Spinning in Rodrigues.

[tupsyr]

Rodrigues is a small island off Mauritius where my dad is currently working. Only about 30 thousand people and half of them are fishermen, traditional ones with handlines and small wooden boats like the one in ''old man and the sea.''

While we were there we went for a boat ride to one of the islands. Not boat fishing. Just picnic. Took my spinning rod just in case. On the way to the island i asked the skipper for his handline so we can have some fun. Caught nothing and skipper was having fun at my expense asking if i prayed that morning. We did manage so spot this massive fish though about a metre in length just cruising along for a few seconds. It was only a few meters from the boat. Later came to know it was a Wahoo, checked it out on the internet. Maybe it's a good thing i did not catch that one. Would have just taken off like a rocket and handlining a wahoo would probably have ended up with me losing a finger or two.

Got to the island and asked skipper about where i could fish. He was not very impressed with my selection of lures and spinners and pointed to some distant corner of the island and says maybe a chance of some small fish. First one i caught was a couple of pounds. Then the small ones he was referring to then my dad came along to see how we were doing. At that very moment i caught something and thought it would be a good idea to let my dad play this one. Forgot to say that first fish took about five minutes to land. Trevallies though they don't look like they're built for speed they can run and man when you hook one of these babies you will know it straight away, no mistaking for anything else.So gave rod to my dad and two minutes later he's struggling and the fish keeps pulling line out. Jumped in to help my dad and the fish that was caught a few meters from the beach was now about 50m out. 15-20 minutes later the fish was on the beach. Did not have a weighing scale but after gutting and cleaning it weighed 8 and a quarter pounds. Man i wish i had taken the fly rod that day. Big mistake. But at least now i know what to expect. Next time am down there, trevallies will be first on my list. That day we caught about 15lbs of fish in two hours. Marvellous.

[groomyd]

Not jealous at all. Nope not a bit.:slap:

[Cascars]

I'd be happy just to be on that beach right now. To have a rod in my hand would be the icing on the cake:)

[Jamie Donnelly]

that looks amazing!!

what sort of lure were you using, im off to cuba in august, and im not sure what lure to take.

Jamie

[tupsyr]

I was using a small orange spoon with black dots. I failed to realise at the time that the spoon was a bit too small. Should have upgraded to something a bit bigger for the better fish.

If it's GT you're after, then for the big fish anything up to about 20cm is good. These fish fight hard so be prepared for a good long fight and make sure your takle is up for it. A 50lbs fish is quite normal if you're fishing the reef.

[Jamie Donnelly]

what is a GT??

what sort of tackle would i need to fight a 50lber? what type of spinning rod?

Jamie

[dc101]

Jamie,

A giant trevally I think: http://www.amonline.net.au/FISHES/fishfacts/fish/cignob.htm

[PanamaJack]

what is a GT??

what sort of tackle would i need to fight a 50lber? what type of spinning rod?

Jamie

Jamie
A GT's a Giant Trevally. Here's a picture of well ....... a 'Giant' GT - http://www.noreast.com/discussion/ViewTopic.cfm?page=1&startrow=1&topic_ID=81358. Sorry about the tautology!

Any rate no need to worry, they're encountered in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, not the Atlantic.

In terms of tackle though for your trip to Cuba have you read this post - http://www.worldseafishing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27170&highlight=Cuba - yet? It's well worth in particular reading MarktheShark's comments on page 2.
Dave

[marktheshark]

Dave The Moderator
This Rodrigues info is far too good for this forum alone ... can you copy a version to the Africa overseas site?
Mark

[fish force]

I've fished there many a time but, unfortunatly, like Mauritius, the fishing is getting poorer and poorer.
They made the place a tax free Island a few years ago and increased the size of the airport to attract more tourists. This is going to ruin the place. Already there were schemies / Neds or whatever the French version is, coming in for cheap holidays from Reunion, (where they were using live dogs for bait!!).
Have they started to build along the front, between Port M' and English bay yet?
Where were you staying?

