

Barracuda
Port Olimpic, Barcelona (ES)
Fishing in Barcelona is extremely popular, with many ports in the province that offer moored fishing charters throughout the year. From Barcelona to Tossa de Mar, through to Masnou, Premià, Mataró, Arenys de Mar, Malgrat de Mar, Blanes, Vilanova i la Geltru, Sitges and Castelldefels you’ll find emblematic ports that attract even the most experienced of fishing fanatics from far and wide.
From inshore fishing targeting smaller reef fish like sea bream, snapper, mackerel & bonito, spinning for bluefish & leerfish to big game off shore tuna fishing, we love fishing in Barcelona.
Each season has it's specific fish species in Barcelona. Some are here all year round such as the dentex, grouper, horse mackerel or the red scorpion fish. Others visit these waters when it gets warmer: bluefin tuna, leerfish, albacore... Below you'll find the most popular fish species in Barcelona.
This tuna is one of the most coveted species in Barcelona’s fishing waters. It is distinguished from rest of the species of tuna by its dark metallic colour on its back and the clean white underbelly tone.
Bluefin tuna can reach high speeds and provide a real challenge to catch, making it one of the most sought after species in the world of sport fishing.
El Dorado, as it is popularly known, is one of the most beautiful fish that can be fished in Barcelona. It has a very agile nature and they provide a truly passionate style of sport fishing. It has shiny, blue, yellow or green tones, and occasionally comes out of water, but when they notice the hook they will quickly submerge again.
This is one of the most popular fish species caught in the region. Like amberjack are distinguished by their spinal column, which has no gap and has an attractive blue-gray on the back, which gradually turns white as it reaches round to the belly. It is considered an insatiable fish and can often be seen swimming through large banks of bait fish.
The little tunny - not to be confused with the Atlantic bonito - is a small member of the tuna family. Don’t be fooled by their modest size: they are the most skilled in terms of struggle and strength. They can grow between 60 and 100cm of length (the largest known specimen measured 120cm and weighed close to 17kg). To capture the little tunny the most common methods are trolling and spin fishing. The little tunny can also be caught by trolling artificial lures with squid, halco, rapala or yozuri.
The Amberjack species are a game fish that are found both in the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Jigging and live bait fishing are the best techniques to target these magnificent fighters. Greater Amberjack can weigh up to 170 lb (80 kg).
Atlantic Bonito (Sarda sarda) is a rapid fish species known for being great hunters. They have striping on their backs with silver-coloured undersides and they grow up to 30 inches long. They have a hydrodynamic body shape, even more so than larger tuna.
The blue shark (Prionace glauca) is a migratory, live-bearing shark that feeds mainly on smaller fish and squid. They can be found in all the oceans and sees around the world.
The Bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) is known by anglers as being a fast, aggressive and strong fish of the ocean. They are fun to target and give a real challenge to anyone who comes across them while fishing. They inhabit temperate and subtropical waters around the world. Bluefish have extremely powerful jaws with razor sharp teeth. They can grow over a meter and weigh over 10kg.
The dentex (Dentex dentex) is a common saltwater fish in the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and sometimes they appear in the Canary Islands, Morocco and Senegal. They have very strong teeth to feed on fish, squid and mollusca. Dentex are a great species for sportfishing and are targetted mainly trolling or jigging. The larger fish are 1m long and can weigh up to 15 kg (35 lb).
Mahi Mahi (Coryphaena hippurus) are also commonly referred to as dorado, dolphin or dolphinfish. They are recognizable by their bluntly shaped heads, long dorsal fin and their bright colouring, dark blue and green on their dorsal side and yellow on their sides and underside.
The leerfish (Lichia amia) is known by anglers as being a fast, aggressive and strong fish of the Mediterranean Sea and the coastal waters from Western Africa to south Africa. Leerfish are generally found in small and loose groups rather than large schools of fish. They can grow up to 1,70m (5.5ft) and weigh up to 25kg (55lb).
The Little tunny or False Albacore (Euthynnus alletteratus) is easily identified by the dark spots under its pectoral fins. They like warm temperate and tropical waters of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The larger Little Tunny weigh up to 35lb and can reach 1,2m.
Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus) or simply mackerel have a great back with irregular black bands. They're very common and like the temperate waters of the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and the northern Atlantic Ocean. Mackerel are typically between 25-35cm.
The sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) is for many sport fishermen a trophy fish because of the nice fight they offer but also because they're an excellent eating fish. Sea bass, also known as European bass, are found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, from northern Norway to Senegal, the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. They can grow up to 1 metre and weigh up to 12kg.
