
Mala Espina
Gandia, Valencia (ES)
Valencia is the third largest city in Spain and is known for its mild Mediterranean climate, the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències, its excellent cuisi...
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Valencia is the third largest city in Spain and is known for its mild Mediterranean climate, the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències, its excellent cuisine and its festivals.
The species that can be fished in Valencia range from sea bream, dentex, bluefish and leerfish near the coast, to bluefin tuna and swordfish offshore. Depending on the season, Valencian fishermen and their visitors adapt their fishing techniques. You could spend a lifetime fishing in Valencia and never get bored.
Deep sea fishing and reef fishing: Conger eel, snapper, red porgy, jack, scorpion fish, grouper, blackspot sea bream, gilt-head bream.
Jigging: Amberjack, dentex, red scorpion fish, grouper, large snapper
Big game fishing (chumming or trolling): bluefin tuna, albacore, little tunny, swordfish, speerfish
Popping and spinfishing for bluefin tuna and little tunny.
Inshore trolling and spinfishing: bonito, jack, mackerel, frigate tuna, small bluefin tuna, barracuda, dorado (mahi mahi), seabass, bluefish, leerfish.
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 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 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 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 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 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).
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.
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.
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 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.
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 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).
Swordfish (Xiphias gladius) are probably the most sought after sport fish in the world. They live in the sub-tropical and tropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean. Swordfish can grow over 3 meters in length and weigh more than 600 kg (1350lb).
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 ever caught was 780kg (1496lb). These great fighters can be caught trolling, jigging, casting or drifting; mainly off-shore.
January & February: reef fishing and bottom fishing for conger eel, snapper, red porgy, jack, scorpion fish, grouper, blackspot sea bream, gilt-head bream. Dentex fishing is also great these months, using live squid or cuttle fish for example. Sea bass fishing close to shore, beaches and ports.
March & April: reef fishing and bottom fishing. Start of tuna fishing wth first bluefin tuna showing up at the surface. Great to fish for tuna popping and spinning.
May & June: waters are warming up fast and the fish are getting more and more active. There's dentex & amberjack with live bait fishing. Inshore trolling produces barracuda, bonito, melva. Spinfishing (casting) for tuna. Off shore trolling for albacore and bluefin tuna. reef fishing and bottom fishing.
July & August: Off shore trolling for tuna, albacore until end of July. Chumming for bluefin tuna. Inshore trolling for mackerel, horse mackerel, barracuda, bonito, frigate tuna and towards the end of August the first mahi-mahi start to show up. reef fishing and bottom fishing.
September & October: Inshore trolling for mackerel, horse mackerel, barracuda, bonito, frigate tuna, mahi-mahi. reef fishing and bottom fishing.
November & December: reef fishing and bottom fishing. Squid fishing. Dentex & amberjack fishing with live bait.
Visit the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències, with its famous futuristic structures, the planetarium, the oceanarium (the largest marine complex in Europe) and an interactive museum.
Dive into the old town of Valencia and visit the cathedral, discover the Barrio del Carmen that grew between the Muslim and Christian walls. Here there are all kinds of medieval buildings, palaces, shops and restaurants you won't be able to resist.
Valencia has miles and miles of beaches. Enjoy an authentic paella in one of the restaurants on the seafront or in the Veles e Vents in the Marina.
Take a boat trip in the Albufera Natural Park and enjoy its unforgettable sunsets. By the way, La Albufera is the place where paella was invented.
You need a fishing license to go fishing in Valencia. This is the same license for fresh water fishing and sea fishing from the shore, boat fishing, spearfishing. The authorities of the Generalitat Valenciana insist that fishing must be a hobby or an outdoor activity without being a commercial activity: selling the fish is forbidden.
The fishing charters in Valencia normally have the fishing license included in the price, so you don't need to buy one if you're chartering a boat.
You can buy a fishing license on the website of the Generalitat Valenciana.