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San Sebastián de la Gomera, La Gomera (ES)
Fishing in La Gomera offers endless possibilities because it has the superior natural splendour, typical of the Canary Islands. Throughout the season you can enjoy jigging and bottom fishing, and you can expect to catch species such as bonitos, grouper, wahoo, amberjacks, pink dentex, as well as many others. The fishing charters in La Gomera target tuna in April & May; marlin fishing in La Gomera can be done between May and September, being the peak season June, July & August.
La Gomera is known for the year-round sunshine, the beaches and its mild temperatures. In the interior you'll find amazing landscapes which are ideal for hiking, cycle touring or rock climbing.
Trolling, depending on the season, one can target species such as wahoo, bonito, barracuda, sama, amberjack, bluefish, tuna and dolphinfish.
Deep sea fishing and big game fishing in La Gomera is a unique case; during the months of May, June and July one of the most impressive and emblematic species on the planet visit the island: the coveted blue marlin, and many fishing charters move their ships to the island to allow their passengers to fish in La Gomera.
Blue Marlin: Its preferred habitat is at considerable depths, from 500m. But sometimes they are caught out of the port in only 70m of water. Blue marlin is fished by using lures, trolling behind the boat. The thrill of fishing in La Gomera attracts anglers from around the world who want to take on the the challenge of catching a blue marlin.
White Marlin: The white marlin is the little brother of blue marlin and is quickly recognized by their light blue stripes and more rounded than the blue marlin dorsal fin. They usually move in small groups in waters deeper than 100m. White marlin feeds on all kinds of fish, cephalopods and crustaceans, and is fished mainly by trolling with artificial lures.
Wahoo: This predator has straight, razorlike teeth and is located around the world in tropical and subtropical waters. Sport fishermen know them for their speed and prized flesh. Wahoo have been captured 2.5m long and weighing up to 83kg. The wahoo can reach speeds up to 95 kph and it is hailed as the fastest sea animal. The wahoo is caught mostly by trolling with artificial lures.
Big eye tuna: They can measure 2.5 m almost 200kg. It has large and well-developed eyes to see in high depths where visibility is poor. They are natural fighters and can hold out for several hours during the battle to get them out of the water. Fishing in La Gomera for this species is typically done by trolling with artificial lures and, sometimes, with natural bait.
Albacore: Albacore is named so due to its white meat, but it known as white tuna by the fishermen of the Cantabrian Sea. They have long pectoral fins and large eyes. They can grow to a meter and a half, and weigh up to 65kg. Lures, such as feathers of around 30 - 50 pounds, are used with the trolling technique.
Yellowfin tuna grow fast, up to 400 pounds in about a 7-year lifespan, and they range in length from 59 inches to 88 inches long. They’re known for their torpedo shape, with a pointed nose and a sickle-shaped tail, and have dark blue backs with yellow sides (thus their name) with a silver underside.
The Blue Marlin (Makaira nigricans) is probably the most wanted fish in the sport fishing world. The magnificent fighter usually feeds during day time on fish, octopuses and squids. Blue Marlin is mainly caught trolling with artificial lures or with dead bait (bonito, mackerel...).
The White Marlin (Kajikia albida) is a very nice predator which can be caught off shore in warmer waters. This powerful fighter usually feeds during day time on fish, octopuses and squids. They can be caught trolling with artificial lures or with dead bait (bonito, mackerel...).
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 60kg (130lb).
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.
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.
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.
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.
Wahoo (Acanthocybium solandri), also known as Ono (meaning “delicious” in Hawaiian), are found in many subtropical and tropical waters. They’re identifiable by their blue-green upper body which shifts into silver towards their belly. They also have blue vertical striping along their sides. These predators are torpedo-shaped and have long and largemouths with teeth.
Bigeye Tuna (Thunnus obesus) belong to the tuna family just like Bluefin Tuna, Albacore or Yellowfin Tuna. They can grow up to 200kg (450lb) and over 2 meters long. These pelagic fish are found in temperate and tropical waters (off shore) and are targetted mainly trolling.
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).
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 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).
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 great barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda), often referred to as barracuda, is a long predator that can be found in tropical and subtropical waters where they like to patroll mangroves, reefs and drop-offs. Record barracuda can grow to 1,5m and weigh over 45kg (100lb+).
The Crevalle Jack or Jack Crevalle (Caranx hippos) is a very popular sport fish that belongs to the Carangidae fish species. Horse mackerel, amberjack and giant trevally also belong to this family. Jack Crevalle can grow to a length of 120 cm and a weight of 30 kg.
This fish is of the Balistidae family. There are about 40 species of triggerfish. The largest trigger triggerfish can grow up to 75 cm (30 inch).
The tope shark or school shark (Galeorhinus galeus) is a type of ground shark found worldwide in temperate seas. Tope can grow up to two meters in length. This shark is a critically endangered species.
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 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 pink dentex (Dentex gibbosus) is a saltwater fish distributed from Portugal to Angola, Canary Islands and the warmer areas of the Mediterranean Sea such as southern Spain and the Gibraltar Strait area, Morocco, southern Italy, Tunisia and Algeria. The larger fish are 1,2 m long and can weigh up to 18 kg (40 lb).
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 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.
Autumn and winter: Anchored or drifting the best technique for this time of year is bottom fishing. With natural bait you can catch all kinds of rock fish, including raya grande, and in the mid-waters, you can fish for sierra (the Canarian name for Atlantic Bonito). Live bait (mackerel, choco or squid for example) can be used to fish amberjack and sama.
Fishing in La Gomera during the winter is characterized by the passage of bluefin and big eye tuna. During your fishing trips, you will be able to catch them trolling with large lures and/or natural bait.
Spring and Summer: Fishing in La Gomera in spring is characterized by the arrival of warm water streams from the south of the Canary Islands. This stream reaches La Gomera at first, before reaching the other islands. It brings with it abundant nutrients of small fish such as mackerel, sardine and menhaden; at the same time wahoo, albacore, bonitos, white marlin and above all, the blue marlin. The best months for fishing in La Gomera is late May, June and July. Marlin is usually found in La Gomera in up until September, but in smaller numbers.
At this time of year almost all boats offer trolling: at the rate of 6-8 knots all types of artificial lures, such as octopus and squid, are used. It is caught on the surface and lures are usually out of the water, creating a trail of bubbles that attracts predators. The vast majority of fishermen engage in responsible fishing: once they have enjoyed the fight with the fish - they can weigh more than 1,000 pounds (500 kg) - they set it free, unharmed.
Visit San Sebastian de la Gomera.
You need a fishing license to fish in fresh water and salt water. The fishing charters in La Gomera normally have the fishing license included in the price, so you don't need to buy one if you're chartering a boat.