Salento as we know it is washed by two seas, so much coastline induces us to spend the day with a good fishing trip.
The Salento coastline is diversified by wide beaches and long stretches of low cliffs. Let us try to list some fishing techniques in Salento, since you can do it for free, remembering that the catch is 5 kg of fish per person.
Diving fishing Salento
This is the easiest one, with fins and a rifle as the song goes, of course the shore is not very fruitful, especially in summer, but below the coast you can still fish: octopus, mullet, scorpion fish, perch, diplodus.
The best time for octopus is from September to January and we can find plenty of them from Torre Vado to Torre Pali.
If you don’t catch anything, you can find comfort with a little urchin (you will find them for sure) and make some delicious linguine with urchins.
Fishing from the shore – Fishing in Salento
Equipped with a good rod, you can fish from the shore. On the many beaches, surf casting is the easiest technique, and the bait will be typical sea worms such as Bibi, Arenicola, Coreano, etc. The fish we are going to catch are those that frequent the sandy seabed:
- Bream
- Sea bass
- Mormoras
- Amberjacks
- Soles
- Tracine
- Serra
- Barracuda
The best time for surf casting in Salento is in winter and spring and the best places are the beaches of Pescoluse, Torre Pali, Lido Marini and Torre Mozza.
Fishing from the reef – Fishing in Salento
From the reef we usually fish using a float and bigattino as main bait. Here we will go after reef fish such as:
- Boghe
- Salps
- Occhiate
- Seabreams
- Moray eels
- Conger eels
The best time for reef fishing in Salento is all year round and the best places are the reefs of Santa Maria di Leuca.
Fishing from a boat – Fishing in Salento
Not all of us can have a boat, but for our hobby we can rent one. There is no shortage of ports where boats are rented, but a good tip is to embark on those of professional fishermen who take enthusiasts to fishing spots in summer.
The best places are: the shallows of Ugento and the shallows of San Gregorio, TRY IT FOR YOURSELF!
BOLENTINO FISHING is one of the most popular techniques used from the boat; it is classic fishing with three hooks where the main bait is the shrimp. It is considered a static fishery, but being at sea in absolute silence is priceless; it is carried out at depths ranging from around twenty metres to sixty.
Let us list the probable prey that Salento waters can offer us:
- Sciarrani
- Horse mackerel
- Seabreams
- Scorpionfish
- Fragolini
- Praj
- Snappers
- St. Pierre fish
- Tracine
- Rays
- Donzelle etc.
SURFACE TROLLING is another very entertaining technique that anyone can really do, even those who have never been on a boat. It consists of placing two or more rods in the appropriate rod holders, spinning the line into the sea and finally tying on some artificial bait.
It consists of passing over schools of fish on the surface and waiting for them to bite. The most exciting moment is when the reel begins to squeal, a sign that the fish has taken the bait, and then in several stages you retrieve it on board. Even in this kind of fishing we have eventual preys:
- Tombarelli
- Alletterati
- Lecce star
- Palamite
- Amberjacks
Serra - Barracuda
- Garfish
For those who are more experienced, they can devote themselves to Deep Sea Trolling. This is a more complicated technique and consists of bottom fishing with live bait, which is difficult to obtain, and with large equipment.
There are essentially three species to fish for, although the sea can throw up unexpected surprises, and they are: the Grouper, the Snapper and the Amberjack, large fish and considered the best meat in the Mediterranean Sea.
Let us finish this roundup with fishing for giant tuna, or bluefin tuna, Drifting in jargon. Here, more than experts, you need to be a professional, as we are dealing with fish weighing several quintals and with almost unlimited power.
The fishing trip lasts for hours and consists of baiting, i.e. throwing pieces of sardine into the sea continuously and baiting at least three rods with the same bait at different depths, then waiting for hours hoping that the big fish will bite.
It is not difficult to find ship-owners who organise this fishing for tourists, needless to say, you have to be an expert.
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