Musandam Oman 15-18 March 2012
Printed From: The Fishing Website
Category: Saltwater Fishing
Forum Name: Popper and Topwater Fishing
Forum Description: If you're into a bit of action on top, this is the forum for you
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=76952
Printed Date: 06 Jun 2026 at 4:48am
Topic: Musandam Oman 15-18 March 2012
Posted By: fishmad1
Subject: Musandam Oman 15-18 March 2012
Date Posted: 20 Mar 2012 at 5:43pm
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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. ;D   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 [email protected] and I will endeavor to reply promptly. |
Replies:
Posted By: ginga
Date Posted: 20 Mar 2012 at 6:43pm
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Cool report.
Hope to get over ther myself pretty soon.
------------- www.extremesportfishing.co.nz. Agent for Carpenter, Orion and ASWB products |
Posted By: stellajigger
Date Posted: 20 Mar 2012 at 8:37pm
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sweet place to go ,cheers for the report ------------- Live Bait , the Lance Armstrong of catching KINGFISH |
Posted By: Telecaster
Date Posted: 20 Mar 2012 at 8:59pm
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Sweet report! |
Posted By: C A
Date Posted: 26 Mar 2012 at 9:57pm
gee it gets rough over there  ------------- http://www.legasea.co.nz" rel="nofollow"> 
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