Late September/October, 2026

ALPHONSE ISLAND TRIP

We've been enjoying this outstanding resort fishing paradise since 2016.  Given the fact that I'm going to age out of doing what I enjoy most in the world in the next - hopefully - not too few years, I'll try to make it back here at least a couple of times in the resort's off season time of year.  Being that I am pretty much an introvert, the lack of big crowds on the island in the summer months is very appealing to me.

And that lack of guests this year was particularly unusual.  We had only myself and another nice couple from Orange County, California on the island this week.

A bit more about a few negatives.  The Southeast monsoon was full bore this week.  We had winds ranging from 25 to roughly 40 miles per hour day and night the entire time.  Cloud cover was overcast as well although some significant rains only came one day.  While it's hard to even think about actually being really cold on the equator, trust me, I was cold much of the time.  The evaporative effect of that much wind on wet clothing while wading the flats was significant.

The bungalows we have available to use are great.  Good mattresses, an outdoor shower, and nice facilities in the space make for very comfortable accommodations.  My only problem - and it is specifically my problem is that I am a very early riser and a very early go-to-bedder, so I never have the patience to wait for dinners that are served starting at 7:30 each night.  I'm stuck with either overloading at lunch or getting a take out from the kitchen early in the evening.

But the food at the resort is truly as good as it gets.  Breakfasts are whatever one wants, and the lunch menu is just about perfect.  Fresh fish caught that day and greens and vegies from the island's garden are delightful with every meal.

Let's talk about the fishing for a bit which is really the main reason I come here.  The flats around Alphonse - for me - are the best bone fishing I can find on the planet.  The availability of roughly another 60 species that will eat a fly helps even more.  My primary fishing want in life is to be able to figure out how to catch some decent numbers of and types of various species that are fun to hook and release.  I have no interest in wanting to catch the biggest, the best, or the most.  Let's just have fun and enjoy the pleasure of luring a nice one to a fly that I've spent a few hours dreaming up and tying.

It was a lot tougher than normal this time around.  The raging winds pushed up water levels on the lagoon reef shore and made even casting along both Dot and Tamatave Points very difficult.  That combination of difficulties kept me from accessing at least 90% of the spots I normally fish.  All that being said I still had plenty of success on the trip.  Bonefish sizes were remarkable.  The smallest I released had to be about five pounds and at least three or four of the largest were in the double digit range.  Amongst the other species released were pompano, grunts, emperors, giant needlefish, a variety of jacks, and plenty of different snappers. As the below video will relate, I temporarily had on a huge giant trevally but lost it as has commonly been the case when hooking fish of that size on an 8 weight rod.

So was the trip successful enough to lure me back again - you bet!  Sometime next spring I hope to be back here on the water again.

Here's the quickie video of this year's expedition.