Alphonse Island: A Tropical Fishing Paradise in the Seychelles - Pt II

The Seychelles is an archipelago located North of Madagascar, and it mainly consists of small coral islands, atolls and reefs. The Seychelles is known for its beautiful palm beaches, but it is also home to some of the best and most diverse tropical saltwater fly fishing in the world.

Text: RASMUS OVESEN Pictures: RASMUS OVESEN and MARTIN EJLER OLSEN

Continued from last issue…

IT’S WITH A SINKING HEART and a minimum of confidence that we begin our last day of fishing. Here, we focus on catching one of the gold bars of the flats – an Indo-pacific permit. These incredibly attractive and challenging fish often forage in the wake of big stingrays, which dig for crustaceans on the sand flats. And during the morning we’re fortunate enough to experience this phenomenon several times. I succeed in hooking one of these shrewd fish twice, and I’m connected with the latter for about 10 minutes before the fly suddenly – and without much cause or occasion – looses its hold. The disappointment is so intense that I feel like fainting.

When, later in the day, the tides have gradually dried up- and exposed many of the sandy flats, there are no more permit to be found, so we head for the outer reefs. Even though it’s still early in the season, and the sea is still relatively agitated, we can’t resist the temptation of locating a school of Alphonse Island’s mythical milkfish – a nervous species of fish that look like over-dimensioned mullets and fight harder and longer than any other fish. If we’re lucky, and the conditions are just right, it’s possible to trick these finicky, vegetarian fish into eating a fly.

On this particular day, we’re fortunate enough to find a big school of milkfish lazily cruising along a tidal seam that runs parallel to St. Francois western coral barrier. Our guide for the day, Wesley, shuts off the engine, jumps to the fore of the skiff with an oar, and gets us closer. Shortly after all hell breaks loose!

I PLACE A CAST well ahead of the school and keep good contact with the green algae fly as the school passes. Shortly after, I feel a subtle tug on the line, and as I lift the fly rod, the fly line immediately starts gushing through the guides of my 10-weight fly rod. The fly reel now pitches in with a tormented, flanging squeal as the reel spool spins out of control and raw amounts of fluorescent orange backing cuts through the water surface and disappears into the ocean.

Out of the corner of my eye - in a completely different direction than the one my backing has charted – I now see a giant, silvery fish in the vicinity of 50lbs thrusting itself meter-high out of the water with the flyline dragging behind. It’s as if it’s suspended mid-air unnaturally long, and it isn’t until it collides with the water again - making a huge crater in a wave trough – that I realize that it’s the actual fish I’ve hooked.

Several meter-high jumps later, and with a backlog of about 150 meters of backing, the pressure on the leader and the small hook become too great. The fly loses its grip in the fish’ soft mouth, and the battle is lost.

This scenario repeats itself an additional three times, and the toughest blow comes when, late in the afternoon, I loose the last milkfish of the day: a fish of a much more manageable size than the previous ones: One that I fight for a long time – long enough to actually start believing that I’ll be able to land it. When I loose this fish, nothing much is capable of consoling me. Not even the guide’s well-meaning statistic offering when he states that only one in 10 hooked milkfish are actually landed. Statistics don’t mean anything to a defeated and broken man!

NOW THAT THE DAY IS OVER, the flats skiff is anchored up, and we’re on board the catamaran slowly headed towards Alphonse Island, a burning sense of failure – of having missed out on a unique opportunity – rages relentlessly inside me.

And whilst my fingers minutely work their way across the keyboard as I write these passages – far away from the Seychelles in the cold North – the feeling comes to life again. But now it is diluted by the conciliatory bliss of time and distance - and of a deep-felt gratitude for having experienced such a heartbreakingly beautiful destination and such a unique and breathtakingly exciting fishery.

The challenge no longer consists in mending my wounds but finding a way to plan and finance another trip to Alphonse Island and the St. Francois Atoll. I’m yearning to get back there with all my heart and soul, and I’m confident that I will regain what was lost there!

FACT FILE Alphonse Island and the Seychelles

Alphonse Island is situated in the Indian Ocean some 400 kilometres southwest of Mahé, which is the main island in the Seychelles. The island, which comprises an area of a mere 171 ha, is the home of an exclusive resort with a pool area, outdoor bar, full gourmet catering, and an array of super-comfortable private villas along the palm-strewn waterfront. The resort caters up to 12 fortunate fly fishing guests – and in addition to being spoiled with service and cuisine in a league of its own, they are treated to some of the world’s best and most diverse tropical fishing.

