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Nick Bowles

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Getting a few things from our shop in Dubai

Braai outside with friends and family. Always enjoy having the family involved.

Packing the bus

At the airport waiting to catch our flight and chatting to some other passengers.

Final meal!

After a very smooth flight via Yemen mainland we flew over Socotra and caught our first glimpse of the crystal clean indigo coloured water surrounding the island and to our relief calm seas. Hallaniyat Islands Southern Oman had already been affected by the monsoon coming early so it was a bit of a worry we were going to have problems with the weather but this was not to be an issue.


Sami and myself very excited on the plane!

Transitting Yemen mainland

We landed and the normal chaos of the small island airport ensued. But our team was there to meet us and we got our bags and were swiftly taken through customs and to our waiting SUV. This time round we had decided to go directly to our beach camp and not stay the night in the main town Hadibo. After the trucks were loaded and a quick stop at the local supermarket we headed our into the beautiful open terrain of Socotra with strange trees, sand dunes and mountains keeping us all enthralled and glued to our windows. As the sunset we arrived at our beach camp and home for the next week.


Socotra Airport

Loading the cruisers

Raymond outside the "supermarket"
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Our cruiser

We unpacked all of our gear and enjoyed a great dinner after a long day and slowly got ready for the next day. But with such amazing surroundings, bright stars, waves lapping at our table it was hard to do to much work and we decided to take it easy and finish preparing our tackle early in the morning with a bit more light. We finally got to bed late and the apprehension of meeting monster GTs started to build!


Dinner traditional style on the carpets.

The next morning we were up early and with a lot more urgency to get ready for the coming days fishing. We had a quick breakfast and were finally ready. Fishing in Socotra is hard core and not for everyone, it is an idyllic setting but the boats are small, the currents are huge, you are living basic, sleeping on the floor, no built toilets, eating rice and fish and the fish are huge and hard to handle from the small boats, but for me this is pure GT fishing and there is not much to help an angler except your skill and luck. So with my excitement going through the roof we got onto our small boats powered by 40hp outboards and headed out for the first days fishing which would turn out to be an amazing but frustrating day with huge fish but none landed!


Breakfast

Our camp early morning

Raymond heading for the boats ready for the first day

I was fishing the first day with Raymond and Capt Mohammed who could not speak a word of English and had not captained a boat for GTs before so additional to the normal hardships I had to give a few lessons on what we wanted but in the end it all ended up going well and added to the adventure! I always enjoy fishing with Raymond as he is always laughing and the jokes fly. So before we even got out of the bay we were laughing and enjoying our day.


Heading out with Ray

Sami and Evan on their luxury fishing vessel!

We got onto location and there was not much current but we fished up and down the reef enjoying the crystal clear water and just enjoying been out on the boat. Finally the current started pushing and the fish started to show up! Raymond was the first to hook up to a big Bohar Snapper, which came up and took his popper. Awesome to see in the crystal clear water a big red fish coming up from the reef! We were on the board and got a few good pictures.


Locked drag and still trying to palm the monster!

GT Recorder bent!

By now my hands are shaking and I had to laugh as this was exactly why we had come to Socotra! Big fish, big current and small boats! I changed hooks and we were back into the action. On almost every drift we were getting several follows from smaller fish like blacktip trevally, bluefin trevally and I even caught a trigger fish smaller than the Gamma 200 that actually chased down the lure and tried to take a bite out of the lure!! I also managed to put a ST76 5/0 hook through my arm just above my elbow to the bend. But luckily we always fish barbless and we managed to get the hook out with relative ease but left a bit of a sore arm!!


Blacktip on a Gamma 200

Trigger on a Gamma 200! Nothing is shy of eating anything else in Socotra!

Bluefin Trevally

Ray with a Bluefin

The GTs we not in huge numbers but after a couple of hours we were fishing towards the end of the reef I was working the Gamma 200 and another monster came directly up from the bottom and rolled on my lure! I hit it several times and the fish flew off towards the shallows. The current was pushing us onto the ridge and I got Mohammed to try and follow the fish over the shallow ridge but we were to slow and the fish reefed me! Again the highs and lows of GT fishing! GT 2 Nick 0!

