Night Fishing in the Maldives

Between the beautiful beaches and the incredible diving, sometimes it was hard to to find the motivation to do any of the other fun activities that the Banyan Tree had to offer.  However, when Nick saw Night Fishing as one of the offerings he got really excited, and since it started in the early evening, I was not losing out on any sun time!

Shortly after arriving at the end of the dock, we were loaded onto one the smaller diving boats and headed out to sea with some great views of our little island.

Our Island

Ready for our fishing adventure!

The evening that happened to work best for us ended up being perfect for the Night Fishing excursion.  The weather was clear and the few clouds in the sky only enhanced the sunset - needless to say I took plenty of photos.  It was just too amazing!

Sunset

Just about to disappear...

After about a 45 minute ride we reached our destination.  With the views and some drinks offered to us, it was a enjoyable ride.  This fishing excursion was set up to teach us how to fish the "Madivian way," which involves some bait, a large spool and a weighted fishing line - pretty straight forward.

Equipment...

Lucky for us, the crew even baited our hooks!

Once we got down to actually fishing, it was pretty stress-free.  We simply dropped the line and let it fall all the way to the coral and then pulled it back a couple of feet (so the line wouldn't snag) and then just hoped a fish came along and took a bite!

Fishing...

Stressful, right?

We were out there fishing for probably another hour and during that time, I caught nothing, ZERO FISH!  Obviously, I am not a person you want with you on a deserted island with my lack of skills!  Nick on the other-hand caught some fish!  So at least as a couple - we would survive!

Nick with his fish!

The crew kept all the fish caught by the group and then split it among us (for people like me who caught nothing).  The men on the boat then sent off our haul to the kitchen, and the chefs would cook the fish for us either for dinner that night or for lunch the next day.

Small but colorful!

Heading home (Nick's glowing because he caught a fish;))

Beautiful Moonlit Night

Our Island at night (there is no fire, my camera just shook!)

Nick and I opted to have our fish grilled at lunch the next da,y and sure enough, shortly after we sat down two perfectly grilled fish we brought to our table.  The eyes definitely looked a bit funky, but it was fun to know that Nick actually caught one of the fish we were eating.  Each bite was delicious! I will say, we would have a bit of trouble surviving on 1 fish each because after all the effort put into eating it - dealing with the bones etc, there was not too much left!

Our Fish!

The Night Fishing Excursion was such a fun trip for us.  In addition to the fishing, enjoying the boat ride, some drinks, and watching the sunset was just about perfect!  The laid back style to the Maldivian way of fishing was nice and relaxing - maybe next time we can step up to the more intense Deep Sea Fishing!

Have you ever been fishing?  Have you ever eaten what you caught?