rock and surf fishing in dubai

Question
I AM GOING TO DUBAI FOR A FEW DAYS NEXT MONTH AND WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT THE ROCK AND SURF FISHING ON THAT SECTION OF COAST OS LIKE. I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO KNOW WHAT SPECIES OF FISH I WOULD BE TARGETING.

Answer
Hi Kelly, Thanks for your question.

It's the hieght of summer in the Middle East and in Dubai, the temperatures could go up to 46 degrees centigrade. If you plan to fish, its best to do it early in the morning and call it a day at around 9am. Night fishing is also good.

Depending on the area that you are going to fish, expected species could be queenfish, barracuda, finger mark snapper, emperor snapper, golden trevally and the indo pacific giant catfish.

Golden Trevallys can reach up to 6lbs in some areas, barracudas could reach up to 10 lbs and catfish can grow up to 20 lbs.

In some areas, there are huge stingrays, as much as 30lbs!

Mostly, you catch them with bait, but lures work well for barracuda and golden trevally.

you would need a fishing license if you plan to fish in the dubai creek, but you have to be a resident to get one.

fishing around the beaches along jetties however, can be done and the local fish and game guys dont really inspect these places.

light tackle is recommended, although expat indian anglers use 30lbs test from shore all the time (dont be surprised!!!) this is despite the fact that the fish to be caught around the jetties are often not that big. dont expect to see a lot of catch and release too.

Anyway, if you have more questions, please drop a line.

thanks,

K