This something that i have personally invested a lot in this year and hope will reap the benefits. I am very determined to catch swords at night on rod and reel and are looking forward to find some good areas not too far off from our shores. I have heard mant mentioning some good hot spots but never too sure if these lovely specimens are caught at all around here out at sea.
I am not talking about what a call a 'baby catch' i am talking of swords atleast 47 inches + size.
Any locals who go searching for these, any hot areas you would like to share?
YOURS FIN
It may help to start with a good temperature break and current. They you can set your baits (lines) and drift with the current. Set those lines at varying depths and what ever you do, set everything up for saftey sake before dropping the baits..
So in general,
valleys, with good temp breaks are potentially good areas right\?
What about overall gear for night?
FIN
Hey guys,
loads of sword around in the area from 5 kgs up to around 50kgs.
Night fishing is definitely in our plans now.
FIN
Yep so far we've seen them near Xghajra as close as 2 miles, then further south near the gas storage tanks, 4-5 miles, and yesterday all over the West coast but nothing more than 6-7 miles out!
we have spotted a few swords quite close in about 1-2.5miles off shore
one thing i noticed is they all where running parallel to dropoffs or in ridges
one piece of info which is interesting is most small swords (5-10kg) where found with lacci in their bellys
Thanks to malta centre for fisheries science
So What's the best sport fishing method to catch sword fish ?
Drift with a sea anchor, at night, use something like a Swordlight in the water, chum a bit the area, and deploy your lines with live/dead bait suspended at different depths with a baloon.
Trouble is with all the long lining done in Malta it's a serious disadvantage to the USA where long lining is not allowed as it depletes all fish stocks and doesn't selectively target fish. Even baby swords are hooked up.
Fin,
What do you mean drift with an anchor? And what type of line and bait do I use ? Thanks.
Drift with one of these http://www.seaanchor.com/seaanchor.htm
Go for Min 50lbs line, but watch your drag setting, ideally no more than 12-15lbs at Strike.
Mackerel are very good, I would imagine so are Squid, ideally both of them live, but that's pretty unlikely! Perhaps even a live cuttlefish.
Just one thing to add, if you find atlantic mackerel they r much better as they give off more oil than the meditteranean ones.
FIN
One of the biggest mistakes amature rod fisherman do is not to allow the fish to hook itself
Swordfish first strike the bait with their bill to kill it then come round to eat it
what we normally do is have an extra 2mt line by the balloon attatched with a rubber band so when the fish strikes it is released.
if you start pulling the line up before it takes it it will lose interest and swim away
One stupid question, whe you guys refer to Mackarel, are you refering to "Kavalli"?
yes we are refering to kavalli but not the localy caught ones the atlantic ones as they are oilier and jucier and it seems the fish prefer them .
Hey Guys, I just discovered this forum, and would like to ask you all what chance l have of getting on to some good swordfish action during my visit to Malta in August. I live in Australia, and have enjoyed many Marlin captures here. I have caught Striped Marlin up to 134kg and also Black Marlin from Cairns up to 400kg. I really would love to catch a swordfish, any chance????
here we catch swordfish with long lines. but you can catch one trolling if you are very lucky
They catch marlin here on long lines too. When do your commercial fishermen there target Swordfish?
they begin from june for tuna and swordfish and continue till december. but a few fisherman go all year if the weather is good. they are caught all year round but the best time is from september to november
That's great!!!! Seem like you know a fair bit about it. Are you a Commercial or sports fisherman?? I'm going to be in Malta in August and was hoping to find some one there to take me out to try and catch one. Also, l would't mind going out with a commercial fisherman for a look.
