The Long Road To Nowhere - Solo Fishing Trip to Southern Oman

[beefybovril]

My solo trip in numbers
Number of kms travelled: 2654
Number of new species caught on fly: 4 (Shad, Wolfherring, Sherri, Blackip Reef Shark)
Number of new beaches found: 5
Number of rods lost: 2
Number of foxes seen: 7
Number of new bird species identifies: 4
Number of Dolphin Pods seen: 2
Number of permit spotted: 2
Number of permit cast too: 2
Number of permit hooked and landed: 0
Number of mullet seen: 1549593857867 for Nick Murphy
Number of times I filled up with petrol: 13
Number of plastic bottles seen washed up on all these beaches: 2394959697797695459....i.e. FAR TOO MANY
Number of nets seen along the coast: FAR TOO MANY
Number of fishing boats seen: ALSO FAR TOO MANY



Oman is a stunning country, with friendly people and a coastline full of beauty and character. There are so many remote beaches and the potential for fishing should be huge. But, they are really screwing it up - they are raping it for every last organism and I predict that if nothing is done soon, this amazing fishery will collapse in the next 5 years. With all the new road infrastructure and marine technology, every single inch of rocky coast is being netted everyday. I went to Minji, a beach you struggle to find on Google Earth, and yet, there were nets stretched from one end to the other. With no quotas or authority to check, the fisherman are taking everything. Something really must be done, or else all of these beaches will become like Ras Madrakah, a once pristine fishing destination that is now a dedicated fish processing plant......

[Ko7Ad]

Thanks for the share! It looks so ruggedly stunning there, a shame no one is taking care of the fish stocks..

How do you manage to flyfish off a paddle ski if I may? I once fished off a kayak on the Pongola River and it was terrible, could not even nearly strip a fly fast enough with so little room to move my arms!

[fishlover1]

Awesome! Ive only managed to get up to Kasab with the family, and got a few nice spangled emperors and a few pickhandles... Oman is very un-explored with a fly rod. Must have been an awesome experience!

[beefybovril]

If you sit on the lid of the storage hold on a stealth kayak, you actually get quite nice elevation and you can get decent distance on your cast. Much easier too if the conditions are flat of course...

Thanks for the share! It looks so ruggedly stunning there, a shame no one is taking care of the fish stocks..

How do you manage to flyfish off a paddle ski if I may? I once fished off a kayak on the Pongola River and it was terrible, could not even nearly strip a fly fast enough with so little room to move my arms!

[briansflyfishing]

Very nice!!!! Stuff of dreams.

[Korrie]

If you sit on the lid of the storage hold on a stealth kayak, you actually get quite nice elevation and you can get decent distance on your cast. Much easier too if the conditions are flat of course...

What is the fishing possibilities around Dubai, if you have one day there?
How far to drive to a good spot etc?
From your post, I am not too sure, it seems that you had good fun, but with all the nets etc, not soo good fishing.

[beefybovril]

Hi Korrie, the flyfishing around Dubai is a little limited unless you can get a kayak or boat and fish for queenies around the palm. Alternatively, you can fish off the breakwaters and sometimes I pick up small queens, barracuda, garfish and hammour, but these days they are so crowded and not really on my list of things to do.
If you can get to UAQ (1 hour), then you can fish the flats and channels in the mangroves.

When are you in town? Let me know and if possible, we can hook up and I can take you to fish.....

Where I was fishing on this trip is a good 1000 km away, in Oman, but doubt you could get there in a day

What is the fishing possibilities around Dubai, if you have one day there?
How far to drive to a good spot etc?
From your post, I am not too sure, it seems that you had good fun, but with all the nets etc, not soo good fishing.

[Kevin James]

Some beautiful places there by the look of it.
Great adventure!

Interesting you mention the rape and pillage of this environment - there was a very interesting article in the National Geographic March 2012 pp 66-88 detailing these exact things.
The Arabian Sea is being cleaned out as is the Gulf of Oman.

Seems like the Chinamen are involved here as well now for the shark finning including whale sharks -

Hopefully place can be saved before it's too late.

[beefybovril]

Yip, they have a very serious problem here with shark finning - and it seems Dubai is the central hub for export to the far east. I know that the UAE and Musandam (a small Omani enclave) have one of the highest levels of shark fin export in the world. The authorities claim they are doing something, but I have yet to see any concrete examples of legislation etc.

With respect to Oman, the government sold out to the chinese for their massive yellowfin and longtail tuna runs, and because these are being fished on a massive commercial scale, the local concerns with small speedboats have been forced to fish onshore. The big problem is that an Omani chap will own 50 of these speedboats, and employ uneducated Bengali fisherman to do the dirty work. These people are totally uneducated and also live in absolute poverty - literally like squatter camps. Oman is desolate, and apart from Oil, there really is nothing else to do as farming isn't an option due to the harsh climate and lack of any fertile soil. Thus fishing is their only option, and desperation plays a major part. They will take anything and everything - no size controls and no limits. They even take turtles, dolphins and sailfish if caught.

I have seen Ras Madrakah, which once was the most incredible shore fishery imaginable, descend into a stretch of coastline with nothing but nets, boats and litter. They started netting the island 4 years ago and since then, it is a desert. Have a look at this catch report from Ras Mad, about 5 years ago - http://www.oceanactive.com/page.php?id=15 - the most amazing place. Chaps were catching 7 kg shad on fly off the beach - in fact I think Armand Flies could have broken the world record for shad on fly. But, now, it is dead.
The problem is that with new roads, these chaps can now access the entire coast and so their influence extends along the entire coast. I am concerned for 5 -10 years down he line when all the beaches and rocky shores have been pillaged and their is nothing left. What then? These people won't have a livelihood then and who knows what happens after.

When I first arrived here, 7 years ago, I thought that this Omani coastline could match any other place from a fishing perspective, but I tell you what, even the South African government is streaks ahead of Oman in terms of protecting its fisheries. At least we have permits, catch limits and a sense of law enforcement.

Some beautiful places there by the look of it.
Great adventure!

Interesting you mention the rape and pillage of this environment - there was a very interesting article in the National Geographic March 2012 pp 66-88 detailing these exact things.
The Arabian Sea is being cleaned out as is the Gulf of Oman.

Seems like the Chinamen are involved here as well now for the shark finning including whale sharks -

Hopefully place can be saved before it's too late.