Low key, but highly respected by anyone who has ever fished or worked with him, Kyle Simpson is one of the stalwart guides of the Seychelles, a freakishly good fly tyer and a pre-eminent Indo-Pacific permit whisperer.

5 best things about where you guide with Alphonse Fishing Co.?

1. Definitely having my family with me and watching my little boy, Maks, grow up and being around all this fishing.
2. Having the option of moving to all the destinations that Alphonse fishing Co. Has to offer such as Cosmo , Astove , Farquar Alphonse and in particular Poivre Island. I even have the coordinates tattooed on me in case I forget.
3. Always having the option of catching bone fish if the other bigger species won’t play along.
4. Working with a team that not only enjoys guiding and fishing but also understands conserving and protecting this perfect paradise. The tagging projects we get involved in are incredible. Added bonus … we get to catch the Gts and milkfish.
5. Beer and more Beer. Seybrew at the end of the day is world class.  Would have been my number one 1 but thought I would go with the family thing first.  Happy wife, happy life.

5 indispensable flies for saltwater?

1. Spawning Shrimp.
2. Pillow Talk.
3. Personally tied Alphlexo.
4. Bucktail-tied GT baitfish patterns.
5. Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD). You have to have it.

One of Kyle’s personally tied

5 of the most difficult guiding/teaching experiences so far? 

1. When a guest arrives with all the gear and I am in the middle of permit land and they start Spey casting with a single hand rod. ”Okay guys, let’s go to this coral head”.
2. Trying to get someone to see a fish and they don’t speak English. It’s not their fault. It’s just hard. There is only so much I can extend my arm with a fly rod.
3. Trying to get guys to keep their rods down when setting the hook and not to ‘STRIKE’. But, if you are going to ‘STRIKE’ then do it properly.
4. When walking an area and your guest is holding his rod across your field of vision. We need the vision for sight fishing.
5. Line management. Good grief! This is by far the worst. Or rolling your boot over your beautiful fly line on the casting platform.

5 fishing-connected items you don’t leave home without before making a mission? 

1. My Costa Green Mirror sunglasses. I can’t deal with the bright sun.
2. Cataflam and Myprodol.  Years of guiding have caught up with me. Some help is needed.
3. My Yeti bottle with ice cold water… only if the beers are finished.
4. My Hatch pliers because, for some reason, my teeth stopped biting through 130lb leaders.
5. Blue Steel Anti-Chafe Cream, so that I don’t start walking like a cowboy.

All photos by Brian Chakanyuka.

Read the rest of Kyle’s High Fives in issue 35 below. As always, it’s free.

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