Video Goodness: fly-fishing the Maldives
Almost four years ago to the day, I got married on an unusually sunny day in the English countryside and promptly jetted off to the Maldives on honeymoon. It was, as you can probably imagine, a golden fortnight…
The Maldives was every bit as sensational as I’d hoped it would be – we stayed on two different islands, with a beachfront villa at the first and a traditional over-the-water arrangement at the second. My only regret about the whole thing was not being able to wet a line. Some afternoons I would sit in my sun lounger, glance up from my book and see GTs clobbering baitfish in the shallows, just inches from where I sat. On another occasion I spent about 15 minutes snorkelling with an Indo-Pacific permit. I’ve never seen a more relaxed permit in all my life. Perhaps he just knew he was safe. As any fisherman who’s visited the Maldives will tell you, fishing is strictly prohibited within the reef area on any island resort.
There does, however, seem to be one exception to this rule – Dhonakulhi Island, on the Haa Alifu Atoll, which now offers the only land-based fly-fishing opportunities in the Northern Maldives. Resident species include bonefish up to 6lbs, GTs up to 50lb, permit, snapper, cudas and may more. Trips are exclusively available through Fly Odyssey (click here to find out more), and this is the kind of action you can expect:
