CR written by Collin

We were finally at Changi T2 waiting for the flight to Male after months of anticipation. Once we checked in our baggage, we decided to have an appetiser meal of what's to come for the next one week. Guess what the menu told us!



After the quick meal, we were onboard our flight to a week of paradise onboard the very comfortable Nooraanee-2



Oops... wrong pic. Haha. Below is the right one



It was the 1st time onboard Nooraanee for all of us. We were pleasantly surprised by the hospitality and professionalism of the crew. Check out what they did to our rooms.





The weather wasn't too good on the first 3days especially the 2nd cos it rain the whole day and night but we still managed to land some decent fishes. One of the first few fishes landed was a fat red bass by Desmond on stickbait and soon after a 15kg doggie on popping. What a great start to the trip!




We landed about 15 fishes in total on popping on the 1st day. They consist of red bass, GTs, doggies and bluefin trevallies. Even thou we had to fish in the rain, we were happy with our rewards

Time passes quckly as usual whenever you are enjoying yourself and it was soon getting dark. The captain had to quickly find a nice spot to anchor for the night as it is not safe to travel too much at night since Maldives has a few thousand shallow atolls and islands. I'm not sure if it's the same throughout the year but the sun rises especially early when we were there (about 5.30am) and sets early as well (about 4.30pm).

After a very filling dinner, we decided to set up our light tackle to try jigging for the big eye jacks that should be attracted by our floodlight behind the boat. It didn't take long for Desmond to connect to a nice fish after a strong take.



Kent who was using bait caught many of those "red snappers" one after another each drop that we decided to crown him the "Red Snapper King". It was really LJLJ for him. He was pulling out one of those red snappers (which looks very much like Ang-kway) every 30secs! At that rate, we were teasing him that he could do a red carpet display on the front of the boat the next morning. However, as we had no intentions of consuming the fish, all of them were released back.

Kent was starting to get sick of getting the same fish when his Bassterra suddenly doubled over into a wicked bend upon setting the hook. This is definately no snapper! Line was peeling out at a very fast rate and Kent being anxious to know what the fish was, cranked up the drag even higher to try to stop the run. We were all amazed at how much punishment the rod could take! The powerful fish suddenly dashed under the boat and Kent had to quickly stick his rod into the water to prevent being cut off. After a feverish 15mins fight, his trophy finally revealed itself. It was a 8.5kg GT on relatively light tackle. What a battle!

The next day, we started with some heavy jigging. In no time, we landed some decent fishes.







We request to pop after lunch. Guess what happened to the red grouper that Weixiong got and the Rosy jobfish Desmond landed?



Jobfish sashimi anyone???


Abit of light jigging right after lunch before the more siong popping starts.






Rainbow after rain!


Pop till you drop!!!




The 2nd doggie on popper for the trip by Kent.


We landed the usual assortment of fishes on popper before we called it a day. As usual, all our light tackle comes out to play when the sun is not around...




It was Huiling and my turn to perform for the night. We both got a 10kg doggies on lite jig. What a adrenaline rush! I can still remember how the small doggies took drag from the reels. One word "Shiok"

The next few days of fishing was the usual routine: Early wake up at 5am for lite jiggin. After a sumptuous breakfast, popping and heavy jiggin resumes for the rest of the day. After dinner, out comes the lite jig for more fun!







On Christmas eve, Kent got an early xmas present and once again became the "Man of the nite" yet again with his trusted Bassterra rod.

The fight looks very different this time round. The burst from the fish taking line is much faster and longer. Kent was saying that he can feel his wrist at the point of failing due to his previous injury. However, we all cheered him on and 15min later up comes the "monster". We then understood why the battle took toil on his wrist.

14kg doggie on medium tackle.


Weixiong and Desmond worked very hard to break Kent's record but were rewarded with medium size fish. Still much fun thou.




Last edited by Team Yumeya - Jason on Sat Jan 02, 2010 9:23 pm; edited 1 time in total

This year's Xmas day is something myself and Aiye will not forget. We both got our biggest GT of the trip on the same day. No monsters by any standard but it was especially memorable for Aiye as this was his "virgin popping trip".

