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St Brandon's Fly Fishing Mauritius
St Brandon's, Mauritius: By Brian Gies

The planning for this trip started approximately two and half years ago. Originally it was going to be a two week adventure to the outer islands of the Seychelles in the spring of 2009 but the Somali pirates foiled that trip at the last minute. Luckily, my group was determined to fish the region and the outfitter, Fly Castaway, made good on their promise to reschedule the trip… but not to the Seychelles. We would be going to a totally new flats destination – St. Brandon, Mauritius.
Many of you might be wondering where St Brandon is and for that matter where is Mauritius. Located roughly 560 miles east of Madagascar, Mauritius is a small island nation off the east coast of Africa in the southwest portion of the Indian Ocean. St. Brandon is an archipelago comprised of numerous sand banks, shoals and islets. It is located approximately 300 miles northeast of Mauritius. Most people get to Mauritius via direct flights from London, Paris, or Dubai.
The majority of our group flew from the west coast, taking a 16 hour direct flight to Dubai and then a six hour flight from Dubai to Mauritius. From Mauritius it was an impressive 24 hour boat ride to our home away from home, the 100 foot MV Gryphon, at St. Brandon. By all accounts it is just about as far away from home as you can get. As you might guess, just by the sheer amount of travel involved, this trip is for adventuresome anglers.

Getting right down to the facts of the fishing; Fly Water Travel booked the vast majority of the anglers for the spring 2010 trips to St. Brandon. I was lucky enough to join the second group of eight anglers. Both trips included eight days of fishing so we fished through a full tide cycle and on the whole, we had glorious weather. Each trip started at the south end of the archipelago and moved to the north, anchoring at three different locations along the way.
The Flats:
The flats were all hard sand with the majority being quite clean or containing small bits of coral. We also found some with larger coral heads while a few had sections of turtle grass. As a rule, they were absolutely huge and I would not hesitate to say they were among the most beautiful flats I have fished, including Christmas Island and the Seychelles. It was not uncommon for us to spend the whole morning walking a flat only to realize we had only covered half of it. Luckily, when it was time to move on, the guides would give us fishing instructions and then make the long (up to an hour) walk to get the boat and bring it around to us.
The Bonefish:
If you have read earlier reports stating that the bonefish were extremely large and exceptionally plentiful, I am here to confirm those reports. Since founding Fly Water, I have fished the majority of the world’s bonefish destinations and nowhere have I seen a more impressive mix of sheer numbers with such large average sizes. The fish in schools averaged a “real” five to six pounds. I emphasize “real” because I have never met saltwater guides that estimate fish size so conservatively. All of us landed numerous fish that would have been considered 10 pounders anywhere else in the world, but the guides here would just smile and say “nice fish, but we will find you a better one.” Over the course of our eight days, we had four multi-hour morning sessions that were as good as bonefishing could possibly be. We had shallow water, great light, a gentle breeze at our backs, and exceptionally large tailing or cruising singles and doubles. On top of that they were often very happy to take most flies we offered. For the bonefish aficionado it was absolutely nirvana.
Other Species:
So with bonefishing this good who needs other species right? The fact of the matter is that most who are willing and able to travel halfway around the world want a bit of variety and the good news is that St Brandon has it. There are solid numbers of Indo-Pacific permit (our trip hooked 14 and landed 6), golden trevally, green spot trevally, and yellow spot trevally as well as the occasional, large, bluefin trevally. On top of this there are just enough GTs swimming around to keep you on edge. Unfortunately the first two trips only landed two of these monsters.
The Boat:
The entire trip is on the exceptionally well outfitted and comfortable MV Gryphon. The ship is just under 100 feet and has four generous staterooms, a nice dining room and lounge and a great covered back deck perfect for post-fishing cocktails. And yes, the A/C worked… well for most of us, but that is a different story. The young crew was hard working and did a good job of keeping us comfortable. While the food was not memorable, everyone stayed healthy and I am quite certain no one went to bed hungry. We would wake early with the coffee on, have a breakfast of fruit, eggs, and bacon and then be off to the flats by 7:30 a.m. for a full day of fishing.
