Tricky unseasonably wet and windy conditions have lingered due to a massive tropical depression off the coast of Madagascar. Regardless, St. Francois flats continued to yield good numbers of bonefish with a trophy-size of 70cm landed by Trevor Skinner who also landed the notoriously moody Yellow Margin Triggerfish after a battle that included a swimming guide.

The Alphonse Invitational is a celebration of fly fishing that happens for one week of every season. This week saw the 3rd annual running of this event and it was bigger than ever. 18 lucky anglers were invited to take part and with a number of ex-professional sportsmen in the group as always the fishing was highly competitive.

The wind shifted strongly this week to north-east along with neap tides that brought a variety of rare occurrences and catches. Lingering marine debris, FADS and Portuguese Man o’ War fish were all part of the excitement but most notably, dorado were caught in good numbers.

Strong winds and heavy seas paired with an all-day falling spring tide made for some challenging conditions at times out on the flats. The sun did shine and there were plenty of fish about with schools of bonefish making it fairy easy to catch 20 or more in a day.

Christmas week saw spring tides turn into neaps opening up new opportunities that would allow the team of anglers to focus mostly on the inside of the lagoon and its vast white flats. Despite the occasional passing showers, the weather was calm and sunny with anglers taking full advantage of the relatively static water movement to target an impressive array of numbers and species alike. The island buzzed with families, couples and singles all wearing the Christmas spirit. Excitement came to a head when Father Christmas arrived by skiff to make sure that every one received the gifts they so rightly deserved.

The new moon falling in the middle of the week brought on significant tidal movements with a flooding incoming tide. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate with strong winds, rain and low light overshadowing this great tide cycle which made for a challenging week of fishing.

The last week of the season out at Cosmoledo was coupled by a full neap tide, ensuring guides and guests alike could access almost-every inch of the atoll in search of the diverse species Cosmo has on offer. The GT’s were around in true Cosmo fashion and although the beginning of the week fished a little better than the end, the team succeeded in landing a respectable 71 GT’s between five anglers.

Calm conditions and clear skies welcomed the first guests of the 2017/2018 Astove Atoll fishing season. All parties were itching with anticipation as to what the atoll had to offer and she did not disappoint.
 
The first day on the flats kicked the season off with a bang and six happy anglers returned to the lodge with 16 GT's and one triggerfish. Teddy Coulter catching the pick of the GT’s with a 104cm fish from the cliffs. Connor Killeen brought the luck of the Irish as nine fish were landed to their boat, including a 94cm GT that ate Tom Borman’s rainbow runner. Instantly the four-piece rod turned to six, but Tom was able to bring the fish onboard. Stephen and Mark Priestley, walked the eastern side of the atoll and celebrated Mark’s first moustache triggerfish and Stevens first few GT’s.