Showing posts with label giant trevally. Show all posts
Showing posts with label giant trevally. Show all posts
Monday, June 16, 2014
The Brando, Tetiaroa pre opening visit - Fly fishing for bonefish and giant trevally.
I have just returned from a 10 day stay at the luxurious eco-resort The Brando, Tetiaroa. We arranged a 10 day stay for Sir Douglas and Lady Myers, supporters of the Tetiaroa Society, and a client who has fished on and off at Tetiaroa for the past 15 years as well as at at all the famous bonefish destinations throughout the world. This was our third trip to the island together and with The Brando opening on the 1st July it was a good opportunity to see the finished product and allowed the F&B team an opportunity to test their cuisine and service skills.
Tetiaroa has always been one of the most stunning coral atolls in the world to visit. Until now that meant roughing it but with the opening of The Brando that is all about to change. The resort is a stunning piece of architecture and blends in completely with the atoll, not impacting on the visual beauty of the environment. The villas are stylish and spacious and the landscaping provides complete privacy. The eco credentials are to be found throughout the resort - SWAC air conditioning, solar power and coconut oil (Biofuel) powered generators. The resort sources much of its produce form the island from the orchard and vegetable gardens and even produces its own honey!!
Sir Douglas and I spent 10 days fishing the flats with Teihotu Brando who is learning the craft of fly fishing. Bonefish were our main target and we encountered good numbers of fish most days. Tetiaroa's bonefish are typically large alb plus and generally founds as singles or pairs. Occasionally small groups of 5-12 fish will be encountered but for the most part your time is spent stalking these large single fish in shallow water. On most days we would average 5-10 hook ups and many close encounters. These fish will often end up at your rod tip before spooking.
The really exciting thing about Tetiaroa is the opportunity to land double figure bonefish. On this trip we landed 3 fish over 10 lbs with Sir Douglas landing his two largest bonefish ever of 33 inch and 3 22 inch respectively. They weighed in at 13 lbs and 13 1/2 lbs. Absolute monster bonefish.
While the main focus of this trip was for the large bonefish I did manage to spend a little bit of time looking for my favourite flats species - the giant trevally. This atoll has good numbers of GT's that can be found chasing mullet on the flats or cruising the drop-offs in search of food. One each occasion we went looking for GT's we encountered fish resulting in a fine fish of 116cm. In July we will be starting a GT acoustic tagging study to try and understand more about the species movements around the lagoon and to help in fisheries management regulation for the atoll.
FOR MORE INFORMATION OF VISTING THE BRANDO OR PARTICIPATING IN OUR RESEARCH ON GIANT TREVALLY AND BONEFISH ON THE ATOLL PLEASE CONTACT US ON + 44 (0)1621743711 or EMAIL: enquires@flyodyssey.co.uk OR VISIT OUR WEBSITE: www.flyodyssey.co.uk
Friday, April 25, 2014
Fly fishing in the Maldives - FOUR RESORTS NOW OFFERING FLY FISHING
Since 2011 we have spent a large amount of time looking at the fly fishing potential in the Maldives. We have now visited 4 different resorts and each offers unique opportunities to combine a family holiday with some opportunities to wade the flats for a variety of species including bonefish, giant trevally, bluefin trevally, triggerfish, info pacific permit, and many more. You can view our selection of Maldivian resorts here: Fly Odyssey Maldives Page.
Atmosphere Kanifushi: Our most recent visit took us to the island of Atmosphere Kanifushi. This is a new resort located a short seaplane flight away from Male. Unique in the Maldives this resort offers a Premium Plus Plan (all inclusive) while maintaining the high standards expected of a stay in the Maldives. It also has some great flats nearby where you can fish for bonefish, giant trevally and more.
Ayada: Ayada is located in the far south of the Maldives. An 1 hour 30 minute transfer takes you to this stunning Turkish inspired resort. No expense has been spared in finishing this resort and Spa and villa's are as good as we have found in the Maldives. From a fishing perspective there is a stunning flats system known as 5 islands. This has a superb bluefin trevally fishery with double figure fish regularly encountered on the flats. The bonefish numbers don't appear to be has high as other parts of the Maldives but regular encounters with Indo-pacific permit occur. This fishing is ideally suited to those anglers who like to explore by themselves.
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Client Review:
Kanuhura Resort and Spa: Kanuhura is a long established resort. It is set on a stunning island and is located on the same atoll as Atmosphere Kanifushi. This resort is ideal for both families and couples and offers all the usual activities expected of a resort in the Maldives. This resort offers guided fly fishing on the various local sand islands for bonefish and giant trevally.
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Client review:
That's my Maldives fishing finished- just going to laze on the beach for my last 2 days. In all I fished 4 half days, landed 2 bonefish( lost a big fish of around 6lbs) , landed 2 small GT's( one was pretty big in my opinion but I guess small by GT standards), lost a GT of around 10lbs that I fought for 10mins on my bonefish outfit, and caught around 10 small bluefin and striped travally up to around 4lbs. Also caught a few queen fish, small grouper and white snapper.
All in all a great holiday!
