Happy New Year to one and all and tight lines for the 2008 season.

The new season is rushing towards us with the river Helmsdale opening first on the 11th January closly followed by the Halladale and Tay, lets hope that the snow stops falling before then!

Talking about the weather I had the great pleasure of getting away from our winter and visiting the Seychelles in November. The trip was hardly 5 star regarding accommodation, we were based aboard a 1950's ship but it was comfortable, a great adventure, wonderful company and first class fishing. I fished with Matt Harris of Trout & Salmon fame who I last fished with many years ago in Argentina. On this trip I benefited both from his great company and also his brilliant photographic abilities as can be seen by these photos.

The trip was like being in a BBC Blue Planet programme with amazing wildlife and awesome fish in a truly remote part of the world.

We were based around 2 Atoll's called Astove and Cosmoledo which lie 560 nm south of Mahe the capital of the Seychelles. Getting there involves a 3 hour flight to Assumption Atoll and then an overnight sailing to Cosmoledo.

It was worth all the travelling when you see your first Giant Trevally [GT] cruising across the beautiful white sand flats. The excitement is incredible when you cast a baitfish pattern, such as a Flashy Profile or Sea Habit at the GT and strip like crazy as it turns and charges at your fly. When they take it is like hitting an express train as they tear away in the shallow water heading for deep water and any obstruction they can find to bust you up on. These brutal fish are often to be found cruising along side big Skates or Sharks which make them a little easier to spot particularly on a windy day when the water can become choppy. The head guide Arno would shout 'charge' as soon as he spotted a fish [which became the motto for our trip!] and you would then wade as quickly as possible to try and intercept the quarry. This is really psychical when wading deep in very high temperatures and casting a fly that is heavy and wind resistant.

One morning we fished Astove's most unique feature called the "wall", this involves casting over the 2km deep drop-off to huge GT's which our guide Jacko had teased up and lured within casting range of our 9' #12 rods. The excitement was unparalleled as the fish charged towards our fly's pushing water with their backs cutting through the surface. In the space of a hour we had multiple hook ups, lines and rods broken, one anglers towed towards the 'drop off' and an occasional fish landed. Words can not do it justice, it was fantastic.
As well as the GT's we landed lots of beautiful Bonefish which were there in huge shoals. The average size we landed was really high at approximately 6lb and some were caught at around 9lb. We also saw several fish at well over 10lb on one afternoon and typically I only had my #12 rod with me! These Bones were without doubt the hardest fighters Ive come across tearing hundreds of yards of backing out before you could regain control, truly putting your equipment to the test. We also caught a wide range of other species which I think is a major attraction to this area. Emperor fish, Trigger fish, Blue runner, Dogtooth Tuna, Permit, Grouper and Barracuda to name a few. Some beautiful, some weird but all fight like Tigers.

I used Sage 9'Xi2 rods which are specifically designed for saltwater use, #9 for Bonefish and Permit and #12 for the Giant Trevally. They cast a great line in difficult conditions and I cant recommend them enough. The reels I used were a Sage 3500D for the Bonefish and a Abel Super 12 for the Trevally, both featuring serious drag systems. Do not make the mistake of using anything but the very best reels for this sort of fishing as nothing puts reels under more stress than these types of fish and the extreme conditions you are fishing in. We at Gamefish carry a wide range of all the equipment needed if you ever decide to go a little crazy and try some serious saltwater angling, I would recommend you do its awesome.

Thanks go to Arno, Pauli and Jacko the guides who are all totally insane but also brilliant at what they do and a great pleasure to fish and have a beer with. Special thanks go to my good friend Keith Rose-Innes who organised the trip for me but sadly couldn't join us on the boat. Keith is a director of the travel company Flycastaway who have the best operation in the Seychelles, please have a look at their website if you are interested in fishing there. http://www.flycastaway.com/

You can view some more of Matt's photographs at his website; http://mattharrisflyfishing.com

I am hoping to lead a party back to the Seychelles this year, please let me know if you would be interested in joining me.