Back in December 2015 I was fortunate enough to get an invite from my friends Clare Carter and Brandon King to go fly fishing in Oman.
Why did I go fly fishing in Oman?
I met Clare and Brandon here in Scotland on a film set on which I was commissioned for still imagery.
They had mentioned their plans to start guided fly fishing trips in Oman and would love to get me over to do some fishing and get some images for their new website.
As Christmas approached the allure of leaving single digit temperatures and warm sandy beaches was too much and I booked my flights to go fishing with Arabian Fly Sport Fishing!
The Journey to Oman
I flew with British Airways and the flight was pretty stress free, except for the usual Edinburgh to London delayed flights (lets not go there…).
I travelled from Edinburgh to London Heathrow with overnight layover, then in the morning to Abu Dabai then Muscat.
The main flight took 10 hours and I was concerned how I would handle this but to be fair it was a doddle!
Arriving in Muscat at midnight the first thing that hit me was the heat. Us Scots are just not meant for this!
It must have been 20 degrees in pitch black darkness! Clare and Brandon met me at the airport and took me back to their home to stay one night before driving further south.
I must admit, I arrived not knowing what to really expect in Oman. Perhaps with some preconceived ideas of my welcome.
The people were so warm, friendly and most speaking very good English too. The scenery was also far nicer than I could ever have imagined, making the long drives around the country rather enjoyable!
We arrived in our new destination near Salalah, where I believe Arabian Fly are based permanently now. The first 3/4 nights would be camping on the beach to fish for Permit!
Now, I must confess, although an outdoors person I am not really a fan of camping!
However, this was probably the best experience of the whole trip.
Clare was a wee superstar and had base camp set up more akin to glamping!
I think I stayed in far worse hotels. We had a shower, inflatable beds and full cooking equipment!
The first afternoon on the beach was tough. Brandon mentioned the wind was really strong, as strong as he’d seen down here.
This was unsettling more sand than normal and would make spotting Permit in the shallows very challenging. The first afternoon all we spotted were Mullet crashing into the shallows.
Brandon was great, knowing conditions were tough he took his time to go over the presentation, hooksets and how to play the Permit so I was prepared when my chance came. It was a good way to break me in and experience a completely different style of fishing.
Superstar Clare had dinner prepared for us arriving back and sat around the camp at night enjoying a cigar and just chewing the fat.
Day 2 Permit fishing in Oman Salalah
The next morning I was awaken by the incoming tide, which is pretty special by the way! The ghost crabs had kindly filled my tent with sand as they burrow their holes around your tent in the dark.
Conditions looked much more favourable than yesterday. Brandon was confident today we’d be able to spot some Permit! A quick coffee and some oats and we were off.
For anyone that hasn’t done Permit fishing from shore, it is not for the unfit. The tactics here were to walk up and down a 6km beach from one end to the other while scanning the first twenty to thirty feet of ocean for feeding Permit.
We literally done this from first light to last light!
The tide doesn’t seem to influence them and they can be caught at any time of the flood or ebb which makes for long sessions.
After a couple of hours my guide Brandon spotted a Permit feeding – way before I did! My initial shock was how shallow the water it had came into. I had been looking too far into the waves. Now I had to get my act together sharpish!
Brandon guided me into position, talking me through as we get ready to present the fly. First cast at this Permit, I strip on Brandon’s command and third strip everything tightens up “fish on”.
The adrenaline is well and truly flowing at this point as the fish takes a good few yards of the reel pushing with the tide until it all goes slack!
I laugh and let out a couple of warm hearted expletives while Brandon positively reassures me we’ll get the next one!
We carry on walking for another 20-30 mins and come across another. Again, Brandon spots this before me and guides me into position, as I strip I have lost sight of the fish and I’m just focusing not the strip when suddenly it all goes tight – fish on!
A nervous couple of minutes ensue as the Permit makes fast powerful runs back into the ocean using the outgoing waves to its advantage until Brandon finally lands her for me.
Yeeha! I got my first ever permit! A few obligatory images and back she went.
We continued on a high for the rest of the day. I think we spotted another two that day with me spooking one with a little bit too accurate casting…
Boat Fishing in Oman
The next few days we fished from the boat. Targeting whatever we were likely to come across. Arabian Fly’s boat is sensational by the way, absolutely perfect for fly fishing.
We spent a few days exploring new areas with the boat and would target Tuna when the opportunity arose, whilst also searching by trolling for Sailfish.
Wild-life in Oman
It’s quite cool when you are driving on the boat as the flying fish come out of nowhere – such a cool site.
I also had a baby whale shark come right up alongside the boat which was just awesome. Still gutted to this day I didn’t get a photo of it as a reminder but I will remember that the rest of my days.
The sea was littered with turtles and jumping baby Manta Rays. These things are hilarious! I did not know Manta Rays jump randomly!
Some of the wildlife in Oman surprised me, I saw hundreds of camels, small Deer type animals on the beaches, flamingos, crabs, dolphins, turtles and birds of prey.
When driving on the boat all of a sudden you would come across these feeding balls of Tuna, wow! What a sight these are! We tried like a bear to hook these fish but they were seriously tough due to the size of bait they were taking. We did manage to hook a few though.
I also had the most intense looking Garfish taking my lure and following it in, I could not for the life of me land them! As soon as they were hooked they would jump in the air like mini Marlin It was great fun while it lasted though!
For the last couple of days before heading back up the country we fished another of Brandon’s shore marks where he had spotted GT’s in the past, Africanus Permit, Bluefish and Pompano.
I had some great sport with the Bluefish which I am a huge fan of now! These things are aggressive!
They smashed the topwater with gusto and gave a good fight for their size. They would smash into sardines revealing their location and you would then make a cast right into the frenzy and hold tight.
We also spotted a GT here on day 2 marauding along the shore on the second day but but the time we spotted it, got the gear out we had lost it.
This was a common issue because of the high winds I had experienced during my visit. The debris in the shore was problematic and did effect spotting fish.
Needless to say, we didn’t catch very much the day we spotted the GT – clearly he had been harassing any fish in the bay!
I had a few small three spot pompano from this shore mark too. These were such a beautiful fish, would love to have caught some of the bigger ones!
Last day in Oman
One the last half day before heading back to Muscat, Brandon took me to another Permit beach mark. Here we fished for a couple of hours but noticeably the ocean was much colder here.
All we spotted here were sand sharks and a pod of dolphins in the background.
My fishing was now over but I’d had a blast and was delighted to have caught a Permit during a day of break from the strong winds.
Brandon dropped me at the airport while I got an inbound flight to Muscat where I’d spend a day looking around before flying out in the evening.
I decided to visit the famous Sultan Qabool Mosque.
What an unbelievably impressive building this is. I knew very little about Islam and was very interested chatting with the sheikh about religion.
I couldn’t believe it when he told me his wife was from Bonnybridge in Scotland which resulted in some funny comments… It really is a small world!
Fishing in Oman for me is a must for the serious or keen Saltwater adventure angler. The Permit fishing here has to be up there with some of the best in the world!
Clare and Brandon at Arabian Fly Sport Fishing do a great job and booking with them you will be in great hands! Since I visited they have an operation in Saudi Arabia and the fishing they have available now in Oman is off the scale!
To find out more information visit Arabian Fly Sport Fishing.