Two epic weeks of fishing on Cosmoledo, from surf walk GT eats and metre class giants, to trophy triggerfish and a stunning permit, the atoll once again showcased that there’s far more than just GT’s to catch. The weather played true to form at this time of year, with crisp, clear skies and windless days. Multiple first GT’s, personal bests and one of the largest GT’s of the season, this period of fishing brought many happy clients and some exceptional memories.
As always the GT’s stole the show for the week with multiple landed across the fortnight. We were joined by a good few returning guests who all contributed significantly to their GT catches. For Scott , Jim, Lara, Mark , Matthew, Allen, and William, this trip marked their very first experience targeting Giant Trevally in the surf and each of them successfully landed their first GT’s on fly. Fred and Chris both managed to add two very special fish to their catches, with Fred landing an exceptional 124cm GT, being the seasons largest fish and then Chris landed an impressive fish on foot, stretching the tape to exactly a meter, both of which are truly special fish, well done guys. Whether stalking surf edges on spring tides or sight-fishing cruising shadows on neaps, GT fishing was raw, visual, and unforgettable, testing all of our anglers and putting many happy smiles on the guys faces.
Permit fishing produced two exceptional moments. Libby spectacularly opened her week landing a special 68 cm permit on a white sand flat near Menai Island, she then went on to catch a GT and bonefish completing a slam, making for a truly memorable day. Mark equally landed a truly magnificent 70 cm Indo Pacific permit in Wizard Bay. Fishing ultra light tackle, he delivered a precise presentation and fought the fish through a long, technical battle before netting one of the week’s true highlights. Two permit, two outstanding anglers.
The triggerfish fishing was exceptional over the flats few weeks, with 13 fish landed. Bill landed one of the largest specimens of 54 cm, alongside him, his partner Kathy also landed one. Chris added two more moustache triggers to his healthy lifetime list, and Bob completed a flats slam featuring triggerfish, GT, and bonefish. Allen landed a massive 61 cm moustache triggerfish, one of the largest recorded on Cosmoledo. William equally added both sought after species to his catch tally, landing a moustache and a yellow-margin triggerfish during his week
Bonefish added consistent support throughout, with 11 landed across both weeks. Libby, Bob, and others used bonefish to complete slams. As always Cosmoledos bonefish are well above par and delivered quality over quantity, with several fish reaching into the high 60 cm range and even touching the 70 cm mark. Matthew, Curtis, Mark, William, Greg, and Lara all connected with strong Cosmoledo bonefish.
Cosmoledo offers far more then the main target species and guests are often encouraged to take to the deeper waters in search of other species. Anglers explored deeper channels and reef edges, adding African marble grouper, potato grouper, bluefin trevally, among many others to their tallies, a reminder that Cosmoledo’s diversity extends well beyond the flats.
From 124 cm GT and 61 cm trophy triggers to first ever GT milestones and a 70 cm permit, the end of January and early February delivered power, precision, and unforgettable memories. Evening cocktails, bell ringers and exceptionally good food left the guests rearing to return to this very special atoll.