Why Astove Should Be on Your Trip List

I remember rocking up to Paulies Island for the first time.

It’s a famous spot on the western side of the atoll. My mate and fellow guide Sean Callaghan had been talking about it all through our preparation for the season, and we arrived on a neap tide - a proven cycle for this area.

Within minutes of getting there, we spotted a huge shoal of bonefish with three solid permit following close behind. Not far from them, three moustache triggerfish within a 50-metre range. And closer to shore, an 80cm GT following a ray right near the edge.

Four of the Seychelles Big 5, all within 50 metres, on what most people would call an unfavourable tide.

That was my first impression of Astove. And it summed up the very specific problem this place creates: which rod do you even have ready? The 12-weight for the GT? Or a 9-weight for the permit that’s about to eat a crab 20 metres away?

What is Astove Atoll?

Flying into Astove feels like arriving on a different planet. The island almost features four distinct biomes - an arid, desert-like interior, a lush section filled with palms, the classic atoll reef structure, and stretches of pure white beach with crystal blue water. It’s surreal, and it is completely pristine.

Blue Safari has the setup right. The accommodation is cosy and air-conditioned, the food is superb, and the hospitality is immaculate. Astove isn’t a luxury beach resort - it’s the perfect base for a hardcore fly angler who wants to fish a truly unpressured atoll and recover well enough to do it again the next day.

Fly Fishing on Astove Atoll

Giant trevally

Cosmo and Farquhar get a lot of attention in the GT conversation. Astove deserves more of it. The population here is immense, and I saw the biggest GT of my entire Seychelles career on this atoll. What makes it exceptional is the variety of zones you fish them in. Every tide brings a different challenge.

The Cliffs at Astove

The cliffs were my favourite. High ground gives you a visibility advantage, but getting a fly to fish that are hugging the volcanic rock face - often in surge - is brutally difficult. It is, however, the most epic way to catch a GT that I know of.

Beach Fishing on Astove for GT

Beach fishing on higher tides is something else entirely. Bait gathers near shore and the GTs follow. You end up casting to fish in ankle-deep water that have no business being there. It happens regularly.

Offshore Fishing on Astove for GT

Then there’s the offshore fishing. Astove’s skiffs access massive bait schools just outside the reef. When you find them, it’s cast for cast. On one session with Volkmar, we landed 10 fish in 30 minutes. I haven’t come close to that anywhere else.

Indo-Pacific Permit on Astove

I had never considered targeting permit in the surf until I arrived at Astove. Every other atoll I’d guided, the surf was triggerfish and GT territory. Astove changed that entirely.

Targeting Permit in the Surf

Trophy-size permit show up in the breakers here, which is unique to this destination in the Seychelles. I watched good friend Kurt Kruger land a 68cm fish in the surf, guided by Sean Joubert. It is probably the most memorable moment from my time in the islands.

Lagoon Permit Fishing on Astove

The lagoon is just as productive. The milky water makes spotting difficult, but the rays do the work. Almost every ray in the lagoon has a permit following it. Starting the morning with 3 or 4 permit on the lagoon is not unusual.

Beach Fishing for Permit on Astove

On higher and neap tides, the beaches produce. These fish are hungry and aggressive, and the numbers back that up.

Bonefish on Astove

Bonefish show up in the surf alongside the permit, and they are big. We spotted 10-pounders regularly. They are mean and strong in a way lagoon bonefish simply are not, and you will lose more tackle to them than to any other species on the atoll.

The lagoon bonefish are smaller but everywhere. Sessions of 30 to 40 fish are possible. If you want numbers, the lagoon delivers.

Who it’s for

Astove is a wader’s destination. Most of the fishing is done on foot, covering hard ground across a full day. The volcanic rock is violent on skin and gear, and coordination matters as much as casting.

This is the right trip if you’re happy to walk all day and still want to fish at the end of it. If you have patience - the best plays for trophy fish involve a lot of waiting, and the anglers who commit to it get the shots. If you want to know what genuinely hard fly fishing feels like.

Once you’ve done Astove, other trips will feel like a relaxing holiday. That’s not a criticism of those trips. It’s just the truth.

When to go

The season runs from January to the end of March, roughly two months. The atoll is closed to fishing for the rest of the year, which means the fish are consistently aggressive when it opens. Pressure is almost zero and the fish show it.

There is no specific week to target. Spring tides and neap tides both produce well in different ways. Spring tides suit anglers who want to cover ground on foot. Neap tides bring more time on the skiff, poling the outer reefs. We saw equal numbers of trophy fish across both cycles.

Any week you can get on Astove is a week worth taking.

Why Astove over another Seychelles Atoll?

1. You’re fishing a pristine, unfished atoll where the fish haven’t seen many flies. They are aggressive because of it.

2. You will get more Indo-Pacific permit shots here than at any other atoll in the Seychelles. For certain anglers, that alone settles it.

3. The experience is intimate. Small groups, dedicated guides, long days in wild water. The connection you build with the people around you is different when every single day is a genuine adventure.

If Astove just made your list, get in touch. We’ll put together the right trip for you.