Fishing only got lively here only along the second half of the month but right on the 2nd there was something to be happy about: the very first charter since March. Subsequently motivated to the toenails skipper Sandro, crew Anil and I headed out on Frenzy with Austrian guests Robert, Romana and their son Timo for a day`s trolling and lighter jigging on the plateau. Even Mervin did not want to miss out on the occasion so amassed fishing competence on board. Of course weather and the fish need to be cooperative, too, but sadly they were not. The bite was shockingly slow along some 3hrs of trolling and Timo`s insides soon battling with the choppy sea. Still he managed to bring in the only reasonable fish in the shape of this Wahoo.

Jigging went much better but the rolling boat made things worse for poor Timo and eventually also Robert so it was rather short lived. Still long enough for both to next to some smaller fish each enjoy a proper catch in the shape of an Emperor Snapper and a Whiteblotched Grouper. Returning to trolling settled the respective stomachs a bit and the bite improved a little. But the fish remained somewhat hesitating so apart from a few knocks and Bonitos plus a big one gone missing after a long run only a small Tuna got stuck. The wind kept picking up bringing rain on top so eventually we set course back to shore about 2hrs earlier than planned.

Of course we had wished for something very different in all aspects especially after the long Corona standstill but what can you do?

On the 14th I fetched the boat home from Baie St. Anne and popped at a few spots along the way. The desired GT only showed once though to right at the boat steal one of the small Doggies following every so often that had managed to grab the much too big stickbait. So the only catch of the day way this admittedly quite large Yellowspotted Trevally.

To bring the boat home turned out a mistake as at times quite strong northerly winds came up and on top the southgoing undercurrent called Rad Mare. Especially the latter brought ever larger breakers to the shore here and It did not feel good seeing the boat rock hard on the ropes. Nearly seemed the rest of the month would be a writeoff as far as fishing is concerned but then things took a good turn. Slowly at first along a trip to the Drop Of on the 16th with Swiss guest Noel again on Frenzy with Sandro and also Mervin. So after more than half a year we were out there again red hot for some quality fishing. But disappointingly it was a tough time in rather green water and an extremely strong current. The Tuna were not to be convinced or even just seen as all of the many bird flocks approached for casting were unproductive. The usual resort of jigging turned out slow also with just a handful of smaller Amberjacks and some other unspectacular fish showing a bit of an appetite.

Right after this though things improved massively out there. Sandro hat two Italien guests for a few days fishing and right after the first trip on the 19th it was not long faces but rather long arms. Jigging suddenly worked nicely and also popping produced loads of fish. The Tuna still did not show but a bunch of Dorados sticking around for a while, some Wahoos and a sweet minute Sailfish provided for entertaining topwater casting. Just click through the album.

On the 20th Noel did another half day. This time GT popping with Mervin on Divinity. Activity was really good but it was maximal misfortune for the really nice chap who on top of all even handed out half a backpack of finest Swiss chocolate to us. Of the 7 raised good size Geets 3 hooked up. Two of those got rid of the lure within seconds and the third managed this right at the boat. Standing vertically in the water shaking the head fiercely like a Pike. Very unusual as these fish tend to be calm once they are up. When this happened it was already held by the leader so according to IGFA rules this was a catch & release but I am sure Noel would have loved to briefly hug that quality fish of around 35kg. Only visitors onboard were eventually this baby GT and a Shark.

You can watch a short sequence of the departing GT at the beginning of this month`s video clip here. Meanwhile Sandro and his Italians were at the Drop again and enjoyed a great day. The Tuna at last showed while still being skittish but they got one casting. Jigging was first class with a stunning 16 Dogtooth Tuna among the usual suspects.

Another two days later the Doggies were a no-show but due to 14 double digit Amberjacks of up to 25kg next to the common catches and two Yellowfin Tuna plus another Sailfish casting they were not missed all that much.

For the 23rd I had planned to go west on the boat for an introduction into popping and some fly fishing with Julian who along his periodic business visits as usually squeezed in a bit of time to fish together. Unfortunately though the boat had not taken the mentioned week long torture too well. I suspect the starting motor of the starboard engine did not survive. Thus just on the other engine we only played around a bit along Praslin´s coast on the way to Baie St. Anne and the mechanic again. Frustrating in every way but at least the dredging with overweighed flies produced some catches in the shape of Jobfish, Bigeye and Bluefin Trevallies and this Grouper.

Not a big fish but still special as it was the first time I got to see the baby version of the species that can reach more than 2 meters and several hundred kilos if I am not mistaken. Nothing at all was interested in our topwater lures but the quality of recent Drop Off fishing triggered usually fly-only angler Julian`s interest. So still on the water I organized for a trip with Mervin the following day and the next morning in perfect conditions the three of us along with Julians collegue Francesca and mate Steven sped the 30 nautical miles to the edge. Jigging worked instantly with not huge but reasonable fish in god frequency and the Tuna surfaced every so often. Along the hours before noon they were difficult diving deep upon approach but before and after we got close and enjoyed lots of that long missed spectacular action.

In between jigging continued to produce and eventually the tally was 11 Tuna casting plus at least 15 Amberjacks and uncounted other fish jigging. Very nice of Julian to let me fish with him and despite the video cam remaining my priority catching a few decent ones was of course added fun.

I feel blessed to have experienced several special things on the fishing side along my years here but the end of the day brought a one in a million incident. While fighting one of the Tuna Mervin thought something was about to eat it but eventually we realized he actually had two on. How could this happen and how did it turn out? Just watch in the video. Those 10mins with several live strikes and airborne Tuna should be worth watching. Was simply a great day. Not just for us though as we learned back on Praslin. Sandro and his Italian anglers meantime had been popping for GTs on the plateau with great success. Next to a massive Bluefin Trevally they got two above average Geets and a Jobfish for dinner came on top.

Sadly the smaller GT despite all efforts did not survive and was later weighed at 32kg. Thus the larger one should have been a +40kg. Simply first class fishing. The 26th was the last day for Sandro`s Italians and they wanted to take it easy. The Tuna were cooperative again but after four of those the anglers asked for some relaxed jigging. The fish had other plans though still feeding aggressively so catches came plentiful and in great variety once more.

Thanks to those charters this second half of November at last was a bit like things should be here and I think we all enjoyed it utmost. Just can`t stop feeling sorry for Noel who will hopefully return one day to be luckier than this time. Remains to be seen what is going to happen now. Not much I suspect as along the month entry rules for visitors from most core markets have been tightened again with a view to rocketing CoVid infection numbers there. Accordingly and as about always along the last half year: stay well all and take good care of yourselves.

For the preceeding reports check the archive.