Fishing in the Algarve

Please see these forum threads;

http://www.forum.carvoeiro.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=18667

http://www.forum.carvoeiro.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=19820

from the forum;

../ the Portuguese seem to bottom fish mostly, they use a ledger with a short trace & bait up mainly with cockles, sometimes cut up small pieces of mackerel, squid etc., you see them with their rods dug into the sand

the fun way to go for the bass is to use a light rod & reel, maybe a 9 or 10 foot rod and use spinning lures for bait, they sell them in all sorts of colours with a either a couple of hooks or a couple of triple hooks hanging down; cast into (best) an incoming tide and 'jiggy jig' the line back in to make the lure dance a bit, just reeling it in doesn't get many results. it's hard work to keep casting & reeling in but that means you can get up at dawn (best time), do your fishing & still get home for breakfast feeling like you've had a good workout.

if you use some braid or clear line to bait up your lures at home you can take 5 or 6 with you and chamge the tackle onto your rod line with a swivel if you're not having much success; buy some light & heavy, this'll vary the depth the lures go down to to find the bass, & different colours.

some guys put a medium size ledger on to stir up the sand in front of the lure on the way in which seems effective but invites snags on rocks etc so you'll lose some lures.

last tip, only load your reel 3/4 with line, you seem to get less trouble with wind knots than when fully loaded; then on your last cast of the day send out a big ledger and reel in with your finger on the line, it'll set your line nice & tight on the reel for your next time out.

../

start with a piece of sardine, buy a bucket of sardine paste from the fishing shop at fatacil, throw this stuff out and its like jaws the fish come racing in for it...catch a makeral and then use strips of this as its firmer and holds on the hook better.

As you are high up a heavy float similar to a pike bung weighted and bait set to few feet and let is drift out you can see the fish come in for it..we used size 8 or10 hook but lost a monster bass through it not being big enough, the chaps at the shop will give you all the help you need

We have tried lures and feathers and even the makeral ignore them unlike over here but put a piece of their brother on and they are like savages, we have had over 40 fish in a short session

We will be doing it again in summer a few times for a great morning followed by copious amounts of the amber nectar, Im also gong to check on what easter is like for fishing maybe a bit early

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