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. 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/forum...light=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...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...urface+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/forum...ad.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.