Alberto and Carlos from Spain were my last charter for the season down on the Halaniyat Islands in Southern Oman it’s a temperamental time weather wise and it was looking a bit touch and go at first with forecasts for winds in the 25 to 30 knot range luckily this proved to not be the case although we still had strong winds at times up to 20 knots on the first and second day but being on the island enabled us to get to the bite without to much drama it was a bit wet and wild at times but we managed.
We had been fishing one of the further islands the past few days with excellent results and for the first two days of the trip the trend continued with us landing some great fish in good numbers as well as having the added bonus of some big long tail tuna and a massive queenfish or two. The GT’s where fat, healthy and hungry and most of them where nice and dark with the odd black guy coming to the boat as well, all good indications of a spawning bite which is the holy grail in Southern Oman. The spawning was confirmed when an extra excited GT had a bit of an adult moment while on Carlos’s lap and a few million potential GT’s unfortunately went to waste.
We had Monster Queenies everywhere.
A big Long Tail Tuna
A nice GT on a Siren, Jasons lures produced exceptionally well this season.
Carlos and I with one of his bigger fish
For most of the trip we had gorgeous blue water which is rare combine this with strong winds and lots of surface chop and you’re cooking with gas
Alberto and I with another good fish this time on a Siren Badmon 290
Day one produced 7 GT’s with the smallest measuring 116cm and the biggest 135cm and no losses while day two produced 3 with 4 losses so we had high hopes for day 3 which was forecast to be our best weather day before the wind began to blow in earnest again. We set out early in the morning in a jubilant mood there was very little wind,the sea was calm and a beautiful blue, the cloud cover was gone and we had sunny skies. Everything looked set for an epic day unfortunately the fishing was dismal the GT’s didn’t want to play along. This is the flip side of fishing the spawning period sometimes the fish have other things on their minds besides eating! So we returned to the Ocean Active HQ with our tails between our legs having only raised 3 GT’s for the whole day. Clearly a pep talk and strategy meeting was in order.
When the guys had arrived on the island on the first day we had snuck out to have a practise run in front of the lodge just before the sun set and we had raised two fish on one of my favourite sections of reef. So the next morning we set out in a howling wind to have a bash there instead of heading to the far islands, it certainly turned out to be the right decision as an hour and a half of chaos ensued starting from the first cast. The previous day was completely forgotten as fish after fish came blasting out the water the weather was rough, the fishing was wild and we were loving every moment of it. The Geets were going airborne bursting out of the swells and crashing head first into the lures from above it was completely bonkers and I count myself very lucky to have witnessed it. We doubled up twice and landed singles on every drift and missed many more mostly due to the tough sea conditions by the time we had the fish on board, taken our photos and ensured that it had swam away happy and healthy we would be 300 meters from the reef and would have to beat our way back. The session produced our two biggest fish for the trip a 140cm and a 142cm for Alberto and Carlos respectively with the smallest fish still measuring in at a very respectable 130cm. Our final tally was 10 Geets boated and 2 lost So we headed back to the lodge in great mood for a bite to eat and a shower to wash off the salt crust.
The day starting to take its toll on Carlos catching fish after fish sounds great but its hard work, this guy was on a Hammer Head Cherry Asymmetry which claimed many fish over the course of the trip.
A nice BBB for Carlos!
Alberto showing of his custom wrapped Race Point 300 and Hammerhead G-Cup!
Sometimes the fish wins this was a 300lb Varivas Split Ring converted to a paper clip by a slightly peeved GT
Another BBB this time for Alberto
Getting Bent on the Racepoint 300 I always thought this was a rod more suited to big dudes like Sami and Nick but the guys proved me wrong.
Result
The afternoon session was Cut short by the weather the wind was starting to blow really hard and a look at the internet confirmed that the Kareef was upon us and we would have to cut the trip short by a day for safety reasons. But the thought of leaving the island without a quick stop at our little rock was just too much to take so we packed up all the non-essential gear and clothing loaded the minimum amount of fishing gear onto the boat and bravely set off with the rising sun into the howling wind in pursuit of big fish. Time was limited but we made the most of it landing another 3 and losing 5 more as angry fish came storming down the swells and going off like grenades on the lures we lost and missed way more than we landed as keeping your footing with the big boat being thrown about in the swell was difficult and the spray blowing of the ocean drenching everything but there wasn’t a single complaint from Alberto and Carlos and I nearly faced a mutiny when I made the call to head for the lodge and then onwards to shore!
The Malaysian boys Halzaan, Wan and Mukhtar where on the Island with us and had a great trip as well thanks for the Pin Tails guys!
Heavy Traffic on the way back to civilisation
Our final tally for the trip was 23 Gt’s boated 10 lost and many more raised, a great end to the season and a good tally for two anglers.