I had already had 2 good fish hit the stickbaits and continued with another stickbait. We did a few more long drifts and towards the end of the morning session I had a smaller fish come up in a pack attack and I hooked up the fish and landed a nice GT to get us onto the board. Sami had a same size fish come up on a drift close to us and must have been a shoal passing through the area.


Finally hooked up and on for a while!

The Red Reaper in action

First of many GTs on the trip with the Red Reaper! Gamma 200 doing the trick

Nice Black Socotran GT

Many of the GTs we caught had remoras attached to them!

Sami with his first GT on the prototype Race Point 150! Rod handled well in the harsh conditions.

On one of our last drifts of the morning session Raymond put a cast into a ripping shallow current with his popper and a big fish came up and hammered the lure and took of like grease lightening for the reef and after a great effort to stop the fish it reefed him! So the morning session was tough and we were 1-4!! Not to good but loads of fun and we realised it was going to be tough to land the big fish in the shallow currents. But we are always up for a challenge!

We headed back to the camp for lunch, swim and relax. We arrived back and everyone bailed into the indigo water and we sat chatting in the water for a couple of hours. It was paradise. After a good lunch and an afternoon sleep we got geared up again and headed out for the late afternoon session. We arrived on the reef and the current had changed and was ripping in the opposite direction. We started to work the outside points on the reef and straight away Raymond had a huge fish come up and take his lure, he set the hook, the fish peeled off line and popped the line in the heavy current. Raymond had another couple of big fish swirl on the lure but no more hook ups! Sami and Evan had a few hook ups and again lines popped or hooks were pulled! Finally the sun dipped behind the mountains and we headed back to camp after a very frustrating first day with a good few big fish being hooked up and not landed. I always say fishing for big GTs is more about luck than anything else, especially when there are very strong currents and you are on a tiny boat. You have to have everything go right to land a big fish. But if it was easy then it would not be as much fun!


Coming back into the bay, water was so clean could see the shadows of the boats on the bottom.

Afternoon swim

Heading back out for the afternoon session.

Back at camp we all sat around the table talking about the days fishing and what we could have done better and what we need to change. So after sorting out our gear and had another great meal we were all in bed early listening to the stillness of Socotra and the waves lapping at our tents!!

Luckily my luck started to change on the second day and I had decided to rather than try move the boat, I would fish from a dead boat and let the rods do the work. More days to follow:

Trevor Skinner

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Right, that's me 'hooked' for the next week.




Trev 

Ahmed Khalil

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Good report, and very interesting destination

Alex Jordan

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Dang some great pics! and no goats on the plane???

Roll on the next installment - tightlines!

Nick Bowles

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Hi Ahmed, amazing destination on so many different levels not just fishing. It is a place that is good for the soul.

Hi Alex, No goats on the plane this time, but did manage to eat a few of them!

Hi Trev, second day coming shortly!!

Cheers,
Nick

Nick Bowles

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Day 2
 
After the first day and being smashed up by some big fish and not landing any of the big fish there was a case of going back to the drawing board and re-setting up tackle, checking all the tackle and also to try and use a bit of a different approach. It was clear that we were going to battle to pull any of the big fish out drifing over the shallow 1-2m ledge in a heavy current where some of the big fish were patrolling so we decided to fish a bit deeper and off the back of the reef rather than the normal and traditional drift up current onto the structure. All of our plans were laid but this is normally the easy part!

For the second day I was on the boat with Evan. Evan has been a good friend and we always catch up in NY and have lunch and helps with transport so always good to catch up. Also this was Evans first time to this part of the World for a GT trip so we had a lot of discussions about techniques, scenarios, tackle etc, always fun talking out various parts of our fishing styles. Evan also fishes for a wide range of species and styles so some interesting ideas.

