The Big Blues, our fishing destinations around Phuket in Thailand and the Andaman Islands

Day and night trip

During day trips we usually fish around the Racha Islands and the drop-off nearby Phuket. Overall the area is more indicated for novice anglers but although heavily fished by the local commercial fishing fleet still from time to time can offer some good fishing day. Also every year in November this area hosts the local fishing tournament which always provide good catches and entertainment.

Racha Islands

The Racha area consists of two main islands, Ko Racha Yai and Ko Racha Noi (14 miles and 23 miles respectively from Ao Chalong our departure point) separated by a narrow pass.

The north east corner of Racha Yai offers the best Sailfish action around Phuket especially during the summer season. Often sailfish here can be seen jumping, tailing on the surface or feeding on balls of baitfish......a really incredible show! Usually the best fishing happens in the afternoon so in the morning you can target Tuna, King Mackerel, Wahoo and Dorado.

The area is also quite scenic above the water, with several beautiful white-sandy beaches bordered by groves of coconut trees.

Before reaching Racha Noi we will meet the Tan Kram coral reef which, during the right lunar phase, can host spectacular GT action on popper fishing. On the west side of the island again you will have the best chance to get Sailfish as well as Wahoo, Barracuda and GT. Finally the south end of the island with its underwater reef and up swellings can be a good jigging area and occasionally the fishing ground of Black Marlin.

The Big Blues offers day and muti-day trips to the Racha Islands all year round as well as memorable fishing weekends (see our Latest Offers section).

The fishing time is agreed together according to your requests, fishing conditions as well as moon and tides phases.

Racha Yai and Racha Noi offer also excellent action for night bottom fishing and if you cannot sleep this is for sure an excellent venue to keep you busy all night long! The Big Blues offers night fishing session all year round.

The drop-off

The drop-off is the best place to get a Black Marlin off Phuket. It lays 25 NM west of Phuket and although only 200 m deep you have the chance to target also Wahoo, Dorado and different kinds of tuna (Yellowfin Tuna although no big can be found as well).

The most common technique here is definitely trolling with lures and live bait.

The Big Blues offers day trips and multi-day trips (together with the Racha Islands) to the drop-off area all year round as well as memorable fishing weekends (see our Latest Offers section).

Multi-day trip

Similan Islands

Located 60 miles north west of Phuket the Similan Islands National Marine Park is a chain of 9 relatively small uninhabited islands, surrounded by some of Thailand's healthiest and most diverse reefs.

Widely recognised as one of the world top scuba diving destination, fishing is banned within 3 NM of the shoreline, making the Similan Islands the perfect nursery for all the marine species.

Most of the islands have Thai names but fishermen refer to them by numbers starting with 1 in the south and ending up to 9 in the north. Stretching for 10 miles this lush, granite island chain provides a beautiful backdrop for a day of snorkeling, diving or just sunbathing on some of the wonderful beaches.

The waters surrounding the Similan Islands also offer some of the best saltwater fishing opportunities in the region. All of the blue water game species of the Andaman can be found here with exceptional number of Wahoo and Dorado.

All the fishing is done outside the national park borders. Approximately 12NM west of Number 1 Island lays the Ton Mai seamount where on a good tide you can have amazing trolling action with Yellowfin Tuna, Wahoo, Dorado, GT and Rainbow Runner.

But most of all here and the drop off 6 NM west of number 1 island is the most productive area for Black Marlin around Phuket. Rising from 250 meters to 75 meters Ton Mai area is rich in fish life and usually large shoals of Skypjack Tuna can be found here.

Usually full moon or new moon is the best period. Also popper casting and jigging for Giant Trevally and Dogtooth Tuna can be very productive as well as night bottom fishing for Grouper, Snapper, Jobfish and a variety of bottom dwellers; unless you want to spend the evening with a barbecue on many of the white powdery beaches.

Also during the years many FADs (Fish Aggregating Devices, rafts of bamboo which provide shelter for all sorts of species) have been placed on top of the seamount and all around the islands and represent excellent spots usually both for trolling as well as for popping and jigging.

Finally the Similan Islands are also a good fishing spots for many species of shark including Black and White Tip, Nurse, Leopard, Mako and Hammerhead.

The Big Blues offers multi-day trips to the Similan Islands from October-November through April (weather permitting even from September). Trips are suggested for a minimum of 3 days/2 nights and are recommended for max 6 persons.

Ko Rok and Ko Ha Islands

Ko Rok Noi and Ko Rok Yai are astonishing uninhabited islands located 60 miles south east of Phuket. Crystal clear blue waters, white beaches, a beautiful reef with excellent snorkeling and diving are just part of the recipe.

The landscape is dominated on the west side by limestone cliffs and on the east side by a luxurious tropical forest ending on white sandy beaches.