Twoutes, can you recommend any charter company to be hired for game fishing in Cairns? Any useful web site? How expensive is it to charter a boat there for a full day game fishing? Thank you. Alex
we sometimes go with long lines but only 200 hooks, didnt have much luck last year the biggest one was 25kg. twoutes is that a dentex in your picture
Hi Alex. I can most defenitly recommend a charter for you in Cairns, as l have been going with one for the last five years, and have always obtained good results and have a great time. I go with Captain Daniel McCarthey on Moana Fishing Charters. you can look him up on www.moanacharters.com. Thay launched a new boat last season worth 1.5 million dollars, and l can say that it's a great boat. I will be happy to give you any information you like on this topic. Check out the photo from our last trip on Moana. Prices are around $1,500 a day for the boat. I recoommend doing a few days with some friends to share costs, and you can sleep ot on the Great Barrier Reef. IT'S GREAT!!!!
wish we had fish like the cairns
We Caught and released 18 Black Marlin on 9 days of Heavy tackle fishing. One of them we estimated at 1200lb. On the photo you will see tha bait in its mouth which is 1 meter long. THat will give you an idea of how big the fish is.
even for comercial fisherman is rare to caught one like that, what is the fish in your profile photo
The fish in my profile photo is what we call a snapper. We catch then in Port Phillip Bay here throughout the year, but the best time is between November to January when they come in from the ocean to breed. Fishermen have been overfishing them in my opinon. Even though we have bag limits and size limits, some people can't help themselves. The average size caught are 3kg throughout the season with the odd fish up to 13kg. I have been ucky enough to catch a couple at 13.5kg. They fight really hard with long runs. That's what makes them fun to catch.
we have dentex here that looks like your snapper the biggest we caught was 6 kg. but you dont catch a lot you have to be lucky
Hi Busumark, l was wondering are you only allowed to use 200 hooks on your long line, or can u use more?
Commercial fishermen here use lonlines that are 15km long with a hook every ten metres. Thats 1,500 hooks. The sad thing is, they are not allowed to catch black marlin, so what some of them do is kill them so they do not take their bait again next time. Last year along the coast of N.S.W the longliners caught so much Striped Marlin that the value per Kg dropped by more than half. So sadley what they did was throw half of it in the rubbish dump, and sold the rest at a better price. I think it's O.K to keep fish without it going to waste. Is there a Game Fishing Club in Malta?
Twoutes, thank you for your reply and the link to the website. I checked it. Wonderful photos. 1,500 Australian dollars is about 600 British Pounds, which is not that cheap. But it could be worth for that fishing!
To my knowledge, and if I use British Pounds (1 British Pound is ~0.5 Malteese Liri and ~ 2USD and ~2.5 Australian Dollars), in Mauritius game fishing with local fishermen (e.g. not through a hotel) on average costs GBP200 and Mauritius is regarded as one of the best places for game fishing in the World. I found out that fishing tuna, sharks and Marlin, if lucky, in Gibraltar in their pick season (June to October) is GBP500. It seems that during the same months game fishing in Malta costs around GBP300, while in Lanzarotte (Gran Canaries) it is GBP400 and in Azores GBP500-600. In Madeira I found charters for GBP 500. In Cape Verde it is also GBP500, while in Phuket from GBP150 to GBP200 and in Cairns, as you said, it is AUD1,500, which is about GBP600. I am still investigating prices in Ghana, Kenya, Mediterranean Spain, southern Portugal, South Africa and Seyshells. All prices mentioned above are for 8 hours full day individual charters.
It would be great if we could share information about game fishing prices in different parts of the World!
Hi Alex. Looks like you've done quite a bit of research there all ready!!! What specias are you chasing and when do you think you will be travelling???
Hi! I am a "budget" fisherman, so I am looking for better and less expensive options. This year I am planning to visit Malta in April, then Lanzarotte in August and then Singapore-Hong-Kong-Kuala-Phuket in December. I may also fly to Darwin, Philippines or Indonesia with Tiger airways from Singapore, but need to check whether or not they have good and affordable game fishing there...
I can share with you my links to different game fishing sites. I attach them in MSWord format, you can save that file on your computer, then open in MSWord and save as .html file and then "import" that file into your favourites through "import/export" option in your web browser.
So, what about you? What are you fishing plans for this year?
