The madness of Ras Mad

[beefybovril]

What a trip!!!

When fishing, weather and the company fits perfectly together, you get yourself an unforgettable and cracker jacker fishing trip!!! We took off around 8 pm last Wednesday evening and drove through the night. We hit fog and a couple of closed petrol stations early in the morning which caused some delays, and so we arrived on the North Beach of Ras Mad in Southern Oman around 7 in the morning.

The sea was perfect, water very cool and refreshing, and so setting up camp wasn't an option, and after 30 minutes of finding and then kitting up, Gareth and I were heading towards the island tip, while Nathan was casting into the channel. Gene, as the only non-fishing camper, was quite happy to set up camp, pop a beer and fall fast asleep....yes, that is him in the chair.....just hope those lovely bedouin ras mad ladies weren't tempted..... :lol:

The first session proved a little quiet, with Gareth and I picking up a couple of puffer fish and some quite sizeable zebra fish. Gareth headed home to get some shut eye, and soon after the false killer whales returned, circling, breaching and checking me out. I could have headed home right after that, as it is still one of the most awesome experiences, having these pretty large but beautiful mammals all around you, within a paddle length.

What was disturbing at this stage was the fact that the entire island was surrounded by nets. The fisherman have been forced onto the coastline by the depleted fish stocks, and it seems they have resorted to catching the bream, snapper and sharri which frequent the sea around the island. At this stage, I started to feel a little dejected, as this didn't bode well for three days fishing. I headed back to shore, a quick tidy up was done, and we all fell deep asleep after having not slept for 24 hours.

I woke 30 minutes later, and decided to do a quick recce of the channel, where the tide was pushing out heavily. I saw a couple of bream but no permit, so crossed the channel onto the island and headed to the tip. There wasn't sign of any bream around, but I did manage to catch a stunning 3 - 4 kg wave garrick of the island tip. This was my first decent fish on my new 8 wt, and it certainly put a bend in the rod. The rest of the afternoon was non-descript, with me picking up one or two snapper, a small bream, and later on, Gareth getting a nice sharri on a soft bait on his 10 -12 wt fly rod fitted with a coffee grinder.....good fun indeed!!!

The evening was perfect, we feasted on roast chicken cooked in the cobb, and the sky was like a shower of shooting stars. What a stunning place to camp!!!

The next day dawned perfect once again, and we were all keen to hit the fish we didn't see the day before. Gareth and Nathan spent the morning fishing the channel on an incoming tide, with them catching some nice fish. G got his pb porgy bream but this was on his coffee grinder, as he hasn't quite mastered the intricacies of flycasting. He said he also spotted a monster permit in the surf.

I headed through the channel on the kayak, and things started off slow. The first 30 minutes were blank, but as I headed back to the island, I noticed a porgy and after a quick flick, I got into a decent little 2 kg bream which gave a good account for itself. The next 2 hours of fishing can only be described as the best flyfishing I have ever experienced.....especially on a kayak. I had both my 8 wt and 10 wt rigged, and while drifting around a headland I was casting a chatreuse and white clouser on the 8 wt. Next thing, wham.....and zing as the reel starts to sing...into the backing and then the line goes tight. I increase the drag and start to haul in a lovely 4 kg big-eyed trevally. By this time, I have noticed the shoal of them sitting 10 m off the rocks. So I release the fish, leave the 8 wt, and start casting the 10 wt with a crease fly. Literally as it lands, the fish jump out the water and engulf the fly. Each one is in the 4 to 5 kg range, and each one is testing my reel to its limit. What fun, and 6 fish are now accounted for. BUT, unbeknown to me, I have left the clouser in the water, and it has drifted about 3 m off the kayak. I cast the 10 wt, hook into another fish, and am just getting the flyline onto the reel when my 8 wt reel also starts to sing. I pick up the rod, strike and set the drag. Of course, now I am in the unfortunate situation of having to hold two fly rods with pretty powerful fish on the end, I am on a kayak, the swell is not breaking far off and I am also feeling a little fatigued.....what the F&*k do I do now. Luckily, the current has taken me past the tip and I am in calmer water, but it is not easy reeling two rods together.....anyway, with quite a bit of manouvering, and using my butt as a rod holder, I eventually manage to land both fish, take a quick snap and release them one after another. Awesome stuff!!!! I carried on, picking up a total of 15 trevally, 3 porgy bream, 2 snapper and quite a large torpedo scad. STOKED!!! There is nothing better than surface action on a fly and the scream of a fly reel!!!!

