Any one boat fish around Costa Del Sol

[spartacus]

Hi Guys

I am based in Duquesa Marina on Costa Del Sol and I am starting my second season having my boat there.

Whilst we have done well catching lots of new species with some reasonable sized fish up to about 30lb we are now looking to explore the deeper water and target the bigger species such as the Swordfish, Shark and Tuna.

Is there anyone out there that currently fish's the area that could give me any help or information as I would be happy to share information on marks and species caught?

Look forward to your replies.

Best Regards

Spartacus

[PanamaJack]

Hi Spartacus
I'm really not certain how much I'll be able to add, over and above what you might already have been able to glean. But here goes.

There used to be a run of Bluefin Tuna from the Atlantic, through the Straights of Gibraltar, during the Spring. The fish weren't feeding and were caught commercially in fixed nets.

Then the fish, after spawning, would migrate back down the coast during July, August and September.

Way back in the 70s two of our Club members used to fish this run from Castellon - way up, midway between Valencia and Barcelona. And they caught some big fish, 700 pounders were mentioned, but most seemed to be 2 to 300 pounders. Most came from the Columbretes Islands.

But this run would have worked its way all down the coast and out through the Straits.

Some of our members have though targeted them in recent years, just round from Gibraltar and out towards the Moroccan coast, but without success.

In fact the only recent captures I can remember, this time from Gibraltar itself, were juvenile fish up to 70lbs in September. Those members even managed a hook-up on a fly rod! But most were caught trolling lures.

Certainly you should find Blue Sharks out deep. And back in 1966 I remember being on a boat, out of Gib, when we briefly hooked up to a Mako.

As to Broadbill the commercial liners used to catch masses, and some of those were big fish. But I've never heard of any being caught on rod and line.

Now back to the Bluefin. Certainly there several boats, based in Purto Baneus, that are rigged with outriggers and tuna towers. And I'm aware of two skippers I know being approached with a view to start experimental fishing down there on one of these 'gin palaces'. Like many of these things though they apparently came to nothing.

The commercials are likely to give you guidance of where and when the runs now occur. But just some basic guidlines you're probably looking for defined edges in 80 to 100 metres of water that the fish will run along, where shoals of sardines and anchovies are encountered. Try drift fishing with a pattern of small live mackerel rigged, fished at different depths, on lightish - 150lb - flurocarbon leaders supported under floats. And chum fairly heavily with sardines.

The only other thing I can suggest, if no one else responds, is that you perhaps contact Nichola who operates the http://www.caranx.net web site. Nichola lives in Madrid and spends most of his time fishing overseas with surface poppers and deep jigging, but he may know something. And on that web site you'll find a number of the forums are in English.

Hope that's of some help.
Kindest regards
Dave
PS Please let us know, by posting back, if you manage to catch anything BIG.

[spanish gary]

hi chaps
i live in deltbre tarragona area we do catch a lot of tuna small bonito donw here but when i lived in mallorca they had some massive fish from the ibiza channel swordfish tuna and some monster were seen on many occasions when i use to deliver the private boats to and from ibiza to mallorca down on the souther end of spain there are some good runs of tuna swordfish and many other species even sharks did you know that the great white comes in to the med females mainly to pup all the way to italy anyway if you get the chance go to the gibralter channle mate in may june or july it totaly depends on the water temps 20dgs and higher will ignite there feeding times below this they are still a little bit slow but when it reaches 21dgs or higher they will start to spawn hope this helps try using a few kilos of sardines to feed overnight then fish in the morning go out to sea and drop slop over the side and sit on anchor then start your trolling you should cover about 10 miles a day sometimes you wont get bites but some days will make up for it. use baits on the drift as well down rigged on heavy heavy leads from 5mts to 50mts see ya

[buzzer]

Hi I wonder if you could help me I am living in casares and have also bought a boat but have no idea where the best spots are I only have a 13ft dory so I cant get out that far but would love to know where theres some good spots to get me started
Regards Christian

[TomBettle]

Some of our members have though targeted them in recent years, just round from Gibraltar and out towards the Moroccan coast, but without success.

In fact the only recent captures I can remember, this time from Gibraltar itself, were juvenile fish up to 70lbs in September. Those members even managed a hook-up on a fly rod! But most were caught trolling lures.


Dave

My one and only Bluefin was caught on a boat out from Benalmadena.

We were due to fish the Rolex qualifier (a few years ago, maybe 2001?), but the run of bad weather seemed to have put the fish off and so we dropped out of the comp and simply headed south to Gib.
We trolled up and down all day, one side of the Straits to the other. Vast numbers of boats were doing the same. Boats of all shapes and sizes and a remarkable number were into fish at any one time.
These fish did average about 250lb, but some definitely were well over 600lb.... you know the type, the lighter ones are slender, the heavy weights are 9 foot rugby balls!

