DIY Farquhar: African Flyfishing Mag

Fun in far flung Farquhar. Do note that page 2 should be page 3 and visa versa. Blame the editors!
DIY Farquhar

Rather go kiteboarding!

Its been damn windy lately - its 11pm now and the live wind report says its dropped to 20knts but the rattling windows makes me think its pushing 30 - and I honestly don't think I've seen the sun in three weeks. If the temperature didn't continue to hang out at 27degrees all day and night I'd honestly think I was stuck in some far flung latitude. But its not: its 4degrees and 20minutes South of the Equator. And you thought paradise was perfect all the time!

Needless to say, the shite weather, an impending lack of transport and my fast arriving departure have got me a little on edge when it comes to fishing time. They say that a man only truly worries about what he is leaving behind when his final days are near. I always figured that was all about death and legacy. I now think it's all about no longer living down the road from a Bonefish flat. I'm running out of fishing time and getting rather edgy!

So, amongst packing up two years of rubbish and fishing gear I've been doing my best to get down to the flats whenever possible. It has not been easy fishing but its been awesome. The fish are scarce but my spotting is great and I haven't ever been this good at casting into the wind!   :)

Liam Surridge, a fishing mate living in the land down under, is out for a few days of fishing before hitting an Inner Island Yacht cruise. (Read bounce in a washing machine rather than cruise!) Well, it was with wild tales of Exmouth Madness that he stepped straight into the howling South Easter. I really don't blame him for going kite boarding instead.

We have managed to get some fishing in at the protected beaches which lie in the lee of the islands. The flats are unfortunately all rather exposed to the devil wind so any 'easier' fishing is done in deeper bays and off the beaches. We've caught a few of the usual suspects but the fishing is most certainly of a "you should have here last month' quality.

I think I should have started kiteboarding!

You think its going to blow this weekend? And clouds? Wait, and throw in some rain for fun!

Flutefish. Funny looking bugger!

At least there has been some bending over of rods!

Windy, no sun; school of hard knocks!

Not a bad choice!

Dinky Bonefish

The other day I caught a Bonefish. It was really small. Maybe the smallest ever! And cute. And I really wanted to call him Stan, take him home, build a big tank and put him in.

But I released him instead...

Fishing the PigSty

Finding a new spot is always fun.

At this time of year the SE pumps daily, often hitting 18 or so knots. It humps straight across the majority of the flats on Mahe and Praslin. In fact, a strong SE will cause a great deal of frustration and anguish as casts are blown awry and vision is all but destroyed by waves and clouds.

It makes for tough fishing and generally sees one on the flats at day break (when the wind is only marginally lighter) or not at all!

This is why our new find is rather unique (and makes us happy). It’s a kind of man-made backwater. We’ve driven past it countless times when heading north in search of fish and waves! It’s the sort of spot written off without a consideration.

I’m not sure what made us stop. We had been chasing Goldens and Permit all morning and were ready for eggs and bacon. It may have just been the smooth silky water of a protected section of water. The enticing allure of not having to squint through chop glare and the idea of casting without having to make trigonometry calculations in order to land your fly in the zone.

Another day, another place, but somehow wildly appropriate (maybe you had to be there) as JD waits for Fabien , wanting nothing but eggs and 'bekin'!

But we did. And there lay two bonefish on the edge of the channel. And they were big. Surprisingly big.  What was left of the fishable tide was spent watching and casting. Although nothing came to hand, we saw several large fish, including a few Goldens, cruising the deep water of the channel.

The next morning found us chasing Goldens again on a vast grass flat further South. But as the wind knotted up we were back in the Blue Bomber and heading North to the new spot a little later.

JD walked the flat and Fab and I spotted from the man-made wall. It felt like spotting trout or yellows from a dam wall. It gave us an awesome view point but I soon realised we were spooking fish by being so high up. Our sandy and sky coloured shirts, which work such a treat on the wide open spaces of a flat suddenly stood out like a sore thumbs against the bright tropical green background!

Swim boetie, swim!

JD did get a beautiful Bonefish though. It headed first for the sea, then wrapped him round a rock and headed back into the lagoon. It swam right under Fab and I and it looked heavy. Pig heavy. JD had a swim, unravelled his line, thanked the fish for not changing direction again and proceeded to land a Bonefish with shoulders of a prize-fighter. “Heaviest Bonefish I’ve ever caught” were JD’s thoughts.

After discussing the spooking theory in some detail, it was decided that we would all walk the flats – no would stand on the high ground. It seemed to work. I connected with a heavy fish that popped my tippet and the take. A good lesson to self about triple checking tackle and using the previous days leader was learnt.

However I soon vindicated myself and brought to hand a stunning fish. Also fat and piggish in girth. It bent my #7 and gave a superb demonstration of how a Bonefish should fight. Two blistering runs; the first stripping a good 40m of backing off the reel.

It was then Fab’s turn and he had a fight on his hands with a fish that, although the same length, was a good 2lbs heavier than mine.

Three fish that were approaching trophy size is great going on Inner Islands – especially at a new spot one doesn’t know.

I may just grab the ferry across to Mahe this coming weekend to chase the farm animals swimming around the pig sty!

The #7 and and its tamed pig... 

Self Portraits: You've never quiet sure if you got it right... (Photoshop and buildings... no more!)

Fabien and his fatty!

Please that some of these photos have been edited to hide the location. My apologies but it is for purely selfish reasons. Come and visit and we'll take you there!

Fishing for Nothing

I don't have a very good fishing relationship with la Digue. It's the quintessential island getaway. Bikes, beaches and even beautiful women. A sedate pace of life that can only be found on a tiny island in a tropical climate. I love its charm and general go slow attitude. The locals are friendlier than elsewhere on the islands and

I've spent many days there just relaxing, surfing (yes, there are waves in the Seychelles) and - in the beginning - fishing.

