Reunion is a French department in the Indian Ocean, about ten hours' flight from Paris. Unlike its sister islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues, Réunion is a much younger island. This means that its sea relief and fishing techniques are also very different.
A young island
A young island means that, on a global scale, it has only recently emerged from the seabed. Being a volcanic island, the seabed sinks very quickly as soon as you leave the harbor. The existing lagoons are very narrow and underdeveloped compared to Mauritius, for example. You only have to go a few kilometers from the coast to reach depths of over 1,000 m...
What about fishing?
These great depths mean that you can put popper or stickbait sessions on the back burner. The reefs are few and far between and almost all of them are set aside. Topwater spots are therefore not very plentiful. Of course, you can always hope for a nice blue trevally or ignobilis from the shore, but you'll have to be patient.
With such a large seabed, it's easy to see why this island is renowned for its big-game fishing, with blue marlin, black marlin, swordfish and yellowfin tuna populating the waters! For those who prefer vertical fishing, Réunion offers a superb playground.
The techniques used are varied: jigging, slow-jigging, bay-jigging, fishing with livebaits, soft lures or bait. Beware, currents are strong and the weights and types of lures used are radically different from those in mainland France.
Two different seasons
What's the best time of year to come fishing on the island? It depends on the fish and the techniques you want to target or practice. We have two seasons here: summer and austral winter. These seasons are reversed with those of mainland France, so in August it's winter, and in December you're in the middle of summer.
In winter, the weather is almost always fine and dry, the wind is fairly strong and the trade winds make certain spots, such as the east of the island, often inaccessible. In summer, the weather is wetter, showers are frequent and the sea is generally calmer.
Which season for which fish?
There's always the possibility of catching every species throughout the year, but generally speaking, winter lends itself more to fishing for pelagic fish, especially yellowfin tuna. Summer remains the ideal season for carangidae and bottom fish such as groupers, jobfish and barracudas.
A destination for big money
Reunion Island is a destination that abounds in a wide variety of species, and is more geared to vertical fishing and big-game trolling due to its relief and vertiginous drop-offs. A trip that will delight lovers of pelagic fish, while giving you a chance to catch large specimens of trevally or dogtooth tuna that can exceed the 50 kg mark!