Atmosphere Kanifushi: Our most recent visit took us to the island of Atmosphere Kanifushi. This is a new resort located a short seaplane flight away from Male. Unique in the Maldives this resort offers a Premium Plus Plan (all inclusive) while maintaining the high standards expected of a stay in the Maldives. It also has some great flats nearby where you can fish for bonefish, giant trevally and more.
Client Review:
All in all Mat it was great trip. A good adventure, hard at times, scary (thunder and reef edge monsters) but when it came right it was great fun and all the sweeter for the hard work. I would suggest it is not the place for a total novice but it will certainly teach you new things. I found the trevally tricky to start with but soon found the secret for them. It is a great location for some fishing while on a couples holiday, but I think it deserves a bit more than that and I would suggest some exploration during big tides may turn up some very interesting results.
Rob Evans, UK - March 2014
Client review:
That's my Maldives fishing finished- just going to laze on the beach for my last 2 days. In all I fished 4 half days, landed 2 bonefish( lost a big fish of around 6lbs) , landed 2 small GT's( one was pretty big in my opinion but I guess small by GT standards), lost a GT of around 10lbs that I fought for 10mins on my bonefish outfit, and caught around 10 small bluefin and striped travally up to around 4lbs. Also caught a few queen fish, small grouper and white snapper.
All in all a great holiday!
Kenny Johnston, UK - March 2014
Island Hideaway, Dhonakulhi Island: Dhonakulhi Island has been closed for refurbishment for the past 12 months. The resort has been updated and a large number of water villas built in the lagoon. We will be checking out to the new changes later in the year and finding out how the resort is planning ton developing its fly fishing program.
FOR ENQUIRIES REGARDING FLY FISHING OR POPPER FISHING IN THE MALDIVES PLEASE CALL US ON +44 (0)1621743711, EMAIL US AT: enquiries@flyodyssey.co.uk OR VISIT OUR WEBSITE: WWW.FLYODYSSEY.CO.UK
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Fly fishing Christmas island - Client report February 2014
We have just had a group of 6 anglers back from Christmas Island. You can read Nick Evans great report of his week below taken from the Salmon Fishing Forum..........
I hope some of you may find the following notes of interest.
Pegleg and I decided to forego our 1st week of Feb on the Scottish Dee in favour of a boys’ trip to Christmas Island, the Pacific one, not Indian Ocean! I’m pleased we did forego the Dee, as the river was totally blank below Banchory, where we fish.
Kiritimati, or Christmas Island, lies about 120 miles North of the equator, and is accessed by a once a week (!) flight from Fiji to Kiritimati and on to Hawaii, doing a complete return trip the same day. It is apparently the largest atoll in the world, and was the site for early atomic weapons testing in the late 50s/early 60s. The SE Tradewinds blow at about 10mph each day, and the daylight hours are basically 6am to 6pm.
Our journey started at Heathrow, to Los Angeles, then Hawaii – about 18 hours flying time. An overnight in Honolulu and then the 3 hour flight down to Kiritimati. We left home at around 5am on Monday, night stopped Monday night and flew out of Hawaii at noon on Tuesday, arriving Kiritimati at 3pm Wednesday – you cross the international date line on this flight!! Watches / cameras / brains all needed to be reset.
We booked our trip through Fly Odyssey (I have no connections with them) and all the arrangements worked flawlessly, so hats off to Mat Mchugh.
About 50 anglers, mostly from the USA, boarded the flight at Honolulu, all heading to the small number of “lodges” that serve the visiting fishermen. We stayed in Tabwakea Village at "The Villages", a fishing lodge run by the Church.
It was pretty basic accommodation, but the food was good – we lived on fresh fish each day. The 12 anglers at The Villages are looked after by 12 guides, and we changed guide each day. There were 4 boats with a boatman, each taking 3 anglers and 3 guides to different areas of the vast lagoon systems, and the anglers were also mixed up each day, so you always had new company for the day.
Our team of 12 comprised 4 Brits, 1 Dane, 1 German, 1 Canadian and 5 from the USA – a super bunch of guys and good fun to be with.
This trip was what I call “immersive”, in that 6 days were spent with no phone connectivity, no WiFi, no TV etc. Our daily routine started with breakfast at 5:45, you made your own sandwich lunch, and headed out on the boat at 6:30, just before sunrise.
A normal day saw us back at the lodge around 5:30 to 6pm, with dinner served at 7. A very long, tiring day – but well worth every moment. This was all wade fishing, with the guide beside you, dropped off and moved around by your allocated boat.
We each normally fished 2 locations in the morning and 2 in the afternoon. Mostly, you could see no other fisherman in sight, with the 3 in your boat all sometimes 2 miles apart !
The guides used their extensive knowledge to put us onto different flats according to the tide, wind and sun conditions. This is all sightfishing, and you need the right sun angles to best see the fish.
The fish – mostly Bonefish, with a sprinkling of Giant, Bluefin and Yellow Trevally, Trigger fish and the usual aquarium suspects. The odd Black Tipped shark cruised around, also hunting small bonefish.
Most of us were kitted out with an 8wt rod for the bones, with a 12wt ready for GTs, carried by the guide to be quickly available should a GT pitch up. When they did, they were cruising erratically and at warp speed, and you were very lucky if you could get a cast in. There is a lot of footage on UTube of large (60-100lb) GTs being caught, and these are almost exclusively fish that have been lured into the edge of the flats by chumming, a practice which in now somewhat frowned upon and certainly not practiced by The Villages guide team.
