Deep-Sea Fishing

The islands sit on a shallow bank, which is the reason for all of this. Run out far enough and the bottom falls away, and everything that hunts along that edge is somewhere in the water underneath you.

The morning starts before it is properly light. Lines go out behind the boat, lures skipping in the wake, and then you settle into the part nobody puts in the brochure: waiting. Flat blue in every direction, the rods nodding, the mate watching birds because birds find bait and bait finds everything else. Nothing happens for an hour and then everything happens at once: a reel goes off with a noise that gets everyone up, and for the next stretch of time the boat is entirely about one fish.

Sailfish are the classic here, and marlin come through. Wahoo hit hard and fast. Yellowfin and dogtooth tuna are the ones that actually hurt your arms. Any operator worth the booking releases billfish, tagged, photographed and back in the water, and if that is not their policy, book someone else.

The gentler version is bottom fishing on the banks, closer in and less committing. Drop a line, wait for a knock, bring up job fish or grouper or snapper, and go home with dinner. It is a half day rather than a full one, it works for people who are not sure about the sea, and it produces more actual fish than the offshore day does.

Then there is the other Seychelles fishing entirely: fly rods on the outer atolls, chasing giant trevally across flats you wade to. That is not an excursion added to a beach week. It is a trip with its own logic, its own islands and long lead times. Tell us early if it is the reason you are coming. Otherwise the charter slots neatly beside a catamaran day in the same week.

Good to know

• Charters are booked by the boat, not per person, so the cost per head depends on how many of you are aboard.
• What tackle, ice, lunch and drinks include varies by operator. We confirm it in writing before you book.
• Licence and permit requirements are set by the authorities and by the waters you fish. We check what applies to your charter.
• Take something for seasickness before you leave the dock. Offshore is a long way from a bathroom you like.
• Sun on open water is relentless. Long sleeves, a hat that ties on, and reef-safe sunblock.
• Days are weather-called. Keep it off the end of your trip so there is a second morning to move it to.