You also said that: "... you can sleep ot on the Great Barrier Reef". What did you mean?
thnks Alex
In a few days i'm taking my boat to Portland to catch some large yellow tail King fish and sharks that are running through there at the moment. In Mid Feruary up to Batemans Bay N.S.W to do some Marlin fisging, then up to Bermagui in mid March for more Marlin. I'm spending August in Malta where l hope to catch a swordfish, then to Townsville in September to catch Sailfish then back to Cairns in October/Novermber to catch Black Marlin. I normally spend more than on day on Moana in Cairns and sleep out on the boat on The Great Barrier reef. I'ts a 3hour run to the Marlin fishing grounds from Cairns so it makes sense not to run in every night. In the mornings we normally catch bait and also have a snorkle on the reef. It's great Mate!!!
Cool! I like your photos! I also posted some, but in different section called "Organised Trips and Cost Sharing". You asked me what I'd want to catch. I just started and the only catch I had were bonitos. I would want to catch marlin (of course), sharks, albacore, blue and yellowfin tuna, sailfish, dolphinfish, wahoo, King fish, barracuda, but my dream is to find a place where I can catch a big sawfish. I heart that sawfish can be found in shallow waters in South America (Panama and neighbouring countries). may be one day I'll go there and catch it!
Alex
I'm very sure that you can catch large Saw Fish in shallow water from Darwin too!!! Make some enquires.
You've mentioned King Fish. I have a book on Big Game Fishing, but there is nothing about King Fish. I saw them on a local fishmarket here in London. they are pretty big, 1.5-2 metres long and look like big wahoo or giant baraccuda. Is Australia the only place to catch King Fish or do they migrate together with tunas?
Actually, in March I'll try fishing here in UK. Reportedly, they have big rays and small sharks here. I also found some info that a guy from N.Ireland caught a big tuna. It seems that global warming brings some big fish here.
Thank you for the info about sawfish in Darwin. I'll check. If you come across of any information about fishing sawfish in Darwin, pls drop me a line, ok? thank you
In attachment some photos of that tuna that was catched here in N.Ireland
tuna from N.Ireland
I do know that very large king fish are caught in New Zealand but don't know of any other locations. I'm sure that they are not pelegic. The photo l've attached is of my first large Kingfish, the first time l went to Bermagui and caught my first striped marlin ten years ago
How it is to catch many marlins? Is it still as exciting as when you catched it for the first time? Do you tag and release them?
I found some interesting info on saw fish
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/Freshwatersawfish/Freshwatersawfish.htm
no you can use use more hooks. commercial fisherman have between 1000-2000 hooks every 50m. there fishing clubs but not for game fishing. they only do competitions for albacore. mainly that is our only big game fish
Hi Twoutes,
Basically in Malta most ppl only do offshore sport fishing for Albacore as they coudl be caught quite close. Now they have started to go for Tuna as well, but most if not no one is really equipped for Swords here.
We were planning on doing some drifing at night for them using a Swordlight, four rods and mackerel but we didn't have any luck this year. Sailfish are pretty rare and only one type but I forget which, and whilst you see swords during the day jumping don't know of many catching them.
Plus we don't give ours a chance to grow big which is a real shame.
I will post a sticky link to some offshore charters but this are small scale compared to what you're used to!
Skip
Hey Guys, to me fishing is not about how big the catch is, but the actual hunting of the prey. I get very excited watching a marlin or any other fish hone in and attach my bait. Then of course l like to use light gear to give the fish a chance, and let it pull some drag. Yes, l have caught many marlin, and they all fight differently, some jump heaps and some fight down deep, and then some do both. I will never get sick of chasing marlin. I like to Tag and Release all my fish, but sometimes keep one for a feed.You say that you see them jumping yet fish for them at night, down deep and with light sticks ( As they do in New Zealand) Has any one ever tried catching them trolling live baits during the day?? Especially if they are active at the time?
the type of sailfish skip mentioned is the mediterranean spearfish (pastardella)
That's the one busumark! Is it known as a Black Marlin though?
To be honest we've never had a live bait out when we saw them, only lures of varying descriptions, but say 4-6 rods out and one or two with spreader bars, others with daisy chains and some single lures.
