Sea Fishing in Mallorca

[bergisman]

I'm going to Mallorca in Mid-April for two weeks and would like to sea fish. I've fished a great deal around the south west of England from beach, rocks, piers and boats but now I live in central Germany where I'm at least five hours from the oggin. I'm desperate to exercise my rods etc and would be very glad of any advice any member can offer me about fishing on the island - particularly in April.
Ta everso
Bergisman

 

[sumtime]

I've been going to Majorca (and mainland Spain) regularly for many years, I always take my 4 piece travel rod which just fits in my case along with a fixed spool reel and accessories.

I love to fish off the rocks, best bait for me is bread, bread and more bread. A whole loaf (or two, depending how long you'll be fishing) for a few hours will do. Break a few rounds up small, four or five and you will soon be getting plenty of bites.

I have caught with shop bought shrimps in Greece and also with limpets but bread is the best by a mile.

Welcome to the site.

 

[greenie62]

I have fished in Majorca from rocks and quays, in the past, alongside the locals with a little travel rod and reel usually - as sumtime says - using bread as bait. The local kids tend to pester you for the fish as you catch & return them - since they are fishing for the table and take everything home for soups & stews!
You may be apalled at some of the tackle the locals use - particularly the 'octopus jigs' - a circular weight with 20 or more hooks set around it! They were amused at me fishing with a 16 to 3lb line and a 3BB peacock float but they seemed to approve of the catch rate of the hand-sized fish!
Locating the fish seems to be critical and using loose-fed wet bread pieces along the quay-side or walls and watching whether it is disturbed during its downward path seems to work.

I have just found out that a licence is required for all fishing in Spain and the Balearics - the application process sounds like a pain! Do I Need a Fishing License in Majorca? Guide | Fishing | Holidays Majorca
Tight Lines:thumbs:

 

[bergisman]

Sumtime and greenie62: many thanks for your swift responses! Can I ask what you were catching? I've not used bread as a bait - only the usual gamut of rag, king rag, lug, sandeels, assorted fish live and dead baits and assorted lures. I usually like to fish for bass, mackerel, or other fast-running fish and I can imagine that some of the more unusual (to a UK-based angler) fish, such as gilt head bream etc would be there. Is late April/early May a reasonable time to fish there? - I know that it's often pretty dead in UK waters then.
Regards
Bergisman

 

[sumtime]

Plenty of bream and other species I don't know the name of, some with tails akin to tuna. I've had bass in the Agean Sea but never(yet) around Spain. Using my phone so can't show you any pics yet.

 

[greenie62]

Last time I was fishing there was in May about 20 years ago in Illetas in the Harbour area - under the current fishing regulations it is probably not allowed now due to being near the harbour, boats and people!
The fish were small bream-like species - some with gold bars on them. My Spanish isn't very good but I remember the kids referring to some of the fish as dorado and sun-fish. There were grey mullet there too, but these spooked very easily in the sunshine and I was told they were only catchable in the evening.
Hope this helps.
Tight Lines!

 

[bergisman]

Once again: Thank you both!
Sumtime "tails akin to tuna" - could these have been albacore or false albacore?
Regards
Bergisman

 

[sumtime]

B, deffo not albacore, the tails were more pointed, the body bright and thinner. The only time I caught that species was Ibeza, San Antonio Bay side, they showed absolutely amazing speed, wish they were in our waters.

I've done some searches on Google but can't find a pic of them, I have caught quite a few of the fish on this site.

Mediterranean marine life ID guide | Jason Flower's Homepage

 

[sumtime]

The first couple of fish were caught from the Benidorm harbour area but you will catch most places in the Med. The last one was around the rocks in Cala D'or, lots of these about and some much bigger, had some mullet but my wife takes most pics side on, upside down and inside out.

 

[bergisman]

Very interesting - Thank you. I don't know the top two fish but I guess the bottom one is a gilthead bream?
Regards
Bergisman

 

[georgehooks]

Hi Bergisman,

Mallorca offers several opportunities, but without doubt the specialty is tuna fishing. The Balearic Islands and the area between Ibiza and Formentera are the two most important places for the reproduction of this species in the Mediterranean.

Fishing in Mallorca in April or May, is great to target species such as bluefin tuna, white tuna (albacore), swordfish, short bill speerfish and dorado (dolphinfish). Blue fin tuna pass through the channel of Ibiza, winding their way across the Gulf of Valencia to the Delta del Ebro to spawn in the Balearic Islands, the Gulf of Leon and other areas. These are large specimens such as albacore of 10kg-20kg and 15kg–50kg tunas. It is usually best to fish them with the trolling technique. Sometimes you can also catch short bill speerfish during the fishing trip, but this is occasional.

Hope this helps you
Cheers,