Fishing in Goa, part 1

The thing about Goa is that it wants to make a man put his roots down. Even an essentially rootless person like myself. It is laid back (almost horizontal at times) and compared to the rest of this money mad country, a haven for the senses. Yep I could almost feel myself putting my roots down. But that is another story.

Being a coastal city you can’t get away from the seafood. Beautiful, shimmering and fresh seafood of an unbelievable variety, redolent of the taste of the ocean. Goa has always been an exciting destination for every foreign or domestic angler. Its sun kissed coast, two big rivers and numerous coves gives the fishing a picture perfect look, but you would need more than that to catch a decent size fish as I discovered with my own one year stint in this beautiful paradise.

A fishing spot is of paramount importance to an angler visiting a new place with limited amount of time. I have often spent days on the wrong side of the river or in the right spot with the wrong bait or have got the timing wrong, displeased a local deity and so on. I have had to learn by trial and error (with a few good souls pointing me in the right direction). All this has been part of the learning curve and all of these experiences have taken me a long way in my fishing career with many good memories to bring on a smile at pensive times.

I now endeavour to make a visiting angler's task easier by describing a few accessible fishing spots and techniques. This information I hope will help them produce a decent catch (though I do believe that a “decent catch” is a very subjective topic).

IN AND AROUND PANJIM
Since Panjim is the heart of Goa I will start off here. Firstly Panjim has a decent tackle shop called “Champs” which is close to the famous “Big Panjim Church”, a white building in the heart of the city. The Tackle shop offers a range of lures, spinning reels, rods, hooks and other fishing accessories. A good place to stop by in case you need to stock up your tackle and lures at the last minute.

The Mandovi river flows through the heart of Panjim dividing it into 2 parts, for reference we shall call it the Panjim city side and the opposite side Betim.

OLD GOA JETTY (the Art of Live baiting)
To get to the jetty take a cab or drive down to the Old Goa Church the famous St Francais Church (about 1/2hr for Panim via Ribandar). As soon as you reach the church take the first turn off to the river. There are 2 jetties a small one and a larger one a little further off.

Targetable species include barramundi, snapper, bream, tarpon, catfish, and grouper. The jetty has been well fished for years and in turn the fish have become wary. I have only caught fish here on live bait. Live shrimp and a small bait fish called “pittoies” locally. I have caught barramundi, snapper bream and tarpon on shrimp. Ideally fishing needs to be done when the tide is slack turning to high, this is a time when the water is perfectly still. For the best results, you should try to fish early in the morning, if possible.

Casting close to jetty with live baits works well; most of the fish are either under the jetty or come close to feed. Arm yourself with 30lb braid and good stiff rod, fish need to be played hard to avoid them going under the jetty and getting snagged. Something in the region of a 12 to 30lb class rod would be ideal.

When live baiting it is worth remembering that the fish in the river are very sensitive to the visibility of line, heavy line like braid can put the fish off, as a result I usually use a short one or two foot leader of strong mono or fluorocarbon.

To bait the Shrimp, I use a small hook and work it lightly into the shrimp from the far end of the tail, other methods can kill the shrimp. To fish shrimp successfully, weight the shrimp down with a small amount of lead, this will give it some depth but also allow it to swim.

When you get a bite, do not strike immediately. Let the fish take some slack line as this will enable the fish to swallow the bait, striking the fish too early will almost always result in a missed bite. The best method is to strike when the fish is on the run and remember to set the hook well. Snapper will gobble up your bait the instance it hits, but barramundi or tarpon will need some time.

If you wish to obtain live bait you need to talk to the locals, especially the owners of the prawn farms that are close to rivers. You will see them on your way to Old Goa via the Ribandar road.

The live bait has to be kept in a plastic container with holes in the top half for water and air to enter in and out freely. The prawns will die fast (about 15 mins) if not immersed in the river to replenish the oxygen supply in the container while the “pittioes” bait fish will last much longer, around an hour. When fishing, tie the container well to a good holding and immerse it into the water attached by a strong rope.

I have found dead bait (dead mackerel or sardine) practically useless on this jetty; the only fish frequently caught on dead baits are catfish. I have had limited success with lures too. On the whole the old Goa jetty is easily accessible, scenic and a safe place to fish with friends and family. An easy days fishing.