It is possible to fish on your own along Alphonse Island’s flats with good results, but the guided fishing takes place around the St. Francois Atoll, which offers varied hunting grounds in the form of flats, coral reefs, tidal currents, and drop offs. You’re transported to St. Francois on a catamaran and will subsequently get on board one of the flats skiffs that are anchored up there. Once there, you’ll find massive schools of fully grown bonefish, plenty of Indo-Pacific permit, trigger fish (Yellowmargin, Moustache and Picasso), milkfish and giant trevally – in addition to snappers, bluefin trevally, brassy trevally, groupers, bonito, parrotfish, nurse sharks and much, much more.

FACT FILE - Alphonse Island and the Seychelles

A typical day at the St. Francois Atoll involves close combat encounters with triggerfish along the coral reefs, quality shots at golden permit and nervous milkfish on the flats in addition to chaotic intermezzos of foraging giant trevally that appear suddenly and unannounced along drop offs and reef formations. There are bonefish enough to keep one plentifully entertained from morning till evening, but most people target either giant trevally or permit. Or they’ll methodically sweep through promising areas, cover the water and cast at whatever presents itself – and that’s a lot!

If the impulse to go big game hunting should manifest itself, Alphonse Island also has the option of renting a charter boat. On it you can easily access deeper water and fish for sailfish, marlin, tuna, wahoo, giant trevally and much more. Especially the sailfishing is in a league of its own and the same is the wahoo- and tuna fishing. If you’re interested in booking a trip to Alphonse Island, or some of the other renowned Alphonse Fishing Co destinations in the Seychelles – including Cosmoledo and Astove, send an email to: reservations@alphonsefishingco.com

For further information, be sure to check out these links: http://www.alphonsefishingco.com http://www.seychelles.travel/

FACT FILE - Transport and logistics

The transportation to Alphonse Island is usually via Dubai to Mahé and Seychelles International Airport. Here, Emirates is an obvious choice, seeing as they have regular flights with appropriate arrival times in relation to the journey onwards: http://www.emirates.com/no/English/

Depending on your itinerary, you might experience a good deal of layover in Dubai International Airport, and it might therefore be a good idea to get some rest in the Dubai International Airport Hotel, which is conveniently located inside the departure terminal: https://www.dubaiintlhotels.com/

From the airport in Mahé you’ll continue your journey to Alphonse Island on a 1-hour IDC flight arranged by Alphonse Fishing Co. It departs from a hangar outside the International Airport, and getting there involves a five-minute taxi-ride.

FACT FILE - Gear and Equipment

As a life-insurance during the utter mayhem and chaos of a giant trevally outburst you’ll need a minimum of 300 meters of 80lb backing in combination with a specially designed fly line – such as Airflo’s 50lb core Ridge Tropical GT fly line. The fly line is then linked to the fly via a 2-meter long 90 – 110lbs fluorocarbon tippet. It may sound completely out of proportion, but it is all due to the fact that a giant trevally needs to be treated with extreme strictness and pressure during the fight. Otherwise, they will run off and you’ll risk getting spooled or being cut off on corals and other subaqueous structure.

The flies that are most commonly used at Alphonse Island are specifically designed and developed for the fishing here. Fulling Mill, in England, have launched a series of flies, which have been developed in close cooperation with the guides at Alphonse Island, and they can be found here: http://www.fullingmill.co.uk/

Alphonse Island’s bonefish aren’t particularly picky, and they can be caught on traditional bonefish flies like Crazy Charlie, Beck’s SiliLegs, Bonefish Bitter and Gotcha in sizes ranging from 10 - 4. The permit, however, is a chapter of their own. They’re typically caught on ultra-realistic crab- and shrimp imitations like the Alphonse Crab, Flexo Crab and Sand Prawn in sizes ranging from 2 - 8 fished on long (5m+) and thin (15 - 20lbs) leaders.

The Triggerfish are most effectively fished with smaller crab flies, which should be mounted with weed guards so they don’t snag on corals while retrieving them. And since triggerfish are capable of biting hooks clean over they should be tied on the strongest hooks available. The milkfish, which predominantly feed on algae and seaweeds, can be caught on pulsating lushgreen flies such as Wayne’s Milky Magic - and then there’s the giant trevally!

Giant trevally are fished with either NYAP poppers or gnarly streamers tied on the strongest possible 6/0 – 8/0 saltwater hooks. They should be bulky, pulsating and have big, staring eyes – and it’s an advantage if they’re made out of materials that don’t suck in too much water. Among the local favourites are the Brush Fly, GT Mullet, Bus Ticket and Serge’s Wrasse.

When it comes to wading equipment, clothing and such, you can pack like you normally would for similar tropical trips. Otherwise, Alphonse Fishing Company provides in-depth information about what to bring prior to the visit at Alphonse Island.