Written by Seychelles Program Director Alec Gerbec
While this trip report is long overdue since my return from the Seychelles, I can’t help but continue to think about what an incredible trip I had this year. For the beginning of March of this year, I had made plans to host a trip to Farquhar Atoll with a group of guys for Savannah, Georgia, and also tack on a visitation to Oman to finally see what this fishery was all about. I was also fortunate enough to spend a few days on Alphonse ahead of the Farquhar week, and if you know me, you know that’s always a special treat as well.
Planning this trip revolved around conversations that I had a couple of years ago with these gents as they were just finished up their week on Alphonse, and I had just arrived on the island after spending a week on Cosmoledo. They had taken advantage of the diversity that St. Francois has to offer, and the all too often question came up after having an incredible week of fishing, which was “What’s next?” After learning that the guys really enjoyed catching all the different species, and the hot streak that Farquhar was having, it was abundantly clear that this was the next place on the hit list. Selfishly, this would also be the first time I would have the opportunity to visit this fishery after hearing about it for years, so you could imagine that I didn’t hesitate to ask to host their group.
Of course, my origin of the trip started in Bozeman, Montana, where I caught a direct United flight to San Francisco, where I spent the night with my brother and his family before flying out the next day. I tend to travel through San Francisco during this time of year as it typically has consistent flight schedules that aren’t impacted by winter weather, and it's also a bonus to see some family. I really enjoy flying with Emirates as they have continued to prove themselves to me and the many customers we send to the Seychelles, that they are at the top of their game with service and consistency. Spending a few hours in the Dubai airport is never a bad layover either, as they have a very nice rewards club that you can take advantage of, combined with the various restaurants and shops to visit. I have gone through this airport about 15 times now, so it just feels like part of the routine for this journey to the Seychelles, where I know where to get the best cappuccino and which duty-free has the best selection of spirits.
After the long trek and finally making it to Mahe, it is always such a pleasure to see a familiar face like our transfer driver Mr. Patrick, where you are greeted with an authentic smile from someone who is proud to have you come visit where they call home. We get to catch up on all the ongoing’s of Mahe as well as all the return customers we have sent before making it to the Eden Bleu hotel that situated right on the Eden Island Marina. Perhaps the most cliche thing to do is go have a Sey Brew at one of the boardwalk bars and snap a photo of this scene overlooking the water, but I got to tell you, it’s a rite of passage and I do it every time! It's also crucial for me to enjoy an Octopus Curry at Bravo’s, as that is not something I see all too often in Montana, and it has always been my favorite specialty dish from the Seychelles.
My first stop was on Alphonse for a couple of days, where I got to spend some quality time with the staff to get caught up on all the happenings, and to get out on the water where I used to guide. A couple of guys that were on my host trip to Farquhar decided to show up for a couple of days on Alphonse before the trip, so I decided to take them out to one of the favorite flats on Alphonse to see if we could hit the beginning of the spring push. Funny enough, this was the flat that I caught my first GT at (shout out to Scoty De Bryn for teaching me the ways!), and the tides were perfect for running into the same scenario that I encountered years ago where numerous rays would come onto the flat at the beginning of the push, and trevallies would be all over them. Sure enough, within about a minute of getting dropped off, one of the guys had landed his first GT of the trip! The second day was very cool in that I got to spend it with Devan Van Der Merwe and Kyle Simpson on the skiff, which was the triple threat of head guides from the past. We probably did the worst out of everyone else on the water because we were having too much fun, but I do suspect that we won the award for the most laughs had. There was an unusual event where there was a big surge of GT’s coming onto the flats, and the anglers that were there for the week on a fishing package managed to land 21 GTs that day, which is a banner day for any of the atolls in the Seychelles.
Wednesday came along, and the anticipation grew as we waited for the plane to land on Alphonse before heading onto Farquhar. Once we got hopped on the plane and were inbound to Farquhar, my imagination was racing with what to expect. We arrived to a team of excited guides that had been looking forward to the week of fishing with us, and they broke out all of the gear to get us set up. The tackle setup in the Seychelles is always an enjoyable one to watch as each of the guides slowly comb through all the flies that were brought and inspect all the backing knots to make sure that they are going to hold up to what the week might provide. Upon finishing up the tackle setup, each of the guys on the trip shot off into different directions to find a piece of water to hunt their first target on the atoll. This is always a fun DIY session as you never know what you might run into, and you usually also realize that you are going to appreciate the guide’s knowledge throughout the week.
The lodge at Farquhar has a small footprint with one main building that serves as the common area with a bar, dining area, and a comfortable couch seating area inside with air conditioning. This looks out towards the lagoon of the atoll and makes for a great place to enjoy some cold drinks at the end of the day while sharing fish stories. Along the same coastline, you then have a series of guest houses that each have a pair of rooms with en suite full bathrooms, private outdoor showers, and plenty of space to stretch out and keep yourself organized throughout the week.
