Written by Seychelles Program Director Alec Gerbec
As I am just starting to recover from felt like a time warp of travel to one of our most remote destinations we offer at Yellow Dog, I am having a hard time believing it was real. Last month, I had the chance to embark on a visitation trip to St. Brandon’s Atoll which is located 268 nautical miles north of Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean. The trip was on May 7 – 17, 2024 with 7 full days of fishing the flats and those extra days are built in for the travel to and from Mauritius to the Atoll. Before diving into the details and glory of the fishing, the trip getting there needs to be elaborated on, as it is not for the faint of heart.
From Bozeman, Montana I flew to Seattle to catch my international flight via Emirates Airlines through Dubai and onward to Mauritius. For those of you that have traveled to the Seychelles before, this is going to feel very similar in travel times with Mauritius only being a few hours further south from Mahe. Upon Arrival to Mauritius, I was greeted with the very lush southern side of the island, reminiscent of Kauai with its climate and ranging fields of sugar cane. From the international airport, I then jumped into a prearranged taxi and drove about 45 minutes north, to the capital city of Port Louis. About halfway through this drive, the rural farm fields started to evolve into suburbs and then eventually quite a big cityscape surrounded by giant volcanic mountains. The ever-common side effects of Western culture were prevalent with multiple McDonald’s and KFC located about every couple miles from each other, and billboards of other common things you might find here in the States. As we approached the harbor area, it became clear that this was the more touristy part of the city with hotels, shops, and local attractions prevalent.
My accommodations for the night were at the suggested Le Suffren Hotel which is conveniently located right on the harbor with plenty of options to eat and stay entertained if you choose to. Like any of our Indian Ocean trips, it is important to show up at least the day before your trip start date so that you have time to relax or in the event you have any delays. The hotel was a very nice spot and one of the highlights was the sushi bar located in their restaurant area. I knew that the yellowfin tuna would be fresh, and this is always a welcomed treat for me since I now live in Montana.
+ View the St. Brandon's Equipment List
So far this all sounds great I’m sure, but the last leg of travel involves a 268-mile open-ocean crossing on a 55-foot boat with takes roughly 28 hours, depending on conditions. There is no way to sugar coat this portion of the travel: it is long and arduous, and your patience for travel by open sea will be tested. From my time spent in the Seychelles as well as being an expedition leader in my younger years, I am very comfortable with “variable” sea conditions, but this is something that most folks will want to load up on motion sickness medications and plenty of music and podcasts to keep your mind at ease. While the boat is not some luxurious yacht with private rooms for each guest, it is a purpose-built vessel designed for long trips and is very seaworthy. You will find that most of the time you will spend lying down on the beds that are made for you as there is plenty of rocking and rolling along the way, and there is not much else going on to keep you busy. My greatest recommendation is to load up on things to listen to and pack some other creature comforts in your carry-on waterproof bag like finger food, a warm layer like your rain jacket, a backup battery charger, and a good attitude.
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The boat is operated by a very qualified captain who makes this run once a week, almost every week of the year, and there are also a couple of staff members on board as well. I felt myself getting anxious the night before we set sail but thankfully, I was on board with some anglers returning to this destination and I was promised it was all worth it in the end. What you have to tell yourself is that while this might be a new experience for you and there are a lot of unknowns about extended travel on board a boat, you are aboard a boat that has done this crossing countless times with a crew that is ready to do it again. Once I got used to the pace of the journey, it was honestly a great time to catch up on the time change with frequent naps and listening to the latest season of our Waypoints podcast.
About halfway through the crossing, you will be traveling through an area called the Sudan Banks that has two prolific monoliths coming from the sea floor up to about 50 meters of water. I was certain that this would be the ultimate bluewater fishing grounds, but this wasn’t something we were going to try to accomplish as these sea mounts also make the seas very unsettled. Upon your first sight of the Atoll, you will see an old shipwreck on the south shores atoll and also start seeing the white sand spits that are frequently found throughout this giant atoll. The seas settled down quite a bit once we were in the lee of the atoll, and I saw the excitement of all the anglers grow as we knew that the journey was nearing its end. From the southern tip of the Atoll up to Raphael Island located in the north, it took an additional 2 hours of sailing. At this point I realized the true size of this atoll, filling my mind with all sorts of wonders of its true potential.
