LOCATION: Andaman and Nicobar islands, Bay of Bengal. Pick up and drop off at Port Blair Airstrip.
DIVING CONDITIONS: The waters in this area are warm, ranging between
68 and 85 Fahrenheit (20-30 Celsius). Offshore visibility is gin
clear, and inshore the visibility is between 20-40m. Most spots can be
speared at depths from surface to 10m, but many areas range from
surface to 30m+. Terrain can range from shallow reefs, to outer islands
with drop offs, selves, wrecks, bluewater pinnacles, active volcanoes
to true bluewater a few KM off shore.
Barren and Narcondum are both sites with 45 degree angle drop offs,
this means 10m from land its 10m deep, 30m from land its 30m deep and
so on till you reach the bottom at 3,000m deep. Marlin, Wahoo and YFT
can all be speared a stones throw from the shore at these locations.
LBG fishing is also an exciting option here. We also hit invisible
bank, miles and miles of virgin blue water pinnacles that have never
seen a lure let alone a spear!
DIFFICULTY LEVEL: This destination is offered to freedivers only,
technical hunting is illegal here as are pneumatic guns. Hunters should
be comfortable with hunting around large sharks such as tigers, bulls,
makos, hammers, silvertips, oceanic white tips and all the reef sharks.
Must be able to handle large prey species in a swift and safe manner
and should be prepared for anything. Expert Blue water hunters and
hardcore reef freaks are all welcome. To say that this destination is
suitable for advanced hunters is a fair but some of the dive sites can
be quite shallow and comforting to those who prefer to keep away from
the deeper stuff. Other sites however, like Barren, are quite
intimidating; overall this is a very RAW experience.
SPECIES ENCOUNTERED: The main species that we target are Marlin, both
Black and Blue, Doggies, Yellow Fin Tuna, Wahoo, GT and JUMBO reefies.
There is a real chance of WR Doggies and Marlin here. We don?t know how
big the YFT get here and the biggest GT we have caught is about 50kg,
but we are sure there are real heavy weights under the waves. Other
species encountered are Grouper, Red Bass, Red Snapper, Mauri Snapper,
Jobfish, Humphed Parrots, Coral trout, Jacks, Blue Fin Trevally, Golden
Trevally, Cuda, Mahi Mahi, Rainbow runners, Sailfish, Swordfish and
Cobia. We also encounter all manner of rays and sharks from Whalesharks
to Tigers, Giant Grouper and Napoleon Wrasse, Spinner and bottle nosed
dolphins, killer whales and the great whales. (We do not allow the
shooting of Napoleon Wrasse. Giant Grouper (Epinephelus lanceolatus),
are limited to one fish, per hunter, per trip, Marlin are also limited
to one fish, per hunter, per trip, unless you think the second Marlin
is a WR and then there is no way we can stop you! Sharks are also not
allowed.
(To see pictures of these fish, please use the English name for species here: http://anglerweb.com/fish )
BOAT & ACCOMODATIONS: 56 Foot Tri maran, we take only 7 hunters at a time
and our liveaboards are 10-14 days. The boat can be chartered with
captain and crew for 1,000 euros a day, minimum 10 days maximum 1
month. 3.5m tender included.
ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES: Kayak fishing and fishing. The fishing in these
waters is some of the best in the world, popper, jigging and trolling
all produce the goods. We strongly encourage catch and release and use
barbless hooks when we can. These trips are very 'fish' orientated we
will offer activities such as recreational SCUBA diving in the future
but for now it is all about spearing and fishing.
BEST TIME TO VISIT: From Jan 15th to April 15
COST /LENGTH OF STAY: About 1,600 euros for 14 day live aboard,
includes meals, water, use of tender, kayaks and fishing gear. Excludes
Alcohol and soft drinks, flights and visas. All of which we can help
arrange for the hunters through a respected agent we have been dealing
with for 5 years.
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