Always Cast, Even if its a Tailing Surgeonfish!

It doesn’t get any calmer or hotter than it was today.  Yes, I’ve mentioned these conditions almost every day this week here on Providence Atoll in the Seychelles, but today was the calmest and the hottest even though it didn’t seem possible it could get calmer or hotter.  I fished with Brian and Fred and enjoyed another day with guide Tim Babich.

 

To start Brian stayed in the boat while Tim dragged it along searching for giant trevally.  Fred took the far left on foot and I took the far right.  I wandered far away from the guys because in the distance I could see some action.  When it’s this calm you can see disturbances on the water for a mile.  Unfortunately the commotion I was stalking were two huge lemon sharks.  And what’s worse, the sharks picked up my scent and heard me walking and they started stalking me.  It’s a bit nerve-racking but I managed to find a shallow spot on the flat about knee deep and I waited them out.

 

Soon we were all out of the boat wading and hoping for triggers.  The GTs were nonexistent.  During the first couple hours there were none but around 10 AM tails started showing up.

 

For me, these tails were particularly punishing.  I’d jumped from the boat earlier without my pack and remember I was a long ways away from the boat by now.  I had only the fly and leader that was on my Winston.  And for these conditions my leader was too short.  There are two tails protruding in the picture and I promise you, I scared them off quick with a short leader in glassy conditions.

 

The tails kept popping however.  Most were these beautiful yellowmargin tails.  After I scared those two there were more and more opportunities.  I wanted more tippet bad so I headed directly for the boat, however stopping for every tail along the way.  I must have spooked off a dozen before finally hooking up.  “Fish on!”, I was stoked.

 

I had a small moustache trigger hammer my crab on the short leader.  This fish didn’t care.  I was able to lead him by about ten feet and sure enough he fed his way right to the fly and enjoyed it.  It was neat to watch this fish scream across the horizon of glassy water.  That is until he came unbuttoned.  I lost him and when I got my fly back it was mangled.  The trigger chewed up my hook with his brutal teeth.  He basically freed himself – a common occurrence with these little gremlins!

 

My fly was completely dysfunctional thanks to Mr. Mustache so I headed straight for the boat.  I walked for five minutes to get there and passed about a dozen wagging trigger tails.  It killed me to have to do this but it was my own fault for leaving the boat earlier without my gear.

 

Once I was re-rigged, energized with a Kate’s Bar and my thirst was quenched I got right back after the triggers.  They were everywhere.  All of us were closer together now and I could see both Brian and Fred were each on fish.  I heard constant lines like, “Crap!  Dang it!  These things suck!”.  Plain and simple, it was just way too calm to fool these critters.

 

But as I say all the time, persistence usually pays off.  And while it didn’t for me nor Fred.  In fact I felt as though I was in a torture chamber all morning, Brian prevailed.  Brian, who has been fishing well all week, managed to land this fantastic yellowmargin.

 

Around noon the flat lost most its water.  Low tide was close and we had to get in the boat and leave before we got stuck.  It was a good time to take a break, put the feet up and eat some lunch and drink a SeyBrew.

 

The boys took an hour looking for GTs around the actual Providence Island.  There were a few around but in the calm they saw us about the same time we saw them.  I’m sure there were more that disappeared because they saw us much sooner.  Eventually Tim had us on a new triggerfish flat that he knows is good on an incoming tide.  The incoming was just right around 2:30.

 

This was a very unique flat for wading.  It was mid-thigh deep and instead of turtle grass, it was all sand and coral.  Not ideal for landing a hard pulling triggerfish but they were around and we’d rather challenge ourselves to catching them around coral than not find fish at all.  Brian was quick to take on the challenge and was soon casting at a yellowmargin triggerfish.

 

This yellowmargin was a lot like the ones we dealt with this morning.  He was outa there!  But then as a dejected Brian was stripping his crab back, out of the blue came this beyond greedy mustache trigger.  The trigger ate his fly on a full streamer-like strip and was on.  And best of all, he didn’t bury himself in the coral very well and within a minute Brian was posing with is first ever moustache triggerfish.  He now landed the two most sought after trigger species in the same day.  A true accomplishment.

