| Fishing Guide / Author |
Fishing Reports for Local Area - Location |
    
Moses (Moses)
New member
Username: Moses
Post Number: 1
Registered: 10-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, October 14, 2006 - 2:57 am: | |
Hello all. i am visiting the maldives between 19 october and 26th october and i was hoping to find a good fishing baot to take us fishing. we would like to go for 4 times. my email is mo_hs@hotmail.com please answer before the 17 of october to my email |
darrell cooper (Cooperdarrell)
New member
Username: Cooperdarrell
Post Number: 1
Registered: 5-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, May 28, 2006 - 8:41 am: | |
I am off to the maldives next week and was hoping to go deep sea fishing. Can anyone tell me what sort of cost I would expect to pay.
Thanks
Darrell |
salty s (Unregistered Guest)
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, October 18, 2005 - 3:31 pm: | |
Any bonefishing at Meedhupparu island,trips/fly patterns/leader strength,etc or any other species,please advise,1st time salty. |
nige (Unregistered Guest)
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 26, 2005 - 1:50 am: | |
going to maayafushi in 4wks and plan on doning some fishing. what type of tackle is required for fishing in these areas? can anyone advise? |
paula (Unregistered Guest)
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 13, 2004 - 6:37 am: | |
im going to vilu reef in 2004 has anyone stayed there and what were youre thought on this resort
what trips were available ? |
Anonymous
Rating: 
Votes: 1 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 13, 2004 - 6:34 am: | |
im going to vilu reef in 2004 has anyone stayed there and what were youre thought on this resort
what trips were available ? |
Giles & Lisa
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, February 18, 2003 - 7:09 am: | |
Subject: Information on Vilu Reef Resort in the Maldives
Hi there
If anyone has stayed at the above destination we would appreciate your comments as to wether your stay at the resor was spot on as we are about to book the resort for our honeymoon for two weeks in january 2004.
Many thanks for your time and advice.
Giles&Lisa |
Ahmed Shiham
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, January 05, 2003 - 12:20 am: | |
Subject: GT fishing in Maldives
In late evening, november 30th, 2002, five Singaporean and two Japanese anglers arrived at Male airport Maldives. As soon as they left the airport, they jumped in the safari boat MV. COZY, and jumped in each bed in small cabins. On the next day 3 AM, while all anglers are still sleeping, the boat left it's anchorage and head to the north. And our fishing safari in Maldives started.
Our doni (every boat in anysize is called "doni" in Maldives) MV. COZY is 60ft safari boat with 4 crews and a guide, usually used for diving and fishing safari tour. The speed is slow but has good casting space because of it's flat roof. All 7 of us can cast at a same time on the bow deck and the roof deck. Seven topwater addicts who cast at a same time are from Singapore, our leader Zeck, Simon, Hong Kim, Aik Sing and Gene who coordinate this trip, and from Japan, K-ToTo Mukaiyama and me.
On the first day morning, December 1st, we arrived at Faadhippolhu Atoll about 100 km north from Male and started fishing. In the afternoon of the first day, K-ToTo caught first trophy fish of this trip, 45kg Sailfish.
We slowly moved up to the northmost atoll Ihavandhippolhu Atoll with fishing at every good fishing spot. We landed a desert island for surf fishing and visited a few small towns for supply water during our voyage navigated by Maldivian guide Majeed. It was amazing seven and a half days fishing safari live on board. On the last day, we left COZY at South Thiladhunmathee Atoll and fly back to Male with a lot of good memories and a bit of muscular pain
Report by: Mr.HAMANAKA, Setsuo (Japan)
sham@za2.so-net.ne.jp
To organise your fishing trip pls contact: www.muni.com.mv
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Tropical Fly Fishing, T
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 25, 2002 - 9:21 am: | |
Subject: Fly Fishing in the Maldives, part two
The first thing that struck us as soon as we stepped of the plane was the color of the water and the fact that even standing there on the tarmac we were totally surrounded by this beautiful tropical water. Nothing can prepare you for the beauty of the Maldives. Customs and immigration was smooth and hassle free. Sun Tours and Travels and were escorted to our speedboat for transfer to the Island. On reaching the Island we were escorted to the reception and checked in. Welcome includes a complementary fruit punch and a very refreshing cold towel. All in all the entire pick up, transfer and welcome was very professional and a very pleasant experience.
