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David Noble

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Re: Socotra Island Yemen - The Last Frontier
October 23, 2012, 12:21:00 PM
Great report & well done guys.  Food, location & experience look very memorable. Locked up drags on those boats, wow!!

Cheers David

Ben Furness

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Re: Socotra Island Yemen - The Last Frontier
October 23, 2012, 01:49:43 PM
I want in on the next expedition!  ;D

Nick Bowles

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Re: Socotra Island Yemen - The Last Frontier
October 23, 2012, 07:06:19 PM
Hi Topper, Sorry was not able to see you guys on your trip, I was busy trying to get to Socotra! Next time! Luke and his Fisherman TRSH rod is now a famous sight in the Middle East!!

Hi Robert, look forward to seeing you guys in March! We can have a chat about Socotra.

Howzit Sami!! Agree totally, Matt going to have to be on the trip to add a bit more entertainment! Sami was the Sheikh of the island by the time he left!!

Hi Alex and Michael, Day 2 on the way after this post! The beard is getting out of hand, Mich my wife is almost making me sleep in the dog box bedroom outside!

Hi Luke, what happens on Socotra stays on Socotra........

Hi Amr, you need another trip to the Middle East.......

Hi Jay, totally agree that rod is one of the best looking rods on the water! After seeing all the fish it has cauhgt might pull out the RS82 and give it a go again!

Hi Luke! We going to have to have a fishrod off next time.......

Mr Raymond look forward to your trip big guy!! Lots more stories to tell!

Hi David, Was an epic trip with the guys and something quite out f our comfort zones but all worked out well. The cool part about those small boats is that you can actually get towed along by the fish so easies the drag to some extent if you not trying to truck and trailer the fish, but a few times I almost ended up in the water either from drag or loosing your balance!

Hi Ben always lots of possibilities.

Cheers,
Nick

Nick Bowles

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Re: Socotra Island Yemen - The Last Frontier
October 23, 2012, 07:30:06 PM

Luke handing down the gear early morning at the hotel

We got into the vehicles and headed back down the road to the same location as the day before. We had decided to have another go at the big fish we saw the day before and had come a bit more prepared mentally and physically. But the area is small so we decided to fish the morning session and then do a bit of sight seeing in the mountains of Socotra.

We traveled through great scenery again and still it was our third time this road and we were still in awe of the place. As we were getting closer to the fishing village we had a puncture of our vehicle, I thought this was going to put a big dent into our fishing time but another reason we called our driver Shumacker was he could change a wheel with F1 pit crew speed, he had the tire off and the spare on in less than 5 minutes!! I think they must practice this in the off season!!


Schumie in action!!

We arrived at the fishing village and all the boats were ready and this time we managed to get away relatively quickly without being swamped by all the kids, maybe it was a school day! We headed back out to the island at almost trolling speed. But again the day was nice and calm so very enjoyable and we all caught up on some sleep including our trusty captain!!


Our boat round 2!

Now this is how to skipper a boat island style!

On the way to the island Luke and Barry stopped a couple of times and by the time they caught up to us they had had a few casts at a free swimming marlin but unfortunately did not hook up! We had decided to do the first drift together around the top point of the island to try and max our chances of hooking up one of the monster and get the fish out into deeper water so we executed our well laid plan but as fishing will have it there were no GTs at home!! We did a couple of drifts and raised only one smallish fish. We were a little disappointed after the mayhem of the day before but that's how fishing goes and you have to take the good with the bad!

We did a couple of drifts and I changed to my lighter gear which was the Race Point 150 prototype and Stella 10K with PE6. Great outfit and I have been excited for a long time to try out a couple of the prototype 150s Sami brought as I do have a bit of a passion for trying to catch big GTs on light tackle. I used Abdels Guerilla G2 stickbait and the combo was fantaqstic with long casting distance. I put in a few casts to the back end of the island and had a big red shape come up under the lure and smash it, a few hits and I was into a good Bohar, the rod did a great job and although it has a soft tip for stickbaits it has a huge amount of backbone to be able to land most fish, I got a nice Bohar to the boat and got a few pictures.


Bending on the RP150 prototype

A nice Bohar on lighter tackle and the G2

We carried on drifting down the back of the current away from the island and had a good few smaller trevally and jobfish chase and hit the lures, great fun. I finally managed to hook up another Bohar on the same rig and got the fish to the boat for another few pictures.


Another Bohar

With the fishing slow we all decided to call the day off early and head back to the fishing village jigging along the way and then do some exploring of the island as this would be our only chance. We stopped along the way to jig in a few spots. Sami got into the action with what seemed to become his daily jobfish on jig. But this was a big fish and put a bit of hurting on the big guy and OBX500. Great fight and Sami got a nice Jobbie to the boat.


Sami stopping the first run of the jobbie, awesome fighting fish for its size!

Bus jobfish, never seen them as big as Socotra

We jigged a few more spots and all of a sudden we heard screams and shouts from the other boat, we turned around and there was a pack attack of sailfish about 20m behind our boat. There must have been 6 sails we could see all slashing on the surface hitting bait, totally amazing to see. We almost tripped over each other and broke all of our rods to try and get to our light gear with stickbaits. We both had hits and I dropped mine and Sami hooked up. Barry and Luke were casting from their boat towards us and they both hooked up. Luke was hooked up on his light 30lbs gear!! There was a lot of whooping and fish jumping every where! Unfortunately Luke and Sami dropped their fish but Barry stayed hooked into his fish on the Hots 711MH.

After a great and nail biting fight Barry landed a beautiful sail much to his happiness! We got a few good pictures from our boat and then the fish was released to fight another day. Not much point in trying to top that catch so we called it a day and headed for the village and up into the mountains!


Luke leadering the sail, did an amazing job with limited help!

