Rodrigues

hawkins Banks Expedition

Fishing trip Rodrigues

Dogtooth Tuna Paradise!

Your trip begins with a flight to Mauritius, which takes between ten and fourteen hours, depending on your connection. From there, you’ll catch a domestic flight to Rodrigues, a journey of around an hour and a half.

You’ll arrive in Rodrigues in the afternoon, where your transfer will be waiting to take you to your hotel. Once you’ve settled in, you can prepare your tackle for the days ahead before relaxing by the pool in the evening.

The Fishing - Part 1

The following day, your fishing adventure begins. After a hearty breakfast at the hotel, you’ll head to the harbour, where your boat will be waiting. Your two-day trip around Rodrigues starts at approximately 8.00 am, giving you two full days to explore the island’s warm waters.

Depending on the conditions and location, you can jig, troll or try popping, although jigging will be the main focus. To make the most of your time on the water, you’ll spend the night aboard. Fishing resumes at sunrise, with a full day exploring different spots around Rodrigues. You’ll return to the harbour between 5.00 and 6.00 pm before heading back to the hotel.

The next day is a rest day while the crew prepares the boat for the long journey to Hawkins Banks. You can relax at the hotel or explore the island’s attractions, with excursions available to book through the hotel.

The Fishing - Part 2

Today marks the start of your expedition to Hawkins Banks! With departure from the harbour scheduled for around 3.00 pm, you can enjoy a leisurely morning. We’ll collect you from your hotel at approximately 2.00 pm and take you straight to the boat.

Hawkins Banks lies more than 100 nautical miles from Rodrigues. On the way, we’ll troll for marlin, sailfish, tuna, wahoo and other large species. The crossing takes around eleven hours, with a good dinner and cold drinks served on board.

A hearty breakfast will be served before sunrise, then it’s time to start jigging! Stretching almost 100 kilometres long and 20 kilometres wide, Hawkins Banks offers plenty of fishing grounds to explore, depending on the current and wind. Your captain has extensive experience fishing the waters around Rodrigues and will choose the most promising spots.

We’ll troll as we move between locations, and if tuna are in the area, we’ll bring out the popping rods.

Fishing the Hawkins Banks!

There are only a few suitable popping spots on Hawkins Banks, so your popping rods will mainly be used to target tuna.

Over the next few days, you’ll fish the banks, sometimes into the night, in search of monster dogtooth tuna! As mentioned, jigging will be the main focus. You’ll fish at depths of 40–120 metres, using jigs weighing 200 g or more, depending on the current.

Dogtooth tuna have excellent eyesight, so we use relatively thin leaders rated at 120–140 lb and fit octopus skirts to the assist hooks. These fish are formidable opponents, and many are lost during the fight. That’s all part of the challenge of jigging for dogtooth tuna, so bring plenty of spare jigs and terminal tackle.

After three full days on the banks, you’ll set off for Rodrigues at around 6.00 pm. The return crossing takes place overnight to maximise your fishing time. You’ll arrive at approximately 8.00 am and check into the hotel for your final night.

The Departure

Your departure day begins with breakfast at the hotel, followed by check-out at around 10.00 am. Your transfer to the airport will be arranged to suit your flight time.

You’ll usually fly to Mauritius around midday before connecting to your flight to your home destination, arriving at your home airport the following day. Departure arrangements may vary depending on your flight connections.

Accommodation Rodrigues fishing holiday!

The Accommodation

Liveaboard Boot

L'oiseau des iles II

Built in Mauritius, L’Oiseau des Îles II measures 16.16 metres long and 4.70 metres wide. The boat has two cabins with bunk beds and one single cabin, all equipped with fans. During your trip, you’ll share a bunk-bed cabin with a fellow traveller.

There is a shared bathroom with a toilet, shower and washbasin. A spacious lounge provides plenty of room for meals and preparing your tackle.

Powered by twin 500 hp engines, L’Oiseau des Îles II is equipped with modern fish-finding and navigation technology. Alongside radar, an onboard computer displays nautical charts in real time, allowing underwater structures to be viewed in 3D.

The spacious stern provides room for four anglers to jig comfortably. There is also a fighting chair and plenty of 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 right on a sandy beach, within walking distance of the harbour.

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

The hotel has its own restaurant and Le Ti Limon Bar, where you can enjoy local cuisine and cold drinks. Breakfast is included during your stay.

Wi-Fi is available in the hotel’s public areas.

Catering

Meals: Breakfast included

Getränke: Drinks can be paid on site according to consumption

Your fishing boat in Rodrigues!

The Boat

For your fishing trip, you’ll be aboard L’Oiseau des Îles II, a 53-foot big-game fishing boat built in Mauritius. Your captain, Cyril Faure, is one of Rodrigues’ experienced sport fishermen.

Liveaboard Hawkins Banks!

