Portugal

Text and photos by Daniel Klemm

A nice bluefish from the rocks for the author.

Our trip to Australia was canceled, thanks to the Coronavirus! Fortunately, there are also interesting places in Europe, which promise good success. Well, it was not really Europe, but an island in the middle of the Atlantic - Madeira. When you think of Madeira in terms of fishing, what comes to your mind first? Of course, big game fishing for marlin and tuna. Quite rightly, because off Madeira world record size fish are caught every year. But in the last years also the light tackle fishing for bluefish, grouper and pargo has become popular.

Wild North Coast

The only problem here is that there is only one charter company that offers light tackle fishing seriously. Accordingly, it is difficult (and expensive)

to get a spot on that boat. Well, what to do? Fish from the shore! After a short research it was clear that the north coast promises much better success.

The only problem is the surf, which can be very rough on this side of the island. This is especially problematic because the shore consists mainly of cliffs and only a few places can be reached. These are then often so exposed that they are very dangerous to fish in high swells. Due to the wind that blows (quite) constantly from the north in summer, high wave sets build up here that often make fishing impossible for several days. On the south coast, however, fishing is practically always possible but due to the lack of current and extensive local fishing, however, only with very moderate chances of success. After our arrival in Porto Moniz, the north coast immediately showed its worst side: wind with 5 Beaufort and high waves made me postpone the obligatory first casts after arrival. But the scenery compensated for this. The natural pools, which are the tourist magnet of the region, adjoined by the rugged cliffs and Ilha Moheu, looked simply magical. We ended the

Not only does Madeira have a beautiful coast, the island is also stunning. With its ever-changing landscapes as you climb in altitude, it is worth devoting a few days to some hiking.

evening with a typical dinner (black scabbardfish with banana).

Tough Game The following days the weather showed its best side. Light breeze and 25 degrees, ideal conditions. But the fishing for bluefish was not that ideal. There were, except for very few mullets, no baitfish to see. The bluefish were accordingly difficult to locate. Topwater, softbait, spoons - nothing seemed to interest the fish. No followers, either on the gravel beach or along the cliffs, - just nothing. Well, «nothing» is a lie, the lizardfish were really everywhere.

After two days, the frustration level was already in the red zone, when I watched a couple of Portuguese people fishing with bread after a dinner in Seixal. With bread? Yes, in the 12 days on the island I didn’t see one angler casting lures. All the locals were fishing with bread or a sardine paste. The catch was rarely longer than 20 cm and consisted of mullet and wrasse. But back to the spot

The streams of Madeira hold a decent population of rainbow trout. Worth having a rod in the backpack!

A beautiful specimen of a female pink dentex (dentex gibbosus). It’s a prized gamefish for anglers and spearfishermen of the Atlantic and Mediterranean.

The surubi catfish not only have amazing patterns, they also put on a great fight!

The rocky shore of the Northern Coast.

in Seixal - after a few minutes and mullet number 5 I decided to make a few attempts on the top of the cliff as well. Including a new tactic: let the softbiat sink into the midwater and slowly crank it in. Not really expecting success, I was even more surprised when the rod was suddenly bent. Hooking was one thing, but landing on a cliff is another matter. With a lot of luck (twice the fish dived directly along the shell covered cliff) and some climbing I could land my first Madeiran bluefish. The long road to the dream spot Now the spell was finally broken. In the following days I could catch some medium sized bluefish. All with the same method, the whole hardbait armada I had taken apparently in vain. The places around Porto Moniz and Seixal were the only ones, which were mentioned more often when you search the internet for interesting spots. But the north coast is long and during the hikes along the steep coast you constantly saw places where you thought: «There

must be fish here!» The problem was the accessibility of these, because climbing down the cliff is only possible in a few places and very tedious. But you have to take a risk if you want to hook bigger fish. One of the supposed hot spots I selected and went on the arduous descent. About 90 minutes later and slightly damaged, I was finally at the water. But the effort was quickly forgotten. As so often with little fished places the hits followed within the first throws. First, some small groupers (and lizardfish, of course...) grabbed the softbait. After a switch to topwater, the target fish of the vacation bit: a bluefish over 5 kilograms grabbed the Seaspin Pro Q. After a few more smaller fish, the climb followed - two hours at 30 degrees. Afterwards the efforts were rewarded with two bottles of the island’s own passion fruit lemonade «Brisa».

The last of its kind

For the last day at the north coast I picked the spot in

Bluefish are often very receptive to lures, and this one wasn’t an exception!

The volcanic activity of the island has shaped some mesmerizing natural swimming pools, which attract lots of tourists each year.

The smile says it all! Massive male dentex on the jig.

Porto Moniz, which is often mentioned in the internet. I attributed the lack of success here to the high number of spearfishermen. Because they were everyhere in Madeira, I assumed that many fish have a diffcult life here. Especially the number of amberjack and grouper, the main prey of the Spearos, has suffered a lot in the last years according to the locals. So without much expectation I jigged the Fiiish Black Minnow for what felt like the 100th time past the rock edge when an impact drove through the rod like a thunderclap.

The first run tore 30 meters of line from the reel and the rod was bent to the hand part. After further anxious minutes and a hard fight including a difficult landing the fish was in m hands: a Dusky Grouper of over 10 kilograms. Of course I re-

leased this magnificent fish, under the eyes of the disbelieving loclas. Maybe he has further luck and does not get into the focus of the spearfishermen.

Looking for a change? Besides the great inshore fishing on the north coast, Madeira has a lot to offer anglers even in bad weather. The levadas that are all over the island are home to a self-replicating population of rainbow trout, which make up for their lack of size with their beautiful markings.

If you prefer to try for bigger fish, book a trip with Madeira Sight Cast Fishing. The captain was a professional fisherman and knows all the good spots for amberjack and pargo. On my trip with another angler I was able to catch some trophy sized Dentex Gibbosus on slow jigs. If you are lucky (perfect weather) you can try your jigging skills at the Islas Desertas. Here amberjack in world record sizes roamd the waters, the boat’s record is 80 kilograms! The Flower Island really has a lot to offer for the advid fisherman, especially for a destination that can be reached after just under a 3 hour flight. «Adeus por agora Madeira»