Rodrigues

hawkins Banks Expedition

Fishing trip Rodrigues

Dogtooth Tuna Paradise!

Your trip starts with your flight to Mauritius. Flights to Mauritius take 10 to 14 hours, depending on the connection. When you arrive in Mauritius, you will then take a domestic flight to Rodrigues. The flight takes about an hour and a half. You will reach Rodrigues in the afternoon and will be taken to your hotel by our airport transfer. You can get ready for fishing here and then relax by the pool in the evening.

The Fishing - Part 1

The next day, your fishing finally starts. After a good breakfast at the hotel, you will go to the harbor, where your boat will be waiting for you. The two-day trip around Rodrigues begins at around 8:00 a.m. You will be fishing in the warm waters around Rodrigues for the next two days.

Depending on the conditions and where you are fishing, you can jig, troll or fish with a popper rod. But usually, you’ll be jigging! To make the most of your fishing trip, you will spend one night on the boat. The next fishing day starts with sunrise and you spend the whole day fishing on the various spots around Rodrigues. You will be back at the harbor between 5 and 6pm and then we will go to the hotel.

The next day is a rest day, as the crew has to prepare the boat for the long way to the Hawkins Banks. So, you can relax in the hotel or visit the island on this day. There are various places that you can visit. You can book the program at the hotel.

The Fishing - Part 2

Today is the start of your expedition to the Hawkins Banks! The trip starts to the Hawkins Banks at around 3:00 p.m. at the harbour, so you can take it easy in the morning. We will pick you up from your hotel at around 2:00 PM and take you directly to the boat.

The Hawkins Banks are over 100 nautical miles from Rodrigues. On the way to the banks, the trolling rods are in use. Here you can try to catch marlin, sailfish, tuna, wahoo and other big fish. The drive to the Banks takes about 11 hours. You can get a good dinner and cold drinks on the crossing.

Before sunrise, there is a good breakfast. Then, it’s time to jig! The Hawkins Banks are almost 100 km long and 20 km wide, so there are lots of areas where you can catch fish depending on the current and wind. Your captain has lots of experience fishing in Rodrigues, so they can tell you what the best spots are.

During the spot changes, trolling rods are used. If there are tuna in the area, we use popper rods.

Fishing the Hawkins Banks!

There are only a few places to pop on the Hawkins Banks. So, the popper rods are best used when fishing for tuna!

For the next few days, you will fish on the Hawkins Banks, sometimes into the night. Always on the lookout for the monster Dogtooth Tuna! It is important that, as already mentioned, you will primarily jig. You fish at depths between 40 and 120 metres. Depending on the current, jigs from 200g are used.

Doggies have very good eyes, so your relatively “thin” 120 – 140lbs leader and octopuses fish on the hook. Doggies are anything but easy opponents and many fish get lost in the fight. This is part of the “game” of Dogtooth Tuna Jigging. So you should bring enough jigs and terminal tackle.

After three full days on the banks, you will head back towards Rodrigues at around 6pm. To make sure you get the most fishing time, the return trip will be at night. You will arrive in Rodrigues at around 8:00 in the morning. Then you will check into the hotel for your last night.

The Departure

The day of departure begins for you with breakfast at the hotel and check-out around 10:00 am. Depending on the flight connection, you will then be taken to the airport.

Generally you will fly back to Mauritius at noon and then back to Germany. You usually reach your home airport the next day. The day of departure may therefore vary depending on the flight connection!

Accommodation Rodrigues fishing holiday!

The Accommodation

Liveaboard Boot

L'oiseau des iles II

The L’oiseau des iles II was built in Mauritius and is 16.16m long and 4.70m wide. The boat has two bunk bed cabins and a single cabin. All cabins have a fan. During your trip, you will share one of the two bunk bed cabins with one of your fellow travelers.

The L’oiseau des iles II has a shared bathroom with toilet, shower and sink. A large lounge area offers enough space for eating and tackling.

The boat is equipped with 2x500hp engines and has modern fish finder and navigation technology. In addition to radar, your boat also has an on-board computer that displays nautical charts in real time. This means that every structure can be displayed in 3D.

For fishing, the spacious stern of the boat is at your disposal. Four people can jig here. A fighting chair is also available as well as sufficient rod holders.

Catering

Meals: Full Board

Getränke: soft drinks included. Alcoholic beverages can be paid on site according to consumption

Rodrigues Hotel

Cocotier Rodrigues Hotel

The Cocotier Rodrigues Hotel is located within walking distance of the port, right on a sandy beach.

Your rooms have two single beds, air conditioning and a private bathroom.

The hotel has its own restaurant and Le Ti Limon Bar. There you can enjoy the local cuisine and cold drinks! During your trip, breakfast at this hotel is included.

In the hotel, Wi-Fi is available in the public areas.

Catering

Meals: Breakfast included

Getränke: Drinks can be paid on site according to consumption

Your fishing boat in Rodrigues!

The Boat

The boat on your fishing trip is the L’oiseau des Iles II. A 53-foot big game boat built in Mauritius. Captain Cyril Faure is one of Rodrigue’s experienced sport anglers!