The issue most have with live baits is that we're not equipped with live baitwells on board as we don't have all the American sportfishing style boats here, most use something designed for another purpose to fish with! Plus I'm not aware of anyone selling live mackerel for example locally so that's a main reason.
Next boat will be something more manageable and fit for the purpose, a Hydra-Sports 2200C perhaps equipped for fishing, but that will have to wait for now!
Skip
For charters, Try
Contact Fishingmania http://www.mol.net.mt/Fishingmania/index.htm or http://www.fishingmalta.com/trips.htm Aquatica
Hi skip, I have no idea about fishing in Malta as l have never fished there!!!! But, what l would be trying is to catch whatever your sworfish are feeding on. I do know that they are caught at night down deep with squid, but l would try going out during the day looking for shool fish in the area that you are seeing them jumping. with a good depth sounder you should be able to pick up schools of bait. We use small feather jigs set up on a rod with a heavy sinker and jig it through the school. Whatever we pick up (mainly slimey mackrel here) we bridle rig alive. Live bait tanks are not very hard to set up using a 60-100 litre plastic container. You do need to set up a bildge pump however on the out side of your boat, and drain excess water back out again. The first year we took my small boat marlin fishing we used a bucket....hard work but effective.I would love to hear that you guys have pioneered a new way of catching swordfish during the day!!! Live baits are very very effective here. In Cairns, they are lucky to last 10 minutes before something will eat it. Hopefully a marlin gets there first before a shark or large dolphine fish. I've attached a photo of one we caught on live bait last year.
Wow! What a wonderful dolphinfish!
I checked my book on Big Game Fishing and there the author also suggests to try night fishing with lights and day slow trolling with squid.
The book that I use is this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Big-Game-Fishing-Handbook-Len-Cacutt/dp/0811726738/sr=1-1/qid=1169723793/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-3766001-2794209?ie=UTF8&s=books
Alex
Have to go now, l have a five hour drive ahead of me to Portland Victoria. Hope to get onto some good sized Yellow Tailed King Fish, Snapper, King George Whitting, and some Sharks. Will let you know how l went when l get back in four days. Cheers to all, and TIGHT LINES!!!
good luck and take photos!
Alex
Here is a photo of a "dream" saw fish that i would want to catch one day!
no skip its different from black marlin it doesnt grow that much. according to rio sammut book fishes of malta max weight is 50kg. i caught 3 about 4kg while trolling for lampuki
I understand that the difference is not only in size, but also is backfin and upperjaw. Sailfish's backfin should be much bigger than that of a swordfish + the "nose" or upperjaw should be flattened rather than round like marlin's or sailfishe's. That's from the book...
Busumark, did you fish at night or during a daytime?
Alex
P.S. When I was in Almeria, Mediterranean Spain, on their local fishmarket I saw swordfish. The nose was flat (hammered, if I can use this word). I'll attach some photos. Does it look like the one that you've caught?
one more photo
Spaniors called that fish "aguja fresca". I checked dictionary and "fresca" is "fresh", but "aguja" is "needle"???
This is what I found on swordfish:
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/Swordfish/Swordfish.html
"Distinctive Features of Swordfish: The swordfish, as the only member of the family Xiphiidae, can be distinguished from other billfishes (Family Istiophoridae) by the shape of its prolonged "bill", which appears as a flattened oval in cross section. The bill is long relative to other billfishes and adults lack teeth in the jaws. While the young have scales, these are lost by the time the fish attain a body length of about 3 feet (1 m). Adults lack scales and teeth. The body is generally cylindrical. Two dorsal fins are present, although the second is quite small, separated from the first, and set far back on the body. The first dorsal fin is high and rigid. Likewise, there are two anal fins, although again the second is considerably smaller than the first. Pelvic fins are absent..."
