fishind in the maldives

[BOGIEMAN]

going to the MALDIVES in feb 06.can any one tell me if your aloud to fish from the beech in the MALDIVES,as i have heard that this is ilegal,and that fishing is restricted to boats..? :confused:

[Tipper]

You weren't allowed to on the islands I've been to. I'm pretty sure its the same for the whole of the Maldives. Stick to the snorkelling and diving, it's second to none.

[pablo]

i am going to the maldives jan 06, this will be my third visit. every island is different and has various rules, i will be taking my telescopic rod this year and if possible having a session off of the beach at night. As already has been said the snorkelling is fantastic make sure you take some snorkelling equipment and an underwater camera (boots disposable is good enough) Most of the islands run night boat fishing trips which are brilliant, it's amazing what you can catch on a hand line!! If you are going to fish take heavy tackle as there are some big fish to be caught just off the beach. What island are you going to? :)

[Tipper]

Got this off the proangler web site

"The roomboy was waiting to introduce himself and was fascinated by the thinnest fishing rod he had ever seen. I explained what it was for and my intention to fish off the beach. THEN CAME THE BOMBSHELL THAT RUINED MY HOLIDAY. Fishing within the reef is not allowed on any resort island, THERE IS A FINE US$500. I shall be having words with KUONI about that. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!"

[BOGIEMAN]

thanks alot lads,most helpfull.im going to kuredu..il be getting myself on one of the fishing boats,in seatch of a monster...

[pablo]

looks like i will be leaving the fishing rod at home then! :mad:

[matsalvin]

I was in the maldives feb06, like the other chap i was gutted to find out on arrival fishing was not permitted within the lagoon.went on a few different night/day boat fishing trips which i did not find very good, was very basic with hand lines.decided to chance a couple of night sessions from the beach.risky !!but by far the best fishing ive ever done. none stop action caught and released a number of large reef fish along with two good sized black tipped reef sharks and a fair few munching through my 25lb line. never to forgotten. ive just booked my retern in march07.:clap2: :clap2:

[daley]

Hi mate

Im going meeru (maldives) 4th feb 07
i would of loved to of fished the beach but dont really fancy the
supposed $500 fine.

I will make do with the boat trip to kind of get it out
my system:uhuh:

Can you tell me how much it was for the night boat trip and if much was caught

Thanks

ps. a good session you had by the sounds of it:)

[PanamaJack]

[QUOTE=daley;467694]
Im going meeru (maldives) 4th feb 07
i would of loved to of fished the beach but dont really fancy the
supposed $500 fine.

I will make do with the boat trip to kind of get it out
my system:uhuh:
QUOTE]

From what I've heard the evening handlining trips are quite popular BUT they do belie just what can be caught out there. The Maldives are a popular destination for organised multi-day fishing trips, particularly for those who specialise in fishing surface poppers on heavy spin gear. Here're a couple of threads, with pictures, of what they catch - http://www.caranx.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=2148 and http://www.caranx.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=2371.

[daley]

Thanks for that there certainly seems to be some very good
fishing to be had and those gt,s are massive.not called giant for nothing!!

Thanks

[PanamaJack]

Hi Daley
If the option is to fish evenings from the local boats you could try taking a set of gear to fish lightish jigs - the Shimano 'butterfly' range are effective. Alternatively, if you're just off the reef edge, a set of heavyish spin gear (heavy Pike gear would be OK) to fish poppers FAST - YoZuri Hydro Tigers or Surface Bull GTs. You'll probably use more than the odd lure but you'll have great fun!
Dave

[marktheshark]

Hi Bogieman
I'm off to Maldives in March, so let us know if you've been able to do some fishing, sneaky or otherwise. If I don't hear from you after Feb, I'll presume that they caught you and you're in the local nick!
All the best. ANY info, even boat or handlining, gratefully received.
Mark

[PanamaJack]

Hi Mark (and others)
I found this thread - http://www.worldseafishing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53632&highlight=Maldives - in the South East forum. Pablo's initial comments may be of some use.
Dave

[marktheshark]

Cheers for that Dave. I'll write to Maldives Tourist office for clarification, but I think I recall one of the more expensive resorts featuring a woman fly-fishing in a lagoon. Let's see if I get a definitive reply ...