Liveaboard Hawkins Banks!

L'oiseau des iles II

The starting point for your hunt for the Dogtooth Tunas is the L’oiseau des Iles II. The boat was built in Mauritius in 2010 and is a 16.16m long and 4.7m wide big game boat.

The boat has three cabins. One double and two bunk bed cabins. All cabins have a fan. A bathroom with toilet and shower is available for common use.

There is a lounge area for meals and space to set up tackle. A dining table and several seating areas are available. There are also a few seats on the flybridge.

The L’oiseau des Iles II has a 3000l water tank and can stay at sea for up to five days!

You need this fishing tackle in Rodrigues!

Tackle Talk

If you are going saltwater fishing for the first time, you can use rental equipment from us. Therefore, you don’t have to invest in new rods and reels in advance.

We will be happy to inform you separately about the prices for the rental device.

The main type of fishing on your trip is jigging! Trolling, live bait and poppers are also practiced. However, there are only a few opportunities for popping!

You need these poppers in Rodrigues!

Popper / Stickbaits

In general, there is hardly any popping in Rodrigues. Therefore, you should not take too many poppers and stickbaits with you.

A pair of Halco Roosta Haymaker 195 or poppers with smaller heads for tuna poppers make sense.

You need these jigs in Rodrigues!

Jigs

For jigging in Rodrigues you need a good selection of 150-350g jigs. In recent years, butterfly shapes as well as elongated, but not too narrow shapes have proven to be very good.

Jigs from Major Craft (Jigpara), Sakura Orion Jigs, Hooker 1, as well as our Team Deep Sea RockShock were very successful here. But also jigs from low-cost providers like AliExpress or Temu have caught 🙂

In general, it is good to have a selection of butterfly as well as longer jigs in your luggage. This allows you to react to the corresponding conditions.

Colors that work very well are pink, silver, blue-green, fluorescent and zebra patterns. It is important that all assist hooks are equipped with an octopus! This not only increases attraction, but also the hook rate.

The hook size should be between 8/0 – 12/0. Depending on the jig shape and jig size, you should adjust the hooks. As an assist leader, we recommend min. 1.4mm Kevlar or min. 600lbs load capacity!

Jig losses are the order of the day on Rodrigues. According to our partner, you should plan 3-5 jigs per fishing day.

The best lines and leaders for doggy jigging!

Leader & Main Line

For popping, leaders between 200-220lbs are used. Here you should make sure that these are quality leaders such as those from Fishermen, Varivas, Nomad or Climax.

When jigging, you need a leader between 120 – 175lb. The diameter can vary. However, we recommend a diameter of less than 1.2mm.

For livebait fishing you need a Malin Wire between 131-180lbs.

The main lines should be high performance PE lines. A PE8 (80lbs) is the minimum. For the live bait rods, a PE10 (100lbs) is recommended.

Good lines are e.g. Gosen Diver x8, Daiwa J-Braid x8, JB Line One or other high-performance lines!

Be sure to pack spare line!!

Terminal Tackle

Hooks & Terminal Tackle

For the poppers, only BKK hooks in the appropriate sizes should be used.

For jigging, we recommend hooks of the brand VMC (Jigging Assist Hook 7264 BN) in sizes 8/0 – 13/0. For the assist hooks you should bring rubber octopuses! Since you often lose hooks to sharks and wahoo, you should have at least twice as many hooks as jigs with you.

Split and solid rings for jigging and popping should have at least 220lbs. Owner Super-Heavy-Duty Split and Soli In general, it is advisable to bring a good snap ring pliers. Here we can recommend the hPa Game Plier snap ring pliers. This allows you to open super strong snap rings without any problems.

A good, waterproof boat bag is also recommended. The company Zeck Fishing has a few good bags on offer. We recommend the Tackle Container Pro or the Tackle Container Pro Catfish!

Since you are often jigging for several hours at a time, we recommend that you bring a pair of good gloves with you.

Rings (Solidrings #5 – #9) (Split Rings #8 – #11) are a good choice here.

For livebait fishing you need circle hooks in sizes 8/0 – 15/0.

Helpful tools for your fishing trip!

Other fishing equipment

In general, it is advisable to bring a good split ring plier. Here we can recommend the hPa Game Plier split ring pliers. This allows you to open super strong split rings without any problems.

A good, waterproof boat bag is also recommended. The company Zeck Fishing has a few good bags on offer. We recommend the Tackle Container Pro or the Tackle Container Pro Catfish!

Since you are often jigging for several hours at a time, we recommend that you bring a pair of good gloves with you.

Since it can get very warm in Rodrigues, we recommend UV protection shirts, a sun hat and LF50 sunscreen! You can order our Expeditions UV shirts directly from us!

Good polarized sunglasses are essential for fishing. We recommend glasses from gloryfy unbreakable. The best polarized sunglasses for anglers currently available are also indestructible!

You can take a closer look at the gloryfy unbreakable polarized sunglasses for anglers here: Polarized Sunglasses for Anglers!