The flats seem to offer endless potential. They are mostly broken coral bottom littered with sandy patches and eel grass beds. Lots of what I would call 'permit water'. It screams fish. The first time I walked onto the flats at Source 'd Argent I would have put money on getting permit and bones. 

Yet, I have not caught a single fish of significance on la Digue.

I think I'll keep la Digue as that weekend away from the hussle and bustle of hell in paradise.

Other guys do catch fish here - a Bluefin Trevally and Jobfish from the reef edge.

You see there... Between that patch of grass and those rocks... There... There's vokol!

Fixing Focus

Getting cracking photos of your fish is quite an important part of fly fishing. It is awesome being able to share the surreal landscapes, magical streams and endlessly blue oceans of our fishing experiences. And let’s not mention the being able to email all our friends the latest bus we landed - we love to stroke our egos don’t we?

When taking photos with your own camera, it’s easy. You know the settings, understand the focal lengths and know how to manipulate its nuances to get the best picture. It gets a little more complicated with a DSLR. But you learn the camera like you learn the action of your rod coupled with your line.

But when it’s your turn to have the pics taken of yourself, be sure to check that the settings are correct before handing the camera over. After he snapped his rod today, my old man was relegated to cameraman. I didn't realise the focus was still on manual and after 30 odd photos of a bonefish; Photoshop worked hard to sharpen, clear and fix the images. 

Dad has now had a lesson and a practice session in the basics of using my Nikon. Hopefully the next round of photo taking will be more of a success...

After Photoshop was employed - all shots were edited in Camera RAW (if you have a DSLR get Photoshop and start shooting in RAW format) - the photos are clearer and sharper. The simple steps to cleaning up your potentially lost images are below.

Step 1: In the details tab, pump up your sharpening, radius of sharpen and detail of sharpen.

Step 2: In the basic tab, play with contrast and clarity.

While this is a great way to salvage photos where your subject is a bit further away, your close-up shots will probably stay blurred. And in general this is not a magic way of making those blurry photos suddenly magazine cover quality. But it may just keep some memories a little clearer!

Above and below: The before and after Photoshop

Left photos are prePhotoshop and right is cleaned up. As mentioned, this isn't going to turn your photos into magazine covers but they'll look a lot better in your albums!

Always a great memory: sending it back...

A good morning

Some days are just special. The type of morning that is used as a reference point in all future conversations that involve the discussion of good fishing. You really wish they happened whenever you walked out onto the flats...

And of course you love to tell everyone about it: "Dude! You should have been here last week!"

And after a weekend of fishing like this one past, I just can't but help think of those great days I've had. The wind has been up and, after a week of perfectly clear skies, the weekend was cloudy (thanks Murphy). And wind and cloud make for tough fishing. We blanked pretty hard this weekend. So sitting on a Sunday evening I really can't help but share one of those days that we didn't blank!

This particular morning was a while back at Anse la Blague on Praslin Island, Seychelles. Spent with JD Filmalter and Fabien Forget.

Golden Revisited

A nice little little piece on the Golden I caught about a month ago. Thanks Francois and The Guides Company for the shout out.


Fly-fishing on Mahe, Seychelles - The Guides Company

Evening Cast

The fishing has been slow but here are two images to start the week...

The Evolution of JD's Creature Fly

JD Filmalter, like me, has had an obsession with Golden Trevally since his first encounter with them on the flats of the inner islands. We have chased them, theorised about them and worked out their habits.

Obviously this all led to our own fly development for Gnathanodon speciosus. What would get the best results most consistently? While I have stuck to crabs and ended up with the “UglyCrab”, JD has gone with the shrimp direction. Taking inspiration from famous Spawning Shrimp and Avalon flies, JD has created his own “Creature” flies.

These crustacean imitators have proved successful in both JD’s pursuit of Golden Trevally and in catching a variety of other flats species including Carangoides ferdau  ( which is the Blue, not Bluefin Trevally) and Bonefish. I’m pretty sure it’s just a matter time until JD gets a good permit on one.

The Creature has had a full evolution of growth and, keeping true to Darwin’s theories, has shed its weaknesses and grown in its strengths.  The first Creatures were rather shabby, woolly affairs that incorporated a few triggers. They worked, but JD wasn’t happy and tweaked or revised with every Golden encounter.

At a fairly rapid rate – which highlights his understanding of fish and fly fishing – JD has turned the Creature  into a serious fly that has a impressive and growing list of caught fish. Even I have a sneaky one in my box just-in-case.

The most recent - and best - version of The Creature sits alive on the grass of the flats, daring a fish to eat it. The combination of a hot pink underbody and an EP or Frizz Fibre overbody give the fly a translucent and realistic shrimp look. The feelers double as pincers and move alluring in the water. The eyes stand out on stalks adding to the realism. A weed guard prevents snagging over the grass and the tungsten beads tied in as a keel provide adequate weight, an upright swimming position and the added bonus of some noise.

I have no doubt there will be more changes and adaptations made to this fly. And while, like so many different fly patterns, I'm sure it has been tied by somebody, somewhere else; JD's talent as a flyfisherman is highlighted by the growth of this great fly.

One the first creatures.

Getting the shape and the eyes right. First use of silly legs as feelers and moth apparatus.

The Creature becoming more streamlined. Colour experimentation . And note the first time addition of the keel.

Almost there - the rostrumless (this one has a small, understated rostrum) Creature.

The most recent Creature fly showing the addition of a pronounced rostrum,  pink hotspot, weed guard and barring.

Keel position

A backlit photo which gives an idea of the translucence of the fly. This much more noticeable when underwater.  

JD and a Golden Trevally with a Creature in the scissors.