Recommended Gear for St. Brandon's Atoll, Indian Ocean

If wading and sight casting to double digit Bonefish, tailing Indo-Pacific Permit and a host of Trevally species on powder white sand flats on an extremely remote Indian Ocean atoll appeals to you 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 50 km from north to south. Situated 268 nautical miles northeast of Mauritius’s main island this area is rich in fish stocks, flora and fauna. This magical atoll has quickly risen to iconic status in the world of saltwater fly-fishing and for good reason; the flats fishing for Bonefish, Indo-Pacific Permit and a host of Trevally species is simply world class!

Two 50ft sport fishers will transfer guests to and from the atoll (4 guest, 1 guide and 3 crew per sport fisher), the crossing time from Mauritius to the atoll being +/-26 hours. The two boats will do the crossing along side each other. Both boats are registered and licensed in Mauritius for offshore sailing, each boat fully equipped with latest marine navigation equipment. Each boat will be skippered by a 200T master. Each boat has three cabins, two of which are for the 4 guests (2 guest per cabin) the other for the guide and crew. Each boat has a bathroom, a kitchen, lounge area as well as a comfortable back deck. The sport fishers will depart Port Louis at approximately 10:00am on the start day of the trip and will arrive at Ilse De Sud (South Island) at +-10:00am the following morning. A further two hours flat water cruising in the lee of atoll will see the boats arrive at Raphael Island. Guests and their luggage will then be transported by tender boat onto the island, following which they will have lunch, settle into their rooms, receive a briefing from the head guide and set up tackle. Should there be enough light left guests are welcome to fish unguided on foot around Raphael Island. Guests will then spend the following 7 full days out on the flats fully guided.

The sport fishers will depart Raphael Island mid morning after guests have had breakfast, packed up and settled any bills etc. The sports fishers should arrive back in Port Louis around midday on the final day of the trip. Although every effort is made to stick to this schedule, weather and other factors associated with remote locations of this nature can affect timing. We ask all guests to go into this trip with an open mind towards the logistics, appreciating how remote a venue St Brandon’s really is and what a privilege it is we are allowed to fish it! Based on this schedule guests are asked to fly into Mauritius the day before the start date of the trip (to ensure there is a time buffer built in for missed flight connections, flight delays/lost luggage etc. Return international flight can be booked which depart after 20:00pm on the end date of the trip. Should you however wish to book a flight that departs Mauritius earlier, guests are kindly requested to contact us before doing thus so that we can advise.