In the afternoon, Nathan and Gareth headed to the same spot and picked up a couple more of the trevally. They also headed far offshore, and got a very close encounter with the killer whales, who were using sonar to round up bait balls and smashing them along with a couple of big trevally which Gareth spotted. The guys caught a couple of puffer, some zebra fish and some other bits and bobs. My recce on the island that afternoon was unspectacular, with one hammour and a snapper on the fly.

We feasted on steak, chops and pumpkins, and once again settled in to the bush television (fire), shisha and another fireworks display.

The next morning, Gareth and Nathan targetted the trevally from the shore, while I from the kayak. I got one more decent trevally, but it seemed as if the big ones had moved off, and the smaller scad had moved in. Still fun on an 8 wt, but not the same as yesterday. I headed back to the channel, but Nathan and Gareth found a little honey pot, where they smashed some sharri, bream and snapper, bringing one of each home for our fish braai that evening.

By the time the afternoon had come around, we were all so tired and stiff that we ended up laughing off the fishing, and spent the afternoon around the shisha pipe, talking typical boy's rubbish and having far too many cold ones. We grilled the fish, snacked on the spoils of the sea, and enjoyed the final evening in a stunning place.

Eventhough there were no bluefish, and few bream, the trevally and false killer whales more than made up for it. Also, there were groups of 3 to 5 rays all around the island, and you could get up really close to them before the shot off. Of course, the massive turtles which are resident are also always a good sight to see. This was probably the best trip to Ras Mad I have done so far, and the weather certainly played ball. The food, stars and company were brilliant, the drive home was quick (relatively speaking) and I am already yearning to get back there to once again search for the elusive permit and the elusive bluefish.

The evidence you all require is stored on my disposable camera, so as soon as it is finished and developed, I will scan and post the photos. Here are some photos taken from Nathan's camera too.....

Tight lines

Beefy

[jmac]

Thanx for a great report! sounds like one of those little trips we all hope for!

[Babyson]

Sounds like you had an awesome trip, can't wait to see more pics. My girlfriend has got some family in Oman that she wants to visit someday, so who knows, maybe I will also get to share the spoils or Ras Mad

Thanks for the report
Rob

[Woolybugger]

Lovely stuff!

[beefybovril]

Sounds like you had an awesome trip, can't wait to see more pics. My girlfriend has got some family in Oman that she wants to visit someday, so who knows, maybe I will also get to share the spoils or Ras Mad

Thanks for the report
Rob

Hey there Rob

Once you look at this blog: http://www.fearnofish1959.spaces.live.com/
you will start planning that trip tomorrow!!!! Have a look at the photo albums under the photos section of the blog called "dedications to Permit, Bream, Bluefish" etc......they will make your mouth water!!!!

[Babyson]

Hey there Rob

Once you look at this blog: http://www.fearnofish1959.spaces.live.com/
you will start planning that trip tomorrow!!!! Have a look at the photo albums under the photos section of the blog called "dedications to Permit, Bream, Bluefish" etc......they will make your mouth water!!!!

Drool The variation in species is amazing, kings queens, bream and the list goes on! Awesome.
Just for interest sake how far is Ras Mad from Muscat?

Rob

[Babyson]

Check at the size of these Shad/Bluefish!!! Absolute monsters
http://cid-8a34a26146c9a62e.skydrive...146C9A62E!1054
Amazing, didn't even know they get that big,lol

[rohann]

How does one start working after such fishy tales...? Great report!

[Michael]

Looking through the gallery on that blog, it's nice to see my mate Armand with those BIG shad! (bluefish). I remember when he mailed me those pics, I was stunned. Awesome stuff.

[beefybovril]

Drool The variation in species is amazing, kings queens, bream and the list goes on! Awesome.
Just for interest sake how far is Ras Mad from Muscat?

Rob

You are looking at around 7 hours from Muscat......From Dubai it is a little longer at 9 to 10 hours depending upon the border and petrol stations staying open. Armand Flies, who is a SAFFA living in Dubai reckons he has caught a world record Bluefish on fly at that place....crazy!!!!