Andaman Islands, Dec 6th -> Jan 6th '13

[Sam Holloway]

Hi all.

Just joined the boards, and thought i'd kick it off with a report i did for a recent trip.

Enjoy!


Report and photos from my month in the Andaman Islands, India from 6th Dec ? 6th Jan '13.

I fished with Gamefishingindia - Andaman Islands Sportfishing Charters out of Port Blair, and Captain Hooks Sports Fishing // Havelock Islands, India







On the way to the dock, a local netting boat's haul : 40Lb GT on top there :
















Solid Grouper :




Mud Crabs for dinner :



Off again on day 2. Down south to the Cinque Isands :











Day 3 : South again even further to the Sister Islands :









Got out the Twinpower 4000 and had a great time on some Bluefin :







Day 4 : the trolling gear was out for Marlin. Not a touch. Day wasted really.
We did run into a couple of sea turtles tangled in netting. Cut them out and they swam away..

[Sam Holloway]

Day 5 : I was given the Big boat, Rampage and off we went north up to fish around Neil and Sir Hugh Ross Islands






















Before meeting up with my girlfriend and heading to Havelock Island, I did a bit of siteseeing around Port Blair. Over to Ross Island to see the original British settlement.




Some very dangerous looking water dodgem cars. Woulda loved to see these in action. Like something from Running Man.




Then it was off to Havelock Island.



The Ferry takes about 2.5hrs to get there. The beaches are beautiful and the accom is Robinson Caruso Style. Fantastic place and very relaxed. Food was brilliant and never got sick of it. Snorkelling was amazing...

































Sunrise over Havelock :



Sunset over Havelock :



Caught this little guy spinning off the rocks at Beach #7






Over the next few weeks I did about 6 days fishing with Qutub (Captain Hooks Sports Fishing // Havelock Islands, India) on Great White, his homemade boat :







This thing is truly original. The console is an old pickup trucks windscreen, the back was chopped off and a new section wacked on to allow a 60hp outboard. Galley, head and cabin space to sleep 4.

Very different to the twin 225hp on the GameFishingIndia boats, but I have to say : Even though the boat was twice as slow, the fishing was twice as good, the hospitality unbelievable and the food, drinks and snacks all provided instead of tallied up and charged extra as on GameFishingIndia. A quirky system considering the cost of GFI.

Qutub truly enjoys his business, boats and fishing. Most of all, he is never quiet very helpful and his deckies and skippers never stop working for you. An amazing experience at only half the price of GFI.
































My girlfriend came out for the day and landed a nice fish :




Black Tip Reef Shark on popper!






My biggest GT for the trip. 62Lb monster.








Towards the end of my time on Havelock we did an overnight trip (sleeping on board in the middle of knowwhere under the stars) up to North Button Island. A remarkable experience, even though the weather didnt play ball, it was amazing. Livebaiting through the night...





Jigging on the light rod in a stupid hat. A lovely way to start the day :







I visited a crocodile sanctuary on the west side of the island from Port Blair. No crocs about but nice place...






Final GT and Sunset after a month in the Andaman Islands :




Big thanks to Akshay @ Gamefishingindia - Andaman Islands Sportfishing Charters and Qutub @ Captain Hooks Sports Fishing // Havelock Islands, India for an amazing time.

[Mark Harris]

Some really nice pics there Sam and you clearly had a great time in the Andamans with a big variety of fish caught.  Thanks for sharing.

I like the sound of Qutub's operation.

One thing, please lose the barbs on those big singles.

[Trevor Skinner]

Sam,

What an adventure, some nice fish as well.

See you Wednesday evening.

Regards,


Trevor

[Sam Holloway]

Cheers Trevor.

Very much looking foward to it!

Sam.

[Nick Bowles]

Hi Sam, Congrats, awesome pictures and looks like you had a great trip! Definitely agree on the visa issue, I was supposed to go last week with Sami and the gang but applied for my visa and it did not arrive in time and still had to pay for the trip! Although India are trying hard to promote tourism they make no accept ions for emergency visas, make sure you apply at least 3 weeks before your trip if you going to Andaman!

Cheers,
Nick

[Brandon Khoo]

Thasnk for the lengthy report, Sam
I love Qutub's boat!

[Andy Rowe]

Great Report Sam, aside from the excellent fishing i was really impressed to see the rainforest down to the beach in several of your photos. Looks like India is managing the archipeligo well in that sense, it's too rare a site these days.