Maldives - any info?

[David Sharples]

I'm off to the Maldives in January on a liveaboard type trip. I'm told that we should be having shots at GTs, dogtooth, yellowfin, wahoo, groupers, snappers and jobfish.

Has anyone fished here that can advise on specific kit that I'll need and what the fishing's like?

So far am in the process of getting..

Stella 20000 & 10000
Stradic 8000
Popping rod rated to PE8 (I think)
15 Heru poppers/stickbaits
Heavy jigging rod to go with the 20000 - still haven't chosen which..
Lighter jig rod for the stradic

Shout Stay 200g   4
Shout Stay 160g   3
Shout Stay 100g   2
IMA RO 100g   2
IMA RO 120g   2
Evergreen Caprice 130g   2
Evergreen Caprice 180g   3
Shout 3/0 Metal assist (2)   5
Shout 5/0 Metal assist (2)   5

Then plus all the trebles, swivels, split rings, solid rings, assists etc etc etc $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

I haven't bought all this yet but am I on the right track?

Cheers again!

[Brandon Khoo]

bloody hell! For a guy who couldn't make up his mind whether he needed to get a Stella or not, you've gone ballistic!

The only comment I have is that your assist hooks may be a bit small

[Stephen Wan]

Enjoy your trip!
Looks like I'm not going to the Maldives this December. 
Going to be a Daddy again mid next year!   
There goes the fishing gear budget.
Post lots of pics.

[David Sharples]

Cheers Brandon

Yeah you guys are mainly to blame but its OK I can forgive! Just found out a friend of mine might be getting a job in Madagascar so there'll be loads more of this type of fishing....

[David Sharples]

Stephen that's a shame! Oh well at least you've got all the delights of fatherhood to keep you out of trouble 

Don't worry I'll fly the flag for this site and post what I find!

[Jon Li]

For Maldives casting from the big motherboat , one needs a long rod that can cast far + STL10000FA . PE 6 should do the job n if you use Varivas Avani GT , it's a 80 lbs line anyway .

For jigging rod , a PE6 rated rod should do the job + STL20000FA .

Forget about Stradic , go for Twinpower 8000PG .

Jon .

[Cam Foley]

Yeh go David go that's awesome, i reckon you should go for a Stella 6000 as well.
Don't no the Maldives that well but maybe a couple of heavier jig's in the 300g range could be the go.

Congrats Stephen.

[David Sharples]

Yeh go David go that's awesome, i reckon you should go for a Stella 6000 as well.
Don't no the Maldives that well but maybe a couple of heavier jig's in the 300g range could be the go.

Seriously don't tempt me on the Stella 6000!

So Shimano do a discount if I buy from 2500-20000?? Maybe name a factory after me......

[Chris Tan]

I was there in 2003 and fished the northern atolls. Plenty of GTs 15kg to 20kg and we did get some 35kgs and one 43kg GT. Plenty of red bass and jobfish. We used long rods as Jon mentioned, 8 feet or more. We used PE5 and 6 with Ryobi Safaris, Daiwa HIA5000 and Twinpower 8000HG.

As for jigging, you don't really need the wires as you seldom encounter wahoo or sharks. Although there are some doggies around, you're likely to encounter coral trout, groupers, red and jobfish. Jigs from 200g to 300g did the job for us. I was using the Shimano Navi at that time.

Beautiful place.

Cheers

[DarrenC]

Long distance casting will be a big plus in the Maldives, so gear up with that in mind.

IMHO heavy jigs above 200gm isn't a neccessity, Maldivian tidal currents aren't too swift. Mostly u'll do good with 120-150gms, with the 200's coming into play when the winds/current picks up.

Stock up on more ROs if possible, they're one of the best all round jigs and i swear by them! The 120gm will catch u plenty in Maldives. Also if u can, get hold of the much sought after Evergreen Javelins too!

Have a great trip!

[Mark Stotesbury]

Hi David
go heavy with your jigs 300grams anything in white or dark blue .  owner sj-41 11/0 hooks take from  8/0 up.we fish 2 piece 300/4 purglass rods 3m long.[south african manufacturer]and nylon 5oz plugs catch plenty gts in the 10-25kg range.lots of dogtooth in the 15-30kg range expect to work hard for them seem to be located in specific areas on the reefs the locals catch them on live skipjack,follow the lights of the local fishermen at night, mark that area they catch 60+kg doggies and a lumo jig should get smashed.we jig 50lb as well as 80lb never had a problem.sharks can be a problem certain times of year.where are you staying ??
planning a trip to bassas de india again next year got to find the doggies there.       