Over the week, I lost many more fish than I would normally expect to lose in the Keys or Cuba, simply because of fish running through coral heads and cutting off the leader. I lost 3 Trevally and about 8 bonefish in this way, including my best bone of 8-9lb which cut me off just before the guide was about to land it. All these fish are returned, the guides unhook all the fish and we used barbless hooks only, making unhooking by such skilled guides a quick and simple task.
The bones I encountered probably averaged about 2 – 3 lbs, but a lot were around 4lbs, some 5lbs. During the week, bones of 10lbs and 9 lbs were taken by members of our team. My Keys and Cuba flies were mostly ignored by these fish, which live on worms, rather than shrimps and crabs. For those of you who fancy a trip, you need “Christmas Island Specials” in sizes 6 and 4, with various weights of dumbbell eyes, according to the depth and current.
In 6 days of fishing, one of which was pretty much a write-off for all of us due to rain and wind affecting the water temperature, I took around 90 bones. My best day was the last, when I took 30 by lunch and another 10-12 in the afternoon. And remember, all these fish are sight cast to – it’s a very visual and totally absorbing and rewarding experience.
There are also opportunities for “blue-water” fishing, and Pegleg and 2 neighbours of ours took the plunge. A 3-hour motor to the right area on the exposed lee shore, led to 5 or 6 hours fishing – a mix of trolling and fishing into the back of the surf with giant poppers for GTs. Our 3 intrepid heroes, fishing with only 2 spinning rods between them, managed to land 2 Wahoo (Pegleg’s was around 75lb), a 40lb GT, 2 Yellowfin Tuna and lost another 6/7 fish in play.
Plus a rod "exploded" (!) under the strain of trying to winch up a Wahoo that had run deep, and for much of their day, they took turns on just one rod. Needless to say, we enjoyed very much the fruits of their labours over the following days, with daily Tuna sushi and Wahoo cooked a number of ways.
All too soon our week was over, and we headed back, via another stopover in Honolulu, craving steak and salad !
Would I do it again ?? MOST CERTAINLY, particularly in these days of vanishing Dee salmon !!
Hope you enjoyed ?
TL
Nick
FOR MORE INFORMATION REGARDING FLY FISHING ON CHRISTMAS ISLAND PLEASE CALL US ON +44 (0) 16221743711 OR EMAIL: enquiries@flyodyssey.co.uk OR CHECK OUR WEBSITE: www.flyodyssey.co.uk
I hope some of you may find the following notes of interest.
Pegleg and I decided to forego our 1st week of Feb on the Scottish Dee in favour of a boys’ trip to Christmas Island, the Pacific one, not Indian Ocean! I’m pleased we did forego the Dee, as the river was totally blank below Banchory, where we fish.
Kiritimati, or Christmas Island, lies about 120 miles North of the equator, and is accessed by a once a week (!) flight from Fiji to Kiritimati and on to Hawaii, doing a complete return trip the same day. It is apparently the largest atoll in the world, and was the site for early atomic weapons testing in the late 50s/early 60s. The SE Tradewinds blow at about 10mph each day, and the daylight hours are basically 6am to 6pm.
Our journey started at Heathrow, to Los Angeles, then Hawaii – about 18 hours flying time. An overnight in Honolulu and then the 3 hour flight down to Kiritimati. We left home at around 5am on Monday, night stopped Monday night and flew out of Hawaii at noon on Tuesday, arriving Kiritimati at 3pm Wednesday – you cross the international date line on this flight!! Watches / cameras / brains all needed to be reset.
We booked our trip through Fly Odyssey (I have no connections with them) and all the arrangements worked flawlessly, so hats off to Mat Mchugh.
About 50 anglers, mostly from the USA, boarded the flight at Honolulu, all heading to the small number of “lodges” that serve the visiting fishermen. We stayed in Tabwakea Village at "The Villages", a fishing lodge run by the Church.
It was pretty basic accommodation, but the food was good – we lived on fresh fish each day. The 12 anglers at The Villages are looked after by 12 guides, and we changed guide each day. There were 4 boats with a boatman, each taking 3 anglers and 3 guides to different areas of the vast lagoon systems, and the anglers were also mixed up each day, so you always had new company for the day.
Our team of 12 comprised 4 Brits, 1 Dane, 1 German, 1 Canadian and 5 from the USA – a super bunch of guys and good fun to be with.
This trip was what I call “immersive”, in that 6 days were spent with no phone connectivity, no WiFi, no TV etc. Our daily routine started with breakfast at 5:45, you made your own sandwich lunch, and headed out on the boat at 6:30, just before sunrise.
A normal day saw us back at the lodge around 5:30 to 6pm, with dinner served at 7. A very long, tiring day – but well worth every moment. This was all wade fishing, with the guide beside you, dropped off and moved around by your allocated boat.
We each normally fished 2 locations in the morning and 2 in the afternoon. Mostly, you could see no other fisherman in sight, with the 3 in your boat all sometimes 2 miles apart !
The guides used their extensive knowledge to put us onto different flats according to the tide, wind and sun conditions. This is all sightfishing, and you need the right sun angles to best see the fish.
