Lure Haven- Sharing the Passion of Luring: Maldives 5

Admittedly, we haven't been updating the blog as regularly as we should be. Things are going to change.

Starting with this post about our recent trip to the Maldives, we promise to bring you stories of our latest catches, newest products, as well as other interesting snippets about the Lure Haven family. Watch this space!

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7 excited anglers were assembled for this trip since early this year, of which 6 were virgins to the popping and jigging experience.

We were fishing onboard the Nooraanee 2, arguably the cleanest, most comfortable fishing vessels in the Maldives. This trip proved to be an excellent introductory trip for the newbies- The waters were generally calm, and there was plenty of casting space to hone our casting skills.

The fishing was generally challenging throughout the trip. But with fantastic company, food and constant laughter, there wasn't a dull moment onboard.

Arrived!

The taxi boat located 2 minutes from the arrival hall that brought us to the mothership.

Anglers (from left): Ming You, Adam, Keith, Stefan, Ing Fu, Ron and Daniel

Equipment for the trip.

Group shot before the start of the action.

Some of the popping gear used for the trip, excluding the bananas.

White tip reef shark. Sharks are relatively common in the Maldives.

First GT of the trip taken on a 130g Maggy Gara Short Popper

Maggy Gara Short Popper- well balanced, durable and easy to work. A must-have for Maldives!

Popping the first few days were difficult, so we turned to jigging. Daniel hooked something that embarked on deep, powerful runs... everyone was guessing the identity of the unknown fish. GT, Big Doggie, Yellowfin?

Funnily enough, no one seemed to care once they saw that it was a shark.

It was a big White Tip, estimated by the captain to be about 50-60kgs. After 45 minutes, thankfully one of the 2 assist hooks gave way.

Although they weren't as big as we'd hoped for, they sure tasted good. Coral trout on a Fisherman Andaman.

Another coral trout by the handsome Adam on a Seven Seas Revolver.

Ron with a nice Coronation Trout.

Interesting trevally species taken on an Ima Ro 120g.

Blackjack on a Fisherman Andaman

Nice Coral Trout for dinner.

Small fish kept everyone busy

Blackjack on Fisherman Big Eye Jig.

Double hook-up of juvenile GTs.

Fisherman Big Eye Jig.

Adam's Red Bass on a Seven Seas Hooker, another proven jig in Maldives.

Keith's first GT on a FCL Labo Ebipop.

Daniel's first GT taken on an Adhek Gecko Popper

Light jigging would constantly produce.

Taken on the Ima Ro.

... and again.

... and again

...and again.

It works, we promise.

Even on the small guys.

Ing Fu was afraid that the Bluefin might start talking, he decided to cover the fish's mouth.

An over-enthusiastic paddletail snapper that took a fancy to the Fisherman Andaman.

First Green Jobfish caught at the break of dawn on a Jackson Pintail Tuned.

A 2kg Long-nose Emperor on Ima Gun 12g at the break of dawn. We'll go into more detail about this amazing jig later.

Schooling Dogtooth Tuna on PE3 setup is great fun.

Rosy Jobfish on the Ima Ro 120g

A greedy Blackjack taken on the affordable Geecrack Long Gun jig. This actually has a small rattle in it.

We didn't land many groupers this trip. This was one of the better bottom-dwellers taken on a FCL Labo SL 230g jig.

A nice Rosy Job from about 80 metres of water on the Ima Ro again.

Groupers are commonly encountered in Maldives.

Schoolie Dogtooth Tuna on a Fisherman Andaman. The Evergreen Poseidon Spin Jerker PSPJ500 is rated at PE3 but it is definitely underrated. A light but powerful rod with plenty of lifting power.

Back to popping. Ironically, the challenging fishing conditions made the anglers even more determined to produce results.

Persistence pays of with a Red Bass on FCL Labo Ebipop

FCL SPP Tuna sinking stickbait fooled this juvenile GT.

Close up of the lure.

Fooling a GT with a floating stickbait is truly a sight to behold. The lure swims lazily, pausing and bobbing intermittently. The next thing you know you're stumbling forward and engaged in battle...

The Maggy Gara Marlin- Same lure that was used to land the world record 168cm monster GT from shore. Just that this guy is probably 5 times smaller.

20-something Gee.

We'll be back for your family.

We know how to have fun. Fu*k spider!

Nooraanee 2- Our home for 7 days. It doesn't get much better than this!

We spent some time on a deserted island just to catch our breath and relax. Spiderman in Maldives.

Spiderman doing a Superman.

After the touristy shots it was time for some light game fishing. Maldives has always been known for the large variety of fish available. Fishing off a secluded beach, you never really know what you are gonna catch!

Paddletail snappers were ever obliging to our offerings.

A miniature Trevally on Ima Gun.

Micro lures worked well too. This goatfish was taken on a Jackall Chubby Minnow.

It's not always about the size that counts. Fish as pretty as this triggerfish never fail to stir the senses.

Surprisingly, goatfish of this size fight pretty hard!

The trophy fish of the shore fishing experience- 12lb of bluefin trevally. This bugger hit the Ima Gun 12g three times before he got hooked.

Perfectly hooked in the corner of the mouth.

It's like fishing in a painting. What more can we ask for?

A hard-fighting dart on a spoon. Tip: Dig out all those old, unwanted spoons sitting in the corner of your tackle box. You probably will lose all of them on the beach.

Baby-G.

Groupers this size on 6lb line are great fun.

20g Jackson Pintail in action.

Micro-jigging on the boat was great fun as well. We would do micro jigging whenever the boat was stationary.

Maldives aramugam.

We lost count of the number of fish we caught on micro jigs.

The beauty of Maldives is the different kinds of fishing that you can choose to experience. We spent some time doing some shallow water light jigging.

Stefan hit this big Titan Triggerfish on a Shout! Madai jig.

Titans are notoriously aggressive underwater. With chompers like that, it's no wonder divers stay clear!

The omni-present Longnose Emperor.

Greedy Green Jobfish.

The Emperors were everywhere.

Cute little Rosy Job taken on a 60g FCL Labo SLC jig

Only Yellowfin Grouper of the trip caught while light jigging.

Ima 20g caught a baitfish.

Averaged size GT by Maldives standards. This was caught using a Golden Mean Sable Dance Ver. II PE1 rod.

Beautiful electric blue of the Bluefin Trevally.

2 Ima jigs, 3 fish.

Double Green Job.

The biggest Green Job of the trip weighing about 7kg. Taken on Ing Fu's favourite Ima Ro 120g.

Another schooling Doggie that fell for the Fisherman Andaman.

Another doggie from the same school.

Blackjack on the FCL Labo SL jig.

A beautiful red bass as we neared the end of the trip.

Once we arrived back to the city area, we took a tour of Male town. We visited the local fish market, as this is the destination to learn about the local fish species available to anglers.