We are pleased to be involved the launch of a range of hosted fly fishing trips to some of the worlds finest fresh and saltwater destinations in conjunction with Orvis UK. Orvis have recently added the whole range of trips which include destinations such as Mexico, Iceland, Bosnia and the Bahamas to their UK website where the trips are detailed in full.
Bookings can be made via the Orvis Sporting Traditions Agency or by contacting Fly Odyssey.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Alphonse Island Report
Mad keen saltwater fly fisherman Mike Youkee has just returned from Alphonse island after visiting during the opening week of the season. He has provided a very informative report which can be read below. We have some special deals at Alphonse this season so if you are planning on fishing the Seychelles in 2010 this is a great time to book.
Hi Mat
Well, just got back from Alphonse and difficult to describe how good the trip was. After two days resting up in Mahe (the main island of the Seychelles) after the long trip down, I met up with the rest of the group for the flight down to Alphonse. This takes around an hour as Alphonse is some 250 miles southwest of Mahe.
The group comprised eight anglers including me -- a Spanish lawyer and his wife, an American author and his wife, two South African guys, an expat Brit based in Hong Kong and me. I was paired up with John Mitchell the expat in the boats, although all rooms were single occupancy except for the married couples. So, there is no fear of having to share with someone who snores like a gorilla, or vice versa!
The guides are of various nationalities -- South African, Norwegian, American, Seychellois and are highly competent and experienced. Their boat handling is fantastic and needs to be, particularly when fishing outside the reef for milkfish. The day starts with a trip over from Alphonse the resort island, to St François where the fishing takes place. Once inside the reef the anglers are deployed from the big boat with their guides in the skiffs. The trip over takes around 30 minutes and it is a good time to put on your sunblock and make minor kit adjustments.
On the first day, John and I were teamed up with Vaughn who trains the guides and we had a trainee named Andrew, who was very good. We were very soon into the bonefish and both had fish to seven pounds by lunchtime with many specimens of around four to five pounds. There were very few juvenile fish and although we did see some, there were some real hogs of bonefish mixed in with the average size of around three pounds. We rounded off the day by species bashing over the edge of the coral and had some interesting fish -- juvenile bluefin, various snapper and spangled emperors. Indeed, even bonefishing you are quite likely to catch small bluefin, junior GT and that first day I picked up a small golden trevally, only the third that Vaughn had seen in his long involvement with the fishery.
Both John and I were keen to get stuck into the GTs and we spent much of the rest of the week chasing up GTs. We finished the week with John on two fish to my one, although we both had other hook ups and numerous sightings of fish. Of the eight anglers, and it must be said some were novices, five landed GT’s.
We had a shot at milkfish one morning when the tide was right outside the reef. The technique is to dead drift a weed fly through a school of milkfish and hopefully the two will connect. Not so in our case as we swam the fly through the school many times with no luck. Vaughn, of course, managed to hook and land a milkfish as well as catch the largest GT. The American author managed to hook up but parted company with the milkfish after 15 minutes, a kilometre from where he started.
There’s lots of fishing although more than the maximum of 10 anglers would cause a problem. The species diversity gladdens my heart as I find bone fishing great the first 2-3 days but I yearn something different after that. You can certainly find that at Alfonse. In the evenings you can fish right outside your chalet and depending on the tide you can reasonably hope for five or six bonefish and 10 or 12 fish of different species in the hour or so before dinner.
The accommodation and food is at the luxury end of the spectrum. Although it can cater for up to 90 guests the resort is only being used at the moment for anglers and this of course is to our benefit. There is a well equipped fishing centre where you can buy kit or tackle, or borrow equipment if you are unlucky to break a rod as I was.
It’s about the only destination in the Seychelles currently operating and compared to other visits to the Seychelles I have undertaken, the fishing has been of higher quality with a greater range of species -- I had never till this trip fished for milkfish. It’s on my radar for a return trip next year maybe coupled with a trip down to Cosmoledo.
Regards
Mike.
If you are planning on booking a trip to the Seychelles in 2010 then please contact us or call +44 1621743711.
Hi Mat
Well, just got back from Alphonse and difficult to describe how good the trip was. After two days resting up in Mahe (the main island of the Seychelles) after the long trip down, I met up with the rest of the group for the flight down to Alphonse. This takes around an hour as Alphonse is some 250 miles southwest of Mahe.
