Indonesia Fishing Trip – Fishing for Giant Trevally and Dogtooth Tuna in the Ring of Fire
The ultimate fishing adventure in the Ring of Fire!
After many years of exploration and numerous test trips, we discovered one of the world’s most exciting fishing grounds: the Ring of Fire. This remote region offers outstanding fishing in Indonesia, particularly for anglers who enjoy popping and jigging for powerful reef predators.
The fishing area stretches over more than 180 nautical miles and encompasses hundreds of small islands, coral reefs, atolls and seamounts. These features provide ideal conditions for targeting giant trevally, dogtooth tuna and many other species.
The area has been placed under strict protection in recent years, allowing fish stocks and marine life to recover dramatically. Giant trevally and dogtooth tuna populations have grown significantly, making this one of Indonesia’s finest fishing destinations.
Itinerary for the Indonesia Fishing Trip
Your fishing trip to Indonesia begins with an international flight to Jakarta. From there, you’ll continue to a small domestic airport on a remote island. After an overnight stay at a hotel, you’ll fly to your final destination the following morning.
Reaching these remote fishing grounds takes time, but the reward is an unspoilt paradise with exceptional fishing and breathtaking scenery.
On arrival, you’ll transfer directly to the harbour, where the mothership and centre-console boats will be waiting. After checking in and attending a short briefing, your expedition begins.
During the overnight crossing to the first fishing grounds, you can prepare your tackle, enjoy dinner and get ready for the adventure ahead. At around sunrise, the mothership reaches the first island chain, and the fishing begins.
Island Hopping for Giant Trevally and Dogtooth Tuna
This fishing trip to Indonesia is designed to cover the best fishing spots across the region. To reduce fishing pressure and maximise your chances of catching trophy fish, we move to a different part of the archipelago almost every day.
Most crossings between island groups take place overnight, allowing you to reach the next hotspot just before sunrise and make the most of your fishing time.
When conditions allow, the mothership anchors close to productive reefs and seamounts. This gives you the opportunity to continue jigging after sunset for dogtooth tuna, ruby snapper and other deep-water species.
A Typical Day of Popping and Jigging
A typical fishing day begins at around 5.00 am. After breakfast, you’ll prepare your tackle before heading out in the centre-console boats at approximately 6.00 am.
Each day’s fishing is planned around the tides, current strength and weather to give you the best possible chance of catching giant trevally and dogtooth tuna by popping and jigging.
At midday, you’ll return to the mothership for lunch and a short break. As the ship stays close to the fishing grounds, transfer times are kept to a minimum.
The afternoon brings more popping, jigging and lure fishing before you return to the mothership after sunset. If you still have energy, you can continue jigging into the night for snapper and dogtooth tuna.
Fishing Techniques in the Ring of Fire
During this mothership expedition, you’ll fish around a wide variety of islands, coral reefs and seamounts. The main techniques are popping, jigging and lure fishing.
Poppers and stickbaits are particularly effective in areas with strong currents. Giant trevally strike surface lures aggressively, especially around high and low tide.
Jigging is best suited to areas with weaker currents and the periods around high and low tide, offering particularly good chances of catching large dogtooth tuna.
Underwater Mountains and Topwater Dogtooth Tuna
Alongside the island reefs, there are numerous seamounts, some rising from depths of 600 metres to just a few metres below the surface. These hotspots offer excellent opportunities to target dogtooth tuna with jigs and surface lures.
Some islands also have extensive shallow-water areas, where you can fish from the shore with light spinning tackle or fly gear. Target species include giant trevally, Napoleon wrasse and triggerfish.
The return journey from the fishing trip
The return journey is timed to bring you back to the harbour early on your departure day. Your transfer to the airport will leave at around 8.30 am.
Depending on your flight connections, you’ll either spend another night at a hotel or begin your journey home straight away. We’ll be happy to help you plan your flights and tailor the itinerary to your travel arrangements.
Accommodation for the fishing trip
The mother ship for your fishing adventure
Ring of Fire!
The Mothership
The fully refurbished mothership measures 30 metres long and 6 metres wide, providing an ideal base for this extraordinary fishing trip.
Accommodation includes a single cabin and a shared sleeping area with bunk beds and single beds. In total, there are ten bunk beds and one double bed. All cabins are air-conditioned, ensuring comfortable temperatures throughout the night.
The vessel also has a spacious dining area, several outdoor seating areas and two bathrooms with showers and toilets. Rod holders, charging stations and Starlink internet access are available on board.
Catering
Meals: Full Board
Drinks: Soft Drinks, Water included, Alcoholic drinks can be paid for on the spot after consumption
Your fishing boats in Indonesia
The Boats
During your stay in Indonesia, you’ll have two centre-console boats at your disposal. Each boat has room for four anglers and ample engine power.
Fishing for GT & Dogtooth Tuna
Centre Console
The modern centre-console boats are 30 feet long and powered by twin 150 hp engines. Each accommodates four anglers.