The fishing week started out with a bang where I was able to head out onto the flats with a long-time friend Cullan Ashby, who is now the lodge manager on Farquhar. Funny enough, I was his head guide who trained him to be a guide when he first started out, and now he is one of the top guns of the team. We spent the morning chasing around permit, which I was obviously not ready for, as I managed to spook just about every fish I presented a fly to since we were fishing in the lee of one of the islands where there was no surface disturbance from the wind or waves. We switched gears and headed into the lagoon in search of some GT’s, and before we knew it, we found the motherload of about 30 big black fish hovering over a couple of nurse sharks. Being a fly tyer, I was focused on trying out one of the latest beast fleyes (pronounced “flies” but this is how Bob Popovic named his creation) that I had tied up, which as an all-chartreuse fly at about 14 inches in length total. Thankfully these fish were riding high over light colored bottom, and we were able to take our time to set up on them. Cullan instructed me to make a big lead on this group of fish, just before a coral head, so as they came around the coral head, they would see my fly waiting to move. I made one strip, and the whole squadron of Geet’s started their engines towards my fly! The lead fish ate, and within about 3 seconds, the first three sections of my rod had popped off as I had been blind casting for a bit, and the slack line hitting my bottom guide had loosened up my connection.
Without blinking an eye, Cullan jumped down from the platform, started the engine to gain some ground on the fish, and then ran forward to put my rod back together while I was fighting the fish directly off the reel. Thankfully, we both kept our cool, and we were able to break the fish’s spirit in minutes, and I got to land the first big fish of the trip (109 cm). We returned to the lodge at the end of the day after having multiple shots at other targets like bumpy’s and triggers, and everyone was comparing notes to see what had been caught. Typically, I try to be humble about a notable catch, but the guide team has adopted a great tradition of making different sounds over the radio to let the other guides know that something great has been caught. What’s fun about this is you are caught off guard throughout the day by suddenly hearing the guide’s radio go off with some funny sound effect or song, which lets everyone know that a boat has caught something great. A couple of the other guys caught some GT’s and a large bonefish was caught on day 1, so we were off to a good start and excited to see what was to come.
We woke up to some crumby weather on day 2, where the visibility was difficult and the rain was coming down in buckets. This didn’t hold the team back as they made the most of it by catching three triggerfish, a massive 110 cm bumpy, and a couple of GT’s. We continued to have tricky weather in the following days, and the guys stayed persistent with getting out and giving their all. Thankfully, there were some nice gaps where the sun came out and fish were behaving, and many memorable fish continued to get caught.
The largest GT of the week was landed by a Seychelles first timer Benny, which measured out at 113 cm and looked like it was stung by a bee as it was so proportionally fat. Josh had a banner day of landing a flats slam of a bonefish, GT, and permit, and Mark and I shared a boat, and each of us managed a slam with bumpies, GT’s, and bones. The list goes on with the notable catches of the week, and the bottom line is that all the anglers gave it their best by landing a total of 24 different species of fish.
The last story I want to share is about Luke and his devotion to landing a meter-plus GT during the trip. He is a very devoted angler to the big rod and big fly, and at the end of each day, he would jump off the boat and head out on his own in an effort to get a chance at landing one of these monsters. Throughout the week, he had a few encounters with them with varied results of fish turning away at the last minute, to eating the fly coming directly at him, which makes it very hard to set the hook. The last day came around, and the guide Cullan knew that Luke’s eyes were set on catching this fish of a lifetime. I didn’t get the full story of how their day unfolded, but my guess is that these two set sail across the lagoon with only one intention in mind. After investigating a couple of the usual haunts where these big fish live, Cullan and Luke spotted a giant sitting on top of a coral head waiting for its next meal to swim by. Luke managed to put the perfect shot out there and landed the 103 cm, well done buddy and well deserved.
Overall, the trip was a great success, and I couldn’t have asked for a better group of anglers to join me on this first trip to Farquhar Atoll. It comes as no surprise that this particular destination has now become the trendiest atoll to visit in the Seychelles as it continues to produce great results on the water and has an all-star group of guides. A special thank you to the guide team Cullan, Gerry, Yousuf, Casey, Chase, and Chad.
We all parted ways once we got to Mahe, and then I was off to my destination on my itinerary, which was Oman. This trip was also a new destination for me, so the trip was a fact-finding mission so that I could speak to it firsthand to any Yellow Dog customer who is interested in going on the trip. The great thing about this operation is that it is run by Nick Bowles of Ocean Active, who has been a great friend of mine for several years. From the Seychelles, I ended up flying through Dubai, which gave me about a 12-hour layover before being able to board my flight to Salalah, Oman, and Nick was nice enough to pick me up from the airport and get me out on the water for a few hours to catch some queenies. It had been years since I got a chance to fish in Dubai, and I had forgotten how bizarre it is to be fishing under the skyline of this massive city! We had incredibly flat conditions, which allowed us to fish close to shore, and within about 30 minutes, I was into my first queenfish of the day. This quickly led to countless other hook-ups and more landed before we decided that we did our damage for the day and headed to shore to find some good eats that Dubai has plenty to offer. To me, this is what makes the Dubai queenfishing such a cool trip in that you are able to experience such a productive fishery in close proximity from the airport and then have the option to still go and enjoy the city in the same day. A great way to spend a few hours instead of people watching in the airport!
There will be more to come about my trip to Oman as there is plenty to share about this place. The one thing I will leave you with is that it’s like no other fishery in the world that I have experienced before, and the Omani coastline is insanely beautiful. This is another great way to break up the long travel while on your way to the Indian Ocean, or a stand alone trip as you will need multiple days to take it all in.