[pablo]

Hi Mark (and others)
I found this thread - http://www.worldseafishing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53632&highlight=Maldives - in the South East forum. Pablo's initial comments may be of some use.
Dave


hi lads just having a look through and i found this thread, got to say that we go out to the maldives every year in january, mainly for the peace and quiet and the snorkeling, and the island we stayed on this year (VILU REEF) offered the best fishing so far in five years. most of the islands offer night fishing but usually only twice a week, how ever this year the island offered it every night, happy days!
it is dissapointing that you cant fish from the shore as im sure it would be wicked!! as some of the sting rays that come to the edge of the beach in the evening are massive!
i have posted a few more pics of some of the boxes of fish that were caught on hand lines.
pablo

[marktheshark]

Hullo mateys
Just returned from Meedhupparu after a very good week, so let's tell you what I know. First up, just to confirm what you already know; it's illegal to fish the reefs and lagoons of the resorts from any point on the shore, including jetties, piers, breakwaters.
I'd just like to throw in a brief sermon here: I've been fishing for decades in many, many far places, and I have never seen fish and sea-life so unbothered by humans in my life as I did last week. When you can swim so close to turtles that you can touch them, when you can get within feet of 20lb parrot-fish and they just carry on scraping at coral, when you can float in the midst of curtains of fish, it makes for a very special place. I didn't touch my shore gear out there and would urge all WSF readers to consider this too and just appreciate the beauty. The price of that beauty is no fishing on the resort islands. For the same reason, I didn't go night fishing - it's too close to being unsporting, even for me.
On the high seas, it's another matter. Within the atolls, the seas are alive with small bonito and species that you'd consider pelagic elsewhere are caught within half a mile of the islands. The hotel ran morning trips for four hours from sunrise, using handlines to catch tuna and then the tuna for bait. They are not geared up for rod fishing, but still catch big fish on the handlines. On our first trip my father had a 15lb wahoo on a Rapala, but the fish weren't interested in heads, tuna skirts etc, and the crew weren't bothered with catching livebait. None of the crew we used spoke brilliant English ... you need to be patient and use sign language.
So, on returning, we ran into another Brit who'd been out the previous day and caught loads and knew a skipper who was a bit more clued up. We had to go to hotel reception and write out exactly what we wanted; a private charter, with skipper X, 7hrs from 7am, for four anglers etc, and they moved us from Sunday to Monday without telling us, but eventually, on Monday we got our boat.
Not much at first but we had a bonito, which went onto the handline - and straight away a dorado of about 20lb. Then, Ian, the other Brit, had another dorado on the rod with a bonito strip and tuna skirt, and it all suddenly went mad. We ended up with eight dorado, biggest 29lb, plus another two lost at the boat, multiple hook-ups, a whole swarm of them around the boat at one stage.
We lost loads of wahoo, which took the body of the tuna clean off without touching the hooks, and watched one of the locals struggling with a sailfish on a handline in the boat next door before bringing it in. Great day, washed down with a cold beer or five at the end.
So here's the wishlist. I took two 30lb travel boat rods with lever-drag reels; a 12wt fly rod (which we cast to the bonitos with no luck, but which, given another charter, could have been used) and a heady spinning rod. To get bonito you'll need small muppets (3in) or even better, fry flies or good mackerel feathers. For the brutes you'll need 8in tuna skirts or muppets, very strong hooks up to 8/0, lots of wire trace. Also, because the second boat had no rodholders, some metal clips on bungee cord; and because they had no gaff, some rubbing leader of 100lb or so and a leather gardening glove for boating the fish manually. We spent a lot of time trying Rapalas, Yo-Zuris and other plugs, and the only success was on a deep-running Rapala Magnum in blue mackerel for the wahoo.

We've only scratched the surface of what seems an extraordinary fishery. I'm sure some resorts have big game boats with all mod cons, but this was huge fun - at $40 a head. Ian and Steve, if you read this - cheers for a grand day out! Next year, we'll be back. I hope.