Anyone who has done any homework on the Seychelles fly fishing on offer would have seen that the turtlegrass flats of Farquhar and Providence are among some of the few places on earth where one can target tailing bumpies. Although there are bumpies elsewhere in the Seychelles, they are usually found offshore more than they are found on the flats and this doesn’t provide much chance for sight fishing them. Here’s a run down of the prehistoric-esque hulk of the flats and how to go about getting your hands on one for a grip and grin.
Tides:
Bumpies can be found on all tides, whether in slightly deeper water on the high tide or tailing in the surf on the lower tides, but not all tides are conducive to good bumpy fishing. New moon has historically been known as the time where one would have the lowest chance of seeing large amounts of bumpies. This is supposedly due to them going offshore to fight for mates and breed. This is not to say that you won’t find them at all on the flats, but they are generally much more scarce. Beyond that all tides and moon phases seem to be adequate for good bumpy fishing. Dropping tides are often preferred as the bumpies try to stay up on the turtlegrass or corals as long as there is enough water for them to be there. Intercepting them on the dropping tide, whether in the surf zone or on the flats, often results in tight lines and bent rods. The push usually provides a shorter window and can be tricky on the spring tides, but can be equally as fruitful as the bumpies try pushing back up onto the flats again. Neap tides often result in higher bumpy numbers due to the fact that the water is moving slow and never gets too deep, providing for long windows of good fishing. Fishing deep bumpies on the higher tides can prove challenging if it’s windy, but they are often still tailing down there, you just can’t see the tail coming out of the water, meaning that they’re feeding and catching one is very doable. One just needs heavier flies and more patience.
Flies:
Traditionally flexo crabs are used for bumpies for the most part, but merkins and even a shrimp can be used to great effect too. Just keep in mind that these are grazers and are not necessarily hunting prey down so you just need something that gets down into the zone where they are feeding and that looks like an actual crustacean that would be hiding among the turtlegrass blades or coral heads. They don’t usually attack your fly like a hungry trigger, butrather pick it up along with what they are eating as they graze through the area. Usually a heavy fly is used for getting the fly down to them as quick as possible. Something around 3.5 to 5 mm dumbbells usually gets the job done. Slightly lighter for shallow, tailing bumpies and heavier for deep bumpies. Colour doesn’t seem to be too important but orange seems to be the favourite as small orange crabs are often found in the spring coral around the rocks that they feed off of. Ideally a size 2 to a 1/0 hook is preferred and it has to be a hook with some backbone, because they are no slouches and have been known to bend a hook or two.
Other gear:
Generally a ten weight is used for bumpies. Anything bigger than this and they become very spooky as the line lands, 9 weights are fine too provided that the leader is strong. In terms of leader 30lb fluorocarbon at a minimum should be used. Of course you can go heavier, even up to 60 lb but the bigger you go the more chance of spooking them. The 30 lb seems to be a good all rounder. Floating fly lines work perfectly fine and are preferred unless one fishes from the boat only, in which case an intermediate line does help get that fly down a little quicker, but nobody wants to be dragging an intermediate line around the flats while doing a surf walk.
How to actually catch that thing:
Bumpies as mentioned many times already can be very spooky, so you will need to try land the fly as light as you can. However it’s a catch 22 because they are grazers are won’t comeover to your fly by themselves. You have to put the fly in the middle of the group, cross your fingers and hope they don’t take off, which they do more often than not. If the current is really strong you can get away with putting the fly just behind the lead fish and allow the current to swing the fly into the group. Because bumpies are so big and take up so much of the water column, if you strip you will most likely foul hook them so make your cast and leave it in the group. All you need to do is keep contact with your fly and let the fish pick the fly up on their time. The bite can sometimes be very subtle and the fly line often starts moving in the opposite way of the current, which means that you’re already on, just give it one strip set with the rod down and let it run. Focus primarily on clearing your line at this point as most people lose their bumpies as the line clears. Once you’ve cleared your line it’s a battle with a pretty tight drag to keep him away from corals or from making it off the edge of the flat into the lagoon. Your guide will usually be running off or diving in after the bumpy to hunt him down quickly before it can stitch you up in the corals.
Also if you do all this and still lose heaps of bumpies, just keep your chin up, this is par for the course and you’re likely to lose way more than you catch just due to the fact that they are essentially oversized triggers that do everything in their power to break you off on anything they can find.