Captain’s Log: Inner Island Spots & The Mahe Drop-Off — 10 Days of Action
Trip Details
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Trip Type: Inner Island & Drop-Off Expedition (Jigging, Popping, Heavy Reef)
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Region: Inner Granitic Islands (Silhouette, North, Praslin, La Digue, Mahe Drop-Off)
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Date Range: 15–25 September 2025
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Duration: 10-Day Liveaboard (Vessel: Poerava)
Conditions September brings the tail end of the Southeast Trade Winds. We started the trip with a steady 18–22 knot breeze from the SE, creating a challenging but productive 2.5m swell on the windward side of the islands. However, the cooler 26.5°C water pushed the baitfish onto the plateau in massive numbers. Water clarity remained good, though we encountered some current-driven turbidity near the La Digue pinnacles.
Catch & Activity
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Yellowfin Tuna: The “Yellowfin Season” has officially arrived. We encountered massive surface “bust-ups” in the channel between Silhouette and Mahe. Landed 13 fish, mostly in the 10–15kg class.
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Dogtooth Tuna: Exceptional action on the deep drop-offs of La Digue and Praslin. 9 landed, with one heavyweight “Doggie” estimated at 42kg taken at 110m depth.
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Giant Trevally (GT): 7 landed. While the Outer Islands are the GT capital, the rocky boulders around Silhouette produced some proper “Inner Island” brutes up to 22kg.
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Sailfish: 2 landed on the troll while moving between Praslin and the Mahe Drop-off.
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Species Variety: Consistent action on Green Jobfish, Bohar Snapper, and some world-class Amberjacks on the deep-water pinnacles.
The Mission: Day-by-Day Highlights We cleared Eden Island Marina on the 15th, heading immediately for the lee of Silhouette Island. The SE trades made the crossing lively, but once we tucked into the sheltered side, the water flattened out perfectly for a late afternoon popping session. We raised three GTs within the first hour, proving that these inner reefs hold serious residents.
By Day 3, we pushed toward the Deep La Digue and Deep Praslin sectors. The Wahoo were wild, long screaming strips. We landed a few in the 15-20kg range. The current was ripping—upwards of 3 knots—which is exactly what the Dogtooth Tuna want. We focused on the 80m to 140m contours. The bite was aggressive; we had multiple instances of “line-peeling” runs that simply couldn’t be stopped, even with the drags locked on the Stella 20000s.
The final three days were spent working the Mahe Drop-Off. This is where the Indian Ocean falls away into the abyss, and in September, it acts as a conveyor belt for pelagics. The Yellowfin were pushing “sardine-style” bait balls to the surface. It was visual mayhem—birds, dolphins, and tunas crashing everywhere.
Tackle & Techniques
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Popping: Around Silhouette, the “big cup” poppers in natural fusilier colors were the winners. For the Yellowfin schools, we switched to 180mm sinking stickbaits to get below the surface chop.
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Jigging: This was a vertical jigging masterclass. Pink/Glow and Silver jigs (300g–400g) outperformed everything else at the La Digue drop-offs. The deeper thermocline meant we had to work the jigs all the way from the bottom to mid-water to find the Dogtooth.
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Leaders: We didn’t mess around. 150lb fluorocarbon for the popping and 200lb shock leaders for the jigging. The La Digue rocks are unforgiving.
Captain’s Insight The transition is underway. We are seeing a distinct shift where the Yellowfin are becoming the dominant surface predator on the plateau. For anglers joining us in October, expect these schools to get even larger and the sea state to settle.
A note on the tech: We’ve cleared our recent “firewall” issues (thanks to some manual allowlisting and a full cache purge!), so you can expect these technical logs to stay current and live every two weeks. We know you rely on this data to plan your gear, and we’re committed to providing updates from the Poerava.
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