A calm breeze kept things cool throughout the week. Slower tides can often mean warm water; however, because of the way the atoll fills up on a pushing tide the warm water generally gets pushed into the lagoon or outside the atoll leaving the flats covered in water that is cool and gin-clear. It is this water that guides look for, “the Spot” can be a relative term, but if you can find good, clean, cold water you find the fish.
Having a father and son on board your skiff can be an emotional and motivational experience. Peter Whittaker and son Kevin Whittaker must have had one of the most incredible weeks fishing that a father and son pairing have ever had on the St. Francois Atoll. Peter finished his week off with two yellow-margin triggerfish, two mustache triggerfish, four sailfish, a gorgeous permit, our biggest GT of the season measuring in at 125cm.
Kevin closed his week off with a massive 73cm permit, two mustache triggerfish, two GT’s, four sailfish and one yellow-margin. One thing to mention however is that mid-week Peter and Kevin had one of those days that will stick with them and us for the rest of our lives. Kevin by lunchtime had landed his permit, a GT, a handful of bonefish and a mustache trigger. This left him with the rest of the day to try to chase down a milkfish to make him our second “Golden Grand Slam” holder in the history of Alphonse, a task he nearly managed but just ran out of time. Peter, however, would not be outdone and managed to get his fly in front of a colossal 125cm GT along with a Permit and a hand full of bonefish for good measure. This meant at the bell ringing ceremony we had a joint father and son “Grand Slam”.
Wayne Osborne was part of the party of three that went on to set a Bluewater sailfish benchmark that we are all very sure will stand for a long time. Wayne, Peter, and Kevin kicked their day off on the flats, being picked up just after lunch for a half-day Bluewater trip. There is no way to beat around the bush about this, ten sailfish! Yes, ten sailfish in an afternoon Bluewater session and all on the fly.
For more content from Kevin check him out on Instagram @kevin.whittaker
To book a trip to Alphonse please get in touch with us theflylords@gmail.com
