Maldives FAQ

Are you ready for this?

Looking for answers?

Planning a trip to a new and exotic destination is always a process, and part of that process is often asking yourself a lot of questions. 
 
Questions – and answers – that should help lead to the one final question: Is this trip the right one for me?
 
Hopefully, you will find a lot of answers on these pages, and below we have tried to make it easier by collecting some of the most frequently asked questions about Maldives On The Fly.

No, we don’t. We need to relocate to the best areas for fly fishing, and we only run trips of minimum 6 days of fishing with full groups.

Most of our fly fishing trips are seven full days fishing – a day or two longer than most other fly fishing trips. That’s significantly more fishing time and thereby a greater chance of catching your GT trophy on a fly. The extra cost for a longer trip is great value-for-money. We have already moved the boat to our preferred location, and the cost of the international and domestic flights is already covered. The longer trips also enable us to relocate during the trip and fish two different atolls, should we find the need to do so.

Not really. We stay at guest houses in small local communities. It’s always a very friendly atmosphere but besides fishing all day, there isn’t much to do. If you would like to experience Maldivian resort life with a non-angling partner, we recommend booking a stay before or after your week of fly fishing.

No, but we mainly fish for GTs and bluefin trevallies. Other species found in the surf include snappers and sharks. We also see lots of other species, like parrotfish, triggerfish, golden trevallies and smaller groupers but we rarely target them. You have to keep focus on one style of fishing to be successful.

No. GT Fishers main business is popping but only outside the fly fishing season. The two don’t combine well, as we carry a dinghy on board for fly fishing, taking up most of the space on the speed boat. Also, we fish completely different areas for popping and fly fishing, concentrating on the best for each method.

There are bonefish in the Maldives, and we have caught a few but it is not a classic bonefish fishery like the Caribbean. They are mainly found cruising in deeper water, and while we love to bonefish we prefer doing so when we can find them tailing. That doesn’t happen in the Maldives.

No, it’s only sight fishing (or, occasionally a bit of blind casting). No teasing with spinning rods and hookless plugs.

No, it’s all wading.

No, we will teach you, and we will help you rig up. But being a decent caster certainly helps. You don’t always need to cast very far but you need to be able to make a quick cast before the fish are gone again. Practicing casting with the heavy rod before the trip always helps.

It’s high adrenaline, super visual, demanding, intense and difficult. But when you succeed you really earned that fish and it’s the sweetest feeling ever!

Absolutely. It’s a well-developed peaceful nation with very friendly people. We have never had the slightest issue in the more than 15 years we have visited these wonderful islands.

GT’s catches are not counted per day – try per week. And even this can vary a lot. We have had guests catching six or seven GTs in a week, and guests catching zero GTs on their trip. Every GT on the fly is hard-earned. So expect to see GTs, get shots, hook some and land a few. But if you are looking for a number’s game, this isn’t your game.

If Bluefins grew bigger, they would be the main prize on the reef! They’re a strong, aggressive and beautiful-looking apex predator, and they are usually around in bigger numbers than the GTs. We can catch them up to 5 KG or more, but most are about half that size. 
 
Sometimes, they’re spooky and moody, at other times they hammer anything you put in front of them. When the GTs are playing hard to get, it’s often Bluefin trevallies that saves the day for us.
 

Still looking for answers?

For any questions that are left unanswered on these pages, get in touch – we’re here to help you decide whether this trip is for you.