50 KG+ DOGTOOTH TUNA!

Weather conditions from the previous week continued with a steady south-easterly wind of roughly 15 to 20 knots. Neap tides early in the week shifted to full moon springs towards the end, which meant guests could enjoy more significant water movements and the opportunity to fish the lagoon.

Graham and Tarynne Tait travelled from South Africa to make the most of both the flats and offshore fishing. Graham bent into his first moustache trigger on the first morning, and a further trigger followed later in the week. The outside provided much of Graham’s fruits with two GTs bordering 80 cm. Tarynne, Graham’s partner, also came to the trigger party, banking two moustache triggerfish throughout the week. While Graham was bending into GTs, Tarynne was getting smoked! Twice, the creatures that lurk below-peeled line uncontrollably from the reel as they tore towards the reef. Once Tarynne was able to wrap the line and hold on, a 12kg bohar snapper was photographed and released. 

Barry De Lacy came to Astove with one goal in mind, to land his first permit, a feat that he had been trying to achieve since he started saltwater flyfishing many years ago. On his path to achieving this important goal, he picked up a big moustache trigger, a handful of large bones, and numerous other big and brightly coloured species. Barry’s second-from-last day was spent polling the lagoon with Kyle, and after several near misses, the many years of frustration came to an end as he held a 63 cm permit in his hands. A 65 cm GT followed, giving him the added bonus of a flats slams for the day. Now relaxed as the pressure was off, he spent the dying few hours of the week fishing on the outside; rounding off his achievements and fishing for the week, he bent into a 75cm GT and giant 80 cm bluefin. 

Barry’s boat partner for the week, Neil Harris, also took the opportunity to fish the lagoon and, like Barry, also proved to be successful in landing his first permit. Not to be outdone, Neil went on to land two more triggers, a moustache and then a considerable yellowmargin of 53 cm at Paulies. While Neil had some great catches throughout the week, a highlight was the colossal dogtooth tuna he pulled from the deep. At over 50 kg, it was one of the giant doggies we have seen here on the fly.

While the GT fishing this week was not easy, some great and memorable fish of other species were caught in good numbers.

Tight lines,
From Alphonse Fishing Co.