The group comprised eight anglers including me -- a Spanish lawyer and his wife, an American author and his wife, two South African guys, an expat Brit based in Hong Kong and me. I was paired up with John Mitchell the expat in the boats, although all rooms were single occupancy except for the married couples. So, there is no fear of having to share with someone who snores like a gorilla, or vice versa!
The guides are of various nationalities -- South African, Norwegian, American, Seychellois and are highly competent and experienced. Their boat handling is fantastic and needs to be, particularly when fishing outside the reef for milkfish. The day starts with a trip over from Alphonse the resort island, to St François where the fishing takes place. Once inside the reef the anglers are deployed from the big boat with their guides in the skiffs. The trip over takes around 30 minutes and it is a good time to put on your sunblock and make minor kit adjustments.
On the first day, John and I were teamed up with Vaughn who trains the guides and we had a trainee named Andrew, who was very good. We were very soon into the bonefish and both had fish to seven pounds by lunchtime with many specimens of around four to five pounds. There were very few juvenile fish and although we did see some, there were some real hogs of bonefish mixed in with the average size of around three pounds. We rounded off the day by species bashing over the edge of the coral and had some interesting fish -- juvenile bluefin, various snapper and spangled emperors. Indeed, even bonefishing you are quite likely to catch small bluefin, junior GT and that first day I picked up a small golden trevally, only the third that Vaughn had seen in his long involvement with the fishery.
Both John and I were keen to get stuck into the GTs and we spent much of the rest of the week chasing up GTs. We finished the week with John on two fish to my one, although we both had other hook ups and numerous sightings of fish. Of the eight anglers, and it must be said some were novices, five landed GT’s.
We had a shot at milkfish one morning when the tide was right outside the reef. The technique is to dead drift a weed fly through a school of milkfish and hopefully the two will connect. Not so in our case as we swam the fly through the school many times with no luck. Vaughn, of course, managed to hook and land a milkfish as well as catch the largest GT. The American author managed to hook up but parted company with the milkfish after 15 minutes, a kilometre from where he started.
There’s lots of fishing although more than the maximum of 10 anglers would cause a problem. The species diversity gladdens my heart as I find bone fishing great the first 2-3 days but I yearn something different after that. You can certainly find that at Alfonse. In the evenings you can fish right outside your chalet and depending on the tide you can reasonably hope for five or six bonefish and 10 or 12 fish of different species in the hour or so before dinner.
The accommodation and food is at the luxury end of the spectrum. Although it can cater for up to 90 guests the resort is only being used at the moment for anglers and this of course is to our benefit. There is a well equipped fishing centre where you can buy kit or tackle, or borrow equipment if you are unlucky to break a rod as I was.
It’s about the only destination in the Seychelles currently operating and compared to other visits to the Seychelles I have undertaken, the fishing has been of higher quality with a greater range of species -- I had never till this trip fished for milkfish. It’s on my radar for a return trip next year maybe coupled with a trip down to Cosmoledo.
Regards
Mike.
If you are planning on booking a trip to the Seychelles in 2010 then please contact us or call +44 1621743711.
Fly fishing in Bosnia
Here's an article written by Jonathon Tomlinson of Sportfish, Reading on fly fishing in Bosnia. JOnathon took a small party of anglers there in June 2009 and is planning on heading back in 2010.
Trout fishing in Bosnia
I told one of my friends that I was going to go on a fishing trip to Bosnia - his reply was “I’ve heard there are some good deals on Afghanistan at the moment!” which for a non fisher I’m sure would be a fairly regular response!
When I was asked to go on an exploratory trip to see what Bosnia had to offer the budding fly fisherman, as ever I jumped at the chance to expand my fly fishing experience. A short 4 night and 3 day trip was just the ticket (and easy on the wallet). A 2 hour flight to Zagreb and we met with two of the guides form the lodge and set off on the 3 hour drive to what would be home for the next few days. The sun had set as we wound our way through the countryside full of anticipation of what the Ribnik and Pliva rivers had in store for us. If you conjure up a picture in your mind of Bosnia, for many it’s an image of the war torn country during the nineties that so regularly frequented our television sets, but the reality is somewhat different. We would just have to wait until the light of the morning before its true beauty was revealed by the rising sun.
