Fish and how to catch them

[concentrik]

Having spent nearly three years and 1500 miles getting to Mediterranean Spain our record for fish catching is lamentable. We have comforted ourselves by claiming that we've been 'going too quickly' but in all honesty that's pretty unlikely.

What can we do to improve our chances of finding food on the move or at anchor? What kind of fish might we expect to be able to catch in our area (usually inshore 10NM>, Cartagena to Balaerics, now till May) and how to seduce them?

 

[Seajet]

Going by personal observation and reading of the attempts by long distance sailors to supplement their diets, it seems to me the only effective fishing by yot on passage is by towing a multi-hook paravane through schools of Mackerel, they just can't wait to be barbecued; otherwise not much chance - don't know your area though.

 

[Birdseye]

As a sailor who has made an effort to learn to fish, I'd say that the first thing you need to recognise is that there is a lot more skill and knowledge involved that is at first apparent. Just like sailing in that respect. ..

But it follows from that that you need to do some learning and from successful local fishermen. For example, you try to bait with what fish are then eating in the locality but this varies from month to month and according to species. So tip no 1 when fishing at anchor would be to ask a successful local what they are baiting with. At what level are they fishing - one meter doen, one meter above bottom? What is the equipment - are they using a float or legering. Weight on the bottom and hook up a meter? Etc. If you were in the UK I would recommend you went out with one of the local fishing tripper boats a few times. I dont know whether they have these in the med.

Fishing on the move is a bit less subtle. I usually aim for two knots boat speed. For pollack I have an imitation small fish maybe 3 inches long and I aim to get this close to the bottom. I sail over rocks and outcrops - the fish tend to lurk on the downtide side of outcrops waiting for the tide to deliver their lunch as it flows. For mackerel, almost anything will do. Have caught them on bits of silver foil from Kit Kat wrappers. In fact the biggest issue can be to avoid mackerel when you are fishing for something better.

I could go on but I wont, in part because it might not be the blind leading the blind but in fishing terms I'm three quarters blind if you see what I mean. So remember - success requires skill and skill has to be learned. So find someone local to teach you or just be happy with rubbish fish like mackerel

 

[jdc]

I am probably also 3/4 blind - as birdseye says - or maybe 9/10th, but the one thing which made the most difference to me was the realisation that what one naturally choses to do when anchoring is about the worst thing for catching fish.

A good anchorage is usually a marine desert (little weed or stones, nice clean sand). So to catch fish, other than mackerel, I find it best to stop in anything from 7m to 27m (not anchor, just drift) over a weedy or rocky bottom, and use a pirk or similar heavy metal lure, jigging it around. Abrupt changes of depth or swirling currents seem to help, so frequently off headlands: it's quite the opposite of what one would choose if looking for a good anchorage!

But this method does yield cod and pollack fairly reliably whereas fishing from an anchorage can provide a wide variety of fish but rather few, and usually over mud rather than clean sand. In this way we've caught dogfish, gurnard, flounder, saithe, cod, pollack, squid, scalpin (inedible) and even cuckoo wrasse (which we don't eat either) in the last couple of years. But admittedly in more northern waters than Spain.

 

[Roberto]

I suggest you let your hair and beard grow and swap your clothes for a plain canvas bag

 

[Ravi]

My fishing record is lamentable, too, but interestingly, the two decent fish I caught in 6 months were caught towing a lure when I was sailing between 5.5 and 6.5 knots. I hooked a few more at that speed that got away. The ones I landed were tuna/mackerel - as was at least one of the escapees.
I have never bothered fishing at above 3 knots, having been told that it was a waste of time. Obviously, Greek tuna/mackerel are speedy little beggars who don't know that rule.

 

[[70521]]

I've only caught one fish in my 52 years, expect it will be another 52 years before I catch another.

 

[sailorman]

Rapidly expanding bait is very successful

 

[MASH]

The Med is poor fishing generally. On passage most catches are at dawn or dusk and close to headlands or rocky outcrops, places you usually don't want to be at dusk or dawn... In the clear water most fish go into the depths in daytime as it's safer. I used a short stiff boat rod mounted or wedged securely on the pushpit, minimum 200m of 40b line but realistically all the reel will take and a 4 to 6 inch Rapala or similar or a big rubber squid on a wire trace. A big shiny pike plug will be fine towed a minimum 5-6 boat lengths astern. The reel needs to be a multiplier, friction set to allow a decent sized fish to just strip line and - this is important - needs a nice loud ratchet or you won't hear a take. Even so you'll have a lot of line out by the time you've reacted, grabbed the rod, seized up the friction and hove to cos recovering any fish, let alone a large one at 5 kts is all but impossible. (hooks straighten or rip out of the fishes mouth which isn't nice) Locals said 5 Kts was max speed you'd catch at. I never used a paravne as I thought the drag would be too heavy - without one make sure your lure is a diver. Surface poppers lures also work so have a few at hand, these tend to be more speed sensitive I think. You don't want to run the lure too deep, I'd guess two or three metres is enough, the predators lurk deeper and sight their prey against the light.

My "record", over 8 yrs and perhaps 2500 miles mostly day sailing in E med (not much dusk and dawn) was about six edible fish. Four horse mackerel about 1.5Kg, one 3 Kg billfish of some sort and a 3Kg Dorado. And one inedible 500g greenfish almost the same size as the lure. It isn't going to feed you in the Med.

For harbour/shore fishing I'd do as suggested elsewhere and ask the locals but they are often happy to catch tidlers.

Good luck!

Oh, and don't forget to recover the lure before entering harbours, marinas or anchorages...

 

[FergusM]

"The Cruiser's Handbook of Fishing", by Scott and Wendy Bannerot provides a comprehensive guide to fishing equipment and techniques specifically for long-distance sailors. It covers most of the oceans of the world, and just about the whole spectrum of techniques..

"Fishing Afloat", an RYA book written by Dick McClary is another excellent guide to fishing from a sailing cruiser. It concentrates on UK waters and passages down towards warmer climes.

Both books are highly recommended.

I agree with the comment above, that anchorages are sometimes not good fishing areas, except for mackerel passing through. If you have a decent dinghy or kayak, you can put your fishing tackle aboard, and go looking for more productive spots. Don't forget your picnic, some cold beer, your sun hat and sun screen lotion. The Bannerot book has a whole chapter on dinghy fishing.

Trolling on passage can also be worth it, but read one of these books first. They will explain what you can expect to find, what lures or baits to use and what depth to fish at.