The deluxe room we had was small but comfortable with a nice balcony overlooking the sand flats. The furnishings are plain but adequate. The bathrooms are a good size, clean and functional. The room came with a TV (which only had one channel) and a mini bar. Food in general is good tasting and good quality however could do with a little more variety. All facilities and activities are available at Olhuveli Island Resort. These include Island hopping, snorkeling, sunrise & sunset cruises, morning and night fishing (bait fishing) etc.
Olhuveli island resort is situated on a huge expanse of sand flats which stretches for at least 10 Km in length and are between 500 meters and 1 KM wide. As you are not allowed to fish from the resort island you do need a boat to get to your fishing flats. The Dhoni (local large wooden boat) is o.k. for getting you there and back, but that’s about it. Don’t bother trying to fly fish from it. The crew is not familiar with fly fishing but know where the fish might be. So don’t expect much guiding assistance considering fly fishing. Fly fishing outside the lagoon is almost impossible because the Dhoni is not suitable for this. I fished the flats both north and south of the island and found the flats in the south to be better. At high tide larger bait fish imitation flies work well but only in natural colors. Forget white and chartreuse etc as the water is just too clear. Keep your patterns as close to the natural colors as possible. Olive greens with a little bit of silver sparkle through them worked really well for me. As the water level drops at low tide and the sun gets higher in the morning you need to go for small Crazy Charlie’s in tan, beige, and white colous. As the sun gets higher and on brighter days I had to go for lighter 8 – 9 lb tippets but for most of the time I got away with a 12 lb tippet. Permit are there but not in big numbers. If you went there just to target Permit you may go away disappointed. In five days of fishing over some of the nicest flats I have ever seen I did not see one Bonefish. I don’t understand why but they just weren’t there. The fishing is challenging but if you manage to hook a Bluefin Trevally under these kind of conditions its one of the most rewarding fly fishing experiences you will ever had in your life.
As a combination family holiday & fishing trip it’s a great destination. I chose to fish early each morning so that you could be back at the resort by around 12 am. For serious fly fishermen it might be a bit disappointing as the Permit and Bonefish are few and far between. It is a lovely place, good resort and I’m sure that we will go back there again. A week was a bit to short. I think 10 to 14 days would be ideal if they would only change the buffet. Despite this I will be going back as I am now addicted to Bluefin Trevally in shallow gin clear water.
for more information please email to : tropical@castel.nl Visit website : www.tropicalflyfishing.com |
Tropical Fly Fishing, T
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 25, 2002 - 9:21 am: | |
Subject: Fly Fishing in the Maldives, part two
The first thing that struck us as soon as we stepped of the plane was the color of the water and the fact that even standing there on the tarmac we were totally surrounded by this beautiful tropical water. Nothing can prepare you for the beauty of the Maldives. Customs and immigration was smooth and hassle free. Sun Tours and Travels and were escorted to our speedboat for transfer to the Island. On reaching the Island we were escorted to the reception and checked in. Welcome includes a complementary fruit punch and a very refreshing cold towel. All in all the entire pick up, transfer and welcome was very professional and a very pleasant experience.
The deluxe room we had was small but comfortable with a nice balcony overlooking the sand flats. The furnishings are plain but adequate. The bathrooms are a good size, clean and functional. The room came with a TV (which only had one channel) and a mini bar. Food in general is good tasting and good quality however could do with a little more variety. All facilities and activities are available at Olhuveli Island Resort. These include Island hopping, snorkeling, sunrise & sunset cruises, morning and night fishing (bait fishing) etc.
Olhuveli island resort is situated on a huge expanse of sand flats which stretches for at least 10 Km in length and are between 500 meters and 1 KM wide. As you are not allowed to fish from the resort island you do need a boat to get to your fishing flats. The Dhoni (local large wooden boat) is o.k. for getting you there and back, but that’s about it. Don’t bother trying to fly fish from it. The crew is not familiar with fly fishing but know where the fish might be. So don’t expect much guiding assistance considering fly fishing. Fly fishing outside the lagoon is almost impossible because the Dhoni is not suitable for this. I fished the flats both north and south of the island and found the flats in the south to be better. At high tide larger bait fish imitation flies work well but only in natural colors. Forget white and chartreuse etc as the water is just too clear. Keep your patterns as close to the natural colors as possible. Olive greens with a little bit of silver sparkle through th |
Tropical Fly Fishing, T
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 11, 2002 - 12:18 pm: | |
Subject: Fly Fishing in the Maldives
FISHING REPORT MALDIVES, VILU REEF RESORT
We have been there with 4 persons We stayed at the Vilu Reef Lodge www.vilureef.com.