22kg Trophy


I was loaned the new Stella 10,000XG by a friend to try out for the trip and was greatly impressed. The improved spool lip in my opinion resulted in better casting distance and the very high gear ratio in the XG reel was an absolute advantage for popper chugging. Right after the cast, I could quickly crank up the loose line and start the chug in a split second. I was told that GT reacts better to poppers that starts moving as soon as it hits water. The new model was also much lighter than the old stella SW series which helps as I do not have the biceps to pop reels of those weight for the entire day.

My best of the trip, 20kg of silver


Not long after, a loud splash was heard in the distant and drag was peeling from Weixiong's reel even thou it at set at at least 10kg! Yeah! Another good sized GT!



The line kept peeling from the reel and you could see that the Caranx Kaibutsu was nicely loaded. Weixiong had to be anchored down as he cranked up the drag to slow the fish. After a few minutes, the long burst of speed was reduced to just short takes of line. Weixiong could start to slowly gain line but you could see that it is not any easier from his strained face. Minutes later, the GT surfaced with the trebles hooked at the stomach area. We were all very disappointed as it was not any bigger than 12kg. Weixiong told me that he thought this will be the fish to break his personal best. Although the GT did not weigh much, it was definately a worthy opponent fighting like a 30kg. A samurai GT perhaps....









Last edited by Team Yumeya - Jason on Sat Jan 02, 2010 9:31 pm; edited 1 time in total

Huiling woke up very early on Boxing day and her 1st drop got her a nice present. Notice that she is still in her sweater with the blur face as she just got out of the comfort of the air-con room? Hehehe...




Actions after breakfast



After lunch, we requested to stop by a small sand bar to try some shore casting and snorkelling.


Aiye has been transformed into a popping monster after just one trip. He can't stop popping even from the shore! Too bad the fish was not keen in his offerings.



Desmond's bluefin trevally from the flats on spoon.


Weixiong's special catch!

Some of the good food we had on board. Too bad we didn't get any lobster for our Xmas dinner





Corn dessert. Yummy!


My personal favourite! Fried banannas in maple syrup!


All good things have to come to an end eventually. Our trip ended on the noon of 27Dec as we wanted to reach Male early so that we could shop around. We were treated to a Pizza tea-break before we set foot on Male.





Every angler's dream catch (Male fish market)


Maldivian tea anyone?


In summary, the trip was better than we expected especially the nite lite jigging which was immensely shiok. There are still many many pics of the fishes which we caught but I have gotten too lazy to upload. On the way back to Singapore, my kakis were already planning the next one! The poison has spread deep into their blood I assume
I can't wait to be back too. Till then. Ciao...

salah lah bro,the doggie oso using my fav basstera,underrated rod.....hahaha[/list]

paiseh it me salah....old liao eye blur.....hahaha

Nice! A dream place for all fisherman =)

Haha. I think your bassterra caught you more fish than any other rods during the trip. Most of the time, it's an "Ang-kwey" slayer.

awesome trip guys, nice work O and i just wanted to know how much did this trip cost you?

nice GTs

Thanks! PMed you about our trip cost as I do not wish to post it openly in the forum. Cheers.

thanks

AWESOME trip guys!!!
So the rest of the fishes were sold at the Male market?

very nice bro!

wow looks dam fun.. hahaha prob wanna join u guys nxt time (:

nice catch!!! wonder when will i have the chance to go and do some fishing over there

Thanks.

All fishes were released back to the sea especially ALL the GTs other than those kept for consumption. We didn't sell any fish to the market

For those who are interested in fishing on the same vessel,


Am forming a team of 6 easy going kakies for the follow trip:

Destination: Extreme North atolls of Maldives
Dates: Nov 21th to 27th 2010
Fishing days: Sunday to Saturday
Vessel: Noranee 2
Moon Phase: Fishing 2 days after the 15th of the Lunar month

We will fly Singapore Airlines to Male international airport then transfer Maldives domestic airline to Hanimadhoo Atoll Airport. We will then pop and jig our way back to the main Male atoll.

All prices are transparent and cost sharing.

Take this chance to fish the top north of Maldives onboard one of the cleanest and most comfortable Fishing Vessel in the Maldives.

Couples anglers are welcomed as the cabin rooms of the Noranee 2 comes with 2 beds each, fully aircon.

Please PM me with an email address for more inquiries. Slots are filling up fast!