This is a strictly Sailfish playground with he best action starting in the afternoon and often resulting in multiple hook-ups. The most common technique used is trolling with "tuna belly strips” or live bait.

Fly fishermen will have some real fun here as well; in this case usually after having attracted the Sailfish with a teaser the fly is cast and then is up to the angler!

In the morning anglers usually target Wahoo, King Mackerel and Rainbow Runners on the Hin Deang reef 12 miles west of Rok Noi Island while on the way to/back usually Dorado, Skypjack Tuna and Barracuda show off.

The Big Blues offers multi-day trips to Ko Rok Islands from October-November through April. Trips are suggested for a minimum of 3 days/2 nights and are recommended for max 6 persons.

On the way to/back from Ko Rok we usually fish also Ko Ha which is a small group of 5 islands about 30 km south of Phi Phi separated by channels over 50 meters deep; on request we can make a stop to the famous tourist destinations of Phi Phi Island.

Andaman Islands

This is really what Big Game fishing is all about and we suggest to every keen blue water angler to give it a try at least once to make a lifetime dreamt fishing adventure to become finally true.

Midway between Thailand and India, the peaks of a submerged mountain range rise up out of the Andaman Sea. The hundreds of resulting islands constitute the Andaman and Nicobar islands chain, which consists of a 1,000km long arc (over 620 miles long) from Sumatra in the south extending northward to the Bay of Bengal. The 572 islands are part of the Indian territory and are located approximately 450 NM west of Phuket.

The Andaman Islands are made by more than 372 islands, extending over 750km north to south and many of them still unexplored today. There is more virgin beach here, all of it spectacular, than anyone could possibly enjoy in a lifetime. Marco Polo visited these Islands in the 13th century and in the 19th century the British took control of the islands to use them as a penal colony. While only 36 of these islands are inhabited, most of the population reside in Port Blair, the capital as well as the main port. There are even pockets of extremely primitive tribes on some of the islands like in North Sentinel: in here visitors are forbidden to go ashore. Also the Nicobar Islands in the south are mostly not accessible to tourists. They are separated from the Andaman Islands by the Ten Degree Channel.

Only since 1993 India has allowed limited tourism development in the Andaman, opening up to sportfishing and scuba diving on a restricted basis.

All the boats have to check in at Port Blair before going anywhere in the region and its small airport receives flights from Chennai and Kolkatta, India.

The long trip is worth it as the volcanic topography, sea mountains and canyons provide the best playground you can imagine for many Billfish and pelagic species.

The Andaman Islands in fact are nicely positioned to receive a continuous current to the south/south west which brings with it plenty of bait fish as well as Black and Blue Marlin, Sailfish, Yellowfin Tuna, Dorado, Wahoo and all the Andaman game fish species. Among these GT, Dogtooth Tuna and Grouper are particularly abundant making this area one of the most famous and well known worldwide by the popping and jigging anglers' community.

But most of all the total absence of commercial trawlers and long liners, banned by the Indian Government and enforced by the presence of the naval force which continually patrols the area, guarantees an incredible experience to the adventurous angler.

The area is so vast (8,249 sq. Km) that most of it is still unexplored while the potential is enormous which makes it one of the world's new hot spot for the Big Game as well as popping and jigging!

On board of the Blind Strike you will have the opportunity to explore the most remote and secluded islands of the archipelago where we'll be alone fishing most of the time!

Over here anglers can pursue virtually every method of blue water fishing with exceptional results: deep blue water trolling on the 1000-2000 m drop-offs on the east and west coast of the islands for Black and Blue Marlin and all the other pelagic species, inshore popper fishing to Giant Trevally, Bluefin Trevally and Coral Trout, jigging for Dogtooth tuna, Albacore, Jobfish and Jacks, fly fishing for Sailfish and Yellowfin tuna, bottom fishing in the night time for massive Groupers as well as shark fishing.

You can either depart from Phuket with us and flying back to Thailand or wherever you want (the crossing takes about 2 days and 2 nights and offers a chance from time to time for very big Black and Blue Marlin) or better you can fly directly to Port Blair in the Andaman Islands in India and join there the Blind Strike for this incredible experience (see our "Getting there" page).

So if you are really after the “big blues” and looking for non-stop fishing action, day and night, in one of the last pristine and most remote environment on earth, this is the right trip for you!

At the same time we can organize specific "Popping & Jigging Expeditions" in this waters aimed exclusively at the famous GT and Dogtooth Tuna of the Andaman Islands.

The Big Blues offers liveaboard safari to the Andaman Islands in India from February through middle of April. Trips are suggested for a minimum of 5 days/4 nights and are recommended for max 6 persons.

*For all the above trips should you wish to have more fishing days or make other changes please let us know, and we will do our best to arrange the perfect trip for you.

** Finally we would like to remind you that the Blind Strike is also available for islands touring as well as private diving and snorkeling cruises in the Andaman Islands.