Once we moored outside of Raphael Island, tender boats transferred us to our accommodations before meeting the team. Raphael Island is quite small, made up of limestone, broken coral, and sand, with plenty of trees to provide adequate shade and cover from the elements. You are almost immediately greeted with the rich history of this island as well in that you walk through the Rapheal Fishing Company fish camp before making your way into the guest house. Raphael Fishing Company’s inception dates back to 1928 and is the second oldest fishing company in Mauritius. However, records show that this Atoll was first discovered in 1546 by Portuguese explorers. There are numerous aging buildings, a chapel, a cemetery, and many other structures on the island to make you wonder about some of the stories that could be told.
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The first evening is spent in temporary lodging as there is an overlap with the guests from the week prior still being on the island. We were given a safety briefing by the head guide Milan and then ran through our gear with a tackle setup for all 6 of us. During the safety briefing, it became very clear to me that they take it seriously due to the remoteness of this fishery. Milan talked about even the most obvious things to be aware of just so that nobody could ever say they weren’t told about it, which is a good thing in my book as I used to give these same briefings when I was the head guide on Alphonse. During tackle setup, it was also clear to me that their tactics to target bonefish, permit, and trevallies were very much the same as what I was used to in the Seychelles, so I was feeling very prepared leading into the first day.
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The next morning we all woke up early in anticipation of what was to come. There was a silent excitement around the breakfast table as we drank our coffee and packed up our tackle bags for the day. By 7 AM we had all wrapped up eating breakfast and headed down to the waterfront to hop on the skiffs for the day. The skiffs they use are quite interesting and designed to be capable of handling big seas all the while drafting very little water which is perfect for large atolls like this in the Indian Ocean. If you have ever been to Cosmoledo or Farquhar in the last year, this is the same boat minus the poling platforms, as St. Brandon’s is dominantly a wading destination. What was interesting to me was the guides all had predetermined plans for the day so that everyone always knew where everyone else was in case of emergency, and also to make sure that two guides didn’t have the same idea at the same time of day. From my guiding days, we certainly would make a few distinct plans for the day, but we also would adjust our day according to the conditions that presented themselves.
The winds were howling on our first day and throughout the week with consistent speeds of 15 to 20 knots out of the Southeast. However, this is a good thing as it keeps the water cold and disguises the fly line and fly when they hit the water. For most of the flats we fished, the guides were also very conscious of the wind direction and would direct you to fish downwind. Within the first 20 minutes of the day, I had my first encounter with a St. Brandon’s bonefish and it was a sight for sore eyes. The rest of the day was met with various opportunities to target tailing fish, all of which were fairly honest as long as you properly presented the fly. What I also noticed after the first day is that as soon as you get closer to the lagoon edge, you are very likely to bump into a tailing permit as the tide starts to push in.
The permit on St. Brandon’s are certainly abundant, and I would put the frequency of seeing them to the likes of Poivre or St. Joseph’s atoll in the Seychelles. Often your efforts are focused on the ankle to gravel guard deep waters as this is the prime habitat for tailing bones, but as soon as you ventured to slightly deep water, my hackles would stick up as I knew there was a chance of a permit encounter. Most every flat we fished at some point would have them come through, which made me realize that I wanted to rig up my backup 9-weight as my dedicated permit rod so no time would be wasted on changing flies. While I do love GT fishing and I am accustomed to carrying my 11 weight at all times when in the Indian Ocean, it was abundantly clear that this fishery better catered to my permit bug so I would often leave the big rod in the boat. Throughout the week, each pairing of anglers had numerous encounters with permit, but only a few eats and little conversion. Thankfully I was lucky enough to successfully land four, but I certainly had many other occasions where it didn’t come together.
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Overall, the week of fishing was a giant success for the group with a total of 272 bonefish and 5 permit landed. The average bonefish was around 7 pounds, and three 13-pound fish were landed as well. The guides do a great job of handling these fish by using a hand net to land them, and then they will Boga Grip the net to get an accurate reading on your catch. Lots of memories were made and great friendships were kindled. By the end of the 7 fishing days, I was tired but my inner fishing demons wanted more. It doesn’t surprise me now that most anglers that return to this fishery often end up booking back-to-back weeks, just so they really get it out of their system. This is a one-of-a-kind fishery which is hard to believe that still exists amongst all the fishing pressure our oceans get. Funnily enough, the arduous boat ride home didn’t even phase me as I was still riding the high of a glorious week of fishing.
My last thoughts I wanted to share are if you are willing to make the long trip and are a bonefish and permit junky, this is the trip for you. If you prefer to have an umbrella in your cocktail poolside, then this trip is NOT for you. I would equate this trip to an expedition that requires both mental and physical endurance. Being proficient in casting your fly in windy conditions will certainly improve your odds and make for a more successful trip. Work your way up to this destination as it will be hard to match it in the end!