Lot's of fish showing on the sounder, all down deep at about 100 feet or so. Nothing visible on the surface and no bird working.
Eventually on one of the last runs back up the Straits and into the Med with a lot of current behind us (GPS showing 10 or 11 knots over ground), we had a double hook up - Geez to they hit hard!). One was gone almost immediately and the other I had t the boat in a little over an hour. It was one of the toughest fights I had ever had, much to the incredibly uncomfortable gear I was using. It was the skippers own 80lb trolling rod, but fought from one of these strange stand up pods.
A heavy, long, ungainly rod and big 80W reel very badly balanced meant for absolutely knackered arms. I didn't know whether to pump the fish, I could use my knees (normal stand-up style) and I got next to no help from the skipper. The easiest way was simply to wind and nothing else.... I reckon the fish got off lightly when the skipper chose to sell it to a local restaurant (I don't condone that by the way).

We were using Bonita style lures rigged with large singles and fished at varying depths and distances. If I remember correctly this was about 150 feet behind the boat and roughly 40 feet deep.

I would recommend fishing the same lures, but off downriggers in future and get the lures right down to where the fish were showing on the sounder.

Tom

[alcaucin]

I had the opportunity to go out with a mate from nerja last week. He is in need of some advice of how to get into boat fishing so that he can catch something bigger than a mackerel. Having not fished from a boat in the med before I was not too much help. I promised him I would help to get him some decent fish aboard. Could anyone help with basic info as to the rigs/bait needed and species to target and seasons. He has a decent boat that would have no problem getting out a good few mile and he is keen to learn. I hope to be back there in december.

[TomBettle]

Plenty of Blue Sharks right through from May to about the end of October.
Fish for them exactly as you do in the UK.

On the drift with baits under balloons at varying depths.
Use plenty of rubby dubby and fish in a gentle, but noticeable breeze as you'll get minimal tidal influence and the breeze will help spread the rubby dubby trail.
You'll get the odd Mako too.
Plenty of Bass (check out a coming review on Bass from Morocco by Dave Lewis), Big Bream, Snapper, Grouper and Eels (Coger and Moray),Tope and various other sharks. All coming to typical methods.
A steady run of small Bluefin Tuna to 60lb through the late Spring.

In late July to early September head for Gibraltar Straits and troll Bonita Lures and very large Rapala's.
Troll a couple on flat lines behind the boat, but if you can get your lures down deep then you'll have more chance. Fish on downriggers or using deep diving lures at between 30odd and 150 feet.
Troll at about 6 to 8 knots speed through the water. This should see a relatively good chance of hitting into one of the Bluefin Tuna that are on their way out of the Med after spawning around Scicilly and the Adriatic.
80lb class gear is pretty much the norm as whilst the fish average a fairly small 260lb you do have a good chance of fish of well over 600lb. These fish are hooked in an incredibly busy area band you cannot afford for them to get the upper hand. Even smaller sub 300lb fish can take over 600m of line over a couple of runs. Big fish often sound very deep, but the smaller ones play havoc by tearing off along the surface leaving your line very vulnerable to the passing traffic unless you can get the fish under control toute suite.
Alledgedly another reason for using the heavier gear (heavy for me anyway) is that something very large, with very sharp teeth and a bright white tummy with a first name of "Great" follows the migrating Tuna from their spawning grounds, looking for an easy meal from something, sick, injured or maybe tethered! Basically, this is the closest thing you can have to the carp anglers "Hit and Hold", but you are trying to hold the most powerful fish in the sea!

If your friend has the range, tell him to head south into Moroccan waters.
A substantial run of White Marlin with a few Blues spattered in amongst them can be found. They can be taken on stepped down Marlin gear and lures. Fish much much lighter. To get the best out of these use 20lb class gear.
To increase the hook up / strike ratio swap to trolling livebaits very slowly.

I hope that helps your friend get a few more bites.
Tom

[alcaucin]

Thanks Tom,
I would love the challenge of a big marlin or shark I think however it may be a bit too much of a leap for my mate to go from a mackerel to one of these monsters. I was thinking more of something around the 30-60lb mark to break him in so to speak and not drag him in. That said I shall certainly pass him the info. In the meantime is there anywhere that he could get something in the range I stated will he still have to go towards morocco or Gib? As I am a north sea angler and have never fished for these myself from a boat it is a great challenge for me as well. Thanks again.

[TomBettle]

He'll catch Blue Shark pretty much anywhere along that stretch of coast. Anywhere from about 200 feet deep.
Blue's aren't that scary and if he is a beginner tehn good quality 20/30lb class gear will sort them out with little fuss. The fish will be in that sort of size range with the chance of fish to 100lb, possibly a little larger. Blue's are not the most spectacular of sharks ad so get you into Big game gently.

