The size of the fish at Cosmoledo makes this destination the top angling experience on the planet. And further enhancing the fishing experience at Cosmoledo is the outstanding diversity of species found within the waters of the atoll. While double digit bonefish and enormous GT's have captured the imagination of anglers who dream of a trip to the Seychelles, we have helped develop techniques at the atoll that consistently raise both sailfish and wahoo for our guests.
For anglers interested in targeting sailfish, we have been able to consistently raise sails on our last 2 trips to the atoll. After exploring large chunks of the blue water outside the atoll, we have found 5 areas that consistently produce sailfish opportunities. The lures kick up a big spray on the surface of the ocean which will attract virtually all manner of species up from the depths. Sailfish and wahoo are the two most common visitors to be raised and each shows itself in its own unique way.
We troll a couple of hook less lures about 40 yards behind the boats. The sailfish will just pop up behind the teasers and the first indication that they are there is the distinct shape of the bill coming out of the water as the sailfish hits the lure in an attempt to stun it. When sailfish are lit up and aggressive, the whole front third of the fish will often come out of the water as it tries to kill the teaser lure. It's an incredible sight and always guarantees that the boat will explode in excitement.
The guides will crank the teasers in as quickly as possible while the captain puts the zodiac in neutral. As the teaser gets to within 30 feet of the boat, it's pulled out of the water by the guide as the fly ideally lands in front of the angry fish. When fishing from the zodiacs, guests will need to cast approximately 40 feet with a heavy rod in order to get the fly in front of the sailfish. The sails will often come very close to the boat as they follow the teaser in and in one instance in October of '07, we had 6 sailfish buzzing around the transom of the boat, hungrily looking for the fly. We had two hook ups from these fish but lost both of them.
There is nothing subtle about a wahoo showing up behind the boat. These fish are built for speed and when they hit the teasers they do so at full speed. We've seen wahoo launch themselves 30 feet into the air with the plug in its mouth. It's an awe inspiring sight that is sure to thrill even the most jaded and experienced saltwater veterans. We troll teasers for them in much the same way we do for sailfish. Wahoo are also more user friendly than sails in that they are far more indiscriminate in what flies they are willing to eat. The cast does not need to be as precise as it does for sailfish and the fight that wahoo put up on a fly rod is exceptional. The largest one landed last year on a fly was 55 pounds and we had several break off that were at least 70 pounds!
Another common species at Cosmoledo is the Milkfish. They are found in great numbers in the same flats that we find both bonefish and permit. The milkfish looks a great deal like an enormous bonefish with the major differences being the size and its forked tail. We don't put a lot of energy into these fish and have never had a guest catch one. We've heard reports of people landing milkfish but it's just such a low percentage game and there are so many other species that are more than willing to eat our offerings.