[Lance Ng]

Hey David,

your choice of jigs seem a good way for maldives. we usually don't get strong currents in maldives, so jigs up to 250gm max would be sufficient. take some raiders with you for casting to YFTs & GTs too.

popping tackle of PE4-6 is sufficient. most of the time, you won't need to control them GTs from reefing you, unlike komodo gangsters.. one of the reason, from my personal observation, is that the underwater terrain of maldives reefs generally do not have corals protruding everywhere like deer antlers. Seems like the corals there are more rounded. & there are no sudden uprising rock outcrops to cut u off on too. So, all makes for "friendly" GTs that don't quite reef u much there.

at some spots, cudas at night are as thick & pesky as ausflies in hyperseason. & they can't get enough of lumo jigs. doggies take non-lumo jigs at night too. so, u work out how much experimentation u wanna try with lumo there.

If u're into light tackle, do remember your barra gear.. it can be quite a blast to light-pop shallow reefs on the tender boat with 40-60gm poppers.. on the tender boat, u'll be near water-level.. so u can see them big  mouths come crash your poppers.. u can almost count the number of teeth. woohoo!

and... if u like fly-fishing, there are bonefish, GTs, Blue Trevs, Cods, Darts, Queenies, etc there from the flats as well.

which atoll will you be going mate?

[David Sharples]

Hi Lance

I think we're going to South Huvadhoo Atoll, then getting on a mothership from there. I've already got fly gear, light popping kit, heavy popping and jigging. I don't know how I'm going to have time for all this in the 6 days, I feel I need at least a month. Would be great if they could just leave me on an island...

You reckon PE6 is Ok for popping and jigging? The advice they've sent is PE8 but would rather go lighter to cast further..

Also what type of poppers/stickbaits do you use for tunas? I've got GT sized ones but I think they might be a bit big?

Cheers!

David

[Kenny Tan]

Hudvadhoo atoll is great. Bring a few heavy jigs along, some spots have pretty strong current. My pals encountered 3 unstopable, one after another within 15 mins at a particular spot.

Night jigging inside the atoll using small lumo jigs (100g) for YFT is fun.

Most of the time I'm using pencils with occasional chuggers. Pencils got more hit from the GT. 

Hope to be there again on my next visit to Maldives.

[Lance Ng]

Hi David,

Sorry to reply so late. been pretty tied up lately. I personally feel that PE 5/ 6 is sufficient. a rod like the Hot's  Gipang 83 or the Smith WRC 80/35 would fit the bill just right.

I have always wondered why some blokes use such heavy lines as 120lbs. the max strain a guy can exert with his popping/ jigging tackle is probably not more than 20kgs (to hit such max drag on standup jig/ pop gear, the dude's gotta be some bodybuilder!). which means that very few people can actually break 50lb line with a straight pull. which also means that 50lbs is usually more than enough for most heavy jigging/ popping situations in my opinion.

i personally feel that 50lb line & 120lb line might not make much difference in terms of abrasion resistance. A raging GT which decides to head back home to the reefs will probably cut u off the same on 50lb or 120lb line.

some anglers are concerned about the knots giving way.. well.. there are a few knots now which when tied properly, do deliver a higher breaking strain than the line poundage the knot was tied on.

To me, with 50lb line, u can cast further, & have more line just in case u hook into a yellow fin or a bruiser doggie which threatens to melt your drags on the 1st run.

Huvadhoo is the largest atoll in Maldives, & I reckon u probably won't be able to cover all the spots on that atoll in 6 days. the outer edges of the atoll usually promise bigger fish but might be lesser in quantity in general, when compared to within the atoll itself. the likelihood of encountering YFT is also higher. however, we all know how low the chances are to hit a surfacing YFT school on popping (YFT spend 80% of daylight hours at depths of 100ft & below). However, having said that, if u wanna go prepared for YFT lottery, bring along stickbaits & poppers of 50-85 grams. The Duel sliders, the Shimano Ocea Pencils & Daiwa Saltiga Dorado sliders have proven themselves well. Yo-zuri hydrotigers too.. I have no doubts that they will take well to Heru's wahoos too. well, u get the idea of the size required. remember to bring some raider jigs or diamonds too for casting. they sink well, & we know the larger specimens are usually below them schoolies that we see boiling on the surface.

Hope this long-winded reply goes a good way for ya mate!

Cheers,
Lance