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If you are having trouble finding St. Brandon’s Atoll on map, it might be because it’s so tiny, or it might be because it’s so remote, or it might be because the atoll is also known as Cargados Carajos Shoals. To get your bearings, St. Brandon’s Atoll is located 260 miles northeast of Mauritius in the south Indian Ocean and is 24 hours from civilization by boat.
Mark B. Hatter approached us about doing a story on St. Brandon’s, and to be completely honest, our initial reaction was “where in the hell is that?” He briefed us on what he’d been hearing from Gerhard Laubscher of FlyCastaway (www.flycastaway.com). Says Laubscher, “St. Brandon’s has the best bonefishing on the planet, hands down.”
After a little thought, we assigned Hatter the tough task of visiting this new bonefish destination. As editor of Fly Fishing in Salt Waters, I was praying for a successful trip because if it was a bust, we would have been a feature shy for the next issue. I scratched off the days on my calendar until, finally, Hatter was due back in the states. I received a text that said “best trip ever!” and was immediately relieved.
If you’ve already read the story, you know that St. Brandon’s has a phenomenal fishery that’s virtually untouched, and once the word gets out to the rest of the world about how good the bonefishing is, everyone will know where this teeny-tiny atoll lies and what it has to offer.