A phenomenal experience for Ryan M. and his wife abroad in Oman chasing Trachinotus Africanus -- the 4th permit species, and southern Oman is probably the only place on the planet at the moment to be able to target them on a regular basis.
Did you find the trip booking process through Yellow Dog enjoyable and useful? If not, please share why.
- Yes, very easy and smooth. We started the booking process after seeing a post on the "Travel News and Updates" page that showed all of the available weeks for the next season or two which was a great motivational kick for me to get serious about a trip I'd been considering for a while.
Were the Yellow Dog pre-trip planning packet(s) and travel itinerary you received for your trip helpful and accurate? If not, how could it be improved?
- Yes, both were overall very helpful as was emailing program director Alec Gerbec who had recently been to the destination and had a lot of detailed and recent feedback with regards to travel details and gear. The main area that I found needed some updating in the pre-trip planning packet was the permit fly selection- we did not use many crab flies and instead used a range of flies tied to imitate mussels and shrimp.
Did the lodging (rooms, dining area, social area, etc) match what you were expecting? If not, please provide additional comments or constructive feedback.
- The lodging (Hawana Salalah Juweira) was absolutely top-notch! My wife and I thought it was perfect for our combined needs- hardcore fishing combined with other activities such as relaxing on the beach/at the pool and enjoying various spa treatments. The staff was very friendly and attentive throughout the entire duration of our stay and responded quickly to our requests for dinner reservations, shuttle rides around the resort, guidance with regards to activities, etc.
Did the food (breakfast, lunch, dinner) match what you were expecting? If not, please provide additional comments or constructive feedback.
- Yes, breakfast/lunch on the boat were very substantial portions of salads, pastries, sandwich rolls, and assorted soft drinks. The resort had a wide variety of restaurants, many with different themed nights, that provided lots of options each night for dinner from casual and quick up to lengthy, multi-course meals. We also had the fun experience of taking a freshly caught mahi back to one of the resort restaurants so they could prepare it for us!
Do you have any comments or constructive feedback based on the service, friendliness, etc of the lodge staff?
- As I said above, the staff at Hawana Salalah were extremely friendly and attentive- true professionals! The only Ocean Active staff I interacted with in-person were the guides which I'll get into below, but the rest of the Ocean Active team were very proactive with regards to communicating plans and expectations via WhatsApp and answering all of my last-minute questions!
Were you pleased with your guide(s) customer service, communication skills, professionalism, work ethic, and general fishing knowledge? If not, please share why.
- Yes, absolutely! I had the opportunity to fish with all three guides and experience each of their different personalities, styles, and skillsets. Rich was the first guide I fished with and he did a very good job showing me the permit, explaining the approach in each situation, and coaching me through the entire shot (which was very different than any other permit fishing I'd ever experienced). He took lots of high-quality videos and pictures of our fishing days which were generally very long and involved covered a lot of water to maximize opportunities on permit, mahi-mahi, and queenfish. Next I fished with Branden who showed me some different water and was laid back with a good sense of humor. We caught some permit and also spent a good chunk of an afternoon trying to get my wife into a queenfish (which would be her first saltwater fish). My final day was with Greg who was also fairly laid-back and had been guiding with Ocean Active for several years. It was pretty clear that he knew the fishery very well and had a plan of attack mapped out before we ever even left the dock. Unfortunately the permit weren't cooperating that day, but both my wife and I were able to get into a pile of queenfish and had a lot of fun!
What key piece(s) of gear, tackle, flies, soft goods, etc. made your trip successful?
- I fished both 9 and 10 wt setups with almost equal frequency. The 10 was lined with an floating line (SA Tarpon taper) per the provided gear list. The 9 was lined with a clear intermediate tip line (Cortland Ghost Tip) which an "also suggest" item in the gear list, but I would 100% consider essential for this trip. For flies, I would recommend bringing pink/chartreuse clousers and tan EP baitfish patterns for the queenfish and mahi-mahi, spawning shrimp for the free-swimming africanus/blochii permit, and using the guide's mussel patterns for the tailing africanus permit. In general, it seemed like most flies we used for all species had no flash or minimal flash.
What piece(s) of equipment would you not leave home without for this trip?
- Besides the obvious rod/reel/line/flies, I would definitely mention good sunglasses (Costa green mirror and Smith low light ignitor) and sun protection gear (hooded sun shirts, buffs, etc). Every day was perfectly clear with bright, bright sunlight. However, early starts (before daylight) to the fishing days made the low light glasses and possibly even a light jacket both good ideas.
Would you return to this destination? Please share why or why not.
- Absolutely- we loved Oman, Hawana Salalah, and Ocean Active! I would specifically recommend taking an additional few days (at a minimum) to explore Oman outside of the resort. We did an overnight tour in the "Empty Quarter" desert near Salalah and also spent several days in and around Muscat/Nizwa and thoroughly enjoyed all of those experiences. It was our first time in an Arabic country and we found it to be extremely safe, welcoming, and modern. Some of the things we saw were: Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat, Mutrah Souk, Bait Al Luban Restaurant, Royal Opera House Muscat, Nizwa Fort and Souk, and the Museum of Oman across ages.
About the Program: If you look at a map of Oman and follow the coast south, you come to the Dhofar Governorate in Oman. Even for the Omanis – who live in what is perhaps the most picturesque country in the Middle East – this is a magical place. The region is the largest of the Governorates in the Sultanate of Oman, covering 62,000 square miles (roughly the size of Oklahoma) with a population of only 450,000 people. Running like a ribbon between the Al Qara Mountains and the Arabian Sea, the scenic Omani coastline is home to the most spectacular white sand beaches and stunning geography in the region. Steeped in history, this area has been an important trading center since at least the 12th Century, and legend has it that the Queen of Sheba’s palace was located at the historical site at Khor Rori, not far from Salalah. This is still an emerging and developing program and fishery, and even though our outfitter in Oman has been fishing and working in this area since 2005, they are still developing this fishery through focused education and a catch-and-release ethos that is new to the area (fish are generally killed in Oman when caught).