L'oiseau des iles II

L’Oiseau des Îles II is your base for the pursuit of dogtooth tuna. Built in Mauritius in 2010, this big-game fishing boat measures 16.16 metres long and 4.7 metres wide.

The boat has three cabins: one double and two with bunk beds. All cabins have fans, and there is a shared bathroom with a toilet and shower.

The lounge provides space for meals and preparing your tackle, with a dining table and several seating areas. There is also seating on the flybridge.

With a 3,000-litre water tank, L’Oiseau des Îles II can stay at sea for up to five days!

You need this fishing tackle in Rodrigues!

Tackle Talk

If you’re trying saltwater fishing for the first time, you can hire tackle from us, so there’s no need to invest in new rods and reels beforehand. Please contact us for hire prices.

Jigging is the main focus of this trip. You’ll also have opportunities to troll, fish with live bait and try popping, although suitable popping spots are limited.

You need these poppers in Rodrigues!

Popper / Stickbaits

Opportunities for popping around Rodrigues are limited, so there’s no need to pack too many poppers or stickbaits.

A couple of Halco Roosta Haymaker 195 poppers, or models with smaller cups for targeting tuna, are worth bringing.

You need these jigs in Rodrigues!

Jigs

For jigging in Rodrigues, you’ll need a good selection of jigs weighing 200–350 g. Butterfly-style jigs and elongated designs that aren’t too narrow have proved particularly effective in recent years.

Major Craft Jigpara jigs, Sakura Orion jigs, Hooker 1 and our own Team Deep Sea RockShock have all produced excellent results. Budget jigs from AliExpress and Temu have caught fish too! 🙂

Bring a mixture of butterfly-style and longer jigs so you can adapt to the conditions.

Pink, silver, blue-green, fluorescent colours and zebra patterns all work very well. Make sure every assist hook is fitted with an octopus skirt. This adds attraction and improves hook-up rates.

Use hooks in sizes 8/0–12/0, matching them to the shape and size of your jig. For the assist cord, we recommend Kevlar at least 1.4 mm thick or cord with a minimum breaking strain of 600 lb.

Losing jigs is common in Rodrigues. Our local partner recommends allowing for losses of three to five jigs per fishing day.

The best lines and leaders for doggy jigging!

Leader & Main Line

For popping, use leaders rated at 200–220 lb. Choose high-quality leaders from brands such as Fishermen, Varivas, Nomad or Climax.

For jigging, you’ll need leaders rated at 150–200 lb. Diameters vary, but we recommend one below 1.2 mm.

For live-bait fishing, bring Malin wire rated at 131–180 lb.

Your main line should be a high-performance PE braid. PE8 (80 lb) is the minimum, while PE10 (100 lb) is recommended for your live-bait outfits.

Suitable options include Gosen Diver X8, Daiwa J-Braid X8, JB Line One and other high-performance braids.

Make sure you pack plenty of spare line!

Terminal Tackle

Hooks & Terminal Tackle

For poppers, use only BKK hooks in sizes suited to your lures.

For jigging, we recommend VMC Jigging Assist Hooks (7264 BN) in sizes 8/0–13/0. Remember to bring rubber octopus skirts for your assist hooks. Sharks and wahoo frequently bite through assist cords, so pack at least twice as many hooks as jigs.

Split rings and solid rings for jigging and popping should have a minimum breaking strain of 220 lb. Owner solid rings in sizes #5–#9 and Owner Super Heavy Duty split rings in sizes #8–#11 are good choices.

For live-bait fishing, you’ll need circle hooks in sizes 8/0–15/0.

We also recommend bringing a good pair of split-ring pliers. The hPa Game Plier makes opening even heavy-duty split rings easy.

A waterproof boat bag is well worth bringing. Zeck Fishing offers several suitable options, including the Tackle Container Pro and Tackle Container Pro Catfish.

As you’ll often be jigging for several hours at a time, we recommend packing a good pair of gloves.

Helpful tools for your fishing trip!

Other fishing equipment

We recommend bringing a good pair of split-ring pliers. The hPa Game Plier is a reliable choice, allowing you to open even heavy-duty split rings with ease.

A good waterproof boat bag is also worth bringing. Zeck Fishing offers some excellent options, including the Tackle Container Pro and Tackle Container Pro Catfish.

As you’ll often be jigging for several hours at a time, we recommend packing a good pair of gloves.

Rodrigues can get very hot, so bring UV-protective shirts, a sun hat and SPF 50 sunscreen. Our Expeditions UV shirts are available to order directly from us.

Good polarised sunglasses are essential for fishing. We recommend gloryfy unbreakable sunglasses, which combine polarised lenses with exceptionally durable frames.

Take a closer look at the gloryfy unbreakable range of polarised fishing sunglasses here: Polarized Sunglasses for Anglers!