Captain’s Log: The October Reversal — 10 Days in the Amirantes

Trip Details

Trip Type: Extreme Expedition (GT Popping, Heavy Jigging, Bluewater)

Region: Amirantes Group (African Banks to Poivre Atoll)

Date Range: 12–22 October 2025

Duration: 10-Day Liveaboard (Vessel: Poerava)

Conditions

We timed this run perfectly with the October monsoon reversal. As expected for this transition period, the heavy Southeast trades had finally died down, leaving us with light, variable winds (mostly under 8 knots) and absolute “greasy” glass conditions for the first six days. Sea surface temperatures hovered around 29°C, and water clarity was exceptional, with visibility exceeding 30m on the outer drop-offs.

Catch & Activity

Giant Trevally (GT): 14 landed, dozens raised. The average size was a solid 15–22kg, with the biggest of the trip tipping the scales at 38kg on the surf edge at St. Joseph.

Dogtooth Tuna: A violent session at “The Kennels” (Poivre) produced 8 fish on the jig. We had several “unstoppable” hookups that ended in the reef, likely fish in the 60kg+ class.

Yellowfin Tuna: Massive surface schools encountered near African Banks and Owen Bank. We landed 12 “barrels” in the 20–35kg range.

Sailfish: 3 landed, 1 trolling on a large pink squid, 2 on stickbaits. One exceptional 35kg specimen was hooked while casting to birds near the African Banks.

Reef Predators: Steady action on Bohar Snapper, Green Jobfish, and some proper Bluefin Trevally during midday lulls.

The Mission: Day-by-Day Highlights We departed Eden Island Marina at 15:00 on the 12th, trolling past Silhouette as the sun dipped. The overnight steam to the northern Amirantes was smooth, putting us on the African Banks for first light on Day 2.

The early trip was dominated by the Yellowfin schools. They were pushed up by Dolphins and birds, and they were hungry. Seeing a 50kg Tuna launch itself 3 meters into the air to inhale a popper is a sight that never gets old.

By Day 4, we worked the Remire Drop-Off. The current was moderate, which suited the jigging. We focused on the 60m to 120m contours. The “Doggy” bite was consistent, but as always, the sharks were a nuisance once the sun got high.

The highlight of the expedition was Day 6 at Poivre Atoll. We spent the afternoon at “The Kennels”. It lived up to its reputation. We had double hookups on heavy vertical jigs where both rods were pinned to the gunnels instantly. One guest learned the hard way why we insist on PE10 braid and 20kg+ of drag; if you give these fish a meter, they’ll take the reef.

Tackle & Techniques

Popping: The Stella 18000s were the workhorses this trip. Big-cup poppers (200mm+) worked best in the morning, but as the glassier conditions set in, we found more success switching to 220mm sinking stickbaits with a slower, sweeping retrieve.

Jigging: Pink and silver jigs (250g–350g) were the clear winners for the Dogtooth. We had to go to a “fast-and-furious” cadence to trigger the bigger fish before the sharks moved in.

Terminals: We ran 200lb–250lb shock leaders throughout. Anything less was just asking for a broken heart at Poivre.

Captain’s Insight: The transition is officially here. The Yellowfin are moving onto the plateau in huge numbers, and the Sailfish are starting their legendary October/November runs. We noticed the fish were a bit “finicky” during the midday sun—likely due to the extreme water clarity. Scaling down to a slightly thinner fluorocarbon leader helped with the Jobfish, but we kept the heavy gear ready for the GTs.

Conservation note: All GTs and Billfish were tagged and released in excellent condition. We’re seeing a very healthy population of juvenile predators on the inner reefs of St. Joseph, which is a great sign for the seasons to come.

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