We arrived a little after midnight having had a stop in a petrol station for a beer and a quick bite to eat. We threw our bags in the modern and highly impressive accommodation and got our heads down for the night; alarms set for an early start for a breakfast of free range eggs and locally cured bacon washed down with some excellent coffee, the ideal pick me up for the day ahead us. We inevitably woke at the crack of dawn as you always seem to do on the first morning, to walk out onto the balcony to one of the most stunning scenes imaginable. Heavily wooded mountains rose up from the river valley and stretched out in front of us, clouds licking the tops. A warm start to the day that surely would signal some impressive hatches from the River burbling below us. Expectations were high and rightfully so as we perused the on site tackle shop and marvelled at the huge trout and grayling that adorned the walls. A very wet couple of weeks had left the river running around 20-25 cm high but the fast flowing river (70cm+ per second) was still as clear as gin; the fronds of weed could be clearly seen swaying in the current from our elevated vantage point above. The Ribnik springs from under the Srnetica Mountain near the village of Gornji Ribnik and runs for around 6km before it empties in to the mighty Sana. It’s heavy flow and high oxygen levels make it a perfect habitat for insects and in turn - trout!
The targets for us would be the huge grayling and brown trout, as well as a few of the escapee rainbows from one of the fish farms along the banks which makes the most of the superb quality of water travelling through the countryside. Dry fly was going to be the main plan of attack during the copious hatches that occurred, when the rises dried up then small tungsten beaded nymphs would be called upon. The local anglers favored size 16, 18 and even 20 nymphs tied with tungsten beads to get down in the heavy flow together with long fluorocarbon leaders up to 5m in length. The technique was to fish square and down stream and across searching the pockets of marginally slower water towards the banks and under over hanging trees. With single fly being the rule on the river, many of the typical multi pattern techniques that we would adopt in the UK such as Czech nymphing and the Duo/Trio became redundant, so a steep learning curve was put in place as it had been several years since I hadn’t used more than 1 fly at a time for fishing sub-surface on flowing water.
We hoped for large hatches and during the frequent showers we had we weren’t disappointed, BWO’s, rusty spinners, huge Caddis, Stoneflies, flying Ants and the occasional Mayfly kept the free rising inhabitants and happy anglers more than occupied. Long leader of anything up to 15’ down to fine tippets of 6X and 7X gave us excellent presentation both upstream and fished down stream. Presentation was paramount in the clear cold water (around 6 degrees, thermals are a must!) to these wily fish, even the slightest bit of micro drag on your fly would result in a last minute refusal or no joy at all. Preparation of the fly and regular degreasing of leaders had to be second nature or the results would have been minimal. The river’s flow and currents picked holes in even the most experienced of casters abilities and highlighted how ‘on your game’ you had to be.
The Ribnik is a fairly wide river stretching as much as 25m+ in places but averaged around thigh height but its powerful flow meant that you had to take your time and be fairly confident in your wading abilities to reach the deeper runs that were holding some eager rising fish. A relatively even bottom; a mix of gravel and the odd larger stone made wading less challenging. The heavy pour of water causes a lack of sediment to build up so the bottom is solid, for those less able a wading stick would be of benefit as would a life jacket.
Those with an acute skill for spotting fish, the gravel bars highlighted the schools of grayling interspersed with chunky trout, hugging the bottom moving around to take nymphs that flowed down to them on an endless conveyor belt of food. Regularly spotting the emerging adults hatching out on the glistening surface above them the quarry ascended up and sipped them in with consummate ease giving their location away to us eagerly waiting in ambush. A well presented cast, a classic rise followed by a spirited tussle and the result; a stunningly marked brown trout heavily colored with black and red spots melting into a toffee caramel body, colour’s that looked like they could have only come straight from an artists pallet, at 8 inches it was perfection in miniature.
A characteristic of the Ribnik inhabitants is that they are very thick set unlike many of the fish that you would expect to find in fast flows, rather than lean long bodies these chunky fish have grown fat on the plethora of fly life found throughout the river system. Many of the fish that had Sercombe to our flies weighed far more than their otherwise short bodies would have suggested. These squat bully boys were deceptively heavy and when it came to their fighting capabilities definitely punched above their weight!
