From the moment you arrive until the day you depart nothing is too much trouble. The island is one of the most relaxing locations I have had the pleasure of visiting. From the bar that sits over the water where each evening you can view the fish feeding, the two restaurant's with glass bottom viewing of the pristine underwater world, the unique butler service who will take care of any needs during your stay, and the huge variety of water sports (diving and snorkelling) and Spa facilities make this a special place to visit.
From a fly fishing perspective we spent 7 days exploring the areas around Dhonakulhi island in search of giant trevally, bonefish and any other species that would be on the radar of most fly fishermen. What we found was a first class trevally fishery with good numbers of Giant, bluefin and goldspot/striped trevally. On both sandflats and on the edge of reef trevally were a constant. Fishing the edge of the reef proved the most challenging. Daily we targeted giant trevally in the 40-100+lb range. Mornings produced excellent numbers of fish cruising the reef edge, herding the schoals of mullet and snapper hard against the reef. The fish proved more fussy than you would expect for giant trevally. Consistently they would charge the big 6/0 flashy profile fly's. A number of fish ate and one bust off on the coral but generally there would be a refusal at the last minute. Maybe we were fishing too heavy (130lb leader), or maybe just didn't have the right fly for the job but the fishing was as exciting as it gets and I look forward to getting back out there to try and unlock the secret to these fish because they were huge!!
The bluefin and striped trevally were found cruising the flats/beaches and sand islands in good numbers. These are great fish to target with a 7 or 8 wt rod and baitfish pattern. I had recently got hold of the new SAGE ONE saltwater 7 wt and it was a great stick to target these fish with.
Bonefish were high on our priority list and while there is a few reports of bonefish in the Maldives the information is quite patchy. While the habitat on the satellite images looked great you just never know until exploring new water what you will find. What we did find were good numbers of bonefish with a good average size of 4lb with the biggest pushing 6lb. The fish were generally found coming off the edges of the deeper channels up onto the sandflats.
On the same flats giant trevally would be found on the back of reef sharks or travelling as singles or pairs of fish. Early morning they would also be found cruising the beaches and angling writer and photographer Toby Coe managed this good fish of around 45lb.
One of the best parts of a stay at Dhonakulhi island is the fact that your family and children get to experience why we all love saltwater fly fishing so much.
For the week around 20 species of fish were landed on fly including those mentiones above as well as bonito, picaso triggerfish, coronation trout, various cod species and a solitary goatfish. According to the local diveteam based on the island Indo-pacific permit are also commonlu encountered in the lagoon and good numbers fo sailfish and dogtooth tuna are also found close to the resort. We will continue to explore the fly fishing opportunities at this location over the coming year and believe that we have only just scratched the surface.
In summary Dhonakulhi island (Island Hideaway) makes the perfect destination for both family and angler. For more information on fly fishing in the Maldives or if you are planning a family holiday to this part of the world please get in touch and we can help to tailor a package to suit your needs.
For more information please email us or call on +44 (0)1621 743711.
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