We woke up early and enjoyed sitting on our chairs having coffee watching the sunrise and watching the waves although small roll into our beach. After a quick breakie we boarded our boats and headed back out to the GT grounds. The current was again pushing early in the morning and we tried to put our well laid plan into effect but with not to much luck. We tried every type of drift all along the reef but not to many fish around. We ended up fishing the reef close to shore and I managed to pick up a nice Bohar Snapper and Coral Trout both on my all time favourite lure black and silver Gamma 160H. At least we had some fresh fish for lunch and after a very tough morning we headed back to the camp with our heads hung a bit low! GT fishing is definitely not easy and is a game of highs and lows. Just because we travel thousands of miles and spend tens of thousands of dollars does not mean we will catch fish on every cast. This is one of the reasons I love GT fishing is that you have to work hard and a lot of the time you have to keep changing plans and trying new ideas. The fish definitely don't now the effort we put in, they either there or not! But after a good swim, lunch and a bit of a relax and afternoon siesta we were ready for action.


A nice coral trout on a Gamma 160H

Lunch

Arriving back at the camp with Evan.

The camp always amazes me, perfect position and picture postcard perfect!

We headed back out in the afternoon and the current was now pulling and is the preferred current. We fished a couple of areas and then we started to put our plan in action from the previous night. We had tried fishing all over the reef and now we were trying in the back of the currents in deep water. I have been working a lot over the last few months with Hammerhead to get some new colours and also to get some bigger poppers. We had just received the first batch of the monster I-Cups 220gr poppers and this is the perfect lure for the deeper water. Hammerhead poppers don't tend to pop as much as most poppers but they push a lot of water like a marlin lure but they also rip through the water creating a low base type noise and this to me drives the fish bananas!

So I rigged up the second Carpenter Prototype rod which I had named the Grey Ghost which is a faster taper rod of the two and put on the big popper and we started to work the deeper water at the back of the current. There were also a lot of bluefin trevally up to 5kgs swimming in the swells on the surface and so I thought this would be perfect food for a big GT, so I had one of the blue poppers on and this did the trick. First fish was a Bohar snapper for the afternoon that hit the popper in deep water.


Bohar on an I-Cup

The currents was pulling nicely with the wind blowing in the opposite direction so it was quite a feat to stay standing in the back of the currents in the small boats and the captains had to continuously bail the boat with all the water we were taking onboard. They did this with a calm that made us think this was normal but did get quite hairy at stages with a few waves breaking into the boat!

We did a very long drift passed the reef and we were casting and talking when I caught sight of a big shadow coming up under my popper just before it disappeared behind a swell, I gave a few quick pops to get the lure through the swell and watched for some action but nothing and I thought I was just seeing things, but after a few more pops a huge fish came up from under the popper and smashed it into the air. My adrenalin by this time was through the roof but I managed to stay calm and I put my rod flat and retrieved my popper fast along the surface, I did not want to pop it as there was a lot of swell and current and I was worried that lure would jump and get snagged on the line or hooks.

This turned the fish into a raging madfish and the GT came at the lure like a steam train and smashed the lure in a spectacular display. I set the hook and the fish took off for the depths. But we were in water over 30ms deep so I let the fish take line off a tight drag and sat on the rod letting it do the work. After the first run the rod held the fish and I started working the fish back to the boat. Fishing from a dead boat is not always easy as the fish will at some stage end up directly under the boat or on the other side of the boat. This is one of the situations that I have seen a lot of rods break, but the Grey Ghost handled everything I could throw at it and pulled the fish back into line everytime.


Grey Ghost in action

Some interesting angles on the small boat for the rod!

After a couple of short runs near the boat which pulled the whole boat around a couple of times I had an awesome fish at the side of the boat which I landed. This is proper DIY, not only do you hook the fish, fight the fish, you also land your own fish! We loaded the fish and she was a big healthy mama. I measured the fish at 141cm, a good 50kg+ GT! A few pictures and she was released to terrorise the reef again. Very happy our plan had worked and we had our first big Socotra GT for the trip.


