THE BOATS
Their fleet ranges from 24 feet to 42 feet boats built in
Mauritius to adapt to the different fishing conditions on the
island, such as traditional big game fishing, light tackle fishing
and jigging, a new exciting fishing concept.
There are 3 deluxe 42 feet cabin cruisers, the Moana family,
mainly equipped for marlin fishing. These boats are powered
by twin V8 caterpillar engines and offer excellent behaviour and
comfort in rough seas. They feature one fighting chair, 2
outriggers and one centre rigger for the setting of the lines.
Downstairs there are two cabins, shower and toilet facilities, a
kitchenette and a dining table. Upstairs there is a
comfortable sundeck for sunbathing, with dual control system for
maximum visibility of the lures.
Their 34 feet cabin cruiser, Gamefisher 2, is smaller in size
but still offering great comfort for up to 6 persons. This boat is
equipped with twin 130 HP inboard engine. Downstairs, there
is one cabin, shower and toilet facilities, as well as a
kitchenette and a dining table.
Their 26 feet sportfisher, Gamefisher 1, is based right in front
of LUX* Le Morne; just walk down from your room to the beach and
get on board for a day's fishing. It accommodates up to 4 anglers,
is powered by two 175 HP outboard engines and is an excellent
choice if you wish to shoot out for the tuna or to go casting near
the reef.
Jiggingis a new type of fishing which is especially effective in
tropical waters.
Introduced to Mauritius in 2005 by a group of Japanese anglers,
it is now one of the most popular types of fishing on the island as
the locals embraced it very fast. The JP Henry fishing boats are
equipped with high precision fish finders. Vertical jigging is
an intensive sport that consists of dropping a 200 to 300 grams
spoon down to a certain depth, near a wreck, drop off or peak. You
then reel the spoon up with a jerking motion on the rod that
produces a rise in the lure followed by a slow flutter.
With us, you will practice two types of jigging:
- Jigging for bottom fish in about 150 feet to 600 feet of water
and target fish like dog tooth tuna, sacré-chien blanc, sacré-chien
rouge, flounder, snapper and grouper.
- Offshore jigging is best suited for yellow fin tuna, big eye
tuna, skipjack tuna, amberjack, mackerel, wahoo and many
others.
A good combination with jigging is the drop
shot; when the sun goes up, so does the temperature, it is
therefore very difficult to keep on jigging. You will then enjoy
changing equipment to the light sensitive drop shot gear. If you
are deep jigging in about 600 feet of water you will then need to
get closer to the reef from 10 to 100 feet or if you are on the
fades you will not need to move, just change equipment and bait.
Drop shot is a good combination to the jigging because it is more
relaxing and does not necessitate intensive physical effort. After
a good hour of jigging you will enjoy getting closer to the reef to
take it easy at the drop shot, you will target smaller fish from
one to thirty pounds but the fight might be as difficult and will
most probably take more time to catch!
Drop shot - light tackle sensations!
Drop shot is considered a finesse technique involving fairly
light weights and small plastic baits. It is a combination of three
types of fishing: jigging, surfcasting and fly fishing. Why we
think that? Because like jigging, it involves of finding drop offs,
cliffs or wrecks, fishing from a still boat where you will enjoy
the silence by switching off the engine and letting a weighed lure
sink to the bottom, then reeling it back slowly in a soft jerking
motion. Like surfcasting, it involves casting your bait as far as
possible towards a school of fish when fishing on the fads (fish
aggregate device) or simply away from the boat to reach the reef or
a peak. And it's similar to fly fishing, as you will use very light
equipment such as Daiwa Exceler 12 -35 grams and the Daiwa Exceler
plus 3000 reels, mounted with 30 pounds braided lines connected to
a 40 pounds mono fluorocarbon leader.