Barry extremely happy with his first sail caught on camera! Well done!!

Hey hey how you guys like that??

One of the goals for this trip was also to try and see some of the island and especially the Dragon Blood Tree which has become a symbol of Socotra, so it was great to pull ourselves away from the fishing a bit to enjoy the island. We first drove up passed the military base to one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen. Pure white sand, clear calm water and no one for miles. We had a great swim to cool off and relax the already weary muscles.


Picture with our captain

Amazing beach and untouched.

Awesome swimming

We then headed up into the mountains and almost immediately could feel a huge temperature change and it got nice and cool. Driving up passes and through mountain villages we finally came across the first Dragon Blood Tree. Quite an amazing looking tree and they are ancient trees running into hundreds of years. Our guide told us that a nursery on the island had been growing some Dragon Blood trees for over 10 years and they were only about 5cms high!! These trees we were seeing were several meters high!


Dragon Blood Tree

Barry under one of the Dragon Blood trees

Aaaahhhhhhhh I can still hear some of the screaming!!

After an exilirating drive into the gorge we came to an absolute stunning fresh water stream running through palm trees with rolling rocks, green undergrowth. It was almost a case of the book and movie Salmon Fishing in the Yemen could be true!!


We finally arrived at the bottom, beautiful stram and surroundings filled with palms and tamarind trees.

We hiked a distance through undergrowth and down the stream and came to a large fresh water pool. Within seconds everyone was in the cool water enjoying a swim in a mountain stream. Very special place! We spent the rest of the afternoon swimming in the cool water and warming up lying on the hot rocks around the pool. Very relaxing and enjoyable.


Magical pool

Luke diving into the pool

Team picture

Ever the fisherman we were looking for fish in all the pools the only thing we could find was a few crabs!

With the sun starting to set we still had the long drive back out the gorge which we all thought would not be possible, but Schumacker pointed his trusty landcruiser up the road and never missed a beat once, we just trundled back up the gorge and back to out hotel! Another great day had come to an end. No big fish but it is not always about the fish but the adventure.


Driving out of the gorge

Egyptian Vultures everywhere.

The following day we had decided to end to the opposite end of the island to camp and be close to the fishing grounds. So after a quick dinner everyone was totally worn out and into bed for some well deserved rest!

Day 3 and the rest of the trip to follow!
Last Edit: October 23, 2012, 09:42:12 PM by Nick Bowles

Vincenzo Caccico

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Re: Socotra Island Yemen - The Last Frontier
October 23, 2012, 08:02:09 PM
Not allowed make photos to the military tanks  ;D

Vincenzo

Sami Ghandour

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Re: Socotra Island Yemen - The Last Frontier
October 23, 2012, 08:25:35 PM
'Maybe' its the photo but that is one ugly looking sail ahaha!

Hi Amr,
maybe those shots will justify the beauty of it :)




Matt Born

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Re: Socotra Island Yemen - The Last Frontier
October 23, 2012, 08:27:41 PM
cant believe I said no........ AWESOME!!

Nick Bowles

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Re: Socotra Island Yemen - The Last Frontier
October 23, 2012, 09:29:20 PM
Hi Vincenzo, It was a scenic shot I think the tank must have got in the way.........

Hi Amr, Was a bit of a bad shot of the sail but just loved Barrys joy and hand pump. She had quite a few parasites same as the Hallaniyat sails quite strange. But Samis pics does her justice!

Sami, Big Guyyyyyyy nice pictures, think I missed those bad boyz! Makes carrying all that equipment worth it!!

Matt, we only jsut getting started now the next few days is when the GTs blitz starts!! Next trip.......

Cheers,
Nick

Jeen Raj

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Re: Socotra Island Yemen - The Last Frontier
October 24, 2012, 01:23:46 AM
Super stuff Nick. Congrats Sami, Luke and Barry. What a fantastic prospect Socotra! Much respect guys for doing it.  Cant wait for the rest of the report.

Cheers,

Jeen

Simon Bomholt

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Re: Socotra Island Yemen - The Last Frontier
October 24, 2012, 01:53:27 AM
Greetings
Simon

Saltywater Tackle

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Re: Socotra Island Yemen - The Last Frontier
October 24, 2012, 03:49:50 AM
It will only get better after the second day :)
   Tight line
      Sami
Last Edit: October 24, 2012, 03:52:37 AM by Saltywater Tackle

Luke Wyrsta

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Re: Socotra Island Yemen - The Last Frontier
October 24, 2012, 09:13:30 AM
Stunning photos  8) Lost paradise huh!  ;)

Peter Olesen

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Re: Socotra Island Yemen - The Last Frontier
October 24, 2012, 04:55:17 PM
Awesome, guys!

Just waiting for the next day- bring it on   ;D
"If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter." Mark Twain

Nick Bowles

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Re: Socotra Island Yemen - The Last Frontier
October 24, 2012, 05:03:17 PM
Hi Amr, It was the first time I saw the parasites when I was in Hallaniyat earlier this month. Not sure what it is and have sent the pictures to some frineds in SA to see if they can give us any info. The fish seemed to still be very healthy and fought like no tomorrow for a sail. When you see Luke next ask him about his "song"..........

Hi Jeen, Was an awesome trip and we were nervous going but a really beautiful place. The fishing area is small but it is a total adventure.

100% Luke, paradise with an edge!!

Cheers,
Nick

Barry Kurten

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Re: Socotra Island Yemen - The Last Frontier
October 24, 2012, 05:10:35 PM
Pictures just dont do this place justice !

Awesome pics Sami, seems that cannon you attach to the front of your Canon came in very handy.

Awesome report so far Nick, just to think these were the 2 "quiet" days.  ;D :P 8)

Bring on day 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 .... Dafin ... Dafin ... Dafin  ;D