The Overall Experience
Providence is a big, wild place. It is accessed by the Mayas Dugong, a stout ex-research ship modified for long-range fly-fishing trips. All should understand that it is by no means luxurious. The quarters are tight, and the meals are basic, but it has room on the rear deck to store the four skiffs and everyone's tackle. It has a nice area for lunch and meals with seating on the upper deck for beers and drinks after a long day on the water. While certainly nothing is over-the-top, in my view it is the perfect vessel for the mission. One of the many unique qualities about this trip is that you fish three anglers to one guide, and you do nearly all of your fishing on foot. This means that each angler has a bit less time with the guide on their shoulder giving them the ability to test their skills and operate a bit more independently. Guides certainly do give specific instructions and keep everyone in the group moving together but it happens that anglers may spend good amounts of time walking along the edge of a flat while the guide and your other boat mates are a hundred yards away. More experienced anglers may appreciate the space to experience the fishery on their own terms, while those less experienced may find themselves needing more support.
When it comes to fishing, Providence has all the major flats species of the region, Giant Trevally (GT), bonefish, permit, bumphead parrotfish, triggerfish, various snapper species, milkfish, and more. As well as tuna species, sailfish, and marlin offshore. While there are many targets to chase, there is no doubt that everyone is focused on targeting GT’s. The population is among the best in the world and guides can make plans to find them on about all cycles of the tide. This means that hunting them will be a major portion of nearly every trip. Another species that gets a lot of attention are bumphead parrotfish or “bumpies” as the guides call them. Providence is the best place in the world to chase them. There can be large herds roaming the flats that keep anglers busy for substantial portions of the day under certain tidal conditions. While the island also has bonefish and permit, they are often not plentiful enough to be a part of the daily routine.
Who is this trip best for?
This trip is best suited to anglers that have been around the saltwater flats game a while, have a spirit of adventure, and enjoy being a small piece of a big landscape. They should be able to double haul and strip set efficiently, be comfortable spending a good portion of the day walking the flats in the heat of tropics and be comfortable with low catch rates while focusing on highly instinctual and trophy-sized fish. Anglers visiting Providence will spend a lot of time hunting GT’s and to put it simply, they are as challenging to capture as they are rewarding to catch.
Favorite Moments
The simplicity of waking up early, heading into the lounge, getting a cup of coffee and heading to the upper deck to watch the sunrise surrounded by nothing but water, and the possibility of the day to come is hard to beat. That said, there was a GT encounter on day one this year that I will never forget. I had just watched my close friend Paul hook and land a fish over a meter long, so I was riding high from that experience when I saw two fish heading my way. One fish was quite nice overall but the other looked substantial! Long story short, in a rare case the bigger of the two reacted immediately when my fly hit the water and rushed my fly but he either missed or I pulled it out of his mouth (I will never know which). Somehow, I kept my nerve and kept the fly swimming. The fish found it again and tracked it all the way into my rod tip. I cannot be 100% sure, but since I was nearly out of fly line, my last strip (and the one that made the fish commit) was undoubtedly aided by my big step backwards as the beast was bearing down on me. The vision of that fish’s giant mouth engulfing the fly just a few feet from me will forever be burned in my memory.
While I certainly felt a bit heroic on that occasion there was another day during the trip where I landed a grand total of zero fish. That day I pulled off a stunt involving missing multiple fish, multiple fly rods coming apart and multiple fly lines being tied in unbelievable and unrepairable knots that landed me in the dreaded banana suit the next day. The banana suit is offered to anglers as penance for world class clusters on the flat. That day in the banana suit I was with two great friends, the head guide Tim, who is always amazing to fish with, and I hooked six large fish. Broken hooks, broken fly lines, fish wrapped on coral heads, and you name it, it went wrong. However, I will never forget the opportunities, the laughs, and the overall excitement that day, and I will forever be chasing the day to have those opportunities again. On top of that we finished the day with my friend Andy landing the giant trevally of a lifetime.
For anglers with existing saltwater experience willing to fly the distance to the world's greatest fisheries, Providence is the absolute pinnacle of what our sport offers. It will challenge your stamina, nerves, and skills to the maximum. A trip to this wild atoll requires significant financial and time commitments, but for those willing to take the plunge, it is hard to imagine a place where all the elements of an incredible saltwater wilderness adventure can come together better.