REIS MAGOS JETTY AND ROCKS
You need to take the ferry across from Panjim to Betim or use the bridge, and take the road to Resi Magos. The road winds beautifully along the river side with the hills on the other. The first landmark is the small Light House facing the river, immediately after that is the jetty. The jetty is close to the river mouth which makes it a fairly good spot to fish, depending on the season and the migration patterns of the target species.

Try to get to the jetty at about 5 am on a receding tide, stand at the edge of the jetty and cast straight out, the most effective plug to use here is the Red & White Rapala. Barramundi will strike very close to the jetty, and need to be subdued quickly as there are plenty of snags and submerged rocks. If the fish gets into the rocks there is little chance of playing it out. Live baits (prawns) and dead baits (mackerel, sardine) can also be very effective, especially at night. The best time to work the jetty is at night, or in the early morning.

The light house is a good spot to fish from but you may suffer from heavy tackle loss due to the submerged rocks. It is preferable to use 30lbs braid. A wire trace is recommended but I am not a big fan of these traces because in clear water the trace is easily visible and this would seriously affect your catch ratio. One can use a heavy mono or fluorocarbon leader.

Down the road a little further from the jetty is a restaurant called “River Rays”. The rocks in front are an excellent place to fish for snapper and grouper with baits. There are plenty of rays to be found here. When fighting a ray, keep the rod tip up, continuously working the fish, allowing the ray to sit will give it time to settle into the river bed.

THE FORT AGUADA
Continue up the Sinquerim road for Fort Aguada. You will eventually pass Sinquerim where the road will wind upwards. The Sequirm jetty is a place that can be fished, but the tourist boat traffic is heavy here during Nov to March which makes angling difficult. Carrying on up the road, follow the directional signs to the fort. Your landmark is the light house at the top besides the fort. The fishing spot is at the base of the hill. Getting to it entails some hiking so it is wise to carry a light nap sack, plenty of water and walking boots. Following the dirt track that winds its way up passed the light house and around the bend, you will be greeted with the beautiful view of the Panjim bay.

The placid blue of the Panjim waters stretch out towards the horizon, on a clear day with a good pair of field glassed you can watch shoals of dolphins gamble along playfully in the blue waters of the Bay.

The track continues passed the lighthouse and after 300 meters you will come to a vertical drop. Look for the path leading to the base, one found be careful negotiating your way down as the loose gravel can be hazardous. At the base you will find some small ruins of the fort and on the other side there is a line of rocks heading out to sea while behind you looms the massive walls of the fort and the hill. This line of rocks is your fishing spot. Walk towards it along the base of the hill, passing a dark cave (worth exploring with torch light), eventually you will arrive at the fishing spot where you will find the water deep, coloured a greenish blue in Nov Dec.

Fish species range from Big grouper, snapper, giant trevally, barramundi and threadfin (during season, but rare). Early mornings and late evenings is the best time for casting regardless of the tides. A strong rod with line weight of 25-30lbs and above coupled with braid is recommended. Live bait works excellent here, but you would need to get your hands on some large white prawns. The other option is a fillet of mackerel, which works best on a large hook. I have been hit by huge rock cods (20lbs- 25lbs) that dive into their rocky lair almost immediately on striking; the stopping power of your gear really counts here.

Casting with rubber shads is also effective, attracting snapper of 6 – 12lbs. If you happen to camp here for the night (which by itself is not a bad spot and considering the long walk for an early morning session) fish a dead bait, on a rotten bottom rig. A rotten bottom rig works by attaching the weight to a lighter gauge line, if you snag the weight, a good pull will usually snap the weaker line allowing you to retrieve the rig intact, this limits your tackle loss.

On a moonlit night casting out with plugs may give you some explosive action with barramundis and snapper. Cast out and limit your splash, using a slow retrieve, keeping your rod tip low making sure that lure is working deep. Due to the precarious nature and the unknown species you are likely to encounter, make sure you have a sure footing!

The Fort extends right around the hill leading to the Taj Hotel on the other side which also boasts a fairly good fishing spot (which will be covered in a later article). The Fort is a decent spot to fish giving you access to open deep water, which could give you some fairly big fish in the 20-30lbs class. But the difficulty is in getting there. All in all Aguada can provide you with a bit of adventure and isolation, on the other hand it can prove quite disappointing and tiring if the fish don't bite. I have had average success, lost most of the big groupers in the rocks, landed a few GTs while spinning and had 6 to 12lb snappers on bait and lure.

This article is part of a series of articles that will appear on World Sea Fishing over the next few months, detailing all that Goa has to offer the visiting angler.