Full bendo battle with a milkfish on the fly at St Francois atoll (Alphonse) in the Seychelles.
Thrill seekers, adrenaline junkies, intrepid explorers and those of you just looking to try something a little bit different (or a lot), step right up. The worlds of destination and adventure fishing are sectors of our sport that offer up a whole new gamut of exciting possibilities to expand your skills, increase your species list and to perhaps tick a few items off that bucket list of yours. This can just as easily be at home as overseas by the way so budget restrictions notwithstanding, there will always be options available to you to mix your game up a little.
Another Seychelles and tropics species – the bluefin trevally. This is only a small one but beautiful all the same.
Having been raised on a typical English fly fishing diet of stillwater trout fishing, it was a career move 17 years ago now to ‘America’s Finest City’ of San Diego that awoke my fishing senses to a whole new raft of amazing piscatorial pursuits. Suddenly I was up to my waist in the Pacific surf one minute and then float-tubing urban rivers and lakes the next. Befriending the local anglers was key and led to battles with high-flying mako sharks and hard-pulling tuna offshore to blasting across the desert to kayak the Colorado river backwaters looking for carp and largemouth bass. I drank deep and long at that particular well for my 8 years there and it gave me the chance to experience so much and is also where I began to regularly write and photograph for fishing magazines.
An orange mako bomb – fly fishing for serious sharks out of San Diego, CA.
Without really realising it I had become hooked on seeking out more new experiences and adventures. Moving back to the UK in 2007 I continued travelling overseas whenever I could manage it to fish new waters and to write about and photograph them for print mags but also the wave of online magazines that had started to grow. What I have learned over time is that wherever you go these days you will probably not be too far from some sort of potential fishing adventure. This is as equally true at home in the UK – just look at the rise in popularity of seeking out species like carp, pike, mullet and bass with the fly rod, not to mention tope and blue sharks if you have access to a boat. There is a wealth of information online these days about all these species and guides who fish for most of them so there is no excuse not get stuck in and have a go at any that take your fancy.
Fly fishing for pike like this one from a Scottish loch, is very exciting.
Overseas fishing trips can often be the real highlight we look forward to all year. Of course it is great if you are able to afford a dedicated trip somewhere but it seems to be there is more and more scope for mixing some exciting fishing in with a traditional family holiday pretty much anywhere if you do a bit of research. I was just reading the other day about one of our members on the flyfishing.co.uk website that I manage who had been to the Seychelles and found some great do-it-yourself fly fishing for bonefish and even permit near their self-catering accommodation. Another member takes their family to Spain and fishes for the local mullet species and bass down the beaches and harbours, usually before the family are even up and about. Be adventurous, be curious, be daring and who knows, you may be successful.
Great fishing for new species, such as this hard-fighting redfish for the author, can be had in holiday destinations like Florida.
At the top of end of the scale you have the all-in fishing trip. The pack all your fishing gear first and then find room for your tighty-whities kind of trip. Destination fishing is a thrill, there’s no denying it, and there are plenty of destination angling firms all well-placed to take you on the adventure fishing trip of your dreams. Just be sure what you want out of it before you choose. For some, mixing in with others on a group trip can be fun, whilst for others it might just be that a one-on-one guide trip is the fix they seek. No matter what your particular poison, be aware that this is likely the start of a very slippery and expensive slope into fishing for kicks and unlike that dream fish on the end of your line, there is no escape once you are hooked.
It’s hard to beat a dedicated overseas fishing trip for non-stop action. This was a small tarpon from a trip to Cuba.
Feeling the itch?
Check out our Fishing Trips/ Last Minute Deals / Rod Availability forum on the Fly Fishing Forums and book your next adventure today!
You can also find and contact*our destination fishing Trade Members in our Featured Listings HERE.
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