Three anglers fish from the bow and one from the stern, rotating positions throughout the day.
The boats are equipped with modern fish finders, chartplotters and plenty of rod holders. Life jackets, radios and an onboard toilet are also provided, making them a comfortable base for popping, jigging and lure fishing in the Ring of Fire.
You'll need this fishing tackle in Indonesia
Tackle Talk
For fishing in Indonesia, you’ll need three rod setups: a heavy PE8 popping rod, a PE6 popping rod for the flats, and a PE6–8 jigging rod for dogtooth tuna and other species.
Poppers and stickbaits are the main surface lures. Stickbaits often outperform poppers in Indonesia, so bring a good selection of both.
Jig losses can be high, so we recommend packing at least 25 jigs.
- Popping Rod: PE6-8
- Popping Reel: 14-18k size, Gear min. 5,7:1
- Jigging Rods: PE 6-8
- Jigging Reels: 14k-20k size, Gear 4,4:1
- Rods for the flats: PE4-6
- Reels for the flats: 8-10k Reels
- Jigs: 100 - 400g, Butterfly, long body
- Jig Colors: pink, silver, blue-green, orange, zebra
- Poppers: 12- 20cm, medium & big cups
- Stickbaits: 12- 20cm, floating & sinking
You'll need these poppers in Indonesia!
Popper / Stickbaits / Topwater
In Indonesia, your choice of lure depends on the fishing method and location. For shallow spots, we recommend medium-sized poppers measuring 150–190 mm and weighing 100–120 g.
For deep reef edges and seamounts, choose poppers with large cups, measuring at least 200 mm and weighing 120–180 g. These are mainly used to target GTs and dogtooth tuna in deeper water.
Stickbaits also work very well for GTs and dogtooth tuna. Large floating models weighing 120–140 g that cast well over long distances are particularly effective. The GT Ice Cream is a must-have for very shallow reef areas and edges.
Sinking stickbaits are effective for dogtooth tuna and yellowfin tuna, with models weighing around 100 g usually sufficient.
Shades of blue, natural baitfish patterns, pink, green and yellow have all proved effective.
You'll need these jigs in Indonesia!
Jigs
For jigging in Indonesia, you’ll need a good selection of jigs weighing 100–400 g. Butterfly-style jigs and elongated designs that aren’t too narrow have proved particularly effective. Major Craft Jigpara jigs, Sakura Orion jigs and our own Team Deep Sea Pelajig V2 and RockShock models have all produced excellent results. Budget jigs from AliExpress and Temu have caught fish too! 🙂
Pink, silver, blue-green, orange and zebra patterns all work very well. Make sure each assist-hook rig 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.
The best lines and leaders
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 a leader with a maximum breaking strain of 175 lb. Diameters vary, but we recommend one below 1.0 mm.
Your main line should be a high-performance PE braid. For popping, use at least PE8 (80 lb). For jigging, we recommend PE6–8 (65–80 lb).
Good options include Gosen Diver X8, Daiwa J-Braid X8, JB Line One and other high-performance braids.
Terminal Tackle
Hooks, Split- and Solid
There’s no room for compromise when it comes to popping hooks. Please bring only BKK GT-Rex hooks in sizes 3/0–5/0. For smaller poppers, use sizes 1/0–4/0.
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.
Split rings and solid rings for popping should have a minimum breaking strain of 220 lb. Owner solid rings in sizes #7.5–#9 and Owner Super Heavy Duty split rings in sizes #10–#11 are good choices.
Useful tools for your fishing trip
Other fishing tackle
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 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 popping and jigging for several hours at a time, we recommend packing a good pair of gloves.
Indonesia can get very hot, so bring UV-protective shirts, a sun hat and SPF 50 sun cream. Our Expeditions UV shirts are available to order directly from us.
Good polarised sunglasses are essential for fishing. We recommend gloryfy sunglasses, which combine polarised lenses with exceptionally durable frames.
Take a closer look at the gloryfy range here: Polarized Sunglasses for fishermen
How much does a fishing trip to Indonesia cost?
Price
Included
- english speaking tour leader**
- 8 nights on the mother ship, shared sleeping area, full board
- 7 days of guided fishing
- 2 Centre Console Boats (4 Anglers per boat)
- non-alcoholic drinks, water
- Airport and boat transfers
- Fishing licences
- National park entrance fees
- Photo & video documentation**
not included
- 1 night in a hotel, double room, bed and breakfast*
- Tips (approx. €250)
- International flights & visas
- Travel cancellation insurance*
- Excess baggage and oversized baggage charges*
- additional meals/drinks*
- * optional/freigestellt **nur bei Erreichen der min. Teilnehmer
- Mindestteilnehmerzahl: 8
Price per person
4399,-€
Extras
on request
Booking statuses
Indonesia Fishing Trip - Ring of Fire!
2027
Fishing Trip Indonesia
The best catches!
