Maldives Liveaboard

[Cloudy]

Hi Guys,

Well i'm glad to say that myself and friend have just booked a liveaboard in the Maldives for May 09.:clap3: I'm not sure what tackle will be provided so i want to try and start sourcing my own.

Has anybody done a similar liveaboard in the Maldives?

What type of rod and reel do i need for popping and jigging?

Size, makes and prices of poppers etc?

Thanks for the help.

Cheers
Ali

[TomBettle]

Ali, contact Dave Lewis (depending on who you have booked with, he may well be your guide). He is a WSF member and the journalist who has been publicising the Maldives over recent months in Sea Angler mag etc.

He may stumble across this post and be kind enough to answer or you could try a PM to him. He is on the site fairly often.

Tom

[PanamaJack]

Ali
You may as well want to view a couple of links on this thread - http://www.worldseafishing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=128763&highlight=Maldives - one will take you to a specialised Popping and Jigging forum, the other to a photo-essay one of our other Club members put together on his live-aboard trip.
Dave

[j0hnb0y]

you need a fairly short rod capable of throwing some heavy poppers for GT's, up to 4oz or more. I am getting a Greys Popper rod for £150 that will hopefully be up to the job although i am not sure on the quality of this. have heard mixed reports...

As for reels, the best you can afford. A reel that has a good drag is important as well as the ability to hold a hefty amount of braid. I have a Fin-Nor OFS65 and have been using it for bottom fishing in 150m of water with 65lb braid on it.

I would imagine a Fin-Nor OFS series will be sufficiently adequate for large GT's. they weigh a ton and are not good for all-round plugging but will control a big fish quite happily.

http://rokmax.com/product.php?prodid=431&name=Fin-Nor+Offshore+Spinning+Reels

Shimano Stellas and Daiwa Saltigas will do the job beautifully but come at a hefty cost, upwards of £500...

Halco (from Aus) poppers have a good reputation though hard to source in the UK. Can find them here - http://www.caranx.net/shop.htm
Generally bigger is better for GT's.

Williamson Jets - http://www.grangersfishing.com/shop/product/4303/73
expensive from here, perhaps you can find them cheaper?

Yo-Zuri Surface Cruiser - http://rokmax.com/product.php?prodid=395&name=Yo-Zuri+Surface+Cruiser

Yo-Zuri Surface Bull GT - http://www.caranx.net/shop.htm

I suspect the boat ought to have a lot of poppers onboard. Do they not supply rod and reels too? I would say you could compromise on the rod more than anything. the reel must have a good drag and strong braid (50+ lb braid for me...). Poppers should be wired through and have strong split rings and hooks.

can't really help on the rod, im looking for something similar myself and the Greys is the best i can come up with for throwing heavy lures but also being small enough to transport easily. let me know if you come accross anything!

have a good'un, 6 and a bit months to go!

[Cloudy]

Cheers for the info guys. I'll get on to it. I think i've got a lot of research to do.

There seems to be some confusion on the tackle front. The guy i spoke to in the Maldives said there was tackle on the boat but was unsure what and the FAQ part of the website says for anglers to bring there own my rod. So my fear is that when we arrive there will either be none or it'll be poor standard.

Can you also use a popping style rod for jigging?

[j0hnb0y]

i hope so! can't tell you more than that. i'll let you know how the Greys stands up to jigging with 200gm+ jigs!

[Cloudy]

Thanks John,

When do you go? What boat are you using?

[j0hnb0y]

hehe well i am off to Belize to do some jigging from a kayak so it is not exactly what you will be doing. but it should give the rod a decent workout, throwing heavy poppers and jigs. picking it up tomorrow i hope...

[PanamaJack]

Ali
I don't know whether you've found this thread - http://www.worldseafishing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=68971 - yet? It's a 'sticky' in the General - International forum. That contains a number of other useful links.

In terms of the quality of the boat tackle in that part of the world I think you have to bank on it being suspect. Definitely take your own quality tackle and ensure that you have adequate spares, including spools of braid.

I suspect that, as yet, Dave Irving hasn't picked up on your post. He's a very experienced Jig and Popper fisher, and has experience of many parts of the world. Also I recall that Steve Pitts posted a video link on here some months ago regarding a long range trip he took to the remoter parts of the Seychelles. That in turn, as a prelude to your trip, would be worth viewing just to see what you're up against.

So, if they don't link into this thread, it's perhaps worth PM-ing them. MarktheShark is also another good source of information and - is it the BigMan (?) - from Scotland who's done some speed jigging in Kenya. Just have a look through all those International threads for potential information, perhaps using the Search this Forum with a key word to filter.

[PanamaJack]

Ali
The three video clips - hosted through YouTube - by Steve Pitts I was referring to can be accessed through this link - http://www.mikeladle.com/archive/index.html. As well as 'action' they do cover knot tying and tackle.

