Trip Reports

Our 2024 fly fishing season in the Maldives was a mixed bag with difficult conditions and some real good fishing. Despite the unusually huge ground swell in the prime GT spots, making it very difficult to wade and cast at trophies, and the lull in the wind for days which seemed to turn the fish off, our March trip was a notable success with 20 GT’s landed, including a number of good specimens.                  

Fishing in the surf for our main quarry, the Giant Trevally, is tough and only for the committed angler who wants this special experience. Clambering over slimy chunks of dead coral and rocks, trying to manage your line and casting large Sempers while being smashed by waves is not for everybody. 

This March group of very experienced anglers from the USA were up for the task and immediately embraced the challenge and fished extremely hard, capitalizing on the opportunities. Fishing from sunup to sunset was the order of the day, with lunch on the beach to maximize time spent hunting. 

Wandering in wonder in this tropical scenic paradise waist deep in the warm inviting waters makes being on your feet all day seem an easy task. The evenings were spent chatting about the day’s action and laughing at mishaps around a few well earned spicey refreshments. New nicknames on these trips always emerge and great memories are made. On our first GT session, Darin kicked off proceedings with a good fish of 86cms FL. A few casts later he was into another GT of around 75cms FL. Both taken near a shoal of bait.

We mostly spent our time fishing the surf zone for GT’s however plenty of fun was had wading the flats with shrimps and crabs.  Although most of the trip the fish acted wary, the group managed a good number of Bonefish, also Golden Trevally, Triggerfish, Bluefin Trevally and Island Trevally, to mention a few. 

On the first day minutes into the first session, John S offered his moon crab to a good sized patrolling yellow margin Triggerfish. The fish pounced on the crab immediately, John tightened up but missed the first bite, luckily this trigger was hungry and attacked the crab again, this time John set the hook. A good start!  While tailing the Triggerfish, John spotted a large permit swim in happily and seriously considered unhooking the trigger to present his fly to the permit, luckily he decided against it and a few moments later I arrived to take a few photographs. 

On Day 4 after spotting a good GT patrolling down the edge of the ledge we were standing on, in the surf, John K presented a perfect cast leading the fish by at least 30 meters. The fish charged and boiled on the blurple Semper immediately. Pure sight fishing adrenalin heaven. After a 10 minute battle we tailed the 90cm FL GT. 

On the final GT session Bill managed a lovely fish of 88 cms FL on a 10 weight. After an explosive take in the shorebreak, the fish put up a great fight putting his reel to the test. Sadly as with GT fishing, some good fish were lost including a fish estimated at over a meter. 

“… The way those GT’s torpedoed towards the fly, the extraordinary white water blow ups upon contact and their hard bullish runs against drags buttoned tight was crazy! With a ten weight in hand, it felt like hunting lions with a BB gun. It’s been over a week since we’ve returned home and I still have a constant loop video of all the events playing in my mind. Can’t wait to do it again. Thanks for the trip of a lifetime Glen.” Bill.

The traditional Safari Dhoni we use gives an authentic Maldivian experience as we travel to many prime spots at various islands in the Northern Atolls. The Mothership is comfortable with excellent food and service. All the cabins are air-conditioned with 4 ensuite cabins and one cabin with a shared bathroom. 

We are looking forward to the 2025 season where we have six 10 day trips planned around the full moons and new moons, running from January through March, with a mixture of surf GT fly fishing and flats fly fishing, adapted to suit the groups preferences. Generally our standard groups of anglers are kept small and personal with a minimum of 4 and a max of 5 anglers unless otherwise requested. Whether you are a single angler looking to join a group or a group of anglers please feel to contact us to discuss the best option for you.