The fish – mostly Bonefish, with a sprinkling of Giant, Bluefin and Yellow Trevally, Trigger fish and the usual aquarium suspects. The odd Black Tipped shark cruised around, also hunting small bonefish.
Most of us were kitted out with an 8wt rod for the bones, with a 12wt ready for GTs, carried by the guide to be quickly available should a GT pitch up. When they did, they were cruising erratically and at warp speed, and you were very lucky if you could get a cast in. There is a lot of footage on UTube of large (60-100lb) GTs being caught, and these are almost exclusively fish that have been lured into the edge of the flats by chumming, a practice which in now somewhat frowned upon and certainly not practiced by The Villages guide team.
Over the week, I lost many more fish than I would normally expect to lose in the Keys or Cuba, simply because of fish running through coral heads and cutting off the leader. I lost 3 Trevally and about 8 bonefish in this way, including my best bone of 8-9lb which cut me off just before the guide was about to land it. All these fish are returned, the guides unhook all the fish and we used barbless hooks only, making unhooking by such skilled guides a quick and simple task.
The bones I encountered probably averaged about 2 – 3 lbs, but a lot were around 4lbs, some 5lbs. During the week, bones of 10lbs and 9 lbs were taken by members of our team. My Keys and Cuba flies were mostly ignored by these fish, which live on worms, rather than shrimps and crabs. For those of you who fancy a trip, you need “Christmas Island Specials” in sizes 6 and 4, with various weights of dumbbell eyes, according to the depth and current.
In 6 days of fishing, one of which was pretty much a write-off for all of us due to rain and wind affecting the water temperature, I took around 90 bones. My best day was the last, when I took 30 by lunch and another 10-12 in the afternoon. And remember, all these fish are sight cast to – it’s a very visual and totally absorbing and rewarding experience.
There are also opportunities for “blue-water” fishing, and Pegleg and 2 neighbours of ours took the plunge. A 3-hour motor to the right area on the exposed lee shore, led to 5 or 6 hours fishing – a mix of trolling and fishing into the back of the surf with giant poppers for GTs. Our 3 intrepid heroes, fishing with only 2 spinning rods between them, managed to land 2 Wahoo (Pegleg’s was around 75lb), a 40lb GT, 2 Yellowfin Tuna and lost another 6/7 fish in play.
Plus a rod "exploded" (!) under the strain of trying to winch up a Wahoo that had run deep, and for much of their day, they took turns on just one rod. Needless to say, we enjoyed very much the fruits of their labours over the following days, with daily Tuna sushi and Wahoo cooked a number of ways.
All too soon our week was over, and we headed back, via another stopover in Honolulu, craving steak and salad !
Would I do it again ?? MOST CERTAINLY, particularly in these days of vanishing Dee salmon !!
Hope you enjoyed ?
TL
Nick
FOR MORE INFORMATION REGARDING FLY FISHING ON CHRISTMAS ISLAND PLEASE CALL US ON +44 (0) 16221743711 OR EMAIL: enquiries@flyodyssey.co.uk OR CHECK OUR WEBSITE: www.flyodyssey.co.uk
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Fly fishing Desroches island resort, Seychelles - Client review's
Some review's from a recent client trips to Desroches island resort in the Seychelles. This location offers a great mix of family holiday with great flats and blue water fly fishing opportunities.
Hi Mat,
Many thanks for organising the Seychelles trip at short notice, I enjoyed Des Roches enormously, the lodge is very well run and the facilities excellent.
The fishing at St. Joseph atoll was good. Wonderful setting and very large bones. This mixed with some blue water fishing for sail and tuna makes for an excellent package.
All the very best for 2014,
Mike, UK
---------------
Mat
Hope the guided trip to New Zealand is/has gone well? Thank you again to you and the team for stepping in quickly and effectively to resolve the reservation issue at Desroches.
I thought you might appreciate some feedback on the resort and fishing.
Going in I knew we were compromising on the fishing in order to stay at a luxury resort. If I had looked at fishing alone, we would have stayed at Alphonse. However, with this caveat in mind, Jacqui and I would still rate the overall trip as 5 Star.
The resort was excellent. Its certainly worth upgrading to a Beach Retreat from a Suite. While the accommodation in the Suite was ‘ordinary’, the Beach Retreat compared very well with the best accommodation we have had in the tropics. I am often a bit sceptical about ‘all inclusive’ deals as, in my experience, the quality and generosity of the food and beverages often suffers. This was not the case at Desroches where the food was often very good and the offer of local beers, wines, spirits and soft drinks continuous!
As several reviewers have said, the most distinctive feature of Desroches is the quality and friendliness of the staff. Jacqui was, in particular, full of praise for the way Desroches maintain a careful balance of attentiveness and service without constantly being ‘in your face’.
I would rate the fishing as good rather than excellent. I only managed to fish Poivre for 3 days and the weather prevented me getting to St Joseph for the remaining two. After talking to the fishing manager, we agreed to try fly fishing for sailfish etc off a boat in the lee of the island, This was exciting but not the flats fishing I had hoped for.
