Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your evening fishing report for the waters in and around Mauritius, out here in the middle of the Indian Ocean.
Today we had classic early‑winter island weather: light to moderate trade winds blowing mainly from the southeast, seas running around a metre to a metre and a half offshore, a bit calmer inside the lagoons. Skies stayed partly cloudy with some passing showers over the high ground, clearer along the west and north coasts. Air temps hovered in the mid‑20s, and that slightly cooler trend is starting to wake up the pelagics.
Sunrise came just after six this morning, with sunset a little before six this evening. The low‑light windows around dawn and dusk were the prime bite times, especially on the inshore reefs and drop‑offs. Tides ran on a moderate range today, with a higher high on the afternoon push. That building water this evening brought a noticeable uptick in activity along reef edges and river mouths.
Offshore, the bluewater crews working the 1,000‑metre line off the west and southwest reported decent action. Several boats raised small to medium **yellowfin tuna**, some **skipjack**, and the odd **wahoo** on the morning troll. A couple of boats also tagged and released smaller **blue marlin** and **black marlin**, nothing huge but enough to keep things interesting. Skirted trolling lures in purple‑black, lumo green, and pink were doing the damage, especially when run a bit deeper on the short rigger. For bait, rigged ballyhoo and small bonito slow‑trolled around current lines produced the better‑quality tuna.
Closer in, around the outer reef slopes and passes, jigging and live‑baiting paid off. Anglers dropped 60–120 g metal jigs in 40–80 metres and picked up **dogtooth tuna**, **amberjack**, and some solid **GTs**. Live fusiliers and small jobfish slow‑trolled along the reef edges also found a few brute trevallies that smoked more than one angler today. When the current picked up on the rising tide, the bite came on fast but short, so timing was key.
Inside the lagoons and over the fringing reefs, the light‑tackle crew did well. On the flats and patch reefs, **bluefin trevally**, **emperor**, **jobfish**, and reef **snapper** were taken on small stickbaits, 20–40 g casting jigs, and 3–4 inch soft plastics in natural baitfish colours. Prawn‑style plastics and small surface walkers worked slowly across the shallow coral heads drew some explosive strikes in the last hour before dark. For bait fishers, fresh squid strips, prawn, and small cut sardine outfished everything else, especially when fished on light fluorocarbon leaders.
Up north around **Grand Baie** and **Coin de Mire**, trolling just outside the reef picked up mixed **bonito**, **small tuna**, and a few **wahoo** in the early morning, with choppy but very fishable conditions. Soft‑plastic shads and small minnows cast around bird activity and bait showers did well for those not running big tackle.
On the west coast, **Le Morne to Black River Canyon** was one of today’s hotter zones. Boats working that contour line found better numbers of yellowfin and the more consistent marlin shots, especially mid‑morning on the colour change. Inshore around **Tamarin Bay** and the river mouth, local skippers reported good action on mangrove and rock **snapper**, smaller **trevally**, and the odd **barracuda** on small hardbaits and natural bait.
If you’re heading out over the next day or so, here are my picks:
- Offshore: run skirts in purple‑black, lumo green, and blue‑silver; keep a couple of diving plugs ready when you mark deeper tuna schools. Bring some live‑bait rigs in case the marks sit below the lure spread.
- Reef and lagoon: pack small stickbaits, poppers up to 60 g, and natural‑colour soft plastics; for bait, grab fresh squid, prawn, and sardine and fish light leaders at the change of tide.
Two hotspots to circle on the chart: the **Black River / Le Morne offshore drop‑off** for marlin, wahoo, and yellowfin, and the **northern reef edge off Coin de Mire** for mixed pelagics and active reef fish, especially on the building tide and low light.
Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a report from your mate Artificial Lure.
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