Tackle selections were fairly standard 9’ #4 or #5 weigh rods together with floating lines was ample for covering the water and turning over the long leaders that we were using and were ideal for pretty much all situation that you would encounter.
Towards the head of the river as it rises up from the base of the mountains lies a stretch that is affectionately known as the ‘Trophy Part’. Some 500 meters in length this area has virtually become a slow moving lake between its start and the man made weir at the bottom of the run. The azure blue waters look almost glacial in their appearance and are home to some enormous fish sitting ready in ambush for any unsuspecting fly that dare stay on the water for too long. In this deep section larger dry flies such as Grey Wulff, Stimulators, Caddis and large spinner patterns often do the damage but a well presented heavy nymph cast to one of these leviathans can be just as effective. After a couple of hours and several fish up to 3 or 4lbs, we could clearly see how it had earned its name and reputation. As we were walking back to the car to try another area of fast water with large dry flies, one of my fishing partners, Ian, was filling us in on the ‘submarine’ that had been sitting happily in front of him refusing everything he had; but then again I’m sure you don’t get to 5kg by being stupid!
All in all we were pleasantly surprised by the fishing and awestruck by the scenery, accommodation and the hospitality of the Bosnian people. By the end of the 3 day trip I had landed around 90 fish, which included some fat grayling up to 2lb but unfortunately the 4lb plus fish managed to evade me this time. Along with the grayling that we landed we also took Brown and Rainbow trout approaching the 2 and a half pound mark. Other members of the group managed Browns approaching 4lb in weight. The good news was that Goran the lodge manager told me that the River was fishing less well than it had all year so needless to say I can’t wait to get back and see just how good it can be when it’s firing on all cylinders.
We had a superb time and the ease of getting there and the lack of time needed away from work makes this a perfect trip for someone who is time poor or has a family that they can’t leave for a week or more at a time. Highly recommended not just for the fishing but the whole package so if you have thought about it in the past but never taken the plunge then I urge you to jump on a plane and give it a go!
Trout fishing in Bosnia
I told one of my friends that I was going to go on a fishing trip to Bosnia - his reply was “I’ve heard there are some good deals on Afghanistan at the moment!” which for a non fisher I’m sure would be a fairly regular response!
When I was asked to go on an exploratory trip to see what Bosnia had to offer the budding fly fisherman, as ever I jumped at the chance to expand my fly fishing experience. A short 4 night and 3 day trip was just the ticket (and easy on the wallet). A 2 hour flight to Zagreb and we met with two of the guides form the lodge and set off on the 3 hour drive to what would be home for the next few days. The sun had set as we wound our way through the countryside full of anticipation of what the Ribnik and Pliva rivers had in store for us. If you conjure up a picture in your mind of Bosnia, for many it’s an image of the war torn country during the nineties that so regularly frequented our television sets, but the reality is somewhat different. We would just have to wait until the light of the morning before its true beauty was revealed by the rising sun.
We arrived a little after midnight having had a stop in a petrol station for a beer and a quick bite to eat. We threw our bags in the modern and highly impressive accommodation and got our heads down for the night; alarms set for an early start for a breakfast of free range eggs and locally cured bacon washed down with some excellent coffee, the ideal pick me up for the day ahead us. We inevitably woke at the crack of dawn as you always seem to do on the first morning, to walk out onto the balcony to one of the most stunning scenes imaginable. Heavily wooded mountains rose up from the river valley and stretched out in front of us, clouds licking the tops. A warm start to the day that surely would signal some impressive hatches from the River burbling below us. Expectations were high and rightfully so as we perused the on site tackle shop and marvelled at the huge trout and grayling that adorned the walls. A very wet couple of weeks had left the river running around 20-25 cm high but the fast flowing river (70cm+ per second) was still as clear as gin; the fronds of weed could be clearly seen swaying in the current from our elevated vantage point above. The Ribnik springs from under the Srnetica Mountain near the village of Gornji Ribnik and runs for around 6km before it empties in to the mighty Sana. It’s heavy flow and high oxygen levels make it a perfect habitat for insects and in turn - trout!