I did rate the fishing team on Desroches very highly. My guide - pretty much for the whole 5 days - was Jerry. A local Seychellois who clearly knew the flats, the fishing and was a great companion. The boat Captain, Brandon, when we were after sailfish also clearly knew his job.
I didn’t get my permit - hooked one on the first day at Poivre and saw many more over the next two days but the large majority were cruising rather than heads down feeding. I was told that the first day was a neep tide so with the relatively small tidal movement the fish were more relaxed. As the spring tides came and the tidal range increased, the fish were less inclined to settle.
I have attached a few pictures - the best day was probably the second. I had three bonefish to six pounds, 3 yellow spot trevally (feeding on the flats, tail up - never seen that before) and two small GTs blind casting into the channel. The ‘trip fish’ however was probably a 4 foot barracuda caught blind casting waiting for the tide - on a barbless hook without wire!! The guides said it was the biggest barracuda that had been caught on a fly rod.
I did try for a sail fin with a fly rod in the lee of Desroches when the wind was bad. We raised 5-6 over the two trips and came very close to hooking one of them. I did hook several bonito and yellowfin on the fly and those the sharks didn’t take, we ate as sushi that evening!
Best
Peter, UK
Hi Mat,
Many thanks for organising the Seychelles trip at short notice, I enjoyed Des Roches enormously, the lodge is very well run and the facilities excellent.
The fishing at St. Joseph atoll was good. Wonderful setting and very large bones. This mixed with some blue water fishing for sail and tuna makes for an excellent package.
All the very best for 2014,
Mike, UK
---------------
Mat
Hope the guided trip to New Zealand is/has gone well? Thank you again to you and the team for stepping in quickly and effectively to resolve the reservation issue at Desroches.
I thought you might appreciate some feedback on the resort and fishing.
Going in I knew we were compromising on the fishing in order to stay at a luxury resort. If I had looked at fishing alone, we would have stayed at Alphonse. However, with this caveat in mind, Jacqui and I would still rate the overall trip as 5 Star.
The resort was excellent. Its certainly worth upgrading to a Beach Retreat from a Suite. While the accommodation in the Suite was ‘ordinary’, the Beach Retreat compared very well with the best accommodation we have had in the tropics. I am often a bit sceptical about ‘all inclusive’ deals as, in my experience, the quality and generosity of the food and beverages often suffers. This was not the case at Desroches where the food was often very good and the offer of local beers, wines, spirits and soft drinks continuous!
As several reviewers have said, the most distinctive feature of Desroches is the quality and friendliness of the staff. Jacqui was, in particular, full of praise for the way Desroches maintain a careful balance of attentiveness and service without constantly being ‘in your face’.
I would rate the fishing as good rather than excellent. I only managed to fish Poivre for 3 days and the weather prevented me getting to St Joseph for the remaining two. After talking to the fishing manager, we agreed to try fly fishing for sailfish etc off a boat in the lee of the island, This was exciting but not the flats fishing I had hoped for.
I did rate the fishing team on Desroches very highly. My guide - pretty much for the whole 5 days - was Jerry. A local Seychellois who clearly knew the flats, the fishing and was a great companion. The boat Captain, Brandon, when we were after sailfish also clearly knew his job.
I didn’t get my permit - hooked one on the first day at Poivre and saw many more over the next two days but the large majority were cruising rather than heads down feeding. I was told that the first day was a neep tide so with the relatively small tidal movement the fish were more relaxed. As the spring tides came and the tidal range increased, the fish were less inclined to settle.
I have attached a few pictures - the best day was probably the second. I had three bonefish to six pounds, 3 yellow spot trevally (feeding on the flats, tail up - never seen that before) and two small GTs blind casting into the channel. The ‘trip fish’ however was probably a 4 foot barracuda caught blind casting waiting for the tide - on a barbless hook without wire!! The guides said it was the biggest barracuda that had been caught on a fly rod.
I did try for a sail fin with a fly rod in the lee of Desroches when the wind was bad. We raised 5-6 over the two trips and came very close to hooking one of them. I did hook several bonito and yellowfin on the fly and those the sharks didn’t take, we ate as sushi that evening!
Best
Peter, UK
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON FLY FISHING IN THE SEYCHELLES INCLUDING DESROCHES ISLAND, ALPHONSE ISLAND AND FARQUHAR ISLAND PLEASE CONTACT US +44 (0)1621743711 OR EMAIL: enquiries@flyodyssey.co.uk OR VISIT OUR WEBSITE: www.flyodyssey.co.uk
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Fly Fishing Christmas Island: Client Feedback
Some good feedback from a recent clients visit to Christmas Island. Our client has now spent a total of 4 weeks on Christmas island in the past 10 months so has a good understanding of the situation on the island. As mentioned below The Villages now has 1 guide per angler and still provides the best quality accommodation on the island and most experienced guide team.
Matt,
I had a wonderfully trip. If anything better than last time. The fishing on Christmas Island is getting better and better due to the locals no longer netting on such a large scale as they used to.
The chumming still endures from the other lodges I'm afraid, and it seems the villages stands alone in a sporting attitude. Tenanaki is without doubt the best guide I have ever fished with, and the day I spent with him will live long in the memory.
