The tail end of a cyclone has kept a strong North-Westerly blowing and over the change over day it had picked up to 25 knots with some heavy cloud cover. The weather conditions meant that the new guest’s arrival was delayed by two days while the IDC charter pilots waited for a gap to fly into Astove. Finally the day arrived and after a swift transition we had our new anglers on board ‘Lone Star’. Despite the weather and delays the new guests remained positive and excited for an intense albeit shorter week of GT fishing.
 

This week’s group of anglers were hosted by Tidehead FlyFishing, a husband and wife team from Idaho that have guided both Idaho and the Florida keys for the last 20 years. Sue Novik invited a group of guys who travelled all the way form various corners of the United States. Unfortunately there was a weather system that caused the incoming flight to be delayed by a day which meant the guide team had some time to make up. The first half of the week was challenging, with some inclement weather making fishing a little tough.
 

Cosmoledo certainly stood up to it’s reputation as being the GT capital of the world with 150 GT’s landed by 8 anglers in 6 days with biggest fish measuring 120cm.

Another week just ended at La Villa de Estancia Maria Behety. On the second day of the week the river got high and muddy, and the fishing turned slower. We had only one day of clear water this week - Sunday. 41 fish were landed with 20 fish over 15 pounds, 3 over 20 pounds and average weight of 12.2 pounds – another great average.

Great weather and big spring tides often bode well for some exciting surf walks along “The Wall’s” drop-off. There is nothing more exhilarating than standing on a crystal clear edge that falls to over a thousand meters while anticipating the pushing tide and whatever could follow the flood. The sensation of cooler water around your bootlaces means it’s about to begin and the predators are judging the depth before they pop onto the flats to and patrol for their next meal.

The promise of good weather was music to everyone’s ears as the large cyclone that had been moving close to Madagascar began to dissipate resulting in clear blue skies. The tides were ideal with a spring tide drop in the morning, which triggered some great bonefish sessions. As the week progressed the tide slowly moved into a neap cycle enabling the anglers to fish the finger flats that span the width of the atoll for numerous fish including the highly sought after triggerfish and GT’s.

After a three-month break it was time for the exciting second part of the 2016 - 2017 season. Axel Wimmer and his guest Henk Andersson who exclusively takes the lodge to enjoy the solitude and privacy that Astove has to offer. There is something about Astove that breeds intense anticipation and when shared with a sense of being in a true untouched wilderness it is a recipe for a remarkable fishing experience.

End of the week of February 25 – March 04, 2017 here at Estancia Maria Behety. Fishing was not easy for us, as unstable weather and mostly east wind and rain. All the guests worked very hard to catch fish. The river is dropping a little every day and clearing up, with good water visibility.