For
the past two years we have been talking about how and when we are going to make
it to Socotra , Yemen
From
the information gathered on the Island , it
seems to us that it is a paradise on earth with huge GT’s roaming the near
untouched reefs,
The
logistics and risks involved to make it to Yemen
The
trip consist of Luke Wyrsta from Australia ,
Nick Bowles and Barry Kurten from South Africa
(originally from United Arab
Emirates
We
left all the planning to Barry as he was in touch with the locals and he did an
awesome job making this trip a pleasant and memorable trip of a lifetime.
I
arrived Dubai
The
day arrived and we took off, made it through the connecting flight with major
delays, and finally made it to Socotra
Island
Once
we met our contact knew we will be in good hands, Abdul El Jamil is a young and
respectful figure on the Island , he welcomed
us and sorted our immigration in no time,
The
morning came in with high expectations and desire to hit the water and
experience what it feels like to fish in Socotra .
The
ride from the hotel was beautiful, we rode along the seaside, through the
mountains and into the shore to make it to the west of the island.
Our
Captain was waiting for us, the boats are long and look like canoes with 40
horse power engine, damn… it’s gonna be a long ride.
Made
it to the fishing ground and was greeted by a pack of massive GT’s, they were
so aggressive that our lures went airborne as soon as they hit the water and we
were screaming with excitement.
Nick
manage a nice GT and I hooked up a descent fish that got me on my knees and
opened up the hooks, felt every inch of a 60kg GT,
We
finished the day defeated but with smiles on our faces, anticipating for
tomorrow to come and Barry ended the day with a 50kg GT on the Race Point 250
which handled the fish easily.
Our
second day was a little slow and we decided to do a little jigging, that is
when we met a school of hungry Sailfishes! We all hooked up with Sails jumping
and people screaming in every directions and we all lost to the fishes.
Barry
was the only exception; he fought and tamed the fish expertly and landed the
fish, took some nice shot and released it to fight another day,
Our
guide insisted on taking us to the mountains for sightseeing, so we stopped for
the day and went to higher ground to see one of the most fascinating place on
earth, from the desert to the mountain canyons and ending up in an oasis.
The
place is beyond what I can describe, as Nick calls it, “Galapagos of Arabia”!
We
swam in the clear freshwater pools and watched the sunset on the way back, it
was a good call to go inland and do a little sightseeing, and we were humbled
by the beauty and serenity of the place.
During
dinner, we discussed to fish other grounds and decided to camp as the drive is
a bit of a pain in the butt, this way we can return inland every day for lunch
and we will be closer to the fishing ground.
Moving
forward, everything got better!
The
east side of the island had some nice reefs, the area is small and the current
is ripping close to 6 knots, took us awhile to figure out where the fishes are
holding.
In
the beginning, we got our asses handed to us by the fishes but by the end of
the day, we figured the trick into landing these massive GT’s and using the
strong current to our advantage.
We
lived in tents for 5 days waking up to breathtaking scenery every morning.
A
big thank you goes to our guide also named Sami from Yemen
This
is one of the most memorable GT trip I had for a while, Socotra
we will be back!
Species
we landed: Giant Trevally, Red Bass, Kingfish, Job Fish, Grouper, Big Eye
Trevalley, Black Jack, Yellowfin Tuna, Bluefin Trevalley, Barracuda,
Tackle
used:
Rods:
Saltywater Tackle Race Point 200, 250,300. Prototype 150, Outer Bank OBX-5410XX
Jigging rod. Smith AMJ52EX,
Carpenter
Monster Hunter 80H, Carpenter Wild Violence, Fisherman GT Game TRSH, FCL Labo
Rod,
Reels:
Shimano Stella
Lures:
Carpenter Gamma, Carpenter Bluefish, Siren Bad Mon 250 and Bad Mon 300 Prototype,
Craft Bait, Shell Shaping Lures, ASWB, Ocean Active Lures,Moutoukenmaru,
Lines:
Power Pro 130lb and 100lb Hollow, Jerry Brown 130lb Hollow, Sunline Monster
Hunter PE8 & PE10,Varivas GT PE10,
Leader
and bite leader: Saltywater Tackle system leader with 220lb twisty and 300lb
Moi Moi bite leader.
Tight lines
Sami
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