The excitement in our party of nine adults and 3 young children was tangible. We were going on the holiday of a lifetime. We were flying to a tiny island paradise inside the Indian Ocean called the Seychelles to invest a week on a houseboat cruising around the islands. None of us had ever been to such an exotic location. The flight over the Indian Ocean was perfect. I looked out of the window at the eastern coast of Africa, and saw the clear blue seas washing over
South Africa's coastline. The captain alerted us to a breathtaking sight. In the middle of the bright blue sea lay an enormous green ring. This is the
Cosmoledo Atoll, a ring of islands whose coral reefs are littered with shipwrecks. The reef is residence to a prolific number of marine life species. As I gazed down at this stunning natural phenomenon my husband remarked loudly: "The fishing ought to be awesome down there."
Men! Half an hour we had been landing at the airport on the major island of Mahé. It was not a descent for the faint-hearted. Much of the land around the airport has been reclaimed, so the runway comes appropriate out into the sea. There's water on either side of the runway.
The pilot took the 'plane right over Mahé just before producing a hairpin turn over the island as he approached the runway. The range of mountains was so close to the left hand wing I felt we would be able to touch them if we had been seated on the end of the wing. The sight was nerve wracking.
Within ten minutes we inside the airport terminal. We passed through customs with no problems, and our holiday mood was heightened when we discovered the shape of the entry stamp. We managed to contain our mirth until we were reached the luggage collection point.
The stamp looked like a pair of buttocks. It was a replica of the fruit of the coco-de-mer palm, found on two of the 115 islands that make up the Seychelles island group. The fruit is very valuable, and is utilised for medicinal purposes. Shaped like a woman's buttocks it's regarded as an aphrodisiac in some cultures.
The fruit is for sale on the island, but the price is exorbitant - nearly US$700.00 for 1 fruit! We did what most tourists do and bought fridge magnets and wooden carvings of the coco-de-mer.
If it really is an unforgettable fishing holiday you're soon after, then Seychelles remote outer islands ought to be your 1st choice. The reason is simply because these islands are virtually untapped. It is possible to see shoals of bonefish 1 thousand strong on the inshore flats. And the bones are huge - plenty of 10-pounders and over. Where else will you see that?
The fishing in the Seychelles is amazing
Yes there is a lot more to this tropical island holiday destination than just beaches. Actually it is an anglers' paradise even though still fairly unknown as well as a well-kept secret by numerous. Possibly this is the reason that in Seychelles fly-fishing is still so great.
And the choice between fly fishing the inshore flats of Seychelles and trolling its blue waters for big game fish is a lot more hard than you could feel if you ever go fishing within the Seychelles particularly at Cosmoledo and Providence. Both varieties of fishing are just so unbelievably very good. But it is not simple to write about Cosmoledo fishing with out superlatives...
One angler says, "For every pound of fish you catch inside the Caribbean and the Yucatan, you will hook ten pounds in Seychelles." The fish in the latter are large and plentiful. You will in no way get bored within the outer islands of Seychelles fly-fishing. And those that discover the fishing Seychelles has to provide come back
year following year but they're nor telling. It is their little secret.
So, next time you are thinking of a fly-fishing holiday Seychelles should be at the leading of your list of possible destinations - Needless to say not just anywhere in Seychelles but the outer islands of which there are many to select from. At the leading of the list are: Providence, Cosmoledo and Alphonse Islands. All you have to do is uncover a yacht which will take you there.
On your Seychelles fly-fishing holiday you must ideally target several species as you will find hundreds of varieties around these islands, and that gives you
a distinctive opportunity to hook a huge number of species in a relatively short time. Anglers have been identified to land as a lot of as 41 distinct species in as little as 6 days of fly-fishing within the Seychelles with catches of 40 to 60 fairly big fish a day - Far more on that later.
To travel to Seychelles it is always best first to have accomodation in Seychelles rather than turn up without prebooked accomodation.