MILKFISH SOMBRERO

Located in the middle of the Indian Oceana mere 1000 miles off the east coast of Africa, the atolls of the Seychelles are a bucket-list trip for any angler. Writer Mark Hatter hits the Alphonse Island Group ready for the multitudes of bonefish, bumphead parrotfish, permit, triggerfish and giant trevally that prowl the flats of the deserted atolls. His biggest prize, the under-appreciated milkfish, however, is the one flats predator that haunts him.

Words: Mark Hatter


I woke at and 3 a.m., hard rain battering the tin roof of my bungalow. From the window, whipping shadows of palm fronds danced on the porch wall confirming the arrival of rain’s best friend, wind. “Shit.” I forced myself back to the pillow to attempt sleep. By daybreak, things had not improved.

At 7 a.m. the guides decided to fish us locally, along the lee of Alphonse Atoll for the day; the two-mile crossing to St. Francois Atoll would not be possible in the stormy conditions.

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