All the other species can be caught, but he'll need to fish to a feature of some description. A wreck, a reef, a rocky outcrop? Get him to study a chart or GPS to spot a likely location.....

Tom

[Patudo]

A few years ago I was in Puerto Banus and had the opportunity to speak to some of the locals about their fishing. I have also had the opportunity to learn a little about the fishing in Valencia which is further north.

Bluefin tuna fishing in the straits has been much talked about but I would personally leave that well alone until you are more experienced as everything about it is difficult - the amount of shipping and boat traffic, strong current and difficulty in hooking and landing the fish (including having to reckon with the resident pod of killer whales).

If you are targeting pelagic fish I think lighter tackle trolling for smaller tunas (school bluefins, albacore and bonitos) is easier if you are starting out, it is relatively simple, you do not need expensive tackle or lures and these fish when hooked on light boat tackle are all capable of giving you almost all the excitement of big game fishing. You should not need to go to Gibraltar or Morocco to find these fish. As a bonus to tuna fishing you may also find Mediterranean spearfish or white marlin and even broadbill swordfish have been reported caught on lures in the daytime by Mediterranean anglers. Trolling for pelagic fish is a little different to bottom fishing but if you can adjust to what is needed to find the fish you may find it's a lot of fun.

[alcaucin]

Thats great, this is the sort of fishing I was referring to. I take it that trolling with a downrigger is the best method for these Pelagics. I have also seen some pictures of big rays and congers which would be the same as here in uk with fish baited on a long wire trace. Are the smoking muppets best for trolling? Sorry for the apparrent ignorance but as I said I am new to this type of fishing so some of the terminology is new to me. Once again thanks for taking the time to reply.

[TomBettle]

Thats great, this is the sort of fishing I was referring to. I take it that trolling with a downrigger is the best method for these Pelagics. I have also seen some pictures of big rays and congers which would be the same as here in uk with fish baited on a long wire trace. Are the smoking muppets best for trolling? Sorry for the apparrent ignorance but as I said I am new to this type of fishing so some of the terminology is new to me. Once again thanks for taking the time to reply.


All sorts of lures can be used for trolling and don't limit yourself to one depth for the general Tuna species. Search the depths from the surface layers down ad use different lures.
For Tuna I do like to use Rapala's and other plugs, but those mackerel your friend catches, don't be frightened to put them on as a live bait and either drift with them or very very slowly troll.

Rays and Conger do not need a wire trace and deinitely not a long one. In the nearly tideless conditions over there, a long trace will simply tangle up. Three or four feet of 150lb mono to an 8/0 hook and a nice fish bait wil sort you out with those slippery little suckers with the chance of Snapper, Grouper and Bass too. As mentioned before, fish to a feature when bottom fishing.

There is no point in simply dropping your bait to the bottom in the hope that something will find your gear.
Imagine 99% of the seabed is like a desert. You need the oasis in that desert and that will be a reef, rocky outcrop, group of boulders, bank, wreck etc etc.

To an extent, the Pelagic species will be found this way too.
If you hook up in what was apparently completely open water then it will be likely that the fish were passing through and it was pur luck.
Study a chart for eatures on the seabed, even if they are hundreds of feet down they will have an effect on the currents and this in turn has an effect on the plankton, then the bait fish and so on.
...If you see any flotsom and jetsom, try fishing near that as this will also provide temporary shelter to the whole ecosystem.

[Patudo]

Downriggers can be useful in certain situations but they have their downsides - expensive and need some experience to fish effectively. Plus, and this can happen quite a bit when light tackle trolling for smaller game fish, if you see tunas busting or working birds etc... you can get on them much faster if you don't have to crank up a big lead ball. For lighter tackle trolling don't sweat it if you don't have a downrigger.

I have added some info re lures for trolling via private message

Bottom fishing and jigging is a different game... There are probably dentex (a large red sea bream very much prized as a food fish) and amberjack in your area but you're going to need local knowledge. The pelagic fish are probably more easily fished for.

Regards

P.

[alcaucin]

Great, thank you for the help, if only the fish were as obliging, keep it coming.

[ShinyAndy]

What a useful thread and sorry to hi-jack/resurrect it but as we have a boat in Cabopino I was thinking of throwing a line off the side when we go out to while away the time. I used to fish off the beach when I lived in Bournemouth but now I'm in Marbella I'd rather be sat in a bar on the beach than staring at a rod tip!

My knowledge of boat fishing stops at using a handline when on tropical holidays so can anyone that lives here give me any pointers of where to go to buy the relevant gear and what a good starting setup would be?

Many thanks and apologies for the stupid newbie questions