Canary Islands: Fuerteventura

Hi

Heading there in early March and will be trying some lure fishing on a travel rod: been doing some research so here are some useful websites:

http://www.seaspin.com (best if you Speak Italian, has a small English forum)
http://www.caranx.com (best if you speak Spanish, has a small English forum)
http://www.stripersonline.com (US but covers many of the same species)


to lures, float fished baits (squid is a popular big bait): bass, same as our own; bonito (skipjack tuna known locally as "sierra"); bluefish; european barracuda (known locally as "picua" or "bicuda") a winter only species; african barracuda (big ugly massive brutes) a summer species; and leerfish (known elsewhere in Europe as meagre, i think :?: )

to legered big baits (whole squid, cut baits like fresh mullet); stingrays, morays, congers, butterfly rays, dusky grouper if you're really lucky (known locally as "mero"), smoothhounds (a lot bigger!), several species of shark if you can distance cast, any number of flatfish species with sand sole ("gallo" locally) to the fore. I also have uncomformed reports of dolphinfish (known locally as "dorado" or mahi-mahi in the pacific) available to distance casting from the rough ground with a big bait.

offshore bottom fishing for rays and sharks, especially angel sharks (akak monkfish), six gilled sharks, white and black tips etc. the big game fish - marlin, blue fin and yellowfin tuna - only arrive in May. The charters are 'uneven', fishing can be patchy, bring your own gear if you can bar for the really big species, and look for lots of references.

to smaller baits (shop bought prawns or locally collected sand crabs) : facio, several types of sea bream, and big mullet, scorpionfish (several are extremely poisonous), parrotfish, and a host of other fish, many of which are very colourful.

Things to know: you can NOT fish in the harbours, EUR 300 fine. You do need a licence, around EUR 20 for three years but tourists will get away with it by all accounts by pleading ignorance! The north / western side of the islands always fish best, this is rough (volcanic) ground fishing, whereas almost all the beaches are on the southern / eastern shores. Even the small species may require you to use light wire traces!

Wind!

Damn wind never relented the whole week - ended up with wind knots in the braid - a first and hopefully a last for me. I was reduced to fishing the harbours etc with size 6 :shock: hooks baited with bread (made with egg yolk to stick a bit better) and cooked prawn ("gambas" locally). Fresh prawn is good but the cooked stuff works just as well and is a lot tougher. A bit of elastic does help... especially with the mullet, dear God!

Result was two golden grey mullet, several species I have no idea of, but do have photos for, a tiny black sea bream, a local thing called a "gallo" and right at the end, a decent fish (no photo of course :? ) which is a bream like thing with a black and white spot on the tail. Nice fish.

Corralejo harbour is a popular spot - fishing off the rocks at the end will produce any number of small fish, all under 500 grams, but the locals go looking for bigger stuff with 6/0s on wire traces with a whole prawn or a live baited small fish, right out into the rough ground. Beware the cats!

Only big thing I saw landed was a massive octopus! Very deep here. There are small bonitos, lots of small sharks / dogs etc. and several rays possible there... but I reckon you would have to fish it at night after the ferries stop to have a good chance at anything decent. That's very late and although it is well lit, it is a very deserted area. Bring some friends.

As identified by others, tiny crab baits will take parrotfish to 1.5 kilos all along the back of the breakwater at any stage of the tide - sharp hooks essential - the equivalent of our wrasse fishing but with worse teeth!

The locals can be quite "defensive" about the tourists coming in but I have a few contacts if anyone is interested.

The rocky shore at the margin of the resort heading east produces bream to 1.5 lbs on a regular basis, but you will get lots of small ones for each big one. Again, nothing too difficult - mostly float tactics - although a stout set of boots is needed as the rocks are volcanic and very sharp.

The beach outside the Tres Islas hotel a few miles east of Corralejo was suggested as a good spot, but you need a beachcaster and wire etc. In daylight the place is littered with kite and wind surfers and other 'seals'. It can produce nice flatfish (a type of megrim) and sole to small baits...

Past the nature reserve, heaving south, there are rock marks at Montagna Rojo (never got to fish them sea too rough) which give you big fish including cudas at low water. Low water very important. Lures and float fished wole squid or slowly spun bait fish will take the cudas... also some nice snapper, bluefish and other species possible.

Outside Caleta de Fuste, here is a big breakwater and rock mark that has so far produced over 80 species to a locally retired UK coarse angler! He said that at low water there is never less than 20 feet of water there so its a good spot, but he's never bothered seeing if anything big is around!

It appears that Fuerteventura and Lanzarote are the best islands for shore angling. Isla Los Lobos off Corralejo has some good shore marks to the north and east but its a bit of a trek after you take the ferry and there is nowhere to stay on the island. I guess camping might be possible...

If you can get out on a boat off Lanzarote, try around La Graciosa at the northern end, reputedly excellent rough ground fishing aking to pollack marks here... off isla Los Lobos, the boats collected under the crater and again to the east in the current known locally as "the river"...

HTH, photos to follow in the personal album.

Could you not have found out a bit more Kieran! :wink:

Hi guys,

if you want a little bit more information about the different holiday locations look at the [url=http://www.big-game-board.de]Big Game Fishing Board[/url].

There you find your informations.

Kind Regards,
Uwe

hi there am going in july would love somr local contacts
conex

Kieran, I hope you're not encouraging anglers visiting Spain to dodge buying a fishing licence. We on this island are constantly bemoaning the fishing activities of 'foreign nationals' on our seas, lakes and rivers: just read the letters pages in Irish Angler. Would it not be reasonable to apply the same standards when we visit other countries as 'foreign nationals' and to abide by the local laws and fish responsibly.

A fishing licence is required to fish from the shore, rocks etc. in Spain. These are issued by autonomous communities for fishing in their respective regions. In order to fish from a small boat, in harbours or fishing from the beach/rocks along the coastline, you should first be in possession of a licence. The licence, called a 'Licencia de Pesca - Maritima de Recreo' and is valid for a period of either one or three years. There are no 'short term' licences available.

E.L.