============
Sailfish
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/Sailfish/Sailfish.html
"Distinctive Features: The upper jaw is modified into a long bill which is circular in cross section. This upper jaw is approximately twice the length of the lower jaw. Two dorsal and anal fins are present. The first dorsal fin is large, much taller than the width of the body. This large fin runs most of the length of the body, with the longest ray being the 20th. The first anal fin is set far back on the body. Second dorsal and anal fins approximately mirror one another in size and shape. Both are short and concave. The pectoral and pelvic fins are long with the pelvic fins almost twice as long and nearly reaching the origin of the first anal fin. The pelvic fins have one spine and multiple soft rays fused together. A pair of grooves run along the ventral side of the body, into which the pelvic fins can be depressed. The caudal peduncle has double keels and caudal notchs on the upper and lower surfaces. The lateral line is readily visible."
Here are two photos of swordfish from that Museum's website: http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/Swordfish/Swordfish.html
Busumark, do those fishes look like the ones you've catched?
Alex
you go fishing for dolphin fish(lampuki) during the day. from the dorsal fin you can most tell the difference. but in italian spearfish is called agulia imperiale and spanish and italian have some same words. this is a swordfish
Wow! Wonderful fish! lucky you!
I just bought my flight to Malta and will be there from 6th till 10th of April. Why don't we organise some Easter group fishing and share costs? Would anyone be interested or can I join anyone on a fishing trips on those days?
I planning to stay either in Gzira in University campus or in Sliema with a view on Valetta. Aren't those places far from the places from where you usually go fishing?
Alex
Photos of the fish that can be caught in UK (south of London).
http://www.kentcharterfishing.com/gallery.html
http://www.seakingboat.co.uk/Gallery.html
What a fishing!
http://www.fishingcairns.com.au/page1-5.html
Cool computer fishing game :-)
http://www.pigdogtoad.com/sawfish_lagoon/sawfish_lagoon.html
Just got back from my trip to Portland. Had a great time with my brothers and friends, but did not manage to catch any King Fish, nor did any of the other 100 trailer boats that were there. The cooler currents moved in, and the Kingfish ended up in Port Fairy by the time we arrived. Caught plenty of snapper though up to 2kg, nothing worth taking photos of. Looking forward to my nex trip in 2 weaks to Bateman's Bay N.S.W where e will be targeting Striped Marlin. Hope we have better luck on that trip.
Hi, twoutes! Did you see the photo of a shark in this section: maltafishingforum.com > Big Game Offshore Fishing in Malta > Organised Trips and Cost Sharing > Big Game from 6-15 April 2007?
Hi Alex, yes l did....But did you know that the largest Great White Shark ever caught in the world was by a fisherman in Malta back in 1987. It measured 27feet long, but l don't know how much it weighed. maybe some one in Malta can answer that one? I do know that it got tangled in his nets and drowned. To bad it was not caught on a rod and reel. I don't think that Great Whites were protected back then???
Yes, I also heart of that story. I was told that jaw of that shark is now in one of the pubs somewhere in Malta. At that time I was not interested in fishing and didn't go to see that jaw, but this time I will definetely locate that pub and pay a visit to them!
Looks like that is a stroy about that white shark from Malta:
http://homepage.mac.com/mollet/Cc/Cc_list.html
http://homepage.mac.com/mollet/Cc/John_Abela.html
Another article on http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/topics/r_largest.htm
"...Until very recently, the largest scientifically-accepted Great White was a 7-metre (23-foot) long specimen captured off Malta, in the Mediterranean Sea, in April 1987. Unfortunately, later investigation revealed that its length was exaggerated by about 25%..."
http://www.sharkmans-world.org/sharksmalta.html
http://www.wavescape.co.za/top_bar/tidings/Sharks/shark_KZN.html
Look at the "victims' gallery"... http://www.sharkattacks.com
not a lot of sharks here. about 3 years ago during a fishing program they threw fish and blood for about 6 hrs and only a hammerhead came for about 20 seconds
Busumark, do you know where in Malta that pub with that shark jaw is?
i knew the guy who had the jaws because he brought the tv crew to malta to film it. i dont know if he gave it to a pub. he had it at his home. i ask around and let you know because i dont have his phone number anymore
Thank you. That would be very kind of you.