 

After taking some pics for Brian I was out and on the hunt.  And evidently the triggerfish luck I’ve enjoyed for a long time has come to an end.  I spooked almost every trigger I cast too.  The few I didn’t spook I couldn’t hook.  And the two I did hook broke me off  in the coral.  The afternoon session with tons of triggers around was not treating me well.  I was off on my game.

 

The afternoon would be a fantastic species day however.  As I mentioned a few days ago, Brian is in to catching species.  For this trip he tossed a high number of hoping to add ten new ones to his list.  Today he caught several new ones including this pursemouth, a blacktip grouper and the mustache trigger.  And likely others I’m not thinking off.

 

I was enjoying on species as well.  Although no new ones for me the first hour or so, it’s just fun.  I caught many of the same fish Brian tagged but also a whitespotted grouper and this smallspotted dart.  But then my most unlikely new species began to unfold.  A school of surgeonfish were headed my way – grazing from coral head to coral head.

 

I mentioned a few days ago, I’ve caught one species of surgeonfish by accident years ago in the Red Sea of Sudan.  Since then I always cast to them but they never eat.  Surgeonfish are plankton eaters despite the fact that some species are quite large.  Almost no one has ever cast to a tailing surgeon and caught one.  But my luck was about to change.

 

The school was mesmerizing.  They were so focused on their business; the normally overly spooky fish paid me no attention.  I threw my crab right on the edge of the school.  To my disbelief, one bolted to my crab and in a blink of an eye it was game on!

 

I must have yelled out in a funny tone because Tim was quick to notice something far out of the ordinary was taking place.  When I yelled a surgeon crushed my crab he just stood there a minute.  “What?  Are you sure?”, as he moved quickly to the boat for his net.

 

I wasn’t sure.  Even though I saw the whole thing happen I assumed perhaps a bonefish was hiding amongst the surgeons.  That’s exactly how this fish was fighting.

 

It was a gnarly battle.  I dodged the coral nightmare several times.  Somehow this fish didn’t sever me off.  When it was close I got that first look.  Holy crap, it was one of the surgeons!

 

After about a four minute fight Tim scooped what may be my coolest new fish species in a couple years.  This is the yellowfin surgeonfish (Acanthurus xanthopterus).  Add a new one to the list!

 

Both Brian and Fred came for a look.  This appears to be the species we see around the Maya’s Dugong under the nightlights.  And yes, we try to catch them.  I’ve tried every trip unsuccessfully.  But now I’ve got one.  And man, what a gorgeous fish.

 

There’s a reason they are called surgeonfish by the way.  Tim made sure to warn me not to put my hand near the tail.  This is in fact the reason I’m doing a one handed hold.  At the base of the tail on each side there is a razorblade.  Grab it and it will slice you like a scalpel!

 

I hardly remember what happened the rest of the afternoon.  I can’t tell you how far I was out on Cloud Nine.  It was unreal.  However, I was reminded tonight when I looked at my photos.  Shortly after my surgeonfish, Fred landed his first mustache triggerfish.  Congrats to Fred and Brian for today’s triggerfish performance!

 

 

After the flats on the way home Tim stopped us off at a shipwreck.  It was only about 20 feet deep and we could see many fish.  Brian added another species to his list.  This is the green jobfish.

 

Also on that wreck were some deeper dwelling trigger species.  I had to get the trigger skunk off so I dropped down a small shrimp fly pattern.  Lo and behold I nailed a triggerfish for the day.  This is the black or also known as the durgon triggerfish.

 

What appeared this morning weather-wise as an impossible day to catch fish, actually turned out great.  Once again, everyone managed to catch some fish.  Though not a bunch of GTs, here’s David Moeller with a good one off the flats on foot.

 

Its party time up on the deck of the Maya’s Dugong.  This trip has really come together.  The experience of the anglers and their ability to chill out, have a good time and catch the fish that come their way is noticeably why everyone is having such a good time.  Two more days left!

 

Be sure to keep tabs on my IG at @jeffcurrier65

 

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing