6 AM couldn’t come soon enough. That’s when our taxi to the LDC airport here in Mahe, Seychelles for our charter flight to Farquhar Island picked us up. I’ve been waiting years for this dream to come true. Not only I, but the six Yellow Dog guests that I’m hosting on the trip, Rich Cambria, Mark Rangitsch, Terry Graham, Tom Camp, Brad Thompson and Bill Huffman were stoked as well. We are all first timers to fishing the Seychelles.
The LDC airport is a small charter flight agency off the main airport we landed at yesterday. This is where tourist catch flights to other islands in the Seychelles. The Seychelles is lengthy country of scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean. They weighed us and our luggage then of we went on a Beech 1900 aircraft. 1 hour 40 minutes later came the first views of Farquhar.
Farquhar is stunning as you fly in. The place is the perfect definition of an atoll with a very minimal amount of land, a scattering of islands and miles of flats, beach and coral reef. You can’t imagine all the shades of blue and emerald greens you see on the water from a quarter mile above. The spectacular tropical atoll was so impressive it reminded me of my first glimpse of a tarpon flat in Belize almost thirty years ago. Farquhar is that beautiful.
Once landed we were met by the guide staff of South African fishing destination company FlyCastaway. FlyCastaway offers some of the most optimum saltwater fly fishing on the planet and is recognized as having the finest saltwater fly fishing guides in the world. After a quick introduction they led us to some shade where refreshing drinks awaited.
A group of Russian anglers from the week before exchanged their hello’s and wished us luck then boarded our aircraft and took off. Their week ended and ours began. We took a short tractor drive to the camp.
When you arrive to camp it’s not a race to the room. Instead, everyone makes a beeline to the water for a look. What you see is dumbfounding. About forty massive giant trevally swarm the water in front of camp. These monsters are camp pets not to be fished too. Some are nearly 100lbs and the insane fish beg for food like they’re your dog!
Camp is simple. The rooms are comfortable with air-conditioning and the outdoor sitting area gives you and incredible view of the entire atoll. The eating area is outside literally ten feet from the marauding trevally pets. It’s been only a day and I can tell this place is extremely well organized.
Shortly after settling in our rooms the staff ran us through orientation. We enjoyed a breakfast of fresh fruit and omelets and then with the help of the guides set up our gear. The best rods for here are a 9-weight and a 12-weight. Of course I go overboard and have the Winston assortment of 8-, 9-, two 10’s- and two 12-weights, each armed with either a Ross or Abel Reel and Scientific Angler fly line. I’m heavily stocked not only because I’ll likely be targeting some unordinary species this week but also well prepared for any rod mishaps that might happen to anyone.
By the time we finished sorting our tackle it was time for lunch. Following lunch it was time to fish. Arrival day here is a day when guides reorganize and do maintenance on boats and etc. Therefore instead of being guided today the entire group sets off down the neighboring beaches.
We have a full moon coming this week. The tides will be large and the pushes strong. These tides can be excellent for fishing but the wind is not in our favor. Its not that the wind is blowing, in fact not much at all, but its been coming from the West for days and drove in an excessive amount of hot water pushing fish from the flats. The guides know where the coolest water exists and its not like we won’t find fish, but it won’t be the norm.
Our afternoon fishing around camp was a “work the kinks out” session. It’s always like that day 1. For me I’m out of practice. My last trip to the flats was Sudan back in March. I needed to regain my fish spotting skills and also get in the “groove” . My first few cast to fish were short or off line. All of us are also contending with jet lag and the affects of more than sixty hours of travel.
Overall there were a few fish caught but they consisted of small bluefin trevally. This little guy is gorgeous but I can promise you the blog will show some much larger as the week progresses.
Today was a long one. We had an early departure from Mahe, a flight, gear organizing, getting to know the guys on the trip and an exceptionally long walk. It’s time to call it. Fishing begins bright and early tomorrow. Stay tuned for what should be an inconceivable blog week. . . . !
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