Southern Oman 

Salalah and the Dhofar Region

If you look at a map of Oman and follow the coast south you come to the Dhofar Governorate in Oman. Even for the Omanis who live in what is perhaps the most picturesque country in the Middle East this is a magical place. The region is the largest of the Governorates in the Sultanate of Oman, covers 99,300 square kilometers and has a population of 459,000 people.

The coast is a plain between 2 km and 15km wide that runs like a ribbon between the Al Qara Mountains and the Arabian Sea. The mountains, in places, are between 900 and 1200 meters high and the sea is fringed with the most spectacular white sand beaches and rocky headlands. The geography is stunning and there’s a new vista around every corner. The area is steeped in history and has been an important trading centre since at least the 12th Century and maybe even well before that. Legend has it that the Queen of Sheba’s palace was at the historical site at Khor Rori, not far from Salalah.

The area is very different from much of the rest of the Arabian peninsula, mainly because it receives a significant amount of rainfall concentrated into the Monsoon season in July and August, known locally as the Khareef. The temperature drops, Wadis run high, the water falls off the mountains and everything around Salalah turn green. This effect lasts throughout the year and gives the region a luxuriant feel as compared to the stark beauty of the rest of the peninsular.

The Fishing

Although this is the newest of our destinations Ocean Active’s relationship with the fishing in Southern Oman goes back to the beginnings of the company 15 years ago. It’s remote and wild and the fishing is absolutely off the charts. We’ve waited a number of years for the right opportunity to re-establish our presence in Southern Oman and we have now joined partnership with Around the Ocean an old friend and long established Omani Marine Company. Our aim is to offer first class fishing and experience but also to support and build the local fishing knowledge and community. The strength of our new partnership is that Around the Ocean has a long history and heritage going back generations in Southern Oman and knows every rock, beach, fish specie and season plus is in contact with a wide network of local fisherman. Giving us the advantage of local and international experience and knowledge.

Although Southern Oman has some of the largest Giant Trevally on the planet it’s the other fishing which gets pulses racing, particularly for fly fisherman. Inshore species include the ubiquitous queenfish (in jumbo sizes), golden trevally, yellow dot trevally, black tip trevally, Pompano, bream, emperor, parrot fish and blue fish (again in jumbo sizes). Offshore provides shots at GTs, Amberjack, Sailfish and Milkfish.

However, what will put Southern Oman on everyone’s bucket list is the Permit, not one but two species. The Indo Pacific Permit (Trachinotus Blochii) is a very difficult fish to catch, just ask anybody who has spent days casting at them. These permit patrol the beaches of Southern Oman and they’re still difficult to tempt but when it all comes together, hold on! What has really got the fly fishing’s communal heart racing though is the other species of permit available, Trachinotus Africanus. This is, perhaps, the only viable fishery for this species in the World. They’re big, inhabit incredibly challenging environments and are the ultimate target if Permit is your thing, and for most fly fisherman that’s an itch that just has to be scratched. The Africanus live and feed in the rocks along the shore and this creates a challenge to hook the fish but their power in the shallows and around the rocks put them in a category of a GTs, with sheer power and strong chance that you will be “reefed.”

Equipment

RODS: 10 weight rods are our standard suggestion for majority of the inshore species. The 10 will handle the bigger queens, goldens and then also able to stop and lift permit, trevally etc. Also add in a 12# in case we head out to the islands of chase some bigger gamefish like GTs, sails, Marlin, tuna etc. All rods must be good quality like the Thomas and Thomas rods we use and capable of turning big, hard charging fish

REELS: Reels should be balanced with their appropriate rod and line weight and capable of holding at least 200 metres of backing, at least 50lb+ is our suggestion (we use 80lb on the 12wt) for the heavier weights. Use only good quality reels that have a proven saltwater pedigree. This is not the place to experiment with that ‘good value’ internet special. These fish will magnify any structural or mechanical weakness in all your equipment so we use and recommend Shilton reels.

LINES: We mainly fish with floating lines as we fishing in shallow water and also want to ensure the visual and take, but we also suggest bringing a floating line with intermediate tip to fish inshore and when wading the surf to get the fly and line down to the fish in the waves. A 400-700g sinking line is also handy if you should want to target bottom feeding species.

FILES: We use a variety of flies depending on species we are targeting. For permit we use a range of Alphlexo crabs from no4 up to 1/0. We suggest having both light and heavier weighted crabs to get down in the surf wash for Africanus. Then a range of crab patterns is always handy for variety when the fish don’t seem to be eating and can offer them something different. For colours we suggest white, tan, tan/yellow, olive and black/red. Then for majority of the fishing for trevally, queens, bream etc we use 1/0 – 3/0 clousers and other baitfish patterns in natural colours. Also pack some 2/0 – 4/0 gurglers or small poppers for some fun on the surface bites when the fish are shoaling or feeding well. A few milky dreams is always worth adding for the milkfish, big GT flies and poppers if we heading for the island or find some GT patrolling the beaches and lastly some sail/marlin flies if we run offshore to target billfish. So a range of flies will be needed. We can arrange fly packs but will take minimium 30 days to tie and deliver.

