On the 1st I met Christian to hand him my boat keys so he could move it during my one week absence and learned that the previous day he had caught this splendid Yellowfin Tuna of 83kg trolling on 50lb gear. What a fish to start this edition with.

That absence was due to an Amirantes catamaran trip with German angler Volker, who had fished here on Praslin with Mervin for a few days nearly two years ago, his father Dieter and their friends Olaf, Paule and Ralf. On the afternoon of the 2nd we headed east to fish the first day on Owen Bank at the souheastern edge of the Mahe plateau. During the nightly crossing a real storm raged for 3hrs but by morning it had calmed with just a drizzle of rain clearing up along the day. We found the shallows and raised a few fish to the poppers but nothing really noteworthy with any GTs absent or uninterested. Jigging was sort of solid with a few Amberjacks and one or two smaller Doggies among the usual suspects. But all fish were rather unspectacular and thus not pictured as we expected much better jigging catches along the week. If only we had known … Mid afternoon we then set course to African Banks arriving before midnight for a much appreciated calm night. Short one though as by 6am we already were on top of a seamountain a few miles north. Five anglers did their first casts and 4 GTs were on. Couple more came on top but half hour later the activity was gone. Still not a bad start and no problem as there were Tuna in the 15-25kg range all around to cast at. Not sure how many were caught along the next couple of hours but probably around 20. Or so it felt as I was running around to release them. Also we found jigging fish on one side but sadly the Sharks also had found these so we did not get a single fish up from all the bites. Early afternoon we headed back to the bank for the night, popping along the reef and getting a couple more Geets. So a pretty nice day all in all. To arrive next morning on the seamount a half hour earlier was a good thing as this produced 10 GTs until the activity once more stalled at 6:30 sharp. Very strange. The Tuna fun and the jigging trouble also repeated until afternoon when we headed south to Remire. Moving along we jigged here and there but activity was pretty slow. A small GT, a better Barracuda plus few Bohars and Jobfish were caught while popping along a stretch of the Remire Reef early afternoon at low tide, and only a few more lackluster GTs were raised before dusk. Still no reason for disappointment by the end of that third day I think.

Next morning we found the GTs as passive as the previous evening with just a few more raises. Then the group had to decide if to head back north for the solid fishing, admittedly still without a trophy fish, or take the gamble of heading south. They opted for the latter so course was set towards d´Arroz & St. Joseph. A couple of trolled small lures provided entertainment along the way as the jigging again was a headache: few bites and the Sharks took nearly all the few fish hooked. Popping for a few hours again into dusk along our destination`s reefs also just raised a few rather bored GTs and by nightfall we were wondering what was wrong as the so far rather too calm and hot conditions had turned picture perfect with a slight breeze and some clouds at last. Next morning another popping spell went as quiet as before with the exception of the one and largest GT of the trip but else again just a few raises. Also the jigging remained the same rather dull and Shark hampered affair, but finding Tuna again was of course nice. Everyone got a fair share on poppers and on top Volker caught that massive Rainbow Runner which is probably the biggest I have ever seen.  So again we worked further south towards Poivre. Jigging remained the same trouble with the odd catch but trolling in between was entertaining with a released Sailfish and two Marlin encounters. Popping along Poivre then did not raise a single GT but instead produced a few other nice fish like that Grouper and the really fat Barracuda. Again a decision had to be made and it fell to cross back towards the south Mahe plateau along the night for hopefully some good jigging along the last day. But this gamble again went rather bad as the bite there was even slower than in the Amirantes. Only rather late on one spot we found active and big Jobfish and two GTs among them. The larger of the two was good size again marking a reasonable final catch of this trip. So while catches did not fully meet expectations, the boat, crew, food and except for that very hot calm also the weather were all fantastic. Or as Volker resumed on spot: everything that can be planned was perfect but the quality of the bite is beyond any planning. 

Think the pictures that only show a small part of the catches give an impression that it really was not all that bad. As Dieter told me it had still been a lot better than most of their previous half dozen trips to the Maldives. That the three most ambitious and thus also for a while most disappointed anglers are currently looking into a weeks fishing out of Praslin next year and the whole group into another such cat trip the year after might also speak for itself. As we anglers are, the dull spells´ memories usually fade and the good moments stand out. Definitely we had several of these also, considering the pretty good first two days and also the Marlin encounters. The first had grabbed a tiny Ilander lure on 80lb leader and 30lb gear but dropped the hook right after the grab. The second was much more spectacular. I think it was Ralf reeling in a small Bonito on the same rig and asked if we should not let it swim to see what happens. I explained that it will die within minutes and then only skid, so one would have to bring it in short as to flap around the surface. Positioned it to show him and while explaining how it would need to be rigged as the small hook it took would probably not grab any larger predator eating it, the water exploded. Incredibly the line kept peeling off and a not so small Black Marlin I estimated around 90kg leaped about. Tried to calm the euphoria a bit pointing to the small chance the tiny leader would hold the bill`s rubbing, but they had fun for two hours with the fish jumping every thirty minutes or so until the inevitable happened. Still the whole thing was pretty cool.