This lodge is very beautiful, nice beach bungalows and great food but the drinks are not included
I think that we have fly fished in one of the most beautiful destinations on earth…………...
Fly fishing from deserted islands. Each island had in the middle a dense jungle, surrounded by pure white beaches and by a coral reef. A fly fisherman’s dream.
I organised a pilot-trip to see if we can find a new fly fishing paradise. We found a paradise, but the fly fishing was another part. From the beach you will see at the outer edges of the reef, everywhere Jacks, Trevallies hunting. Those fish stay most of the time in the reef and do not come hardly close to the beach. But not every island is equal. Sometimes the reef is very close and sometimes the reef is far away.
From the beaches we caught many small Groupers and Jacks and one Blue Fin Trevally. But the biggest
fish are in the reef on along the " cuts " and "edges" on the blue side.
We fished from a large traditional Dhoni normally used for diving purposes. We have fished from October 20th to October 27th at several small islands of the Dhaalu Atoll. We chose the islands and flats in relation to our main targets species to catch; Bonefish, Indian Ocean Permit, Barracuda. Jack and Trevally. The decision what flat or island to fish from was made on a daily basis, mainly by ourselves using our knowledge and experience of similar tropical waters in the Caribbean and elsewhere and by studying the map of the Dhaalu Atoll after the first two days of fishing. During our stay we experienced the fly fishing in general as being difficult and though, because of the conditions that we were facing with and because of the lack of understanding of what fly fishing is all about at the Vilu Reef.
Fishing from deserted Islands
We were all hoping to catch a Bluefin Trevally from a beach of a deserted island. Everyday we saw them hunting far away from the island, in the corals or along the edges in the blue water along the reef. The only possibility of catching them was to swim with all your fishing gear from the beach to the reef and try to catch them by standing (!) on the coral reef and casting to the blue water edge. We experienced this method as being rather dangerous. You simply cannot tell to your clients that in order to catch a fish they have to swim to certain fishing spots. The last days we spent mainly at Faandhu, a deserted island where the reef is closer to the beach. The fishing options on this particular island were somewhat better but far from ideal for fly fishing. From this island as elsewhere we caught mainly small Groupers between 15 - 25 cm and some tropical reef fish. The very few Bluefin Trevally and Jacks that we managed to hook were all lost in the sharp coral. All in all we truly missed a flat-bottomed boat better suited for this kind of fishing.
Fishing on the flats
We have fished some mornings and evenings on the flats around the local island nearby Vilu Reef where we thought to find Bonefish in large schools. All the flats around the Vilu Reef Lodge are to deep for Bonefishing by wading. We saw very few Bonefish at the local island nearby the Vilu Reef Resort and caught only one (!) during our entire stay. We caught numerous little Groupers and some big Garfish.
We found it disappointing to see that the local people obviously don't care about their own environment. The shoreline is a mess and there is rubbish all over the place.
Fishing in the surf on the outer-reef of the atoll
The first day we went to the Sixteen Sandbanks, sixteen deserted islands in a row………..
We tried the flats for Bonefish first, but saw not a single fish. Then we spotted a lot of Jacks and Trevallies hunting in the blue water near the outer edges of the reef. Our video – man fished from the reef over the surf with very heavy spinning gear (not fly fishing) and succeeded in catching some nice fish.
The only possibility left was to cast from a boat in the blue water in the direction of the reef, trying to keep a hooked fish out of the coral reef and playing it in deeper water, with less chance of loosing the fish. However, this can only be done from open flat-bottomed boats, that are suitable for drifting close to the reef. Such boats allow a fly fisherman to cast easily with long fly lines to stalk and hunt the fish. A maximum of two fly fishermen and a guide by the outboard motor is the limit for fishing in the described way. Unfortunately such boats are not yet available at the Vilu Reef Resort. So we had to make do with the Dhoni. The Dhoni is a nice comfortable boat for transporting passengers but not really a fishing machine. It is to heavy and to large to fish without any problems along the reef in the blue water.
It has a roof, making it difficult to hook a fish from a certain distance. Fly fishing is impossible from a Dhoni, because you can not make a decent cast, but the people who had spinning rods, tried to cast along the reef. The results : we lost one big fish in the coral reef and could not get it out, because the Dhoni could not get close enough to where the fish was stuck. At the end of our stay we lost a fight with a big fish because the Dhoni was not able to turn quickly enough. Another method of fishing can be trolling a lure or an artificial fly, but this is not what we consider to be fly fishing in the real sense of the word.