Big Socotra GT, 141 cm +-54kgs

We did a couple more drifts and now new there were some big GTs around but we had to work very hard to get the strikes. We did another few long drifts and then on one of the last drifts of the day, I put out a long cast with the wind and was working the lure back through the current and swell. A big GT came up behind my popper but the popper was jumping off the swell and getting airborne, I think this incensed the GT and it came after the popper like a bull dozer through the swell leaving a trail or white water and swirls, by this time I was shouting like a banshee and it was spectacular to watch the GT chase down the popper and smash it! A very easy hook up and we were back in action. We let the boat drift again and let the gear do the work. The fish did a few deep dives and took quite a bit of line on a tight drag. I think the fish was using the current to its advantage and was staying deep. At one stage the fish had me leaning on the gunnel with the fish on the far side of the boat, tough work and put the old muscle to the test. But finally I started to get the better of the fish and brought another great Socotra GT to the boat and landed it.


Happiness!

Having to use the gunnel for some leverage, the fish kept on doing under the boat, tough on the body!

Awesome sight in the clean water, a big silver shine!

A good 131cm GT in the boat. A really great afternoon with 2 good fish. We got a few pictures and released the fish. It was an end to a great day for me and I always enjoy when we manage to figure out the GTs and catch some decent fish, very satisfying!


Another great GT measuring 131cm about +-44kgs

We got back to camp and had a great meal of fresh fish, savory rice, Arabic bread and potato strew. Always hits the spot after a long days fishing with hundreds of casts been made with giant lures. So it was not long out of bed and we all fell into a deep and content sleep!

Day 3 to follow!

Nick Bowles

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Raymond and Evan on their boat fishing the shallows.

Fish on!

Thats what we like!

Bending at the boat

GT on the I-Cup

Bending on the jig

Lantern Fish

After a few more drifts we headed for the shallows and some light tackle fishing. On most trips I always pack a light tackle rod and some smaller lures. There are always quite times when GT fishing and a good time to explore new reefs and fish for other species and can be really fun. This day was going to be an excellent light tackle day! We had a reef close to the camp and we drifted over shallow 2-3m reefs and we had excellent fun catching triggers, grouper and a few other species and as in most remote places always a few big fish jump onto the lures and smoke you! We had a good end to the session and finally headed back to camp for lunch. I had 2 friends join the second part of the trip from Dubai Richard Flamand and Andrew Daubery. So when we arrived back at the camp the guys were there and ready for action!


Nice trigger on buck tail

Bending on the light gear, trying to stop fish before they get to the reef!

Another good sized trigger

The colors of the bay never ceased to amaze me everyday, totally awesome!

A good lunch on the beach with a lot of chatter to the new guys about what had been happening and the possibilities and we were all ready to head out for the afternoon session. The tides were a bit later in the day so we did not have to rush out so a few long swims and a little afternoon sleep got us all ready for the session. At about 15.00pm we all headed for our boats and we were off to the GT reef. We arrived and the current was not to strong so I decided to carry on with the light gear while waiting for the stronger current. The set up I use is one that has traveled the World with me and one of my favourites the rod is an 8ft Shimano Aerocast rigged with a Stella 5000 and PE1 braid. Can cast a mile and handles decent sized fish.

On the first drift I saw a black shape below the boat and I thought it was a trigger fish so I dropped my small Duo swimbait down towards the bottom and as I started to work the lure the trigger morphed into a coral trout that hammered the lure and the fight was on, small rod and lure on a big fish in strong current. Great battle and I got a good sized coral to the boat to a lot of whoops and shouts! A few more drifts and I got a range of fish including triggers, emperor, grouper, bluefin etc. Really great fun.


Great fight on the light gear

Coral trout

Very happy with this fish on the light gear!

