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St Brandon's Islands

We are once again working in conjunction with renowned fly fishing guiding operation FlyCastaway for this pristine Indian Ocean flats destination. With this in mind, if wading and sight casting to double digit bonefish on powder white sand flats is your thing....then look no further, St Brandon's Atoll is the destination for you.

St Brandon's (Cargados Carajos Shoals) is a group of over 50 small islands, coral ridges and vast sand flats which is cut by three major passes and extends 30 miles from north to south. Situated 268 nautical miles north-east of Mauritius's main island this area is rich in fish stocks, flora and fauna. The magnificent condition of the coral and the lobster infested outer reefs is proof that other than a small population of Creole natives who live on Raphael Island in the north this area has had very little human interference.

After a long wait since FlyCastaway's first visit 5 years ago, the red tape has finally been cleared to legally allow international foreigners to visit the area. This exclusive deal allows for use of the luxurious MY Gryphon for live aboard trips to St Brandon's. There are 12 daily international flights into Mauritius and the airport is 45 minutes away from Port Louis, which is the capital. Once everyone has settled into their cabins, the fully rigged and stocked Gryphon departs in a north-easterly direction along the Mascarene ridge on a 24 hour motor for St Brandon. The trip is a pleasant one as the stabilizers steady the roll and time flies as the card games and DVD's are paused thanks to the occasional sound of screaming reels.

On arriving at St Brandon's no time is wasted as the guides put their vast Indian Ocean experience and planning into practice as you venture out to spend your days exploring the multitude of pure white sand flats and broken coral islands, all of which are infested with naive bonefish. This will most certainly be the most spectacular bonefishing you will ever encounter as on most tides anglers can expect to see shoals of these shallow water speedsters as well as enormous singles and doubles. On a recent exploratory trip bonefish of up to 87 cm fork length and weighing 15 lbs were landed. This fishery is also extremely well balanced and offers anglers a variety of species to choose from as there is plenty of Indo-Pacific permit, a host of trevally species including bluefin, golden, yellow dot, green spot and giant trevally of over 100 lbs in weight.

The Gryphon is 96 ft motor yacht, and boasts a top speed of 13 knots, has stabilizers, a large indoor and outdoor living area as well as a fully-rigged game fishing aft deck. Boasting a 23 ft beam and a 7.5 ft draft she can accommodate up to eight fly fishermen, three or four guides, as well as a crew of four who cater for your every need. She is very comfortable and the perfect base with which to explore St Brandon's in luxury.

The three level vessel has four spacious guest cabins situated at the aft of the lower deck. Each has a spacious en-suite shower, basin and flushing toilet. All cabins and indoor dining or entertainment areas are fully air-conditioned, allowing guests a chance to relax in a comfortable environment after a long day's fishing out on the flats. On the mid deck she is spacious and boasts a separate salon, dining area and aft seating area all with magnificent views, perfect for sundowners. All meals are served in the dining room with the chef preparing a mix of Creole and international food. The stern of the vessel has a set of stairs leading down to the aft deck which is perfect for fishing from. This feature also allows for a safe and comfortable transfer from the tender boats to the main vessel.

The Gryphon has three tenders at her disposal; each of them is a 17 ft locally built mono-hull which carries 2x 15 HP 2-Stroke Yamaha engines. The boats work well in this area as they have a draft of approximately 8 inches allowing us to access some extremely shallow sections of the atoll. Each one will be skippered by an experienced FlyCastaway guide, who carries a full skipper's ticket, and all guides are fluent in English.

 



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For more details, contact:
Tarquin Millington-Drake on +44 (0) 845 299 6212, or by email at: tmd@frontierstrvl.co.uk