The Guides:
The report on this trip would not be complete without talking about Fly Castaway and their guide crew. The bottom line is these guys are as professional as saltwater guides come. They all have loads of experience, a thorough understanding of chasing fish on the flats, and most importantly the ability to communicate their thoughts and ideas. For anyone who has been frustrated by language barriers on the flats you know what a breath of fresh air this is.
Guide Reports:
Jako Lucas / Guide notes: “The tide was close to low when we first got onto the flat and we immediately had some very exciting skinny water fishing to big tailing Bones. After landing some nice fish we moved slowly down towards the edge of the flat…..and there they were, a shoal of big Permit heading straight towards us. Even better, they began zig-zagging slowly across a small area of the flat, tails twitching excitedly as they stumbled across something tasty below them. Right...we’ve had plenty of shots at big fish this week and now it’s got to happen. Jim was in place and made a nice cast at two very good sized fish. %#$%.....they didn’t seem to see the fly. Jim calmly made a second cast. The big fish charged up onto the fly and literally engulfed it. Yes please! After an awesome fight filled with some nerve jangling moments we landed a 15lb fish. Later on we had an awesome double, with Jim and Rob landing a 10lb Bone and nice Yellow-spot Trevally at the same time."
Keith Rose-Innes / Guide notes: “Taylor Roberts hooked another Bonefish when roughly forty GT’s between 130cm & 170cm split into two pods and tore into the shoal of panic stricken Bones which had surrounded us. I instantly broke off Taylor’s Bonefish and he grabbed his 12wt. Taylor proceeded to hook two of these monsters with the hooks pulling out on both occasions. Third time lucky I reassured Taylor. He made a cast at another pod of fish that had moved within range and started stripping. Another monster fish of about 150cm charged in and ate the fly, this time the hook held firm and she steamed off. We jumped into the tender and started chasing the fish. After 35 minutes Taylor managed to pull the massive creature out of the shoal. She began tiring, rubbing her head against the flat in an effort to get rid of the hook. This was our last chance to land this monstrous creature as we were about to hit deep water again. But, as if taking off on her initial run the fish ploughed forward for deeper water. The reel’s drag was cranked all the way up and there was nothing more Taylor could do…..38 minutes into the fight the sound of 80lb braid popping signaled we had been spooled."
The Bumps:
O.K. so you have heard my glowing report of the trip and read the guides notes on a few of the exceptional moments of the trip and you might want to know, “What’s the catch?” Let’s face it, every trip has its downside. This trip is no exception.
First, the travel is strenuous. Just to reach Mauritius requires 24-40 hours of travel. And then from Mauritius it is a rather aggressive 24 hour open sea crossing to St. Brandon. In total this makes the door to door trip approximately three days each way.
Second, while the bonefishing is, at times, as good as it can get, at other times it might be just too good for some. From everything we have seen it looks like when the tide is high, the vast majority of the flats are too flooded to fish. When this happens the guides are still able to find fish on the minimal remaining flats. However those fish invariably tend to be schooled up into giant grey clouds. The clouds of fish are spectacular and at 5 lbs. to 6 lbs. these are not your average schoolies but, they hold minimal appeal for seasoned saltwater anglers.
Third, this is an outer island in the middle of the ocean that is part of a small island nation. When it comes to logistics, this is a tough deal. Each angler has to be permitted for the island and the paperwork the outfitter needs verges on ridiculous. Although Fly Castaway is exceptionally adept at making these trips happen, travel to these far off places carries a bit more risk than your average fishing trip and anglers should keep this in mind.
In Summary:
St Brandon with Fly Castaway is an absolutely solid trip. The place is beautiful, big fish are present in great numbers and the outfitter is totally together. If you are into real adventure travel, like the thought of loading up a great live-aboard vessel with friends, and want the opportunity to experience the best bonefish sessions the globe has to offer, this might be the trip for you.