Fly Fishing in Musandam Oman

by | Apr 28, 2015 | Uncategorized

blog-April-28-2015-1-oman-flyfishing-ocean-activeI’ve proven that if you have a day long flight layover in Dubai you’re crazy if you don’t go fishing with my friends at Ocean Active.  But what if you have more than one day?

 

blog-April-28-2015-2b-fishing-musandam-omanMy friend Nick Bowles, owner of Ocean Active, not only offers guides out of Dubai but also to neighboring Oman.  Depending on the time of the year he runs trips in Southern Oman and to the north.  The north region is called Musandam and after spending much time with Nick, Musandam appears to be one of his favorite fishing places on earth.

 

blog-April-28-2015-2-flyfishing-in-musandam-omanGranny and I and guide Cameron Mundy arrived at the Ocean Active base in Musandam yesterday afternoon.  It was only a two hour drive from Dubai therefore if you have two days you can do this trip.

 

blog-April-28-2015-4-fishing-in-musandamBase is a simple accommodation with comfortable air-conditioned rooms, each with their own bath and an equipment room with plenty of area to rig.  Once we settled in, the manager of base, Nuru from Sri Lanka, cooked us up a dinner of fresh grilled steaks.

 

blog-April-28-2015-5-flyfishing-in-musandam-omanWe slept well but short.  Due to the wild nature of the region and long distances covered by boat, fishing starts early and you’re back early afternoon.  Cameron had us up at 4 AM and at the marina loading the boat in the dark before 5 and we took off at the first glimmer of daylight.

 

blog-April-28-2015-6-flyfishing-in-musandamWe motored north and watched the sun light creep down the flanks of the rugged Al Hajar Mountains that drop directly into the sea.  They are like Fjords in Alaska only these are bone dry and you can see desert species of vegetation.  Nonetheless the scenery is stunning and reminds me of no place I’ve ever been.

 

Our first stop was for busting longtail tuna.  The busts lasted only a few seconds and unfortunately that would be our story for the day.  We’d spot some birds and see a couple splashes then the fish would be gone.  We worked hard at this style of fishing for a good couple hours before Cameron and I agreed it was a waste of time.

 

blog-April-28-2015-7-jeff-currier-flyfishing-for-longtail-tunaNext we went to a shallow reef and I started by blind casting a sailfish popper hoping to raise a giant trevally (GT).  This sounds like a tedious task but with my Winston 12-weight SX and my custom made 100lb core Titan fly line from my friends at Scientific Anglers I could bomb that thing out there.  I quickly raised a GT but he refused.

 

blog-April-28-2015-8-halfspotted-grouperSeeing the GT right away was encouraging but an hour later he was the one and only.  We saw a free jumping sailfish also but couldn’t tease him up.  I decided to make a few deep runs with my 9-weight and a 300 grain and picked up an assortment of fish ranging from Russell snappers to halfspotted grouper.

 

blog-April-28-2015-9-milkfishThe sea turned to glass shortly after 9 AM and fish activity went dead.  Calmness isn’t the norm for the ocean and just like in freshwater, most species get spooky and hide deep.  I continued blind casting for GT’s, dredged and we drove around hoping to find activity.  That’s when we found a school of milkfish.

 

blog-April-28-2015-10-flyfishing-for-milkfishMilkfish (milkies) look like oversized bonefish, or better yet like supped up grass carp.  Milkies feed on algae and other plant life like their freshwater cousins.  They are extremely difficult and rarely caught on fly.  I’ve had a few opportunities and dabbled but my best shot was in Sudan last year where my friend Mark Murray connected and landed this monster.

 

blog-April-28-2015-11-milkfish-fliesThese milkfish may not have been feeding.  In Sudan (I also watched a client fish to them in the Seychelles) the milkies swam along in huge schools with their heads above water and mouths open funneling algae soup into their mouths.  These milkfish only had the tips of their massive sickle tails out of the water and seemed to be playing with each other rather than feeding.  Granny and I tried a variety of algae like flies for nearly three hours without any luck.

 

blog-April-28-2015-12-flyfishing-for-orangespot-trevallyAt about 3 PM Cameron called it.  It sounds early but remember the day started at 4 AM.  On the way home we stopped at a place the guides call White Rock (covered in bird turds).  They usually catch lots of huge queenfish here but it was still glassy calm and there were no signs of life.  Granny dropped a dredge and picked up this very nice orange-spotted trevally.

 

blog-April-28-2015-13-jeff-currier-in-musandam-omanToday wasn’t the first butt-kicking of this trip.  I’ve had more than a few tough days.  That’s life with a fly rod in the salt, especially your prodding new waters.  According to Cameron we need to hope for some wind and stronger current lines and tidal changes to improve our fishing chances.   Today was simply too nice.  Stay tuned. . .

 

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing

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Welcome to the Blog of Jeff Currier!

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I started fly fishing at age 7 in the lakes and ponds of New England cutting my teeth on various sunfish, bass, crappie and stocked trout. I went to Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin, where I graduated with a Naturalist Degree while I discovered new fishing opportunities for pike, muskellunge, walleyes and various salmonids found in Lake Superior and its tributaries.

From there I headed west to work a few years in the Yellowstone region to simply work as much as most people fish and fish as much as most people work. I did just that, only it lasted over 20 years working at the Jack Dennis Fly Shop in Jackson, WY where I departed in 2009. Now it’s time to work for "The Man", working for myself that is.

I pursue my love to paint fish, lecture on every aspect of fly fishing you can imagine and host a few trips to some of the most exotic places you can think of. My ultimate goal is to catch as many species of fish on fly possible from freshwater to saltwater, throughout the world. I presently have taken over 440 species from over 60 countries!

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