The crew on board was very helpful but they are truly not fly fishing guides. Neither do they have any basic understanding of sport fishing. They know how to get to some of the islands and they know how to drop us off there, but they are certainly not fishing guides. We do realise of course that the staff of the Vilu Reef Resort is not familiar with this kind of sport fishing.
I think this summarize will give you a good impression. The area is unbelievable, but the fishing is tough, but very rewarding if you can catch a Trevally or a big Jack in these circumstances. But I like to be honest with you, and these were the results of our stay at the Vilu Reef. Resort, Dhaalu Atoll.
However…………. Sun Travel, Maldives is busy to build a new lodge on a deserted island called
Olhuveli. Olhuveli is located in the South Male Atoll. This lodge is located at very huge lagoon, that is stretching out for more than 10 km………… The management of Olhuveli told me that all the gamefish are swimming in the lagoon, like Permit, Bluefin & Giant Trevally, Barracuda and Jacks. They have boats and guides that can bring into and even outside the lagoon. I did email them also some pictures of Bonefish and they told me that they will find out it these fish
are there.
If you are interested I can give you a really good price if you consider this is as a pilot – trip. In return I like to receive a full report after your stay. Please email me at tropical@castel.nl if you are interested in fishing the first in this maybe new fishing paradise
After reading this report, please check my new update at www.tropicalflyfishing.com
I am looking forward to your answer.
Best Regards, Theo Huizing, Tropical Fly Fishing
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Ahmed Z. Adam
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 13, 2000 - 6:51 am: | |
Subject: A great combination of trolling & casting
BLUE HORIZON, A GREAT COMBINATION OF TROLLING AND REEF CASTING ©
Experienced blue water fishermen are familiar with the total relaxation possible during trolling, especially when no fish hits any lure. There is on the other hand an alternative to trolling that, even when all fish are asleep, is guaranteed to exhaust the angler completely. We are talking about reef casting, in which the angler takes over part of the boats' role, as practised around the coral reefs of the Maldives. Reef casting is casting towards a coral reef over distances of at least 60m with poppers of 3oz or more. Instead of the usual trolling, the angler reels in fast using a sturdy high-speed fixed spool reel. Because 30-50lbs braided lines are used, the rod should be stiff with top action (up tide rod with 10oz casting weight), maximum length 10ft. The Japanese have specially designed rods up to 9ft. Very long rods and 50lbs line is not a workable combination. A bucket and a rod with a fairly low reel fitting to enable comfortable reeling make good gear for the surprise that will hit you in minutes. The fish we are looking for on its way is a Giant Trevally, an extremely strong reef fish up to 80lbs. We caught Trevallies up to 70lbs.
BAD TABLE MANNERS
Giant Trevallies smack their lips while eating. A normal hit consists of the following sequence of events. First, a three feet hole appears around the lure. Then, the Trevally gently closes his mouth around it. This is audible even over 60m away. For a second nothing seems to happen. Then all hell breaks loose. With its tail half out of the water, the Trevally picks up speed and goes down. Large fish easily go down 200m. With the heavy drag applied the fish clearly tries to pull you out of the boat and it is quite difficult to bring him round to the anglers' point of view.
OTHER SPECIES
Giant Trevallies are only one of several species of large fish found around coral reefs. Bluefin jacks up to 12lbs, a rainbow runner over 3 ft, a 20lbs barracuda and large groupers provide the necessary variation. In a narrow passage between two reefs we encountered a shoal of Giants, which hunted our poppers in groups of two or three 40+lbs fish attacking each popper only 10ft away from the boat. As my Trevally irresistibly went to the stern forcing me to follow, I missed the view of a yellow fin tuna weighing 150lbs at the least, which hit at the popper four times, but still managed not to be hooked. The huge bow wave of the tuna rushing at the lure was an impressive sight, also for the skipper, who was alarmed by the crashing sounds next to the wheelhouse. Only solace was that such fish are almost impossible to land between coral reefs. Every now and then we saw a 4ft dogtooth tuna following the popper until very close to the boat without actually hitting. Next time we will take more smelly bait.
CRUNCH
Giants close their mouth somewhat forcefully. Our 5x strong 2/0 and 3/0 treble hooks were quite often bent, squeezed or simply straightened. Fortunately the Japanese group that had fished before us left a few slightly modified poppers on the boat. Trebles size 8/0, roughly 8x strong, soldered rings and wire, all adapted to withstand determined jaws, made it quite clear that they did not take any unnecessary risks. The large trebles both increase hook-up ratio and make pulling the hooks less likely.
