Week two of the season brought another ten guests from across the US and Canada to Farquhar’s northern island. Breezy conditions greeted them, but the sight of Farquhar’s famous resident GTs always sparks a healthy dose of anticipation, and for the returning guests, memories of past catches only added to the excitement. Four GTs over a metre, five bumpies, a flats slam, two trophy triggerfish and a permit later, those hopes were well rewarded.
The GTs set the tone on day one. Blind casting large beast flies in the famous Goullette lagoon, Brian had his fly engulfed after just a few drifts. Guide Reece unstitched the line from a coral or two before Brian brought the fish to hand: the first metre GT of the season at 101 cm! Brian added another GT on day two as part of his flats slam, and on day three Emily landed her first ever GT, while Ron picked one up on his way to a near slam.
After a tough day four, day five belonged to Elisabeth. Poling around a small western island with guide Chad, she spotted a large GT trailing a blacktip shark towards the boat. Her first cast tangled, but she recovered with a Hail Mary shot just a few rod lengths away, and the GT exploded on the fly almost at the rod tip. Mid fight, the drag gears broke and the line overwound on the spool. Chad grabbed the rod, leapt onto the waist deep turtle grass flat and ran after the fish, taking the reel apart as he went. With the drag now stuck fully locked, Elisabeth brought the tiring fish to the net a fair way from the boat. An epic 108 cm GT with an incredible story to match!
The final day delivered two more trophies. In the last hour, after a long day of poor light and blind casting with Chad and Emily, Rell hooked a fish that only revealed its size once the drag was found to be nearly locked. Despite taking Rell into the coral three times, some clever boat manoeuvring freed it for the net, a 100 cm GT and Rell’s first ever GT.
Brian then claimed his second trophy of the week. Walking a sandy island with guide Chase, he went DIY, spotted a large GT cruising close to the beach and fought it single handedly to shore. He measured it against his rod and released it without photos, with the fish’s safety in mind, and Chase measured the mark at a trophy 103 cm! No better way to end off a week.
On day two, Elisabeth landed a small permit while walking the beach in the lee of the atoll.
Andrew landed a trophy bonefish of 65 cm on day one, while Brian and Ron each landed one as part of their slam efforts with guide Reece.
The week started with a bang when Seychelles regular Andrew set out to tick the bumpy off his list. Plenty were spotted and hooked across the team, but Andrew came away smelling fishy after a successful bumpy tussle. Day two took things to the next level, with Stephen, Ron and Josh all landing their first bumpies. On day three Jeff landed his first ever bumpy, a massive accomplishment on his seventeenth trip to the Seychelles.
On day two, Brian completed a flats slam with guide Reece, landing a bonefish, a GT and the catch of the day in the guides’ opinion: a trophy yellow margin triggerfish of 52 cm. On day three, Stephen added a moustache triggerfish on his first move of the day, and Ron almost replicated Brian’s slam with Reece, topping off his GT and bonefish with a trophy 50 cm moustache triggerfish.
A huge thank you to all ten guests for a memorable week two on Farquhar, and to the guides for their skill and quick thinking, including the occasional sprint across a flat with a reel in pieces. From a string of first bumpies to four GTs over a metre, it was a week full of stories worth retelling. We look forward to welcoming you back soon.