A nice emperor

Beautiful little grouper

But by this time the current had started to push and we headed back out to the GT area. We set up a couple of drifts and nothing to much happened and we were putting in a lot of casts and trying a few different places. The fishing was tough and we were putting in the effort. Finally as the sun started to dip behind the horizon the reef came alive and we started to have a few follows and swirls from smaller trevally but no hook ups. I was still using an I-Cup popper and put out a good cast across the current and had a fish swirl on the lure, I carried on working it across the current and halfway back to the boat the fish hit the lure and I set the hook. The fish took off and I stopped the fish but I could feel it was very heavy and there was not much head shaking and suspected I was in for a good fight with the fish being hooked in the side and in a strong current! The fish put me through my paces and I worked it hard with the rod and a good bit of deep burn in the muslces, but finally a decent fish came to the boat and we could see that the fish had been hooked up badly. A few pictures and we released the fish.


The fish putting the hurt on me! Rod taking the heat.

Close up of the Grey Ghost! A proper GT weapon!

Winning the battle!

Another great Socotra GT, not the biggest but gave an excellent fight!

Very happy with a hard earned GT.

Another great day came to an end and we headed back to camp for an enjoyable evening and a few good stories around the table with a bit of fresh grouper for dinner!

Day 4 to follow!

Trevor Skinner

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Big guy,

Great read as usual. I make sure I have a coffee ready before I sit down for 10 minutes and I'm there fishing! Will have to make the trip with you at some stage.

Nice to see you in a 'sensible' hat for a change.



Trevor

Nick Bowles

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Howzit Trev, Happy you enjoying the story in Saffa english a few more days to come!! I tried the big hat as the sun was mean down there and I thought I could pull off your look but don;t think I got it right...........Definitely did not look as suave as you!

Nick Bowles

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Day 4

By Day 4 I think our bodies were well climitised to the conditions and the aches and pains were not as bad in the morning. Also all concept of time, dates and modern life had gone out the window and we were operating by sunrise and sunset along with the tides, for a brief moment we felt like mariners and adventurers of old. We had started to wake up a lot earlier to get the early morning pulling tide. The afternoon tide was almost finished and it was going to be a case of only been able to get a good session in the morning.

We had a quick breakfast and we were all ready to head out before sun up. I always love being on the sea early morning and cruising on flat calm sea as the sun comes up, this is always a special time of day and the scenery is always spectacular in the first light of a new day. I was fishing with Raymond for the day and before the engines werer started the jokes and Raymond loud laughter could be heard by the other 2 boats, whhhhaaaaahhhhaaaaahhhaaaaa! Almost sounds like santa!! Classic!


Heading out with Raymond and Capt Sultan.

We headed out to the reef and started a few drifts, on the first drift I had a big GT come up on the popper but no hook up, it looked like it was going to be an excellent day, but things can change so quickly. After the first drift things went very quiet and we did not see anymore fish. As with fishing in most places you have times when you can throw an egg and catch a fish and then the same place another day you cannot even get a rise. This was one of those days! This is the time to change tactics and try things you don't normally try and don't have the time to try.

The sun by this time was high in the sky and the water was crystal clear at least 25m visability. I decided to put on the old faithful Gamma 160H black and silver. I was thinking the current was dropping, the water was clear and the best approach was to use the flashiest lure to try and call the fish from far and wide in the deeper water. We did a lot of drifts all over the reef and finally on a very long drift in the back of a slacking current I managed to raise another fish, not sure if it was a GT or a kingfish, but it was a decent fish that missed the lure but gave us a bit of encouragement. We did a few more drifts into areas we had not fished before sometime over 500ms behind the reef.

By this time the sea was dead flat and the current was just pushing along like a nice gentle freshwater stream. Perfect conditions for a nice day out on the boat, but not the best for GTs! But we were really enjoying the morning and the conditions and talking heaps of rubbish. I put out a long cast with the Gamma on the Red Reaper as it has a softer action for the sticks and casts miles for a 7.9ft rod. I was working the lure back when the sea erupted under the lure with a good sized fish, I was caught half unawares but quickly managed to pull myself together and hit the fish a couple of times, but it was a spectacular hit in calm seas, awesome to see and also the adrenalin was pumping flat out, it looked like a huge fish and we were in about 40ms of water so had a very good chance.