Naturally we had been wondering what the fishing and especially the jigging might have been like along the northern and eastern Drop Off. That was answered instantly as soon as we reached the network by a message from Brandon who had been fishing the previous two days and sent these pics.

So that looked solid. Later back on Praslin I learned from Mervin that actually things had been a bit erratic. Not just concerning the jigging, but also the cooperation by the Tuna that were all around. While chasing the poppers as we like it at times, at others they just ignored any offer no matter what size or shape or colour. Also the jigging bite shut off or came back suddenly after some hours. Still lots of decent fish caught of course.

Else Sandro had another Marlin and complained about a day with 9 or 10 GTs raised but none caught due to coral cut offs, straigthened hooks and broken lines and the Sharks ripping hooked fish. He also fished a lot with a group the requested strictly no fotos and info going out with a view to their own marketing purposes. Meanwhile Greg & Andre mixed their usual inshore light tackle and fly charters with some trolling trips. Sailfish turned up every so often and Wahoos came at wish. They fished with a group from Czechia for a week doing bits of jigging but mainly trolling and got 45 in 5 days fishing. Have a look at a bunch of those plus a selection of their other catches along the different disciplines of light spinning and fly fishing.

Then it was Mervin again, fishing with an annual regular guest. It was the usual mix of jigging and also popping with good results once more. That Marlin on popper sadly came dead to the boat.

On the 21st I went with him and Tyler from Alaska. The very nice chap had a most interesting vita to tell about, skippering whale watching over there but also doing kayak guiding in the Antarctic and lots of other things far off the usual tracks. Having worked on Tuna sportfishing boats in California and fished a lot elsewhere, somehow a Wahoo so far had always eluded him so getting one was his wish. That should be properly sorted now as he got 9 or 10 in just a half day. But as you`ve seen plenty of those already in this edition I rather present his very first Sailfish he got on top

Now his mind is circling around a taste of our jigging and popping and he is chewing a bit on the fact that he is not exactly living around the corner. But considering his frequent equator crossings I´d be surprised if he would not pop up here again some point. Also that day Andre & Greg managed this proper GT for their guest.

Right after that Mervin started to fish for a week with Czech repeaters Tomas and Zdenek from the FishMachine/Sportex team accompanied by three new faces Lukas, Michal and Radek tapping into their first tropical saltwater experience. They went through all the different styles you can fish here and had dreams fulfilled with big Doggies and that coincidental huge Shark Mervin estimated at around 200kg. Loads of other fish came on top, so despite a somewhat unsteady jigging bite and the Tuna having been mostly uncooperative as far as casted lures were concerned, they had a great time. As always it could have still been better but the guys were still totally happy with their week. Thus I think chances are pretty good we see them back here, which will be a pleasure as they are so much fun to have around. 

Last few days the weather was still nice as it had been all along the month but first bits of now much needed bit of rain came. Forecasts predict the so far shifty wind will settle in from west and gradually turn on along the coming days, which should mean more rain and not so reliable fishing weather any more, but we will see what really happens.

It was not the greatest of all Octobers here though this was not due to unfriendly weather. Was still somewhat rough along the first week though so hardly any fishing done except for a Marlin caught by Sandro on Frenzy and a very big one lost by Brandon on Unreel as the kid fishing couldn`t handle it. Mervin had been in the Amirantes on a cat and said conditions had been really bad. A return a day early speaks for itself. But then it got calm and pleasant and a Drop Off trip on the 9th for German Big Game novices Heiko and Annett form Germany with Brandon on Unreel was pretty cool. We started very slow with no knock along nearly 3hrs of trolling and just a few average fish jigging for an hour. But then a bit outside the Drop and trolling again it looked like waves breaking on a reef for a long stretch far away. Impossible on several hundred meters of depth and indeed we found the Tuna boiling all over the place. It was massive action, see the little video clip here. As they were feeding on just finger size baifish it was not easy to hook them on trolling lures but we got six on along the hours of which three came same time. Nice bit of mess and we all had to help as these fish, all just under 40kg (weighed later), gave the beginners hell.

It was simply fascinating to see these massive torpedos bolting out of water left, right and center ever again. As soon as the boil stopped it came up a few hundred meters away once more. Much bigger ones among them and eventually we hooked one of those. After a long fight it sadly came away right at the boat as the leader already held popped. Still it was a fantastic experience for the fishing couple who also got to see Dolphins, Manta Rays and even Whales. See a few more pictures.

So that was very nice water time also for me as my own fishing or rather my boat is still jinxed. Twice I went out and twice I had to limp back. First trip the connection between steering cylinder and starboard engine disassembled. Got the mechanic to fix that and also put two spare parts that were needed for a while and had arrived. So two days later I went again and suddenly found the port engine not starting any more after it had worked fine on several restarts resetting the GT popping drift. So took course home and trying along the way, the thing came on or not without any logic in it. Could be right away, after 5mins or half an hour as it turned out when I tested along the following hours jigging some kitchen fish around the corner where there was enough traffic to tow me home just in case. Tested the engine on the mooring the following days switching on and off about a dozen times each day in quick or slow succession and it came on normally every time. So an unconsistent and untrackable problem so far. Did another test at sea on the 29th and all worked fine until exactly when I was playing a Sailfish that took the one lure trolled. You can just see it leaping in the background.

