Fishing in Spain

Fishing in the Canary Islands

The Canaries are an archipelago located just off the southern coast of Morocco. We're not always aware but they are Europe's n° 1 for sport fishing only 4 hours flying from London, Paris or Düsseldorf. The Canary Islands are famous for their subtropical waters with plenty of sport fishing possibilities. They attract anglers from all around the world to practice big game fishing, jigging and spinning around these beautiful Islands. Some islands even have carp fishing lakes!

Situated on a marine bottom with over 3000 meters of depth, Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro are constantly nourished by the currents of the Atlantic Ocean. There are plenty of off shore seamounts that rise thousands of meters form the ocean floor and stop short of the surface. The marine nutritional chain is formed by its huge variety and quantity of species of sedentary and migratory fish, sharks and cetaceans.

The Canaries are a privileged place for big game fishing. The Blue Marlin, the king of the ocean, visits the islands from June to September chasing the huge supply of pelagic baitfish such as mackerel, tuna and bonito. During the high season, several blue marlin up to an estimated 500 pounds are released every week. The bigger billfish can weigh up to 1100 pounds in these waters!

Big eye tuna, yellowfin tuna, wahoo and dolphin fish are few of many species that can be captured in the Canary Islands.

The archipelago is also a paradise for jigging and spinning. The mixed bottoms with sand or other rocky zones give shelter to fascinating species, such as the Moroccan dentex, the amberjack and the grouper, among others.

A good option to fish on this breathtaking Island is to contact a fishing charter, commanded by guides with expertise and knowledge of the area.

Sport fishing in the Strait of Gibraltar

The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Gibraltar and Peninsular Spain in Europe from Morocco and Ceuta in Africa. The straight used to be known (respectively) as the Columns of Melkart, later as the Columns of Hercules. According to Greek mythology, it was Hercules who separated the Rock of Gibraltar from Monte Hacho (Ceuta) and installed two pillars to commemorate his battles against the massive giant named Geryon. In reality, the Greeks considered the Strait of Gibraltar as the end of the known world although they knew the Mediterranean very well; it symbolized the end of the known world and they feared it. The current name of the Strait of Gibraltar comes from the Arabic invasions, Gibraltar means ‘rock of the General Tarek’ (Gibr-al-Tarek).

The Strait of Gibraltar is a mandatory step for migratory marine species such as the bluefin tuna; and definitely one of the best places to go fishing in Spain.

The prevailing strong currents around here sometimes reach 5 knots. On the one hand, it makes fishing difficult, but on the other, it provides a great amount of food for small fish, which in turn attracts our preferred prey. The depths vary drastically. The depths, huge boulders, rocky and sandy areas provide shelter to many large predators such as the Moroccan dentex, grouper, red porgy, black spot sea bream, Atlantic wreckfish, and amberjack. The threshold of Camarinal situated next to Banco de Majuán, has a depth of 280 meters, while just outside the Bay of Algeciras there are depths of 1000 meters. Other interesting spots for fishing are Punta Carnero, Guadalmesi, Punta de Oliveros, the ‘bajo de la Aceitera,’ the ‘bajo de Los Cabezos’ in front of Punta Paloma, Bolonia, Perejil Island, etc.

You can practice coastal and deep sea trolling; big game trolling catches giant tuna, swordfish, and marlin; deep sea fishing can also be done by, jigging, spinning and more. 

The Strait is a haven for jigging lovers. There are plenty of boulders and stones abundant with large predators. It is best to fish in sea bottoms of 30-50-80 meters; greater depths can also be fished, but the strong currents force us to use heavy jigs 350 grams and 500 grams. Spinning is also successful in this area. We have caught many nice Atlantic bonitos, amberjacks, and bluefish with poppers and other top water bait.

The Balearic Islands

The Balearic Islands are an archipelago of Spain in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It consists of large islands called Majorca or Mallorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera and several minor islands like Cabrera, Dragonera and S'Espalmador. They feature a rocky sea floor rich in fauna and flora, very interesting for fishing. Main species are grouper, scorpion fish, red scorpion fish, conger, sea bass, gilthead and dentex. Off shore sport fishermen target bluefin tuna, albacore, swordfish, shortbill spearfish and dolphin-fish.

Atlantic Ocean

The Bay of Biscay washes the shores of the Basque Country, Cantabria, Asturias and part of Galicia where the most popular fishing techniques is bottom fishing targeting seabream, pinto, wrasse, sea bass, mackerel, etc… Off shore you can catch albacore and bluefin tuna during the summer months.

Valencia and Alicante

The 450 kilometers of coastline that separate Vinaros from Torrevieja offer so much to fish. However, the epicenter of fishing in Valencia is Cabo San Antonio. The respective fishing ports of Denia and Javea are strategically placed for big game fishing, deep sea fishing, sport fishing and deep sea trolling. If you want to go fishing in Spain and combine this with you family vacation, the Costa Blanca is a great place to go!