Dos & Don'ts Every New Angler Learns the Hard Way

Everything on this list cost someone on this crew a fish, a rod tip, or a very long day in the sun. Consider the tuition already paid.

Before you go

• Do sort your recreational fishing licence. Every emirate runs one, it takes about ten minutes online, and patrols do ask.
• Do check the wind, not just the sunshine icon. A rising shamal turns the Gulf into a washing machine inside an hour.
• Don’t head offshore without telling someone your plan. Phone signal falls away fast once the coast drops behind you.

On the water

• Do carry twice the water you think you need, plus real ice. From May to October the heat is the true opponent, not the fish.
• Do get keepers straight into an ice slurry. At 45 degrees, “we’ll deal with it later” is how good fish get wasted.
• Don’t hang a big fish vertically off a lip grip for photos. Support the belly and keep it level, especially anything you’re releasing.
• Don’t crowd another angler’s water. If you can reach their bait ball, you’re too close. It’s a big sea.

Back on land

• Do rinse rods, reels and lures in fresh water the same day. Salt is patient and it always wins the long game.
• Do measure before you keep. Undersized hamour go back every time. The Gulf our kids inherit depends on the ones we return.
• Don’t leave line, leader or bait bags behind. Turtles and rays find everything we forget.