About 10mins into the fight and briefly before the fish threw the hook, the engine cut out, the problem was back, and persisted all day again without any logic in it. Came on eventually but unpredictably. Seemed prudent to go back home with a view to the also not reliable steering but so close to the jigging spots I wanted to have a go. Jigging was rather slow with just a few small Groupers and two quality fish dropping the hook until at last this decent Yellowspotted Trevally came up.

A little later a fish taking near the bottom bolted upwards and leaped around. Never thought I would get that Sail on the tiny 40lb leader especially all alone on the boat. But it just held and after the quick pic the fish was released safely. So a bit of consolation at least but the boat is driving me mad. 

Meantime or actually since mid of the month the weather had turned really calm and mostly sunny. So very pleasant to fish except for the heat but there were shockingly few charters. Sandro I think went once for Drop Off jigging that produced the usual suspects. Nothing heard from Brandon at all, and the boats mainly living from excursions and fishing occasionally also had only a handful of the usual trolling trips. The clearest indication how bad it is provides Mervin though. While normally fully booked in October, he had a single charter all month. That was a GT popping trip with Ryan and his wife. High activity with about a dozen Geets raised but they would hardly ever strike properly. The single big one Ryan`s wife hooked but she got reefed. He had to make do with this rather juvenile one and on top came a Tuna that probably wanted to test GT life. That was unwise and ended in the fish box.

So why were there next to no charters? The usually at this time very present Israelis are missing for obvious reasons for a start. Russians and Ukrainians alike. Still generally no lack of European tourists here but they are hardly willing to spend the kind of money. No surprise to me following the development, economic downturn and uncertainty in our other core markets. What feeds my theory: really busy were Andre and Greg on their new boat TopWater which turned out very nice.

Their advantage these days seems to be that they offer fishing at a minimum of 3 hrs for which the guests get away at I think 375€. This range looks to be money people are still willing to spend as they have been fishing nearly every day since the boat got operational mid month. Am really glad to see them doing that well after all the delays and unfortunate events in the process of rebuilding that boat to their needs. And the results were coming nicely on top as far as catches are concerned. Their very first trip went in great style with a Sailfish and a Wahoo both over 30kg.

And it continued nicely with solid trolling catches along the days. Wahoos came plenty, and a few more Sails on top. With Tuna and Dorados also around, they managed a Super Grand Slam on just a few hours. Where else in the world do you have a realistic chance of getting that? Below is a selection of other catches they made along these days.

Last week then the La Digue Tournament took place for the second time again after the CoVid break of I think 3 years. Again only 10 boats registered which has become a standard after the change of fishing time roughly 10 years back from the usual 12hrs to 36hrs. In those days there used to be between 30 and 40 boats participating but the change pushed out the not-so-rich guys and the smaller boats: just too expensive and too tough. One also needs to consider that with preparations and the price giving it means 4 days altogether that the charter boats do not work to make money on top of the heavy expenses. So generally attention for this so established and appreciated event has dwindled badly. Just enlarge the following pic and take a look at the “crowd”. In the good old times the whole jetty on the right was packed to the edges with people watching so one could hardly move. Easily 2000 people then, but now …

Good news is that the Seychelles Sports Fishing Club looks to have reached a state of acknowledging that certain things need to change to get at least a noteworthy part of the local sportsfishing community involved again, as a surprisingly fruitful chat with the new Chairman I had while we waited for the boats to return indicated. Eventually it was only 8 boats weighing in as one of the 10 registered did not go and another was disqualified returning late due to engine problems. I was only able to see half the weigh-in as I had to catch the last ferry back to Praslin at 5pm. Until then the most spectacular fish I saw was this massive Ruby Snapper of 21kg.

Biggest Doggie was over 30kg so not so big and same applies to the Yellowfin. Mervin fishing with the Lady C team from La Digue brought in half a dozen all around 35kg.

They came very close second place overall btw beaten for top spot by next to nothing by team Rig Runners. Else Martin on his Albermarle shone with the only Marlin of the tournament and two Sails on top to take all the Billfish categories. Interesting also: three boats managed to catch 16 species of the eligible 23 and one got 17. Effectively it were more species as most Groupers apart from two kinds make one category, and of the Trevallies all the different ones are being counted in just one category.Good indication of how versatile one needs to be on the fishing methods to get that many different pelagic, demersal and semi-demersal fish. To round this edition off nicely here two decents GT and another Tuna all from the same popping spot this morning by Andre & Greg`s guest. Great job again.

A little later a fish taking near the bottom bolted So the quality of the fishing here was very good and as it should be at this time of the year. Hopefully the anglers will return soon and in good numbers to enjoy it all.

For the preceeding reports check the archive.