Fishing in Dubai

[papageintaucher]

Greetings from Swansea

I'm looking at moving to Dubai for a while to gather some coin and was wondering what the fishing options were there?

The Dubai explorer goes into depth about the offshore possibilities and mentions sailfish, tuna etc but it doesn't really say much about the shore angling except that there is a chance of a barracuda giving you a kiss to remember.

Has anybody fished this region or can anyone recommend any good sites to look at?

Many thanks in advance for any replies

Jam

[marktheshark]

Ullo matey
I was in Oman in Nov; from what I gathered, a lot of the fishing in or around Dubai has been completely knackered by all the building work and man-made islands. I knew someone who went out offshore and got one barracuda, and that was a few years back before all the roadworks started. Now apparently, the water is so stagnant that all you'll catch is Barnsley trout.
However, there are a couple of bright spots. If you drive across the UAE to the Indian Ocean coast (Fujairah) there is a good offshore fishery, with some big tuna (200lb-plus yellowfin) coming in around summer. Also, some sails and loads of dorado, and inshore, some monster kingfish - I saw one of about 50lb in the local fishmarket. At the Meridien Al Aqah hotel, a Brit, Martin James, has set up a flyfishing school and is trying to put the coast on the map as a fishing destination, but it's still in its infancy and relatively unexplored as a venue.
The other place that looks interesting is the Mussandam peninsula, the bit that sticks up into the entrance of the Gulf (Strait of Hormuz). It's got a deeply incised coastline (it's a sort of desert fjordland) that looks like fish central and although I didn't visit it last time, I'll be back after they open the new lux hotel there (Evason) in May. Unless it all kicks off in Iran, which is 2min away as the scud flies, of course. There's already some diving ops, and the fish reports in the brochures are good. Mussandam is mostly in Oman, but there seems to be little problem travelling between emirates and a lot of the people I met in Oman were Dubai expats of R&R.
I haven't fished the Gulf side, but there seem to be one or two interesting beaches full of sand channels and perhaps even flats south of Abu Dhabi. On the Indian Ocean side, spinning off the headlands produced some large and very handsome garfish with dark bars down their side, and a couple of 10lb-ish guitarfish of deadbait - but my research was interrupted when security guards asked me to leave. Beware anyone planning to fish at the Barr Al Jisssah complex in Oman.
Most of all though, the expats I spoke to were unanimously in love with the lifestyle there. Sure, traffic's now bad in Dubai. So,s all the construction. Sure, it's hot in summer. Sure, there are frustrations about the booze. But overall, it sounds a great place, of which the fishing is as much, or as little, as you make of it.
Mark

[papageintaucher]

Hello Mark
Thanks very much for taking the time to post that.
I hadn't considered the palm island development but it sounds as if there's quite a bit of fishing to be had around the region and I've caught worse than builders in the past anyway i'm sure!
Nothing confirmed workwise yet but if I do get out there, I'll post a review of the fishing on here. I'm sure that it'll be a bit different to Port Talbot Dock anyway!
Thanks again and all the best!
Jamie

[PanamaJack]

Hi Jamie
Members of our Club - Sportfishing Club of the British Isles - who have fished there have normally targeted the Sailfish offshore. Some have been up around the 100lb mark, but most are smaller fish in the 50 to 70lb range. From memory the best one day catch was six on the fly. But during the late Spring/Summer months the Gulf waters become too hot even for the Sails!

In terms of shore fishing just a couple have tried it, albeit the last time was three years ago. One in particular, fishing in the evening from structure and stripping a fly fast, caught (and lost) a range of Jacks - fish upto about 8lbs.

In your initial enquiry you mentioned the possibility of other web sites. Have you perhaps thought about the Virtual Tourist - http://forum.virtualtourist.com/forum-3124-1-Travel-Dubai-1-forum.html? That can sometimes produce results.
Dave

[papageintaucher]

Greetings from East Swansea

Again, thanks for all the replies on this thread. I've finally managed to sort myself out and am flying east on May 18th.

I was just wondering whether anyone could recommend any books on fishing in Dubai/the Middle east? I've found this forum http://www.fishreports.net/fishing/messages/93/245.htmlwhich whilst quite amusing, is probably not going to give me the answers I'm looking for concerning methods, fish identification (what's going to kill you and what just looks horrific), bait gathering etc

Thanks for any replies and bent rods!

[PanamaJack]

Re-reading Mark's post reminded me of some posts I'd seen on the GT (Giant Trevally) fishing from Oman. Oman's not a 'million miles' from Dubai. If nothing they're going to whet your appetite!

http://www.caranx.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=3105

http://www.caranx.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=3134

There's also reference on one of the threads to a chap that organises trips in that area - http://www.oceanactive.com.

Well we're looking for good things. If you find the time please post back notes on your experiences to the forum.
Dave

[Spitfire66]

My brother caught a ray from the beach there ................

[Barry]

If you want to shore fish in Dubai you can try the beaches but it is very hit and miss.

You should concentrate on the breakwaters fishing with a rapala especially in the half light will yeild up the odd barracuda and snapper. fish a big bait into the rocks will sometimes give you a grouper (hamour) but there a few big fish left.

Best bet is to fish into the mouth of Dubai creek (tunnel area) where if you fish with squid baits you will catch marine catfish generally in the 4-5 lb region. They put up a great fight but tend to be covered in slime and cr*p a lot when you pull them out. They also croak. Don't let that put you off the fishing can be good, its just getting access to the water that can be a problem because of the construction activity. Occassionally you will get black tip and white tip sharks as well as barracuda and guitarfish (looks like a cross between a shark & a skate)

As mentioned previously the best fishing for big game is on the Oman coast at Fujeirah or Khor Fakhan.

There used to be the odd local boat out from Ras Al Khaimah targetting the big (15feet) hammerheads that congregate in the straits of Hormuz area.

Good luck