’ve been enjoying spending some quality time with Gerhard and hearing him speak about the fishing programs.  You may not have heard, but St Brandon’s has been described as the finest bonefishing in the world.  We know it’s a tall order to fill, since there are excellent fisheries like North Riding Point, that produce quality numbers of double digit bonefish each year.  An excerpt from a FlyCastaway’s description of the May 11 – 20, 2012 trip to St. Brandon’s.  

    The week started off with an absolute bang, the neap tides meant we had ample time to fish some of our Bonefish hotspots and we literally climbed into the monsters St Brandon’s has become renowned for. Simply put, the fishing was off the charts! Each day at least one team would return home with an image of a weighed double digit Bonefish. For those not in the know, most dedicated saltwater anglers will go his entire lifetime without ever holding a 10lb fish….and we were doing it on a daily basis. By the end of the week we racked up no less than ten fish, which weighed over the 10lb mark, two of which were eleven pounds!

    The average size was equally impressive, and when guys started putting their noses up at eight pounders we had to give them a little pep talk. Something along the lines of “each fish is special” and “you don’t know when you’ll get this opportunity again”. Added to this we had some scary good sight fishing for these hogs as they tailed in water no deeper than our gravel guards …

    The “schooling” bonefish are in the 6 – 7 pound class, one or two 4-pound bonefish may be the smallest bonefish you’ll see, and there are bones there pushing 14-pounds.  Oh, the fishing is 100% wading and there are only 8 anglers fishing these flats every other week over two 3-month seasons each year. If you love bonefishing, this might just be having your cake and eating it too!

    Nice Bonefish from St. Brandon's Atoll

  • FlyCastaway visits Angler Adventures

    Gerhard Laubscher of FlyCastaway is visiting Angler Adventures in Connecticut next week and giving a couple of presentations about FlyCastaway’s cutting edge fishing operations on St. Brandon’s Atoll, Mauritius and Farquhar Atoll, Seychelles.  Both destinations offer spectacular fisheries that get almost no fishing pressure due to their remote locations and are priced like rare commodities, adding exclusivity to both destinations attributes (Farquhar prices at $7,500 US and St. Brandon’s prices at 6,500 Euro). 

    To get started, here’s the guides report from the April 4 – 11, 2012 week at Farquhar that included one of our clients, Steve Gross, who was looking to tally up as many species as possible.

    If you’d like to attend Gerhard’s presentations, click here.

    Farquhar Atoll: 4-11 April 2012

    Beautiful TrevallyLike a tide eager to begin its initial surge, our new group of guests arrived on the shores of Farquhar champing at the bit to explore the multitude of flats and species Farquhar has on offer. After our customary quick briefing and some hasty rigging of tackle, the group which consisted of 9 men and one hard core fisherwoman set out to get a brief taste of what was in store for the rest of the week. The weather was set to be stable …we were hoping for an absolute cracker!

    GT's are abundant on FarquharYves quickly enticed his first Trigger to eat the fly. Jeff joining the action as he got stuck into a Milky as they are still here and feeding hard! Clare quickly showed the boys she was here to do business by landing the first GT, sadly her Dad. Finally after countless attempts, Wayne O finally managed to land his Trigger, which has been eluding him for years. And it didn’t end there for Wayne as he recorded our first Farquhar Slam, that being GT, a Bone and a Trigger in one day. Now that’s some serious angling and bragging rights!

    There are Milkies too!But back to the rest of the week, the Milkies were still hanging around and after and epic battle, Alex landed his first Milky, awesome fish Alex! His action didn’t stop there either, he also managed to land a GT and a Bone in the same day, quite an achievement. Good fishing was being experienced by all, although we did have a fair number of large GTs lost due to hooks pulling and lines breaking. Clare however had the pink touch (literally), and landed another good GT. Things were heating up and the pressure was on to get the desired species.

    A small GT is still a Giant Trevally!!!Ian subsequently also made his way in to the record book by landing all three of the species and Yves just failing to qualify by losing his GT. Wayne, Dean and Jeff had one truly memorable day whereby they landed 5 GTs, although Wayne did get smoked by a Yellowfin Tuna which tore off 300m of backing in less than 20 seconds late in afternoon!

    Triggerfish offer a flats fishing challange on Farquhar2 Slams in two days. Let’s make it 4 in three days. Dean and Jeff decided they also wanted a taste of that action and had no trouble landing a Trigger, a Bone and a GT. Piece of cake, all in a day’s work at the office….these were the comments around the dining room table each evening. Steve continued his species count and landed a truly impressive Napoleon.

    Don't under estimate these Sharks.  They're fast, powerful, and fun on a fly, especially on a skinney flat.Last day out on the flats and Ian once again showed his metal landing a 98cm GT which was the largest of the week. Jeff and Wayne muscled in some Bumphead Parrotfish, whilst Steve braved “THE WALK” and reaped the rewards, landing Bones, Bluefin and two Blackfin Sharks. It was really good to have Steve out fishing with us after months of preparations and planning!

    An amazing week of fishing with 4 Farquhar Slams, 15 GTs, 6 Triggers, 2 Napoleons, some Bumpheads, a Milkfish and countless Bluefin, Grouper and Snapper. That is what Farquhar is all about!

  • FlyCastaway is Coming July 18 & 19, 2012: Gerhard Laubscher of FlyCastaway to present in Darien & Old Saybrook, CT

    Based in South Africa, FlyCastaway offers 3 of the most sensational, cutting edge fly fishing destinations on the globe:

    In addition to being the best place in the Seychelles to target Giant Trevally, Farquhar Atoll is known for offering a variety of flats species including Bonefish, Indo-Pacific Permit, Bumphead Parrotfish, Milkfish, Blacktip Reef Sharks, Napoleon Wrasse, Triggerfish and Barracuda. Venture “offshore” and add Wahoo, Tuna, Grouper, Snapper, and Sailfish to the list. Click here for rates and information.

    St. Brandon’s is possibly the best bonefishery in the world based on the numbers, size and willingness to eat a fly. More Indo-Pacific Permit are caught here than anywhere in the Indian Ocean and some of the biggest Giant Trevally. The atoll is over 200 nautical miles off the coast Mauritius and Fly Castaway utilizes a mother ship, the MY Gryphon, to access St. Brandon’s. Click here for rates and information.

    Tigerfish are one of Africa’s most exciting freshwater gamefish and FlyCastaway has set up camp on the Mnyera & Ruhudji Rivers in Tanzania. This is the top destination to target trophy 20 lb Tigerfish. While fishing for these fast and aggressive ambush predators, anglers routinely see wildlife like Lion, Leopart, Buffalo, Warthog, and Elephant as wells as exotic birds such as the Peels Fishing Owl or the White Backed Night Heron. Click here for rates and information.

    You are invited to meet Gerhard and enjoy his presentation on Seychelles, Mauritius and Tanzania at the following locations:

    July 18, 2012

    5:00 – 7:00 PM

    Ten Twenty Post Oyster Bar – Bistro

    1020 Post Road, Darien, CT 06820

    www.tentwentypost.com


    July 19, 2012

    5:00 – 7:00 PM

    Otter Cove Restaurant & Bar

    99 Essex Road, Old Saybrook, CT 06475

    www.ottercoverestaurant.com

    Space is limited. Please RSVP by July 6 to confirm your participation by filling out the RSVP form linked here or by email.

    Please let us know if you are available these dates, but not at these times.