The villages has now adopted a one angler to one guide policy, which can only improve people's catch rates. Most guides are very good. The villages is a lodge for the hardcore, no frills angler, but must represent the best value quality guided bonefishing on the planet.
Cassidy international airport now has landing lights! So no more stranded anglers! (No more free weeks bonefishing courtesy of Air Pacific for me).
I will forward some photos of my trip within the next few days. Thanks for all your help Matt.
Regards
Ian Rouault.
THE VILLAGES BOOKS OUT WELL IN ADVANCE EACH YEAR. FOR THOSE WANTING TO FISH OUT OF THE BEST LODGE ON CHRISTMAS ISLAND PLEASE CONTACT US ON +44 (0)1621743711 OR EMAIL ENQUIRIES@FLYODYSSEY.CO.UK
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Giant trevally in Tahiti
In between our bonefishing we managed to have some great GT fishing. Nick Reaygeart of Gin Clear Media was out with us filming a section for his next film and managed some fantastic footage. Keep an eye out for it. Giant trevally were found cruising the dropoff's, up on the flats and on the backs of the numerous rays swimming around the island. Some huge fish were encountered with one fish well over 1m long encountered on the shallow flats. Along with the Giant trevally there were numerous other trevally species including bluefin, stripped and diamond trevally on the flats.
Some images from the trip below and will post some more in the next few days.
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CALL +44 1621743711 OR EMAIL ENQUIRIES@FLYODYSSEY.CO.UK
Some images from the trip below and will post some more in the next few days.
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CALL +44 1621743711 OR EMAIL ENQUIRIES@FLYODYSSEY.CO.UK
Tahiti Bonefish Project
We have just returned from 8 days fly fishing in Tahiti having implemented the first phase of our Bonefish research project in conjunction with the Tetiaroa Society. We had some amazing fly fishing to big bonefish with 4 fish weighed and measured over the magical 10lb mark. A large number of fish between the 7-10lb range were also tagged and released. The Field Magazine writer Toby Coe joined us and managed a 5kg fish. Paul Procter also landed his first double figure bonefish along with some fine giant trevally. You can read about it on his blog along with the 2013 New Zealand adventure where we are currently fishing to large wild brown trout.
We will be continuing the tag and release project in 2013 before starting the acoustic tagging in 2014.
Some images of the trip below.
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CALL +44 1621743711 OR EMAIL M.MCHUGH@FLYODYSSEY.CO.UK
We will be continuing the tag and release project in 2013 before starting the acoustic tagging in 2014.
Some images of the trip below.
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CALL +44 1621743711 OR EMAIL M.MCHUGH@FLYODYSSEY.CO.UK
Friday, December 7, 2012
Fly fishing the Maldives: Client report
Always good to get some feedback from a client who has had a good trip. For those looking at taking the family away it is hard to go past Dhonakulhi island in the Maldives for a family stay with some saltwater fly fishing. We established this destination in 2011 and can help with all arrangements to the island to ensure you get the best out of the fishing opportunities in the Maldives.
Hi Mat,
Further as per our phone call just now, wanted to thank you again for organising such an epic Holiday. Jo, Hector and I had an fantastic time.
We had rising to high tides during the morning over our stay and falling low tides in the afternoon.
I'd spend the mornings fishing for bluefin trevally and GT's. Alot of this I could do from the beach outside our villa. The afternoons I'd wade one of the two flats on the island.
The Bluefin fishing was exceptional. I would either sight cast with bait fish patterns to larger fish cruising the beach edge or cast to scattering bait fish which would usually result in a hook up. When the fish were feeding it was frantic and you could expect numerous fish in a short time. Fish of 3-4 pounds were common and they would take me into backing, larger fish would do a bit more damage than that - I was broken off a few times! They are beautiful fish.
Over the high tide there were a regular supply of GT's whether I was on one of the flats or on the beach outside our villa. As you know, being a saltwater novice, I was a bit worried about being able to spot them. This is the easy part of GT fishing, you could probably do it without polaroids! They are like sunken drifting filing cabinets. Outside our villa I'd see them about 100m up the beach in ones, twos sometimes gangs of 4 or 5. On the sand flats you'd usually see a large dark shape emerge from the darker coral areas surrounding the sand, they seemed on average to be larger and come in only ones and twos on the flats. More often than not i'd stuff up the cast when sprinting into position but a couple of times I got it right and got some decent follows with the fishes backs coming right out of the water before veering off last moment, really is heart in mouth stuff. Unfortunately the only 2 hook ups I got were on a tiny popper I was fishing for bluefin with 15lb line! The leader was snapped like cotton thread.
During the afternoon the sandflats would be wadeable at about knee deep. There were less fish than high tide but more varied spiecies and all fish that were caught were seen first. I found striped, gold spot and golden trevally on the flats, a well placed weighted pattern with some flash would usually do the trick. Striped trevally were propbably most numerous, they feed in the sand and have a striped back so from a distance I often mistook them for bonefish. I'd generally catch less in the afternoon but it was true flats fishing and each fish felt like a real achievement as I had no guide to spot for me.
Bonefish were absent the majority of my stay, I can only assume this was to do with the fact it was a full moon week which had been highlighted to me as a factor before. I actually didn't see a bonefish till my last afternoon on the flats when I saw a large shoal. I managed to hook one and lost it. On our leaving day as I was walking down the dock to our boat just off the beach to our right I saw about 4 or 5 bonefish feeding - large ones! Think they were giving me another reason to come back, not that I needed one.