The targets for us would be the huge grayling and brown trout, as well as a few of the escapee rainbows from one of the fish farms along the banks which makes the most of the superb quality of water travelling through the countryside. Dry fly was going to be the main plan of attack during the copious hatches that occurred, when the rises dried up then small tungsten beaded nymphs would be called upon. The local anglers favored size 16, 18 and even 20 nymphs tied with tungsten beads to get down in the heavy flow together with long fluorocarbon leaders up to 5m in length. The technique was to fish square and down stream and across searching the pockets of marginally slower water towards the banks and under over hanging trees. With single fly being the rule on the river, many of the typical multi pattern techniques that we would adopt in the UK such as Czech nymphing and the Duo/Trio became redundant, so a steep learning curve was put in place as it had been several years since I hadn’t used more than 1 fly at a time for fishing sub-surface on flowing water.
We hoped for large hatches and during the frequent showers we had we weren’t disappointed, BWO’s, rusty spinners, huge Caddis, Stoneflies, flying Ants and the occasional Mayfly kept the free rising inhabitants and happy anglers more than occupied. Long leader of anything up to 15’ down to fine tippets of 6X and 7X gave us excellent presentation both upstream and fished down stream. Presentation was paramount in the clear cold water (around 6 degrees, thermals are a must!) to these wily fish, even the slightest bit of micro drag on your fly would result in a last minute refusal or no joy at all. Preparation of the fly and regular degreasing of leaders had to be second nature or the results would have been minimal. The river’s flow and currents picked holes in even the most experienced of casters abilities and highlighted how ‘on your game’ you had to be.
The Ribnik is a fairly wide river stretching as much as 25m+ in places but averaged around thigh height but its powerful flow meant that you had to take your time and be fairly confident in your wading abilities to reach the deeper runs that were holding some eager rising fish. A relatively even bottom; a mix of gravel and the odd larger stone made wading less challenging. The heavy pour of water causes a lack of sediment to build up so the bottom is solid, for those less able a wading stick would be of benefit as would a life jacket.
Those with an acute skill for spotting fish, the gravel bars highlighted the schools of grayling interspersed with chunky trout, hugging the bottom moving around to take nymphs that flowed down to them on an endless conveyor belt of food. Regularly spotting the emerging adults hatching out on the glistening surface above them the quarry ascended up and sipped them in with consummate ease giving their location away to us eagerly waiting in ambush. A well presented cast, a classic rise followed by a spirited tussle and the result; a stunningly marked brown trout heavily colored with black and red spots melting into a toffee caramel body, colour’s that looked like they could have only come straight from an artists pallet, at 8 inches it was perfection in miniature.
A characteristic of the Ribnik inhabitants is that they are very thick set unlike many of the fish that you would expect to find in fast flows, rather than lean long bodies these chunky fish have grown fat on the plethora of fly life found throughout the river system. Many of the fish that had Sercombe to our flies weighed far more than their otherwise short bodies would have suggested. These squat bully boys were deceptively heavy and when it came to their fighting capabilities definitely punched above their weight!
Tackle selections were fairly standard 9’ #4 or #5 weigh rods together with floating lines was ample for covering the water and turning over the long leaders that we were using and were ideal for pretty much all situation that you would encounter.
Towards the head of the river as it rises up from the base of the mountains lies a stretch that is affectionately known as the ‘Trophy Part’. Some 500 meters in length this area has virtually become a slow moving lake between its start and the man made weir at the bottom of the run. The azure blue waters look almost glacial in their appearance and are home to some enormous fish sitting ready in ambush for any unsuspecting fly that dare stay on the water for too long. In this deep section larger dry flies such as Grey Wulff, Stimulators, Caddis and large spinner patterns often do the damage but a well presented heavy nymph cast to one of these leviathans can be just as effective. After a couple of hours and several fish up to 3 or 4lbs, we could clearly see how it had earned its name and reputation. As we were walking back to the car to try another area of fast water with large dry flies, one of my fishing partners, Ian, was filling us in on the ‘submarine’ that had been sitting happily in front of him refusing everything he had; but then again I’m sure you don’t get to 5kg by being stupid!
