A Mahebourg lagoon fishing trip is a light tackle trip: a small boat, a few hours of casting, light trolling and bottom fishing inside the largest lagoon in Mauritius, with plenty of bites and fish you can reel in without a fighting chair. If you want a bigger fight, the same coast also has boats that go out to the reef edge to throw poppers for giant trevally. Pick the lagoon for a relaxed morning with family or beginners, pick popping if you have done some fishing and want one hard fish more than many small ones.
The short answer
Inside the lagoon you fish for numbers on light gear; outside the reef you fish for one big trevally on heavy gear. Both leave from the Mahebourg side of the island, both depend on the wind, and both are small-group trips. The southeast is not where the big game fleet lives (that is the north and west coast, around Trou-aux-Biches, Grand Baie and Black River), so if marlin is the goal, look at the deep sea fishing boats in Mauritius instead.
Why the southeast lagoon is different
Most visitors meet the Mauritius lagoon on the north and west coast, where it is a fairly narrow strip of sheltered water between the beach and the reef. In the southeast it is something else. The reef sits far out, the lagoon around Mahebourg, Pointe d’Esny and Blue Bay is wide and full of small islands, channels and coral heads, and the local captain on our Small Game Fishing listing calls it the largest lagoon in Mauritius with countless spots for light tackle. That variety is the point: a captain can move between a sandy channel, a patch of coral and a drop off within a few minutes and keep the rods busy.
Mahebourg itself is a working fishing town, with the old waterfront, the Monday market and pirogues pulled up on the shore. It is a short drive from the airport, which makes a lagoon trip an easy first or last morning of a holiday.
What a light tackle lagoon trip looks like
The Small Game Fishing trip out of Mahebourg is a good example of the format. It offers three ways of fishing:
- Casting lures towards structure, the most active and the most fun for anyone who likes to work a rod.
- Light trolling, dragging small lures behind the slow moving boat across channels and the lagoon edges, which suits people who would rather sit and wait for the rod to bend.
- Bottom fishing with bait over coral and sand, the simplest method and the one that usually works for children and complete beginners.
Fishing gear and drinks are included, and the boat takes up to four guests. In practice that means one family or a small group of friends, with the captain close enough to help each person tie on, cast and land a fish.
What you catch inside a Mauritius lagoon is mostly reef and lagoon fish: small trevallies, emperors (the local “capitaine”), groupers, snappers and the odd small barracuda. None of these needs heavy tackle, and on light gear even a modest fish feels lively. Ask the captain before the trip which fish are kept for the table and which go back; our guide to who keeps the fish on a Mauritius charter covers how that usually works.
Going outside the reef for giant trevally
The southeast is also known for popping, throwing big surface lures for giant trevally (GT) along the outer reef and the drop offs. The Giant Trevally Popping trip from Mahebourg is a six hour session with an experienced captain and a popping specialist. Gear and poppers are provided, you are welcome to bring your own rods and reels, drinks are included and you bring your own snacks or lunch.
Be honest with yourself before booking this one. Popping is physical: you cast a heavy lure again and again for hours, and many sessions end with one or two fish, sometimes none. When a GT hits, it is one of the hardest fights in the Indian Ocean. It is the right trip for an angler who wants that fish, not for a family day out. The listing also says it plainly: offshore fishing depends on the weather. More on the method on our popping in Mauritius page.
Wind and season on the southeast coast
The southeast is the windward side of Mauritius. The southeast trade wind blows most of the year and is at its strongest in the southern winter, roughly June to September, when it can make the open sea outside the reef rough and turn parts of the lagoon choppy by late morning. The lagoon still fishes in a breeze because the reef breaks the swell, but outside trips are the ones that get moved or cancelled.
The calmer, warmer months from about October to April are the more comfortable season for both trips, with the usual caveat that January to March is cyclone season and a storm warning stops all boats. Whatever the month, an early start gives the flattest water. If you are deciding between a morning and an afternoon slot, our post on the best time of day for a fishing trip in Mauritius explains why mornings usually win.
Blue Bay Marine Park and the rules
Part of this coast is protected. Blue Bay Marine Park, next to Pointe d’Esny, is a marine protected area run under the Fisheries and Marine Resources (Marine Protected Areas) Regulations of 2001, which set specific restrictions on fishing gear and on taking fauna and flora inside the park. It is also a Ramsar wetland of international importance, mostly visited for snorkelling and glass bottom boats over its coral.
For a guest this means two things. First, do not expect to fish in the park itself: a local captain knows where its limits are and where fishing is allowed. Second, a lagoon trip here often passes beautiful protected water, so it is worth asking if there is time for a look or a swim on the way back. Île aux Aigrettes, the nature reserve island in the same lagoon, is a separate visit run by the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation.
Who this trip suits
- Families and beginners. Flat water, short distances and frequent bites. Our guide to a Mauritius fishing trip with kids has more on ages and what to pack.
- People staying in the southeast around Mahebourg, Blue Bay and Pointe d’Esny, who would otherwise face a long drive to the north coast boats.
- Anyone worried about seasickness, since the lagoon is far gentler than the open ocean. See our tips on seasickness on a Mauritius fishing trip.
- Keen anglers who want a GT on a popper, on the outer reef trip.
Before you book
- Say which trip you want: lagoon light tackle or outside popping. They are different days.
- Tell the captain who is coming: ages, experience and whether anyone gets seasick.
- Ask where you meet and whether hotel pickup is possible.
- Ask what happens if the wind is up: a later date, a lagoon trip instead, or a refund.
- Bring sun cream, a hat, sunglasses, water and, for the popping trip, your own food.
Ready to go?
Both Mahebourg trips are on our fishing charters in Mahebourg page: Small Game Fishing for light tackle in the lagoon and Giant Trevally Popping for the reef. To compare with the rest of the island, browse light tackle fishing in Mauritius or all fishing charters in Mauritius, and message the captain with your dates before you book.
Cover: "done for the day" by BPPrice, CC BY 2.0, edited (colour, retouching).
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