[PanamaJack]

Dave The Moderator
This Rodrigues info is far too good for this forum alone ... can you copy a version to the Africa overseas site?
Mark

Sorry Mark. Just picked the thread up by chance and hadn’t got around to transferring it to the ‘African’ forum.
Dave


I've fished there many a time but, unfortunatly, like Mauritius, the fishing is getting poorer and poorer.
They made the place a tax free Island a few years ago and increased the size of the airport to attract more tourists. This is going to ruin the place. Already there were schemies / Neds or whatever the French version is, coming in for cheap holidays from Reunion, (where they were using live dogs for bait!!).
Have they started to build along the front, between Port M' and English bay yet?
Where were you staying?

Hi fish force
I’d heard about Mauritius and especially the impact that longlining off the island is having on the fishing. Lots and lots of big game anglers I understand are now starting to ‘vote with their feet’. A short term gain for government funds to the detriment of the game fishing fleet and its ‘spin on’ effect on tourism perhaps?

As a dependency of Mauritius I guess it’s as you say likely to, in time, go the same way.
Dave


However I have noticed over recent years that the specialised jig fishing particularly for Giant Trevally and Dogtooth Tuna has been spectacular and attracting anglers from around the world. It’s not from the shore unfortunately but from game boats.

Here’s a thread - http://www.caranx.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=2300 - from a specialised forum that has got comprehensive recent reports and some excellent photographs. One in particular that stood out was on this page - http://www.caranx.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=2300&st=80 – it’s post 97. It just shows what’s possible using a (VERY expensive) Shimano Stella spin reel!

There are also a whole range of photographs on this thread - http://www.caranx.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=1279&st=120 - on pages 4 to 7. (Unfortunately the text is ALL in Spansh.) The specific url I’ve quoted takes some pictures of the results of Shark attacks, there’s also one of a Shark taken on a jig and an angler literally on his knees.
Dave

[tupsyr]

Totally agree with fish force. Fishing is getting poorer and poorer. But as PanamaJack says jigging is a relatively new sport in Rodrigues and is catching on pretty well.

Got a very good CD that was sent to me by my dad about boat fishing in Rodrigues. Unfortunately had not made any plans for boat fishing last time. Next time I am in Rodrigues, i will definitely try it for some proper GTs. More than happy to send you a copy if yoou want. Send me a PM.

Can't wait till next holiday.

[fish force]

We were lucky enough to discover Rodrigues years ago, before the roads were built and there were only a handful of cars on what passed for roads.
We took a few years to suss out the fishing, every year the fish got bigger and bigger but, as with most places, things started to slow down.
The best fun we had was fishing big poppers, just outside the reef, from small boats. Some BIG GT's were caught but the numbers started to go down. The guys we fished with were just realising the importance of catch and release but not before alot of big fish had been taken out. We used to see Germans coming off boats with three or four fish each. What were they going to do with that much fish??
Much of the appeal of the place was that it was sooooo chilled out, long, long, boozy lunches up at John's Restopub then an evening on the beach drinking beer with the locals. No cars or motorbikes racing around the place, it made Mauritius feel stressfull.
I hope to get back in the next few years but it wont be half the place it was.

[tupsyr]

I know what you mean fish force. I am from Mauritius but was brought up for the first 6 years of my life in Rodrigues. Dad used to be a teacher there. And when i went back there is was like going back in time.

The expression i used was ''It's just like Mauritius but in slow motion''

Quite a few new developments nowadays. But then i went back after maybe 20 years. Think it will be a more frequent destination for me now.

Will see if i can dig out some pictures of the island.

[PanamaJack]

I've literally just heard from a German aquaintance - Stephan Kreupl - that he caught a 1250lb Marlin on 80lb stand-up tackle today. Unfortunately there's a cyclone coming through and they're having to fly back to Mauritius in the morning.

[PanamaJack]

What I hadn't initially realised was that that big Marlin is a potential World record. Here's a link - http://www.big-game-board.info/thread.php?postid=3938#post3938 - which contains a picture of the lure caught fish.

The current 80lb line class record is a fish of 1112lb 14oz taken from Sodwana Bay, South Africa in 2002.

I guess what makes it even more 'special' is that I believe the angler - Stephan Kreupl - has previously taken an Atlantic 'grander' from the Cape Verde Islands (off the West African coast). I wonder how many other anglers have achieved that feat?
Dave

[PanamaJack]

There're some more pictures and a fuller report of that Marlin on this thread - http://www.bluewaterfishing.eu/. It looks BIG. And certainly an achievement on a set of stand-up 80.

It's not only the fish that looks BIG. How about those seas, with the approaching cyclone?