All in all we were pleasantly surprised by the fishing and awestruck by the scenery, accommodation and the hospitality of the Bosnian people. By the end of the 3 day trip I had landed around 90 fish, which included some fat grayling up to 2lb but unfortunately the 4lb plus fish managed to evade me this time. Along with the grayling that we landed we also took Brown and Rainbow trout approaching the 2 and a half pound mark. Other members of the group managed Browns approaching 4lb in weight. The good news was that Goran the lodge manager told me that the River was fishing less well than it had all year so needless to say I can’t wait to get back and see just how good it can be when it’s firing on all cylinders.
We had a superb time and the ease of getting there and the lack of time needed away from work makes this a perfect trip for someone who is time poor or has a family that they can’t leave for a week or more at a time. Highly recommended not just for the fishing but the whole package so if you have thought about it in the past but never taken the plunge then I urge you to jump on a plane and give it a go!
Monday, October 19, 2009
Nick Reygeart of Gin Clear media has just finished off a trailer of his latest film on Iceland. We have been closely involved with Nick's trip helping to organise access to many of the rivers he has fished including the Minnivallalaekur, Jokla, Breiodalsa and Tungalaekur. As you can see by this trailer the fishing is spectacular.
The Source-Iceland
In 2010 we have numerous hosted trips to each of these rivers. For those interested please contact us for more details.
The Source-Iceland
In 2010 we have numerous hosted trips to each of these rivers. For those interested please contact us for more details.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Christmas Island Report
Christmas island continues to fish well and produce big GT's on the flats. Here is a report from a recent trip to the island by James and Tracey staying in the best lodge on the island The Villages.
Hi Mat,
Got back on Friday so we're over the worst of the jetlag - had a great time, thanks.
We've been on a number of saltwater trips in the last few years or so and have always come back knowing exactly how many bonefish we've caught, the fact that we both gave up counting midway through the first day on Christmas Island gives some clue as to how prolific the fishing was. What was very surprising was just how close the bones would get before taking at times, we both had many takes when the leader was inside the tip ring. I'd advise anyone thinking of going to practice fast-draw roll casting to 15-20ft! (easier said than done if you have a 15ft leader!) I'd say the majority of the bones were in the 3-4lb bracket and the biggest we landed being in the region of 7lb, although we both had casts at bigger fish on most days.
As for the trevally, they obviously have some sort of look-out that tells them it's ok to amble up on to the flat as the guide is in possession of the 12 weight! Conversely, if you want to attract bonefish, hand the guide the #7 and carry the #12! On the rare occasions that I had the right rod in hand I found the GTs to be quite schizophrenic in nature, timid and spooky at times whilst incredibly aggressive at others. I found sparkly white surface poppers best at eliciting a suitable response. One such response left me nursing a bruised and bleeding hand and looking down at a broken fly-line! (I failed to clear the line that was running towards me in the tide, in a fraction of a second it caught on my bum-bag and subsequently snapped like cotton just behind the head). This fish was estimated as well in excess of 50lb, however I did land them to 35-40lb. We also saw some monsters towards the 100lb bracket.
As for other species, we caught blue-fin trevally, snapper, goat-fish, ladyfish, trigger fish (or fly robbing *******s as I re-named them), queen fish and the occasional unintentional puffer fish! (plus various reef fish on bottom gear). There were also huge numbers of big milkfish towards the ocean side of the lagoon that could be targeted given the right algae flies. The dolphins that surfed the boats bow waves when heading out were also spectacular as were the manta rays within the lagoon.
One thing you don't mention is that the villages has a surprisingly well stocked tackle shop. I managed to replace the 12wt line that I broke as well as stocking up on some well tied flies. Rods and reels are also available, which was handy once the guides started breaking our rods! A bad cast with a teaser put paid to Tracy's T&T and a bizarre incident involving a shoal of smallish GTs led to the demise of my borrowed 12 weight (the guide pointed the direction they were coming from by dipping the tip into the water - the fish subsequently charged the rod breaking 2 inches off it!).
Overall the fishing on Christmas Island really suited what we enjoy doing most i.e. wading the flats. I'm sure we'll be going back at some point - I have got a score to settle with a certain GT after all.