CLOTHING: Shirts, shorts and trousers should be quick drying and have a high UPF factor. Either a hood on the shirt or a lightweight buff is very handy should the sun get too much. A lightweight rain jacket is also very handy when the heavens open (which is not often during the fishing season). Pack a fleece for early mornings and late afternoon especially in December-Feb when it can get quite cold. Hats aren’t just for show and play a major role in both sun protection and shading your eyes. Great polaroid sunglasses, like Costa del Mar, are essential both to protect your eyes and to make sense beyond all that glare. A pair of lightweight wading shoes is all that’s required to walk the beaches.

Packages

All of our trips are packages based on 3 day or 6 days fishing packages. All trips are packages with transport, accommodation, breakfast, boat and guide included. All meals can be arranged from the Hotel or surrounding restaurants on request.

Essential Information

• Your passport should have 6 months validity. Currently, single entry visas for Oman for a maximum of 30 days can be obtained online for a number of countries. Please visit www.rop.gov.om for full details. Check well ahead of arrival for any changes to this process

• Ocean Active Fly boats are licensed to carry max 4 people plus 1 crew for the 24-foot boat, we restrict the capacity of all the boats to two fly fisherman per boat at any one time.

• There are no bathroom facilities on any of the boats

• All clients must bring their original passports on the boats at all times

• There is no alcohol allowed aboard the boats and, in addition, we reserve the right to refuse boarding to intoxicated guests.

• 50% payment to be made on confirmation of the booking and remaining 50% payment paid 45 days before the charter date. Last minute charters booked within 45 days of charter date must be paid in full on the date of the booking confirmation unless otherwise agreed. In either case, failure to pay by then could result in the cancellation of the charter at the client’s cost.

• Our cancellation policy is detailed in our full Terms & Conditions. Rest assured, we will try our hardest to ensure that our guests get out on the water and that they catch fish. However, we understand that unforeseen circumstances sometimes get in the way of plans and will try and work with our customers to ensure that both Ocean Active Fly as well as the client isn’t unfairly disadvantaged.

• All our trips are package deals and incorporate transport, accommodation, meals (please remove meals), charters, administration etc. There will be no refunds for days not fished or trips cancelled once a booking is confirmed. All clients will need to take out travel insurance to cover for any trips cancellations, or bad weather days not fished.

• All clients need to take Medivac Insurance like Global Rescue and provide us with copy of the policy and a contact person to contact in case of an emergency.

• Ocean Active Fly provides quality fishing tackle at no extra cost to those clients that request it. In order to be able to continue providing this service breakages to rods or reels will be charged at a flat fee of $250 for each breakage.

• Ocean Active Fly can provide fly packs for Southern Oman if requested 1 month prior to arrival dates. Ocean Active does have flies on the boat which will be charged to the client as used and can be settled at the end of the trip.

• We work to conserve our fishery and fish and we have a maximum of 4 permit per day if you are lucky enough to be able to catch one, two, three and four. Highly unlikely but we want to ensure that on the rare occasion we hit perfect conditions we conserve our fish as they are largely semir resident fish.

• Fishing charters are priced for departure from our marina berth with return to the same marina. Other services such as transport, accommodation, tourist attractions and special requirements can be arranged on request and, if arranged through us, will receive our full support. However, services arranged independently of Ocean Active Fly are at the client’s responsibility.

• All charters are day charters, which is considered 9 hours from leaving the marina to arriving back in the marina.

• Tipping is optional for good service. An industry standard of $100 per charter is a good rule of thumb.

• The sun is strong, bring high factor sun cream and lip balm and use it regularly. Similarly, good quality polarizing sunglasses and a hat are a must.

• Drink lots of water

• The hotel is fully equipped with your favourite beverage.

• Respect the people, the culture, the wildlife and the environment and they will respect you.

Additional Information

• Capital of Oman is Muscat

• Oman has a population of about 4.6 million people

• The local currency is the Riyal (AED) Exchange rate is OMR 1 = USD 2.60

• Time: GMT +4hours

• Language is Arabic but English widely spoken

• Clothing should be respectable and not revealing.

• Strict no drug policy including some medicines like codeine.

• Fishing season: September till April

• Weather is generally great October till April averaging 25-32 degrees Celsius

• Daylight hours in season is light at 06.30am and sundown 18.00pm on average

• To travel to Oman you’ll need a valid passport with minimum 6 months validity and 2 full free passport pages.

• All clients arriving in Oman will either receive a visit visa on arrival or require a pre-trip visit visa depending on their home country/passport

• All clients require travel insurance to cover any accidents, loss of equipment or charter.

• All clients will require to fill out an indemnity form before their charter

• Drink bottled water in Oman, all Oman tap water is from desalination or ground water.

• Electricity is 220V AC. British-style three-pin wall sockets are standard.