Red Reaper in Action

I backed off on the drag a bit and played the fish easy as there was no major danger of being reefed on a medium drag and a bit of palming so the fish did not get to much line. I sat on the rod and let it do its work and really enjoyed the fight. The fish saw the boat and headed off into the deep again but the gear handled the pressure and I finally brought up a good sized fish to the boat. Not the monster I had initially thought from the hit but still a very good 127cm +-40kg GT. We got a few pictures and released a well earned fish.


Great 127cm fish in deep water on a Gamma, love it!

We sorted out the boat and were getting ready to start fishing again when we heard a few load shouts and turned around to see the 2 new comers hooked up about 200m away from us also behind the reef. Really awesome that the guys had managed to hook up and were fighting what looked like another good fish! A lot of banter and shouts coming from the boat as they maneuvered the boat and Rich and Daubs were having an awesome time!

We started to head over to watch and when we arrived the guys were boating the fish and it was a another good 127cm fish. Must have been a passing shoal that we intercepted and managed to get out 2 fish in deep water. I jumped across to the boat and helped measure and get a few pictures. Rich had caught the fish and was one happy guy! This trip for Rich was a bit of a farewell trip as Rich after 8 years of living in Dubai and being a good friend from when we grew up is moving to France so this was his final GT trip for the moment and was on the right track!


Rich and Daubs with a Socotran GT!

After a bit of excitement the current totally died and so we decided to head out to do a bit of jigging. I thought to try a new area we had not fished before that looked like there was some structure on the GPS. We headed out to sea and finally got to the area we had decided on. As with most charts in far out areas they are usually a bit dodgy and not to accurate but we had luckily found some structure and a drop off from 170m up to 70ms. Raymond was the first to go away on a nice Big Eye Trevally (Hey Big Guyyyyyyy!) and then followed very shortly by a nice jobfish that put on a good fight. The jobbie was one of the biggest I have seen and a great fish! I then managed to get into the mix with a couple of small Comment Groupers for lunch and a little Tropical AJ. So an awesome end to the morning session and after a full morning of popping and jigging by lunch time the boyz were well tired.


Mr Raymond in bending on the Race Point 400 conventional , awesome rod!

Hey Big Eyyyyyeee!

Nice fish from the deep!

Raymond back in the action!

Monster Jobbie!

Commet Grouper, very tasty!!

Small Tropical AJ

We headed back to the camp and enjoyed some fresh grouper for lunch and a good sleep along with a couple of swims and strategy meetings in the water. Absolute paradise, and I miss that water and swimming everyday!


Cruising back for lunch

All the rods, not the best storage but this is why you buy good equipment so it can take the hammering!
Arriving back at the camp

Capt Sultan! Yamaha is the only engine on the island! They take a hammering but don;t miss a beat!

We had decided to head out late for the afternoon session as the current was only starting late but on this day the current had finally run away from us and we tried to fish till sunset but the current never picked up and our afternoon fishing had come to an end.

The following day 5 we came up with a new gameplan for the afternoon and decided to do a hike up to some spectacular views and trees but the mirning session was red hot with some monster fish. Will post tomorrow.



Nick Bowles

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Trev, hows the morning coffee?

Trevor Skinner

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Just finished it.

Not as good as the RAW coffee you get but not bad



Mr Predictable


Alex Jordan

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Nice! Just recovering from food poisoning on a Weds morning ... nope no exotic location just Victoria Station London cafe grrrr


Keep posting Nick - although stick to the baseball cap!


Nick Bowles

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Hi Trev, trying to make my RAW Coffee stretch till Friday when I'm going to pick up a fresh batch!! Will send you some!!

Hi Alex, Saw you having a braai (BBQ) in a great looking shirt this weekend! Hope you didn't poisen yourself! Good to see the weather getting better for you guys! I thought I would try the hat to keep Trev happy but I could hardly see half the time with the thing flopping everywhere! Only tried one session and went back to normal!!

Cheers,
Nick

Trevor Skinner

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Personally, I think you look very stylish.



Trev