
Blondie
Blanes, Costa Brava (ES)
Costa Brava offers fishing for all types of fisherman, including those who are new to the activity, those who do it as a casual hobby and those who are already experts...
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Costa Brava offers fishing for all types of fisherman, including those who are new to the activity, those who do it as a casual hobby and those who are already experts. It is very easy for someone to fall in love with fishing in Costa Brava as its flagship waters are home to many species including the amberjack, dentex, bluefin tuna and leerfish.
Spring is a great time to practice trolling along the coastline. From April and May, you can practice trolling and jigging at height to catch fish such as bluefin tuna, skipjack or little tunny. Spring is also a good time to fish with small barracudas or garfishes to catch leer fish or bluefish at depths of 7-15m
Fishing in Costa Brava during the summer is the perfect time to fish for bluefin tuna by chumming. This fishing can be done offshore in Cap de Creus, Blanes or Palamos, as well as closer to the coast. For catching denton or amberjack, fishing can be done by trolling with natural bait (squid or mackerel).
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.
Spearfish (Tetrapturus) are a generic name for several species such as the shortbill spearfish and longbill spearfish. These billfish are found in tropical and subtropical waters around the world: Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean.
The Albacore (Thunnus alalunga) has large eyes and long pectoral fins. This is why this species is also known as longfin tuna. The largest Albacore can reach up to 140 cm (4.6ft) and weigh up to 40 kg (90lb).
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).
The skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) have a strong body with black stripes on the side. The largest skipjack tuna can reach up to 100 cm (40 inch) and weigh up to 10 kg (22 lb). Skipjack are mainly caught trolling lures.
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.
The the European barracuda (Sphyraena sphyraena) is also known as the Mediterranean barracuda. This predator is common in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. They can grow up to 1,65m and weigh over 3,5kg.
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 ever caught was 780kg (1496lb). These great fighters can be caught trolling, jigging, casting or drifting; mainly off-shore.
Autumn is an excellent time to fish in Costa Brava. Trolling with small lures topped with plumes will catch tuna, mackerel, melva, little tunny and dolphinfish among others. Autumn is also a good time to fish with small barracudas or needles to catch leerfish or bluefish in water depths of 7-15m. September and October are good months for light trolling for Atlantic bonito and dolphinfish in waters of 40-80m, using feathers and other small lures. It’s worth noting that to catch bluegill borneo, you will need a lightweight material as they usually offer a good fight.
Costa Brava in winter is ideal for fishing large fish from the seabed and it’s possible to catch black spot sea bream, forkbeard, conger eel, Atlantic wreckfish and grouper at this time. During winter, fishing is often practiced at a larger depth. Here, the sunken ship wrecks and rocks are perfect places to fish, but fisherman may keep the best of these to themselves. Fish that can be caught here include red sea bream, red snapper, green wrasse, white sea bream, forkbeard and conger eel among others, and the bait used can be sardine, squid or octopus.
All year: Fishing in Costa Brava can be done at any time of the year, but it is most recommended during the winter season.
Top Species
Dentex: Dentex feed mainly on other fish, crabs, molluscs and their favourite, squid. Dentex can be found from 0-200m deep, with young fish found closer to the shore and adults found in more depth. Whilst fishing in Costa Brava, dentex can be caught by trolling with natural bait.
Amberjack: Amberjack can be caught throughout the year and react very well to natural bait such as mackerel and squid. They are one of the most desirable fish to catch using the jigging technique, which can be done at considerable depths and amongst shipwrecks.
Bluefin Tuna: Fishing for bluefin tunas by trolling is best from April to August, whilst by chumming are best caught in July and August. It’s a great time for anglers to practice spinning and heavy spinning, as well as using strollers, stickbait and large jigs to catch them.
Black Spot Sea Bream: Black spot sea bream can weigh more than 6kg, grow to 25 to 60cm in size and can be found in great depths of 200-400m deep. The younger bream live in large schools and swim closer to the coast amongst the sandy seabed. Fishing in Costa Brava is an interesting place to be during the winter and is perfect for background fishing.
Leerfish: A predator of great speeds, leerfish feed on sardines, anchovies, sardinella, swordfish and lisa. You can catch leerfish whilst fishing in Costa Brava by trolling with garfishes in waters from 7-15m deep.
Palafrugell and Cadaqués are two of the most famous cities and great tourist attractions. Great places to visit here are the Bay of Roses, Banyoles, the botanical gardens of Santa Clotilde, Pinya de Rosa, Marimurtra and Cap Roig.
Those that currently live here are a mixture of both locals and tourists, as well as fisherman who are both attracted to the area and to the fishing in Costa Brava.
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 normally have the fishing license included in the price, so you don't need to buy one if you're chartering a boat.