Socotra October Season - Extreme Itinerary, No2

Dec 17

On our third trip, we welcomed a mix of old and new friends. Four of the guys were quite experienced with GT fishing, while two were beginners eager to learn and join the action.

The moon phase is entering a favorable period, and more importantly, the weather has turned warm, calm, and incredibly stable. The guides were confident about the conditions, and that optimism paid off.

We started fishing on the first morning, and Theophile wasted no time, landing a massive 50 kg GT. With his mission accomplished, he spent the rest of the trip exploring other types of fishing at a more relaxed pace.

This week, four of the anglers showed a strong interest in jigging. When the topwater action slowed, we switched to jigging with fantastic results:

Big Amberjack up to 30+ kg,
Huge White-Blotched Groupers,
XL-sized Long-Nose Emperor,
Numerous smaller Amberjack (up to 10 kg),
Dozens of Rusty Jobfish and Green Jobfish,
Various other Jack species.

It was nothing short of a fishing extravaganza. Still, the real highlight was yet to come.

One particular day, it seemed as though the Golden Trevally population had gone wild. We managed an impressive double hook-up for a father and son, landing fish in the 8–10 kg range. This was followed by a 12–13 kg Golden Trevally caught on a diving popper, and then a true monster weighing 15 kg brought up on a jig.

The week continued with consistent GT action every day. We worked hard, moved across various spots, and were rewarded with a steady flow of strikes. The average GT size this week was excellent, with three anglers landing fish in the 50-kg class, including a massive 144 cm GT. Chris also landed a respectable 48 kg GT but heartbreakingly lost a titan estimated at over 60 kg.

By the end of the trip, Theophile and his father had an impressive statistic to share. Fishing together with both light tackle, heavy tackle, and jigging, they landed 200 fish across 34 different species. Their catches included:

A 16 kg Wahoo on 30 lb line,
Huge Emperors,
Big Golden Trevally,
Amberjack,
A 25 kg Kingfish, and
A total of 27 Kingfish overall.

Additionally, they estimated over 150 strikes from Mackerel. This was just for the father-and-son duo alone!

As I always say, it’s crucial to bring a variety of tackle to maximize opportunities—whether targeting numbers, different species, or the possibility of hooking a big GT on light gear.