All the best,
James
We will be running several groups to Christmas Island in 2010 so please get in touch for more information.
Hi Mat,
Got back on Friday so we're over the worst of the jetlag - had a great time, thanks.
We've been on a number of saltwater trips in the last few years or so and have always come back knowing exactly how many bonefish we've caught, the fact that we both gave up counting midway through the first day on Christmas Island gives some clue as to how prolific the fishing was. What was very surprising was just how close the bones would get before taking at times, we both had many takes when the leader was inside the tip ring. I'd advise anyone thinking of going to practice fast-draw roll casting to 15-20ft! (easier said than done if you have a 15ft leader!) I'd say the majority of the bones were in the 3-4lb bracket and the biggest we landed being in the region of 7lb, although we both had casts at bigger fish on most days.
As for the trevally, they obviously have some sort of look-out that tells them it's ok to amble up on to the flat as the guide is in possession of the 12 weight! Conversely, if you want to attract bonefish, hand the guide the #7 and carry the #12! On the rare occasions that I had the right rod in hand I found the GTs to be quite schizophrenic in nature, timid and spooky at times whilst incredibly aggressive at others. I found sparkly white surface poppers best at eliciting a suitable response. One such response left me nursing a bruised and bleeding hand and looking down at a broken fly-line! (I failed to clear the line that was running towards me in the tide, in a fraction of a second it caught on my bum-bag and subsequently snapped like cotton just behind the head). This fish was estimated as well in excess of 50lb, however I did land them to 35-40lb. We also saw some monsters towards the 100lb bracket.
As for other species, we caught blue-fin trevally, snapper, goat-fish, ladyfish, trigger fish (or fly robbing *******s as I re-named them), queen fish and the occasional unintentional puffer fish! (plus various reef fish on bottom gear). There were also huge numbers of big milkfish towards the ocean side of the lagoon that could be targeted given the right algae flies. The dolphins that surfed the boats bow waves when heading out were also spectacular as were the manta rays within the lagoon.
One thing you don't mention is that the villages has a surprisingly well stocked tackle shop. I managed to replace the 12wt line that I broke as well as stocking up on some well tied flies. Rods and reels are also available, which was handy once the guides started breaking our rods! A bad cast with a teaser put paid to Tracy's T&T and a bizarre incident involving a shoal of smallish GTs led to the demise of my borrowed 12 weight (the guide pointed the direction they were coming from by dipping the tip into the water - the fish subsequently charged the rod breaking 2 inches off it!).
Overall the fishing on Christmas Island really suited what we enjoy doing most i.e. wading the flats. I'm sure we'll be going back at some point - I have got a score to settle with a certain GT after all.
All the best,
James
We will be running several groups to Christmas Island in 2010 so please get in touch for more information.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Iceland: Minnivallalaekur Brown Trout
Iceland is home to one of the oldest strains of brown trout in the world. It is believed that the fish of the Minnivallalaekur river link back to the brown trout present in Iceland at the last Ice Age 1,3000 years ago. Through genetic popultion research these fish are believed to have been involved in two post glaciation re-colonisations of brown trout through Northern Europe. I recently visited Iceland for these brown trout with UK wild brown trout enthusiast Paul Procter to check out these fish for ourselves prior to our recent Orvis hosted trip to the Minnivallalaekur lodge.
The Minnivallalaekur lodge makes an impression on you right from the start. Sitting as close to the home pool as possible the lodge offers panoramic views to the inspiring and active Mount Hekla. But it is the three large speciens of brown trout adorning the walls that make any fly fisherman drool. These fish all in excess of 10lb provide a motivation to tackle up quickly and get onto the water. The river itself is spring fed and crystal clear offering the opportunity to see these monsters lying on station in the deeper pools when the conditions cooperate.
Over the three days of fishing we caught glimpses of 10lb+ fish but trophy brown trout don't come easy no matter where you fish in the world for them. Instead we managed fish in the 24-26 inch range, the largest of these weighing in at 6 and 1/2 pounds. An epic wild fish by anyone's standards.
Iceland is only a short 2 hour 30 minute flight from the UK and provides a unique experience. Having fished New Zealand for over a dozen seasons I was most impressed with the quality of fishing on offer. In fact I came to the conclusion that if a trophy fish was what I was after then Minnivallalaekur river would most likely be my first port of call.
