I didn’t want to get my expectations too high that we’d fish Dubai today. The weather has been cruel much of this trip. Nick Bowles and I bagged fishing yesterday due to wind and today’s forecast had more of the same. But we went to bed crossing our fingers, and lo and behold, when we woke up, it was ok to go. The fishing gods gave us a break on my last fishing day of 2019.
We left Nicks house at 7 AM. Its winter here in Dubai too so it doesn’t get light early. 7 was perfect. We hit the marina where Ocean Active Fly keeps their boats and met up with Nick’s captains and his friend, Mohammad Al Faour.
I’ve heard Nick talk of Mohammad for a few years. He’s been catching queenfish with Nick since he was 16. It was nice to finally meet him and share some time on the water.
It wasn’t exceptional weather by any means. We had wind and big swells where we wanted to fish. This is where the big queenfish have been hanging around. Unfortunately we had to fish closer to shore right in front of the Burj Al Arab.
But the queens were there and we found them fast. It’s been a few years since I stuck a queen in Dubai. It felt good to have my Winston bent deep. I looked around to Nick and the guys and smiled and said, “Man what a cool place to fly fish”. It is. Dubai is one of the most unique saltwater fisheries in the world.
My queen was small but his partners he was swimming with weren’t. As I landed my small queenfish Mohammad went tight and his fish jumped right next to me. He had a dandy.
Queenfish resemble jacks but aren’t. When you look at them carefully they’re quite a bit different and actually have a completely unalike fight. Queens tend to run and jump while jacks often dive and never jump. Either way it’s a win win for any fly fisher and soon we had Mohammad’s fish in hand.
We only got to fish until around 11 AM but we were successful. I picked up two small queenies and Mohammed landed two nice ones. All I all a fantastic last day of fishing for 2019.
After fishing Mohammed suggest a quick stop at one of his favorite restaurants for some local food. He took us to HumYums which looked great. The only problem was there was no room to sit because the place was packed. Luckily Mohammed had some pull and a waiter ran out and took our order from the truck and shortly after we were eating like kings.
This afternoon I packed my bags. I fly out at 2 AM. Nick and I chilled out under the sun in his backyard. Then tonight, Nick was invited to dinner by well-known daimondeer, Richard Vainer. And as my last event of the trip, I got to join. Let’s just say Richard treated us to one of the most amazing dinners and some of the most delicious red wine I’ve ever experienced in recent memory at the 5 Hotel and Maiden Shanghai Restaurant.
I just boarded my flight out of Dubai. First stop will be Amsterdam. With a little luck I’ll be in Victor, Idaho in about 30 hours. What a trip. Lots of challenges but lots of fun and success came as well.
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