Ten long time friends and fishing buddies from the US flew into the renowned Farquhar Island Lodge to kick off the first week of the season. Several of the guests had been here before, while for a few it was a first trip to the Seychelles and to Farquhar. The fishing built steadily through the week, with the GTs firing up from day three and the final day delivering more catches than any other.
David got on the board quickly, landing the season’s first GT on day one, no surprise from a man no stranger to a GT after a previous trip to Farquhar. He was at it again on day two, and again on day three, and by day four he had gone four for four with a GT on each of the first four days. He added yet another on day five to cap a remarkable run.
Day three showed more promise as the GTs became more fired up and willing, and Malyn and Jake each landed one to join in on the action. On day four, Sean and Michael both jumped on the GT train with one each to open their tallies for the week, and Jake added a second on day five. The final day saw the week end in style. Spencer added another GT to a tally that has grown considerably since his previous trip to the atoll, and Mark got it done in the last moments with his first GT of the week.
On day five, Sean was casting at a unit of a permit when a smaller but still feisty specimen intercepted the fly. Sean was delighted to land the first permit of the season.
Len ended day four with an amazing catch near the close of the day after casting multiple times at the same group of feeding bumpies. Eventually he hooked one, but as he was clearing the line, it wrapped around his fingers and something gave. On retrieving the fly, nothing seemed broken, so he fished the group for a few more minutes before realising the hook that had straightened. Armed with a fresh fly, he went straight back at it and, after a few casts, hooked his bumpy. The fight was an unusually clean one, up on the turtle grass away from any danger, and he had the fish in no time.
Michael, after a slow start to the week, was picking up momentum, and on day five he too hooked into one of Farquhar’s prehistoric looking bumpies. After the fish had dumped a decent amount of line and the two had tussled for several minutes, he managed to lay hands on the epic fish. Jake brilliantly ended his week on the final day, landing a bumpy of his own and making it three for the group.
Spencer opened the season’s triggerfish account on day one, pinning a beautiful moustache triggerfish on a surf walk. On the final day, both Davids joined him with a moustache triggerfish each.
It was a great way to end the first week of the season, 12 GTs, 3 bumpies, 3 moustache triggerfish and the season’s first permit. A big thank you to all ten guests for the laughs, the persistence and the memorable fish. We look forward to welcoming you back to Farquhar soon.