In 2010 we will be running two group trips to the Minnivallalaekur lodge. The first will be during the first week of July 2010 during the prime black fly hatch. The second will be last week of August when the terrestrial flies like 'daddy long legs' abound and the brown trout become more aggressive with their spawning urges beginning to take over. For details and pricing please contact us or call +44 1621743711.
The Minnivallalaekur lodge makes an impression on you right from the start. Sitting as close to the home pool as possible the lodge offers panoramic views to the inspiring and active Mount Hekla. But it is the three large speciens of brown trout adorning the walls that make any fly fisherman drool. These fish all in excess of 10lb provide a motivation to tackle up quickly and get onto the water. The river itself is spring fed and crystal clear offering the opportunity to see these monsters lying on station in the deeper pools when the conditions cooperate.
Over the three days of fishing we caught glimpses of 10lb+ fish but trophy brown trout don't come easy no matter where you fish in the world for them. Instead we managed fish in the 24-26 inch range, the largest of these weighing in at 6 and 1/2 pounds. An epic wild fish by anyone's standards.
Iceland is only a short 2 hour 30 minute flight from the UK and provides a unique experience. Having fished New Zealand for over a dozen seasons I was most impressed with the quality of fishing on offer. In fact I came to the conclusion that if a trophy fish was what I was after then Minnivallalaekur river would most likely be my first port of call.
In 2010 we will be running two group trips to the Minnivallalaekur lodge. The first will be during the first week of July 2010 during the prime black fly hatch. The second will be last week of August when the terrestrial flies like 'daddy long legs' abound and the brown trout become more aggressive with their spawning urges beginning to take over. For details and pricing please contact us or call +44 1621743711.
Monday, July 20, 2009
CLA Gamefair
We will be participating in the CLA Gamefair on the 24th, 25th and 26th of July at Belvoir Castle, Grantham. We have a couple of special guests on our stand this year. Jeff Kean of Casa Blanca Lodge in Ascension Bay, Mexico will be joining us. Casa Blanca is the finest fly fishing lodge in Mexico and known as the Grand Slam capital of the world. For those who love to fish for bonefish, permit and tarpon this lodge offers all three in abundance. Jeff will be available to talk fishing and about the lodge facilities all weekend.
We also have joining us Nick Reygaert of Gin Clear media. Nick has been involved in fly fishing film production for many years and will be showcasing Gin Clears latest release The Search - Tasmania. Nick will also be promoting the UK's first fly fishing film festival to be held later in 2010 so if you are interested in seeing the latest in fly fishing film on the big screen drop by to find out about dates and locations for what is sure to be a great event.
We have also team up with Trout Guides and Lodges Tasmania and are offering one free 4 night/3 day fully guided fly fishing trip to Tasmania for one lucky person who signs up to our newsletter.
The trip will include: Flights Ex Sydney/Brisbane or Melbourne, 4 nights accommodation ( 1 night Hobart/ 3 nights Central Tablelands), 3 full days guided fly fishing and all ground transfers while in Tasmania. This prize will be drawn at the completion of the weekend so to be in for a chance to win please drop by our stand and fill out a form for the draw.
We look forward to seeing you all there.
All the Best
Mat
We also have joining us Nick Reygaert of Gin Clear media. Nick has been involved in fly fishing film production for many years and will be showcasing Gin Clears latest release The Search - Tasmania. Nick will also be promoting the UK's first fly fishing film festival to be held later in 2010 so if you are interested in seeing the latest in fly fishing film on the big screen drop by to find out about dates and locations for what is sure to be a great event.
We have also team up with Trout Guides and Lodges Tasmania and are offering one free 4 night/3 day fully guided fly fishing trip to Tasmania for one lucky person who signs up to our newsletter.
The trip will include: Flights Ex Sydney/Brisbane or Melbourne, 4 nights accommodation ( 1 night Hobart/ 3 nights Central Tablelands), 3 full days guided fly fishing and all ground transfers while in Tasmania. This prize will be drawn at the completion of the weekend so to be in for a chance to win please drop by our stand and fill out a form for the draw.
We look forward to seeing you all there.
All the Best
Mat
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