As you know Hector is only 4 months old, so any holiday was a going to be a potential challenge. A saltwater fly fishing holiday almost unthinkable, but the villa, butler service, staff and resort in general were all geared towards making life as easy and relaxing as possible whether you want to go fishing, go for dinner or any of the other activities available. Being unguided presented me with both a challenge and the ability to arrange my time around my family. Jo tells me the spa is also amazing.
I don't think there is any other saltwater fishing location that is so family friendly.
I will be returning as have unfinished business with the GT's.
Unfortunately we didn't pack our camera charger so only have pics from the first day which attached.
Thanks again, NZ next up in Feb - can't wait.
Dorian
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT US ON +44 1621743711 OR EMAIL: enquiries@flyodyssey.co.uk
Further as per our phone call just now, wanted to thank you again for organising such an epic Holiday. Jo, Hector and I had an fantastic time.
We had rising to high tides during the morning over our stay and falling low tides in the afternoon.
I'd spend the mornings fishing for bluefin trevally and GT's. Alot of this I could do from the beach outside our villa. The afternoons I'd wade one of the two flats on the island.
The Bluefin fishing was exceptional. I would either sight cast with bait fish patterns to larger fish cruising the beach edge or cast to scattering bait fish which would usually result in a hook up. When the fish were feeding it was frantic and you could expect numerous fish in a short time. Fish of 3-4 pounds were common and they would take me into backing, larger fish would do a bit more damage than that - I was broken off a few times! They are beautiful fish.
Over the high tide there were a regular supply of GT's whether I was on one of the flats or on the beach outside our villa. As you know, being a saltwater novice, I was a bit worried about being able to spot them. This is the easy part of GT fishing, you could probably do it without polaroids! They are like sunken drifting filing cabinets. Outside our villa I'd see them about 100m up the beach in ones, twos sometimes gangs of 4 or 5. On the sand flats you'd usually see a large dark shape emerge from the darker coral areas surrounding the sand, they seemed on average to be larger and come in only ones and twos on the flats. More often than not i'd stuff up the cast when sprinting into position but a couple of times I got it right and got some decent follows with the fishes backs coming right out of the water before veering off last moment, really is heart in mouth stuff. Unfortunately the only 2 hook ups I got were on a tiny popper I was fishing for bluefin with 15lb line! The leader was snapped like cotton thread.
During the afternoon the sandflats would be wadeable at about knee deep. There were less fish than high tide but more varied spiecies and all fish that were caught were seen first. I found striped, gold spot and golden trevally on the flats, a well placed weighted pattern with some flash would usually do the trick. Striped trevally were propbably most numerous, they feed in the sand and have a striped back so from a distance I often mistook them for bonefish. I'd generally catch less in the afternoon but it was true flats fishing and each fish felt like a real achievement as I had no guide to spot for me.
Bonefish were absent the majority of my stay, I can only assume this was to do with the fact it was a full moon week which had been highlighted to me as a factor before. I actually didn't see a bonefish till my last afternoon on the flats when I saw a large shoal. I managed to hook one and lost it. On our leaving day as I was walking down the dock to our boat just off the beach to our right I saw about 4 or 5 bonefish feeding - large ones! Think they were giving me another reason to come back, not that I needed one.
As you know Hector is only 4 months old, so any holiday was a going to be a potential challenge. A saltwater fly fishing holiday almost unthinkable, but the villa, butler service, staff and resort in general were all geared towards making life as easy and relaxing as possible whether you want to go fishing, go for dinner or any of the other activities available. Being unguided presented me with both a challenge and the ability to arrange my time around my family. Jo tells me the spa is also amazing.
I don't think there is any other saltwater fishing location that is so family friendly.
I will be returning as have unfinished business with the GT's.
Unfortunately we didn't pack our camera charger so only have pics from the first day which attached.
Thanks again, NZ next up in Feb - can't wait.
Dorian
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT US ON +44 1621743711 OR EMAIL: enquiries@flyodyssey.co.uk
Monday, November 12, 2012
Bonefish and Giant Trevally in Tahiti, French Polynesia
Some footage from the first of two trips in 2012 to Tetiaroa in French Polynesia. A fantastic place with huge bonefish, flats feeding giant trevally and milkfish feeding in shallow water.
And client Jonathan Hey landing a personal best Giant trevally (1.21m; estimated 85lb) one of 7 fish he had during his week on the island.
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CALL FLY ODYSSEY ON 01621743711 OR EMAIL m.mchugh@flyodyssey.co.uk
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Latest report: Giant trevally in the Pacific
We have just returned form a great week fly fishing a remote coral atoll in the Pacific ocean. I was lucky enough to guide 2 clients on this remote island. The two John's experienced some intense GT fishing with dozen fish landed and many more encounters. All the fishing was GT fishing at its best. Free swimming GT's on shallow sand flats and sandflat edges. No teasing, no chumming just presenting a fly to a fish on the hunt. Some footage below is of the best fish of the week. It measured 1.21m estimated somewhere between 75 and 85lb. A fish of a lifetime considering the environment and situation it was caught.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON FISHING THIS LOCATION PLEASE CALL US ON +441621743711 OR EMAIL M.MCHUGH@FLYODYSSEY.CO.UK
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Maldives Fly Fishing: Dhonakulhi Report
Duncan Goldsmith reports on his recent fly fishing trip to Dhonakulhi Island in the Maldives..
