Musandam Oman 15-18 March 2012

[Clem]

Hey All,

Have been a bit tardy with fishing reports in the past...so thought I would do something about it and post something from my recent trip to Musandam with Oceanactive.


Thursday 15 March

The drive from Dubai to the villa situated in Dibba takes about 1.5 hours, it's a comfortable drive through the desert with some nice scenery along the way. I arrived at the villa at 5.30pm and met Anura and his wife Mangala who look after the villa and Gerhard who I would be fishing with for the next couple of days. The villa is situated about 5 minutes drive from Dibba port (Oman side) where the boat leaves from each day. We settled into our accommodation and started to get our gear ready for the following day, all the normal checks and a lot of talk about what we hoped to achieve from the trip.

A key part of any fishing trip is to have a basic plan, yes it might have to change but nevertheless a plan will help you maximize the time you have on the water. Gerhard and I discussed what we wanted to do which was popping in the morning and jigging in the afternoon and confirmed our plans with Cameron who was our captain for the next 2 days. Cam is originally from South Africa and has plenty of experience fishing the Musandam, so we were in good hands. After dinner (I took along some steak and sausages), we spent the evening relaxing at the villa and swapping our wealth of fishing stories.  

 

Friday 16 March

Up at 6am, had a quick bite to eat and packed the mini bus for the short drive down to the port. We secured our gear on the boat, had the safety brief and got ourselves comfortable for the 90 minute run to the fishing grounds. The boat is a locally made centre console with twin 150 Yamaha's and all the safety gear – this is the smaller of the Oceanactive boats. The boat is set up well for popping and large enough to easily accommodate 3 anglers who are popping.



Sea conditions were smooth and the forecast for the next 2 days was looking favourable. The shear faces of many of the mountains providing a spectacular backdrop as they disappeared into the sea. We arrived at spot X just before 8am, our plan was to start with popping as that was going to take the most energy and see how we went. I decided to start with the big Stella (20000) and try one of the colourful Halco Haymakers (with barbless ST76's, 4/0). I had a variety of poppers with me, some old favorites and a few new ones; I had planned to try them all just to see how they performed and as a trial for the upcoming trip to Southern Oman.

     

There was a fair current sweeping around the island that we were fishing, Cameron positioned the boat perfectly about 60m out and we got our first casts away. I mentioned earlier that I was fishing with Gerhard who was on a fishing holiday from Austria. Gerhard is an avid fisherman and had some serious gear with him as he was fishing Southern Oman the following week. He was fishing a customized Dogfight on a Fisherman rod, a great setup for fishing GT's.  Not a lot of interest from the GT's early on but this was broken up with the occasional bust up of Big Eye and Sailfish chasing bait fish. We quickly changed to light gear when the Big Eye surfaced and got into the action, great fun on light tackle.

 

We had a quick break for lunch (tasty robust sandwiches provided and plenty of cool drinks in the chiller) and headed out to some of the deeper spots for a bit of jigging. The depth varied from 25m to 100m with some nice bottom structure. We had a few hits but didn't hook up, and by this time the current was starting to run so we decided to head back to the island and switched out the poppers for stick baits. I decided to use my Gillies stick bait as it has a great swimming action and very easy on the retrieve, sure enough, first cast and I was on. A few nods felt through the line confirmed it was a small GT. The Stella and the custom CTS Popper from Kieron made quick work of it...the angler being the weakest link..(not enough fishing lately). The change in current and the presence of bait fish obviously woke the GT's up as Gerhard hooked up with both GT's and Big Eye...was great fun.

 

The day come to an end and we started to head back to the marina. We passed a number of Sail fish breaking the surface and the occasional pod of Dolphins. The day had been superb, we had great weather a flat sea and some great fishing. Definitely worth remembering the sun cream however! Even with factor 50, I had a very rosy glow that was not all due to my elation at being back on the water!


