Fly Fishing on Falkland Islands

If you leave Darwin Road just before Darwin and Goose Green to the north, after a few kilometres you will reach the picturesque Port Sussex Bay. The Trout Court can be reached either via a drive directly on the beach or a little further north via an off-road connection that is easy to drive. Both are well signposted. All joy aside, don't be as exuberant and dangerously naive as a few young Brazilians who a few days prior to our stay thought they could test the bay at low tide as a rally route. Thanks to sheer dumb luck they were spotted in time when they got stuck in their off-road vehicle and could be pulled out before the tide came in. Duly note: Port Sussex Bay is not Copacabana.

The Trout Court and the surrounding land are owned by Richard and Toni Stevens, who live a very relaxed life a few kilometers north on their idyllic farm, surrounded by flocks of poultry. The Self Catering Lodge offers a lot of space and is very comfortable. With countless sofas and utensils it reminds you of mom's „home sweet home". The well-functioning system of self-sufficiency is interesting. You use heating oil for the radiators, electricity comes from the solar system, water from the roof and water for the kitchen from a well. At this location, you can't help but throw a few mouth watering Falkland Island steaks on the grill by your doorstep. With a glass of wine or beer in hand and admire the view of the beach with its kilometres of mussel banks, countless water birds and jumping trout. Meanwhile the house cat watches the party going on in her hiding place and looks forward to the leftovers. We also wanted to test our culinary skills with local specialties:

But actually we are here for fishing ...
Huge mussel beds are exposed during low tide and are almost completely covered again during high tide. A few steps away from Trout Court all of these tidal currents pull as a strong current in and out in a six metre wide channel. The river at the south end, the Port Sussex River, does not carry much water but is nevertheless an important spawning ground for sea trout. In addition, the gigantic mussel beds provide food for countless microorganisms. The water is sometimes bubbling with silvery smelt shoals, which in turn attract entire schools of sea trout and mullets as a delicious food source. And in turn if you're unlucky that day (or lucky, depending on your point of view), dolphins or seals. Because the sea at Port Sussex covers the entire bay at high tide, the locations of the predatory fish are difficult to identify or far too far away. Sometimes it's like looking for a needle in a haystack. Wading is not feasible in most areas due to soft sediment (don’t forget: not the Copacabana!). At low tide, however, the fish concentrate on the canal and the joyful angler can catch a beautiful sea trout with every cast. The best time for this is at low tide, when the tide just begins to come in again. If the shoals of smelt distract your beautiful sea trout from your brilliant favourite fly, you should stock up on good bait fish imitations in advance!

Trout Court's guest book is full of enthusiastic descriptions of happy anglers. To prove that my accounts on this website are actually true, here is a copy.