By the way Guys, do you know of any good book on cooking fish, in general, and in particular, those speciaes that we discuss in this forum? In "Organised Trips and Cost Sharing" I asked Busumark about the way to cook barracuda, as I read that one can get poisoned if it is not cooked in the right way. It could be that the author who wrote about that barracuda danger meant so different type of barracuda, may be he was talking about the great barracuda..? I need to double check. But I think it is a good idea to share recepies of how to cook which fish that we discuss. What you say? :-)
cant help in this one alex. i only know how to catch fish.
I have a feeling that cooking fish, and especially big ones, is not less interesting than fishing them...
I did some search about cooking barracudas and apparently only big big barracudas have poison that can kill a human
http://www.belizenorth.com/barricuda.htm
"NOTE: (new) My friend Margaret was aghast to think that we would eat barracuda. "People have died from eating barricuda!" says she. I checked it out on the 'web and sure enuf, people have died. However, they are eating BIG barracuda, who feed on some poisoned fish and become poisoned themselves. Everybody eats Barracuda here in Belize -- small ones, I note -- and nobody dies. I will let you know if one kills me."
http://web.foodnetwork.com/food/web/encyclopedia/termdetail/0,7770,277,00.html
"The great barracuda, whose flesh is often toxic, can weigh over 100 pounds and can exceed 6 feet in length."
http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cooking/cooking_pacbarracuda.htm
Look what I found on the web! Did anyone see that show?
http://www.sport-fishing.com/site/
He sells quite a few videos about game fishing:
http://www.sport-fishing.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=23&Itemid=31
As far as I know, the jaws are in Wied Iz-Zurrieq, at the Restaurant which are just infront of the public conveniences. At least there is a massive jaw, I don't know to which Shark they belong.
I have personnaly seen a few sharks, always in the Filfla area. One particular time I saw a Massive fish about 500 metres away breaching.
ciappinu, thank you very much for that info! I found Wied Iz-Zurrieq, it is in the south by the sea and I understand that buses 38 or 138 from Valetta can take me there. Do you, by chance, know how that restaurant is called? You said that it is just "infront of the public conveniences". What do you mean? Thank you
Hi there Guys... Long time no speak....I just got back from a spot of Game fishing in Batemans Bay N.S.W.
The current was running at 6 knots which kept the bait down deep at 180 metres. Water Temp was at 26 Degrees Celcius. Water colour ranged from Cobalt blue to green some days. We still managed to Tag and release 3 striped marlin ranging from about 90kg to 110kg. We also captured and kept a 7ft Mako Shark of approx 100kg. Had a great time as usual, and l'm of again next friday for a weak in Bermagui. Will keep you updated.
Hi Alex. The restaurant is called Blue Cave. Sorry for the late reply, I just saw this. I've been there yesterday infact. They have great food there. Wied iz-Zurrieq is a fantastic little village to visit. I myself, being Maltese feel I'm on holiday when I'm there. You can take a little boat trip to Blue Grotto from there, and If you have some extra cash and you're there on a nice day, you could convince one of the guys on the little boats to take you to Filfla. Its a small Island 5kms out from Wied iz-Zurrieq.
Ciappinu, thank you very much for the name of the restaurant. I will definetely visit it and Blue Grotto too!