Having returned from the Maldives, I’ve just had time to down load the pictures from my camera, and spent a happy half hour reliving the experiences of my favourite salt water trip to date.
The resort and the facilities could not be bettered. That sounds a pretty big statement, and I know everyone’s idea of ideal is different, but that’s mine, and I’m sure I wouldn’t be alone in that. To achieve the level of service and attention to detail, but maintaining the tranquillity and feeling that you are on your own island is incredible. And that’s how it feels – that you are on your own island.
True to form we covered the available work surfaces in the villa with enough fishing tackle to start a small business. I like to try as many different types of fishing that a place has to offer, but as usual, the week disappeared so quickly, some of the gear will have to wait till next time. The accommodation was of a very high standard and I couldn’t have added anything.
Fly fishing consisted of either stalking the variety of flats species on offer, including some stunning blue fin, striped and spotted trevally, that gave exceptional sport on light tackle, to targeting the GT’s. This has to be some of the most exciting saltwater sport available, and whilst it was my first opportunity to pursue them, wont be the last! Watching an 80lbs GT approach you, and then home in and smash into the fly has to one of life’s top fishing moments. Sadly, the one fish I managed to hit wasn’t hooked hard enough but I was.
Switching to the boats for a couple of trips added a variety of other species to the rapidly growing tally. Goat fish, more blue fins, a variety of snappers, grouper and needle fish, and two GT’s all falling to light and heavy spinning tackle, mainly using poppers on the surface. I think everyone in the group achieved success in some form. The potential for trolling, jigging or plugging for other deeper water species was obvious but we didn’t explore it, as was the potential to use fly fishing tactics while drifting.
It seems to have become a tradition to indulge in a spot of night fishing and the resorts service pier didn’t disappoint. More fish were added to a list of species that we estimated had now past the 30 mark.
The fishing was challenging, which is how I like it. The opportunities to target a variety of species using different methods were endless. The surroundings in which to do it were stunning. It is the sort of place that you would always be learning.
The format was relaxed. An exceptional breakfast buffet usually setting us up for the day as we discussed who would fish where. The evening meal was of an equal standard and again, very casual and relaxed as we swapped accounts of the days events.
Its always an interesting test of your experience of a place when you get the inevitable question ‘ would you go back?’. Some places I’ve been I would say no, I’d rather try somewhere different. Some places I’ve earmarked for another visit at some stage.
My response to this trip is easy – I’d go back tomorrow!
Having returned from the Maldives, I’ve just had time to down load the pictures from my camera, and spent a happy half hour reliving the experiences of my favourite salt water trip to date.
The resort and the facilities could not be bettered. That sounds a pretty big statement, and I know everyone’s idea of ideal is different, but that’s mine, and I’m sure I wouldn’t be alone in that. To achieve the level of service and attention to detail, but maintaining the tranquillity and feeling that you are on your own island is incredible. And that’s how it feels – that you are on your own island.
True to form we covered the available work surfaces in the villa with enough fishing tackle to start a small business. I like to try as many different types of fishing that a place has to offer, but as usual, the week disappeared so quickly, some of the gear will have to wait till next time. The accommodation was of a very high standard and I couldn’t have added anything.
Fly fishing consisted of either stalking the variety of flats species on offer, including some stunning blue fin, striped and spotted trevally, that gave exceptional sport on light tackle, to targeting the GT’s. This has to be some of the most exciting saltwater sport available, and whilst it was my first opportunity to pursue them, wont be the last! Watching an 80lbs GT approach you, and then home in and smash into the fly has to one of life’s top fishing moments. Sadly, the one fish I managed to hit wasn’t hooked hard enough but I was.
Switching to the boats for a couple of trips added a variety of other species to the rapidly growing tally. Goat fish, more blue fins, a variety of snappers, grouper and needle fish, and two GT’s all falling to light and heavy spinning tackle, mainly using poppers on the surface. I think everyone in the group achieved success in some form. The potential for trolling, jigging or plugging for other deeper water species was obvious but we didn’t explore it, as was the potential to use fly fishing tactics while drifting.
It seems to have become a tradition to indulge in a spot of night fishing and the resorts service pier didn’t disappoint. More fish were added to a list of species that we estimated had now past the 30 mark.
The fishing was challenging, which is how I like it. The opportunities to target a variety of species using different methods were endless. The surroundings in which to do it were stunning. It is the sort of place that you would always be learning.
The format was relaxed. An exceptional breakfast buffet usually setting us up for the day as we discussed who would fish where. The evening meal was of an equal standard and again, very casual and relaxed as we swapped accounts of the days events.
Its always an interesting test of your experience of a place when you get the inevitable question ‘ would you go back?’. Some places I’ve been I would say no, I’d rather try somewhere different. Some places I’ve earmarked for another visit at some stage.
My response to this trip is easy – I’d go back tomorrow!
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