JAPANESE POPPER-ING VERSUS DUTCH POPPER-RUNNING
The group before us used only floating poppers. The poppers are a maximum of 20cm in length and 5cm in diameter, weighing around 3oz. Poppers carry extra lead weight at one end. After the cast it floats in the water upright. Using a short rod, pull the popper towards you with short pulls without reeling in, followed by reeling in the amount of line just pulled in. Pull, reel, pull and so on. The stiff rod in combination with the braided line provides a spectacular action with the popper moving towards you and creating big splashes intermittently. This action cannot be achieved using nylon line that has too much stretch or with long rods, which are too flexible in most cases. We used very effective but more tiring sinking poppers. Cast the sinking popper towards the reef and start reeling in at maximum speed just before it hits the surface. Since a popper performs less well under water, this avoids "missing the first 10 meters" of the cast. Based on the enthusiasm raised with hitting fish, a very effective technique too.
FAR, FAR AWAY
Fishermen usually spend lots of time searching the fish. Nothing wrong with this, as not much is caught on fishless reefs, BUT...Giants are looking for you! So give them the opportunity to notice the popper by casting it very far: don't be afraid of a 100m. Especially with sinking poppers reeled in at high speeds, a Giant does not have much time to notice a popper, swim to it and attack it when you have only cast 30m. Stay far away from the reefs, at least 100m. It can take many casts to wake a giant. Some stay even further away from the reef, but they do not mind casting for days to attract that one 60lbs+ Giant. Fishing for Giants closer to the reef is useless as the fish cut the line on the coral within seconds. Of course when you prefer using lots of fresh poppers...
LUNCH PRESENTS
Reef dwellers cover large distances in search for food. Casting before and after lunch with two or three people quite often raised fish, even on the inner side of the reefs, which normally are less productive. Three casts only to raise a 20kg Giant as happened once is not bad of course and we also landed Blue fin jacks.
RODS REELS LINES LURES
Sturdy, big fixed spool reels (Shimano, Daiwa) with a bail, a strong up tide rod with 10oz casting weight and top action, braided line 30-50lbs or nylon up to 30-50lbs. Rods from NFL 125-245, reels from NFL 150-530. Poppers cost NFL 20-30, depending on size. The boat features a big sturdy landing net for fish up to 25kg and a large tailer, so gaffing the fish is not compulsory. The braided line requires some special treatment. To avoid tangles spray it with silicone spray. The drag is not set very hard (20% of breaking strength) and all braking is done using neoprene gloves (or cheap cotton ones). Gloves are also useful for casting; otherwise the 2m heavy nylon in front of the braided line kills your fingers. Experienced fishermen use a belt which holds everything they need.
LIGHT TACKLE
When you prefer to put less emphasis on rope pulling, you can fish closer to the reef with 28-45 gram spoons, pliers (also 100grams STINGSILDA) and smaller poppers. You will raise less Giants, but catch a lot of blue fin jacks, groupers etc. Use at least 40/00 and a 2-3lbs carp rod. Big fish easily cut the line on the coral, but you can be lucky and catch a 26kg Giant on this line (it may take 45 minutes). Great fun too.
SASHIMIIIIIIII ( AND OLD TUNA )
The yell of SASHIMI!!! at least once a day accompanied a still unaware yellow fin tuna or (even tastier) blue fin jack on what would turn out to be his last trip out of the water, into Thin slice Country. In thin slices, with the right Japanese Sashimi Sauce and Wasabi (green horse-radish mustard), an irresistible delicacy. Take the sauces with you from home and only use really fresh fish (max 2 hours old). As a contrast, we also tried lightly grilled and sun dried tuna. In the middle of nowhere no problem with flies, good eating. The dried Wahoo produced in the same way closer to civilisation was also closer to the fly community. We refused to try it, as we thought walking is not an ability displayed by true fish.
TRAVEL, SEASONS
Air Lanka offers direct flights to the Maldives from Sri Lanka twice a day and Singapore Airlines offers daily flights from Singapore to Maldives. There is also Emirates from Dubai (U.A.E) twice a week to Maldives. The boats, NIRU or Hoirzon can be chartered by contacting Blue Horizon Ltd (Mr. Adam Moosa or Mr. A. Zubair), on Fax: +960 328797 e-mail: bluehrzn@dhivehinet.net.mv or Tel.: +960321169 or +960 772435
Fishing is good throughout the year. The weather becomes bad after the tropical wet season from July and during February.
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