[marktheshark]

Ullo matey
Dave Lewis did a brief piece on his trip to the Maldives in the June 2007 issue of Sea Angler. Seemed more a taster for Anglers World Holidays, for whom the piece said he would be doing escorted trips there early in 2008. The mother ship they stayed upon was called Sultan of Madivaru, and they fished South Huvadhoo atoll.
It seemed that the most prolific methods were jigging and poppering, but from my time in the Maldives, I'd say that poppering and livebaiting will be pretty good as well. In fact, anything does, the fishery is so good!
I'd assume that your boat has limited or no tackle - 'tackle included' out there may just mean a 100lb handline or two. There is a bewildering range of travel kit on sale these days. On the rods, go heavier and make sure you know what you're getting - an 20/30lb boat rod in the UK may sound heavy enough, but that probably equates to an 8lb IGFA rod, so err on the side of caution and go heavy. There's no way that giant trevally can be compared to any sort of fish in this country and if you want to hold even the small (30lb) fish you'll need quality rods that can stop them dead without breaking, quality reels that you can lock down the drag, and quality line or braid, and the best terminal gear. For reels, I'd just say two things: quick, and tough. Lever drags are better, two-speeds the best, provided the top gear is fast enough. Veals (Bristol) and Mainwarings (Swansea) specialise in jigging stuff, Harrisangling.co.uk lures and other stuff. I'd also have a look at Rokmax.com for general beast gear. The best doesn't come cheap - be warned.
PM me with a rough idea of what you're prepared to pay if you want more specific gear advice. Otherwise, good luck and tight lines. If you're going in May, that's the changover in seasons so the seas can be very rough and stormy; make sure you're prepared.

[Cloudy]

Cheers for the info and those links guys. The more i watch these video clips the more i wish i was going in November not bleedin April!!!

The name of the boat we've chartered is MV Bolero. THought it might be worth mentioning incase anyone else has used it in the past. If so the maybe able to spread some light on what gear is on board.

Mark i've sent you a PM.

I think i'm gonna need two cases. One for my clothes and the other for the fishing gear. U suppose i could always put the heavy gear in the missus bag!!!

[TomBettle]

Cloudy

Pure interest, how much is the holiday and what do you get for the money?

[Cloudy]

Cheaper than you may think. Well i thought anyway.

Its $800 per day. So for myself and friend it works out about £1,800 each for 7 nights. Pretty good value for the size of vessel etc and considering thats minimum you'd pay for a decent hotel in the Maldives.

[noorani]

Sorry if I am digging up an old thread here, but for information's sake..

Maldivian Liveaboards do have gear, but its very varied. Handlines would be there and a maybe couple of rods and reels usually, with some poppers and jigs. However, take your own gear and tackle, do the research and get the sizes you want.

About the liveaboards, get between 4-8 mates of yours together for an excellent fishing holiday, get a nice big boat that has all the support gear you need, with a good skipper and there are a couple of very good boats. Nooraanee2 is a 6 bedroom liveaboard with aircon and watermaker, and fish finders, gaffs, good dinghy, rod holders etc. Check out the facebook page 'Nooraanee2'

cheers and tight lines

[Patudo]

How did the original poster get on?

[noorani]

How did the original poster get on?

I too was wondering about that.. but its Maldives and chances are its a very satisfying fishing holiday. A lot depends on the Liveaboard choice though... some boats are too small for more than 4 pax, and rooms dont have aircon on some boats, no watermaker so you have to use water very sparingly etc.

Choose the right one, and you would have the time of your life :)

[Norm B]

I too was wondering about that.. but its Maldives and chances are its a very satisfying fishing holiday. A lot depends on the Liveaboard choice though... some boats are too small for more than 4 pax, and rooms dont have aircon on some boats, no watermaker so you have to use water very sparingly etc.

Choose the right one, and you would have the time of your life :)

:roll1:It also helps if you can pick your fishing partners. The guy who's a laugh on a day trip becomes an absolute nightmare after 3 days.:roll1:

[CloudyMac]

Hi Guys,

Apologies for not replying sooner.

The Maldives as a place was amazing but the fishing unfortunately was average. I think this was mainly down to my choice of liveaboard. The crew of Bolero were realy nice fella's but didn't have a clue about fishing or speak alot of english. Most places we decided to fish were based on them looking fishy! We had to work really hard for the fish we caught but i'm sure if the skipper had more experience he could have put us on alot more fish no problem. The weather and place was amazing so we couldn't really complain.

Our catch consisted of mainly of GT's with the best being about 40lb, lots of Wahoo's, a few Barracuda, Coral Trout, Dorado, a couple of Dogtooth and the usual reef species. Seeing a GT chasing your popper has got to be one of the best sights in fishing. Talk about a adrenline rush!!

I've attached a few photies of our catch.

Cheers
Ali

[Patudo]

Some nice fish in your photos Cloudymac and the ocean looks very calm - hopefully you enjoyed your trip anyway! Lots of wahoo and GT to 40 lbs plus coral trout, dorado, dogtooth tuna and reef species sounds OK by me! How many days was your trip, and which locations did you fish?

It is difficult even in the fishiest areas when there are communication problems and when the crew are boatmen rather than fishermen. If you're going on a casual holiday it's one thing, but if you're planning a serious fishing trip for specific targets such as marlin, or GT, intensive research is a must.

[noorani]

Hi Patudo,

I am still getting the hang of forumming, am studying in Sweden for my masters with my wife, so dont have a lot of time on my hands to go through all the forums as much as I want to try. Check out the facebook page of 'Nooraanee2' as I keep on posting photos and video links as much as I can get from the clients.
The singaporeans we usually have is more interested in jigging and popping than anything else, but the guy who came a month ago got a few sails and marlins as well as a 99lb GT and I will upload the coupla pics I got from him today.
Anyways I think the most important thing is a nice relaxing trip, have an afternoon off snorkeling as well as an evening bbq :)
cheers