Anglers Paradise @ Maldives II

The first thing that struck us as soon as we stepped of the plane was the color of the water and the fact that even standing there on the tarmac we were totally surrounded by this beautiful tropical water. Nothing can prepare you for the beauty of the Maldives. Customs and immigration was smooth and hassle free. Travel agent representative escorted us to our speedboat for transfer to the Island. On reaching the Island we were escorted to the reception and checked in. Welcome includes a complementary fruit punch and a very refreshing cold towel. All in all the entire pick up, transfer and welcome was very professional and a very pleasant experience. The deluxe room we had was small but comfortable with a nice balcony overlooking the sand flats. The furnishings are plain but adequate. The bathrooms are a good size, clean and functional. The room came with a TV (which only had one channel) and a mini bar. Food in general is good tasting and good quality however could do with a little more variety.

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All facilities and activities are available at Olhuveli Island Resort. These include Island hopping, snorkeling, sunrise & sunset cruises, morning and night fishing (bait fishing) etc. Olhuveli island resort is situated on a huge expanse of sand flats which stretches for at least 10 Km in length and are between 500 meters and 1 KM wide. As you are not allowed to fish from the resort island you do need a boat to get to your fishing flats. The Dhoni (local large wooden boat) is o.k. for getting you there and back, but that’s about it.

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Don’t bother trying to fly fish from it. The crew is not familiar with fly fishing but know where the fish might be. So don’t expect much guiding assistance considering fly fishing. Fly fishing outside the lagoon is almost impossible because the Dhoni is not suitable for this. I fished the flats both north and south of the island and found the flats in the south to be better. At high tide larger bait fish imitation flies work well but only in natural colors. Forget white and chartreuse etc as the water is just too clear.

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Keep your patterns as close to the natural colors as possible. Olive greens with a little bit of silver sparkle through them worked really well for me. As the water level drops at low tide and the sun gets higher in the morning you need to go for small Crazy Charlie’s in tan, beige, and white colous. As the sun gets higher and on brighter days I had to go for lighter 8 – 9 lb tippets but for most of the time I got away with a 12 lb tippet. Permit are there but not in big numbers.

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If you went there just to target Permit you may go away disappointed. In five days of fishing over some of the nicest flats I have ever seen I did not see one Bonefish. I don’t understand why but they just weren’t there. The fishing is challenging but if you manage to hook a Bluefin Trevally under these kind of conditions its one of the most rewarding fly fishing experiences you will ever had in your life. As a combination family holiday & fishing trip it’s a great destination. I chose to fish early each morning so that you could be back at the resort by around 12 am. For serious fly fishermen it might be a bit disappointing as the Permit and Bonefish are few and far between. It is a lovely place, good resort and I’m sure that we will go back there again

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A week was a bit to short. I think 10 to 14 days would be ideal if they would only change the buffet. Despite this I will be going back as I am now addicted to Bluefin Trevally in shallow gin clear water.

By Theo Huizing, Tropical Fly Fishing