The horse mackerle (Trachurus trachurus) is a common species found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean off Europe from Norway to South Africa and into the south-eastern Indian Ocean to Mozambique. They are normally between 20 and 30 cm, although the larger fish can grow up to 70 cm and weigh around 2-3kg.
The northern red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) is a popular fish often caught reef fishing in the Atlantic waters of Florida, Gulf of Mexico and also the Caribbean. This sought-after game fish can reach 1 m and weight up to 50lb.
Gilt-head Bream (Sparus aurata) is a common species in the Mediterranean Sea and also in the Atlantic Ocean from Britain to Cape Verde. Popular in the Mediterranean cuisine, the fish is easily recognized by the gold bar marking between its eyes. The largest gilt-head bream are 1 metre long and can weigh up to 7kg (15lb).
Grouper is common name for all the bass-looking-fish from the Epinephelinae Family. This family also includes sea bass by the way. Grouper are colorful predators who like to live in rocky areas, reefs, wrecks where they can hide.
The common pandora (Pagellus erythrinus) is a type of snapper, common in the Meditarranea Sea, but is also present in the eastern Atlantic coastal areas from Cape Verde to Scandinavia. The biggest pandora can grow up to 50cm (20 inch).
The Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus thynnus) is a pelagic fish that can grow up to 500kg (1000lb). The biggest Bluefin Tuna every caught was 780kg (1496lb). These great fighters can be caught trolling, jigging, casting or drifting; mainly off-shore.
Sea fishing charters in Barcelona during spring, summer and autumn are hugely popular, especially for those looking to do a spot of coast sea trolling. The "Tallahams" and leerfish are fished near the coast (about 7-8 metres deep) with natural baits (needles, espets, etc.). Fishing in Barcelona in late April and May is famous because of the bluefin tuna. During the last few years there has been an increase in bluefin tuna weighing between 20kg and 50kg. These predators are coming ever closer to the coast of Barcelona, which is excellent news for enthusiasts of spin fishing or casting for bluefin tuna in Barcelona.
The areas off Blanes, Castelldefels, Sitges & Vilanova are great for this kind of sport fishing as the drop off is relatively close: around 5 nautical miles. When the bluefin tuna hunts on the surface, spectacular frenzies can be spotted and you can fish by casting large spinning lures. Once close enough to the tuna one can start casting poppers, stick baits or jigs toward the frenzies and try to hook one of these magnificent fighters. Beware! you need heavy tackle for your fishing trip, we're talking about 100lb leaders, 70-80lb braided main line, good reel & rod, strong hooks and... a strong back :-) The help of a good fishing guide is always nice.
June, July and August are the best months for angling in Barcelona, the waters off the coast of Blanes or Castelledefels are specifically are much-loved by anglers pursuing giant bluefin tuna (specimens of more than 400 kg can be caught). Drifting, the locals chum loads of natural bait to attract the tuna and as this is extreme fishing, they use 80 lb to 130 lb equipment - for hook bait, they use sardine, anchovy or mackerel.
Sea fishing in Barcelona during the months of September and October are excellent for light trolling. The Atlantic Bonito and dolphinfish are fished offshore - generally 40-80 meters deep - using feathers, rapala, yozuri, halco, and other small lures. Locals also fish with light material chumming, primed with sardine, anchovy and/or mackerel, leaving a trail in the sea to attract the fish. Entire sardine, anchovy or sardine pieces are also used as bait.
During the winter months fishing continues to be ever popular. The shipwrecks and rocks are the hot spots for bottom fishing and fishermen do not easily reveal where to find them. With this technique red sea bream, red snapper, green wrasse, white sea bream, fork-beard, conger eel among others. Sardines, squid, octopus bait are used.
Fishing charters in Barcelona are ideal for your sea fishing experience: you can fish during all seasons and find a vast range of different fish species, making it the ideal place to practice different techniques of fishing, including sea trolling, spinning and jigging.
And as huge bonus you will have all the best of Barcelona to explore. Revered as one of the hottest tourist destinations in the world, the Catalan capital of cool is a melting pot of glorious gastronomy, unparalleled architecture, the fashion forward. In short, fishing holidays in Barcelona are unmissable.
The airport of Barcelona is an international airport located 12 km (7.5 mi) southwest of the centre of Barcelona. The main ports of Barcelona (Port Vell, Port Olimpic & Port Forum) have car access, access by metro, bus & taxi. Ports of Arenys de Mar, El Masnou, Blanes, Port Ginesta, Aiguadolç (Sitges) and Vilanova have good car access via highway & train.
You need a fishing license to fish in fresh water and salt water which can be obtained on the website from the Generalitat de Catalunya:
remember that the fishing charters in Barcelona normally have the fishing license included in the price, so you don't need to buy one if you're chartering a boat.