Here is probably my most memorable fish.... for a couple reasons...
We all have our dream fishing destinations right? Those faraway places you see in magazines, or see pictures of and one day dream of going.... I've been very lucky in that I have fished some really amazing places.... 5 Years spent in the caribbean meant 5 years of fishing everyday in paradise for Tarpon, Bonefish, Snook, Snapper, Tuna, Wahoo etc.... Then on to Canada where I fished those dream BC rivers.... Back home growing up was a blast with my Dad being a crazy fisherman too, so all holidays were spent at the water with rod in hand.... Some great fish and fishing in the Transkei, The Berg, Zululand Coast, the Zambesi, Mozambique...... Lots of dream destinations...
But through all this, the Seychelles has always been that one destination that I saw as being above all else.
Life moved on, I came back from the Caribbean/Canada, got back into the working life and while those dreams of Seychelles were still in place, well they seemed less and less possible.
But it happened in April 2005. My Dad, and best fishing partner, decided ( with alot of pushing from Mom ) that we should just bloody well do it!! Yes, its gonna break the bank wide open, but when would we ever have the chance again???
Fly Cataways had a late cancellation on their "Paydirt" Trip, and my old man made the call at the right time and Gerhard of Castawyas said he had a spot for us...
The trip was 10 days, fishing both Cosmoledo and Farquhar, based on board a mothership, the Indian Ocean Explorer......
Mad frantic flytying and tackle buying ensued and before I knew it, we were there..... Now we were the only two okes on board who weren't from Joburg, and the other guys had booked months in advance, so they had had lots of prep time, and meetings and what not to let them know what to expect.... Either way, nothing can prepare you for Cosmo......NOTHING! No pictures, no story, no video, no dreams..... Its impossible to prepare yourself for this place!!
I could go on forever, but I'll get to the fish.
Its was day 3 I believe, our second last on Cosmo before a 36 hour sail to Farquhar.. One of the rubber duck tenders had just picked up our group of 6 anglers and Arno Mathee who was guiding us that morning, while Gerhard was with the other group.... We had been fishing all morning on the flats, getting into hundreds of bonefish, GT's, snapper, Bluefin Trevally, Triggers etc etc etc.... But the tide was coming in like a river now, so we were on our way back to the Mothership ( when the tide ocmes in on these Atolls, its like a dam wall just collapsed! Its MOVES!!! )
As we were exiting the Atoll through one of the many channles between the myriad of little islets, Arno suggested we stop off on one and see what fish wer coming in through the channels with the incoming tide..... Smart man is that Arno!
We pulled the boat up to the side of an isletc about 60 metres by 25 metres in size and 6 tired anglers treked over to the other side wher there was a ledge sitting about half a metre under water and running about 40 metres out at an angle from the island.....
Even after 3 insane days of mind blowing fishing, nothing prepared us for what we saw.... Sitting on this ledge, not 5 metres from us, in water barely covering their backs, was a shoal of GT's, at least 30 fish, facing the incoming current waiting to see what would come their way. Now just cause they were in a shoal, doesn't mean they were "schoolies" some of these fish were in the 70 to 80 pound class!!
All hell broke loose as 6 anglers tried to get lines in the water!!! Of course with buck fever, pretty much all of us cocked up!! I remeber Arno shouting "For f@*k sakes okes, forget casting, just put your fly in the water!!!" When these Kingies are schooled up, they will compete for an eat everything and anything!
I swung my fly out made one false cast, getting the fly out no more than 4 metres and before I could strip I was in...The fish nearly pulled me off the rocky crag I was standing on as my drag was locked as tight as it could be ( you have to fish like this in Cosmo, or you just loose lines and fish )... A 4 seconds later the line went slack.... Curses filled the air but before I could even think about stripping in again, the bloody fish turned around and nailed the fly again!!!!
This time I made sure of the hookset!!!
The rest of the fight was a blur of power and speed...something difficult to put into words.... But after about 10 minutes, and me now standing in water waist deep, Arno wrapped a gloved hand around my prize.... Without a doubt the finest fish I have ever had the priveledge of landing....
Pic by Dad
Pic by Arno Mathee
What made this fish the most memorable, was that it was my dream fish, in my dream destination. But mostly it was that my old man was right there at my side, beaming and laughing like the proud and amazing father he is, who without, I would never have been here... Thanks Dad.
Dad's dream was always a big GT too, and he nailed his fair share! My proudest moment, was on our last day, last session, and basically last cast, he nailed a bus GT, which I tailed for him and shot this pic.
A fitting end to the finest trip either of us could have dreamed of..... Thanks Dad!
