The first half of January on Alphonse tested both patience and perseverance with some trying weather conditions. The weather brought cooler, cleaner water into the lagoon, changing up the fishing slightly and those who persevered were rewarded with some incredible fish and unforgettable moments on the flats.
Giant trevally remained selective but delivered some of the most dramatic encounters of the period. Across the weeks, nine GT’s were landed, each hard-earned and fiercely fought. Chris set the tone early with a remarkable super slam on his first day, landing a permit, yellow-margin trigger, bonefish, and a powerful 92 cm GT. He followed this with another 67 cm GT, before engaging in a brutal lagoon battle that ended with a fish measuring 101 cm, landed in some trying conditions.
Richard (Dick) raised the bar even higher when his fly was engulfed in a violent surface explosion. After a relentless fight through coral-lined water, Dick landed the largest GT of the period, a staggering 121 cm giant that will be remembered for years to come. Mark led the charge in his week with a drift in some deeper water and landed a massive 112 cm GT after weaving through coral heads. Jamie followed suit in the same area, landing a powerful 97 cm GT, his first major encounter with one of Alphonse’s apex predators.
Milkfish continued to feature prominently, although numbers fluctuated with the passing of the full moon and changing conditions. Across the two weeks, eight milkfish were landed. Vitto opened his trip in memorable fashion by landing his first-ever milkfish from a shoal feeding just outside the St Francois lagoon. Ryan later stole the spotlight with the biggest milkfish of the first week, measuring 88 cm, while Carlo and Lake also contributed to fish being landed and a first for Carlo. Gareth landed the biggest milkfish of his week at 92 cm, while Mark capped off his trip by landing his very first milkfish, a fitting reward after his GT success.
Permit fishing flourished in the cooler, cleaner lagoon water, producing some of the most emotional moments of the period. A total of six permit were landed, Vitto enjoyed a standout run, landing a 53 cm permit during a rare break in the weather, followed by another fish over 50 cm in the final hour of his final day. Lucy joined the permit ranks during a family flats session, landing her first-ever permit at 52 cm after stalking a fish feeding on the edge of a bonefish shoal.
Triggerfish remained active despite challenging visibility, rewarding accurate casts and quick reactions. Chris landed a yellow-margin trigger as part of his super slam, while Gareth landed a trophy 54 cm yellow-margin, one of the largest of the period.
Genevieve landed her first-ever yellow-margin trigger and later added a batfish to her tally. Maria equally landed a massive 54 cm yellow-margin trigger on the finger flats after a tense stalk and expert netting from her guide.
As always the bonefish were ever present with a total of 331 fish caught over the period. Ben claimed the bonefish highlight with a trophy 69 cm fish that repeatedly took him into his backing.The offshore fishing continues to produce albeit some trying conditions, with 27 tuna, 8 wahoo, and 6 sailfish landed, many of which were landed on fly.
As always, Alphonse delivered some spectacular fishing, albeit in the challenging conditions. One metre-plus giant trevally, quality permit, hard-earned milkfish and blue water chaos, guests who adapted to the weather were rewarded with memorable encounters, incredible catches and even greater memories.