Maria del Mar
Sitges, Tarragona (ES)
Sitges is a place like no other in the world. Located only 20 minutes south of Barcelona, Sitges is known for the Sitges International Film Festival...
Read more..Sitges is a place like no other in the world. Located only 20 minutes south of Barcelona, Sitges is known for the Sitges International Film Festival, Carnival, its narrow streets filled with little bars & restaurants in the old town.
But did you know that there is amazing sport fishing in Sitges too? The coastline consistes of nice beaches and impressive cliffs, creating the perfect conditions for non-stop spinfishing and bottom fishing.
Only 5 miles off Sitges, the seafloor plunges from 100 meters to over 1000 meters, and it is a major highway for whales, dolphins and pelagic fish species migrating from the Gibraltar Straits into the Mediterranean Sea throughout the year.
We had an amazing time searching and sight casting for bluefin tuna with Tom! It was an experience my 14 year old son and I won’t forget.
Barry Raus
The coastline of Sitges consistes of nice beaches with several piers and impressive cliffs, creating the perfect conditions for non-stop spinfishing and bottom fishing. Spinfishing along the beaches and its piers you can fish for bluefish and seabass using top water lures and soft bait. Bluefish can also be targeted using natural bait trolled along the coast.
The seafloor in front of Sitges basically consists of sand with a few stoney areas. Locals love to fish for the great tasting gilt-head bream or dorada from the beaches or the piers using worm, crab, shrimp or mussle. Great beaches to fish for gilt-head bream in Sitges are Playa de la Fragata, la Playa de San Sebastián or la Playa de Balmins.
In fall and winter, squid are caught in front of the church of Sitges, in 20 meter deep water.
About 8 miles northeast of Sitges, there's a small reef called "La Barra", where predators such as dentex and amberjack can be caught using live squid or cuttle fish.
And only 5 miles off Sitges, the seafloor plunges from 100 meters to over 1000 meters, and it is a major highway for whales, dolphins and pelagic fish species migrating from the Gibraltar Straits into the Mediterranean Sea throughout the year. March and April are the best months to catch 30-40kg bluefin tuna casting poppers, stickbait and jigs towards the impressive frenzies.
In May, these feeding frenzies are more common towards the Gulf of Sant Jordi and the Ebro Delta. In the area of Sitges, tuna fishing is now basically chumming and drifting in the area of the drop-off (the area of "El Forat" is one of the best places for tuna fishing in Sitges). Tuna caught chumming normally weigh between 40kg and 150kg, but there are fish up to 300kg.
Off-shore, there are interesting seamounts (such as "La Pera" and "Les Mamelles") and the Mallorca channel, which are great places to go offshore trolling for tuna and albacore (May - August).
If you're interested in fishing in Sitges, you might also be interested in fishing in Barcelona, fishing in Mallorca, fishing in Gran Canaria, fishing in Marbella and fishing in Tenerife.
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.
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 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.
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).
All year round: spinfishing for seabass, bottom fishing for gilt-head bream, snapper, jack and other smaller reef fish.
Spring: offshore spinfishing for bluefin tuna.
Summer: chumming (drifting) for bluefin tuna
Fall: Light tackle trolling for bonito, mahi-mahi, jack, frigate tuna, little tunny, mackerel. Live bait fishing for dentex and amberjack.
Winter: squid fishing. Live bait fishing for dentex and amberjack.
If you want to go fishing in Sitges, you need a fishing license. The license issued by the Catalan Government is for both fresh water and salt water fishing and can also be used in the rest of Spain. You can purchase a fishing license on the website from the Generalitat de Catalunya.
Remember that the fishing charters in Sitges or your fishing guide normally have the fishing license included in the price, so you don't need to buy one if you're chartering a boat or booking a local fishing guide in Sitges.