We all have our dream fishing destinations right? Those faraway places you see in magazines, or see pictures of and one day dream of going.... I've been very lucky in that I have fished some really amazing places.... 5 Years spent in the caribbean meant 5 years of fishing everyday in paradise for Tarpon, Bonefish, Snook, Snapper, Tuna, Wahoo etc.... Then on to Canada where I fished those dream BC rivers.... Back home growing up was a blast with my Dad being a crazy fisherman too, so all holidays were spent at the water with rod in hand.... Some great fish and fishing in the Transkei, The Berg, Zululand Coast, the Zambesi, Mozambique...... Lots of dream destinations...
But through all this, the Seychelles has always been that one destination that I saw as being above all else.
Life moved on, I came back from the Caribbean/Canada, got back into the working life and while those dreams of Seychelles were still in place, well they seemed less and less possible.
But it happened in April 2005. My Dad, and best fishing partner, decided ( with alot of pushing from Mom ) that we should just bloody well do it!! Yes, its gonna break the bank wide open, but when would we ever have the chance again???
Fly Cataways had a late cancellation on their "Paydirt" Trip, and my old man made the call at the right time and Gerhard of Castawyas said he had a spot for us...
The trip was 10 days, fishing both Cosmoledo and Farquhar, based on board a mothership, the Indian Ocean Explorer......
Mad frantic flytying and tackle buying ensued and before I knew it, we were there..... Now we were the only two okes on board who weren't from Joburg, and the other guys had booked months in advance, so they had had lots of prep time, and meetings and what not to let them know what to expect.... Either way, nothing can prepare you for Cosmo......NOTHING! No pictures, no story, no video, no dreams..... Its impossible to prepare yourself for this place!!
I could go on forever, but I'll get to the fish.
Its was day 3 I believe, our second last on Cosmo before a 36 hour sail to Farquhar.. One of the rubber duck tenders had just picked up our group of 6 anglers and Arno Mathee who was guiding us that morning, while Gerhard was with the other group.... We had been fishing all morning on the flats, getting into hundreds of bonefish, GT's, snapper, Bluefin Trevally, Triggers etc etc etc.... But the tide was coming in like a river now, so we were on our way back to the Mothership ( when the tide ocmes in on these Atolls, its like a dam wall just collapsed! Its MOVES!!! )
As we were exiting the Atoll through one of the many channles between the myriad of little islets, Arno suggested we stop off on one and see what fish wer coming in through the channels with the incoming tide..... Smart man is that Arno!
We pulled the boat up to the side of an isletc about 60 metres by 25 metres in size and 6 tired anglers treked over to the other side wher there was a ledge sitting about half a metre under water and running about 40 metres out at an angle from the island.....
Even after 3 insane days of mind blowing fishing, nothing prepared us for what we saw.... Sitting on this ledge, not 5 metres from us, in water barely covering their backs, was a shoal of GT's, at least 30 fish, facing the incoming current waiting to see what would come their way. Now just cause they were in a shoal, doesn't mean they were "schoolies" some of these fish were in the 70 to 80 pound class!!
All hell broke loose as 6 anglers tried to get lines in the water!!! Of course with buck fever, pretty much all of us cocked up!! I remeber Arno shouting "For f@*k sakes okes, forget casting, just put your fly in the water!!!" When these Kingies are schooled up, they will compete for an eat everything and anything!
I swung my fly out made one false cast, getting the fly out no more than 4 metres and before I could strip I was in...The fish nearly pulled me off the rocky crag I was standing on as my drag was locked as tight as it could be ( you have to fish like this in Cosmo, or you just loose lines and fish )... A 4 seconds later the line went slack.... Curses filled the air but before I could even think about stripping in again, the bloody fish turned around and nailed the fly again!!!!
This time I made sure of the hookset!!!
The rest of the fight was a blur of power and speed...something difficult to put into words.... But after about 10 minutes, and me now standing in water waist deep, Arno wrapped a gloved hand around my prize.... Without a doubt the finest fish I have ever had the priveledge of landing....
Pic by Dad
Pic by Arno Mathee
What made this fish the most memorable, was that it was my dream fish, in my dream destination. But mostly it was that my old man was right there at my side, beaming and laughing like the proud and amazing father he is, who without, I would never have been here... Thanks Dad.
Dad's dream was always a big GT too, and he nailed his fair share! My proudest moment, was on our last day, last session, and basically last cast, he nailed a bus GT, which I tailed for him and shot this pic.
A fitting end to the finest trip either of us could have dreamed of..... Thanks Dad!