Saturday 17 March

Day 2 saw the addition of another angler. William, who is originally from Texas arrived to product test some new poppers and lures that he had designed. We set off about 7am and fished a few spots along the way. We caught a few Big Eye and saw a juvenile sun fish playing on the surface; the sea conditions were flat like the day prior which made for a comfortable trip to the main fishing grounds. Once we arrived we followed the same pattern as the day before, starting with the poppers and switching to the jigs around lunchtime. The morning session was quiet like the day before, however once the Big Eye and the Long Tail Tuna started to chase the baitfish, it was all on. William and Gerhard started to hook up, I was on a Gillies and casting ahead of the surface action thinking the GT's were behind the Big Eye Tuna.... turns out they were well in front of the bait ball and I immediately hooked up on a smaller fish. The action was frantic with plenty of missed strikes and bait fish breaking the surface everywhere. I got onto better fish just before the end of the day so a great way to finish off.

     

To summarise, I had a great time.. the weather was perfect, I met some great people and best of all, just enjoyed being back on the sea. I managed to work my way through 4 different poppers and 2 different stickbait lures. I was happy with all of them, but particularly the Gillies Stickbait.
Nick and his team have got a great thing going, knowledgeable and personable staff and good gear (although I did take my own, they have plenty of high quality fishing gear for you to use) and it all made for a wonderful experience. The villa is basic but has all the comforts to make your stay enjoyable. The GT fishing is starting to pick up, the long winter has kept the water temperature down but it's on the way up so a good time to book and get out there and chase the bigger fish.

Note: I'm heading to Southern Oman at the end of this month for 3 days...the GT's have been averaging 35-40kg, with 4 over 50kg last week......can't wait... I will keep you updated with my progress.  

Helpful hints for this charter/ trip:
•   Some food is included such as the lunch and some dinner items and all of the cool drinks etc, however it is worth taking your own if you want something specific or snack items.
•   Take your own towel
•   Take some light tackle even if you plan to fish GT's as there are many opportunities for other types of fishing
•   Don't forget the sunscreen and a good hat, sensible lightweight protective clothing (you really are out on the water in full sun for 8 hours).
•   A good camera! You do NOT want to miss those outstanding catches!

If you would like any more information about this trip or have any questions, please feel free to contact me on clemhenry@hotmail.com and I will endeavor to reply promptly.

[alantani]

yeah, dude, i've got a question.  where do we sign up?  

[Irish Jigger]

yeah, dude, i've got a question.  where do we sign up?  

http://www.oceanactive.com/page.php?id=4

Ask for Nick

[redsetta]

Awesome Clem - great post and cracker pics.
Had to re-read to really take it all in! 
Can't imagine hooking into a 50kg GT - truly epic.
Cheers mate, Justin

[wallacewt]

keep em comin clem,top stuff.

[Keta]

NICE!  Thanks.

[Bryan Young]

wow, that looks like so much fun.  Those are fine catches you got there and highly prized here in Hawaii as table fare.

[Dominick]

Why does the fishing always look greener on the other side of the world?  Great report.  Keep fishing, keep reporting.  Dominick

[Keta]

Why does the fishing always look greener on the other side of the world? 

It is far "greener" than this,
Wahoo in the snow

[Nessie Hunter]

Awesome report, thanks..   Just amazing to see the World of Fishing!!!

[redsetta]

Wahoo in the snow...

Lee, what the?
How did that picture come together?

[Keta]

Mid January LR trip, put fish on ice in the back of my truck in San Diego and drove north 800 miles to home and record snow.  We ended up having over 5' on the roof the next two days. 

Not nearly as nice as Clems trip.

[Dominick]

Lee:  That is one cool picture.  Dominick

[broadway]

Great post Clem!  I felt like I came on the trip (free of charge): I felt the sun on my neck, the hit of a GT, and the cushion of the mattress from a full 8 hour day in that sun  .  Glad you're doing what all of us fisherman just sit here and dream about.  Stay safe and tight lines...
Thanks for sharing a sweet trip!

Hey Lee,
Crazy photo, but do you live on the moon or what?! Your weather is tough stuff... man, I thought I had it bad
Dom

[Dominick]

Hey Lee,
Crazy photo, but do you live on the moon or what?! Your weather is tough stuff... man, I thought I had it bad
Dom

Dom:  who had it easier than you this year.  I bet you did not have to shovel out the parking lots once this season.     Lee is out there chopping ice so the sheep can get a drink.  What a good guy Lee is he gives the sheep drinks on the rocks.     Dominick