Twoutes, thank you for a very nice photo of a shark! I've read your news with interest and very glad that you had a good time there! Pls continue to post photos of your catches. Always interesting and exiting to see and read your news. I feel like I have been fishing too! I am now booking my trip to Mauritius for mid of November this year and out of 14 days there 5 days I will spend fishing for marlins and sharks. Hope I will be as lucky as you! Alex
Guys, as I wrote earlier, I will be in Malta from 5th to 11th of April. Would anyone be willing to take me fishing with you? I can contribute to or completely pay for the cost of fuel, etc. We can discuss it. I can of course use some commercial fishermen, as it was suggested here earlier, but I would prefer to meet someone from this site, have a drink, go fishing and, in general, establish good personal "fishing" relationship with someone from Malta who likes fishing. What you say? if not fishing trip, then suggest to meet for a drink during one of the evenings, those days should be public holidays in Malta too? Alex
no public holiday from 5 - 11 april, not a lot of fish to catch at that time. maybe some squid or with bottom lines you can catch something
Can finally confirm that I will be in Malta from 5th to 11th of April and will stay in Europa Hotel in Sliema. Understand that no one is available for fishing on those days. So what about a drink during one of the evenings? Anyone available on those days? Alex
will see what shift i have then i try to catch you ;D
Hi my 40 ft sailing yacht is available, should you want to do some serious night Swordfishing.... I saw a swordfish yesterday about 3.5miles out of Dragonara.. May have been a Garfish or Needlefish of Msell imperial.. Caught some with a plastic Rixa last year. I would love to learn how to catch more.. HAPPY EASTER Call anytime........ Dave
im new to malta and fishing so i never even seen a sword fish yet. whats the smallest size boat you need to go for them? im really hoping to get chance to go for them this year as last year was let down as the second engine falled as we left port and he did not want to go out with the risk of just 1 :-[
The trick with sword fishing is finding the ridges and drop-offs where smaller bait fish hang about and the swords go in search of food. In the US there seems to be fairly well documented information concerning the location of sword feeding grounds but I don't know if we have the same here. Someone will have to speak to some old timer fishermen and see if they will divuldge some general info, though I doubt it!
In Malta sword fishing is done on long lines comercially, so we can't really use that as a basis for comparison except possible locations. We are trying out the US method of catching swords, where you find a ridge underwater, drop out 2 or 4 rods with u/w lights and freshly caught mackerel suspended off balloons at various depths. Turn off all lights (except an anchor light) or risk being run over and keeep a good watch out. You might also want to use something like a swordlight suspended off the back of the boat to attract bait fish, which in turn attract the swords.
But based on sightings, I don't think you really have to be that far out as visually they are seen quite close at night. I'm not sure whether they then go out far to feed??
skip what would you say is the smallest boat you can go out for them ... im planning in starting small then working my way up
Basically you need something that is fairly stable. It doesn't necessarily need to be big, but needs to be quite beamy so its stable in the water. I saw a Kaptan boat driving past on a trailer that was around 18 feet but had a single diesel inboard shaft and quite wide.
The problem with a small light boat is that if you do hook into something decent you will probably have to cut your line if its out-powering you and pulling your boat along. Always go out as two people as you will need one person on the outboard and aim to fight the fish from the front, having the helmsman keep the boat pointed where the fish is going but probably he will need to do this in reverse. With sword fish you fight them on a much lighter drag setting, you will have to look up the ideal range.
One advantange we have here is that our swords don't get very big as they are caught too soon. But nonetheless they can do some serious damage with their bill. I've seen some scary pics when its been up behind the boat about to be brought on and it went ballastic and seriously damaged the boat. That's why when the fish is near the boat you ought to try and be in total darkness, no lights or spot lights on the boat (except a basic nav light, like anchor light).
It's hard to come up with a size, aside from stability and sea-worthyness but you have to take into consideration the physical size of the boat versus hauling it in and keeping two ppl, fishing gear, supplies etc. Also budget for a portable VHF and ideally portable GPS, two essential pieces of gear. If for some reason you drift out, you need both devices to accurately report your position, relying on a mobile is not a good idea and you need a GPS to report your position.
Skip
o well think thats me out then think i need a better job before i got out for them :-\
Or better still, safety in numbers. People need to get over the mentality of not fishing (offshore with a boat at least) in numbers, it def. increases your chances. Now I'm not talking about fish like Dorado (Lampuki) because of the way they hang around near Cimi, one person gets them and thats it.
But open water trolling, there are definite advantanges to fishing as 2,3 or 4+ boats in a spread pattern. But for now maybe lay off those Swords and try for Alungi.
Skip
Just came back from Malta. Very nice weather, people and views
Visited Marsasxlock fish market and with Busumark's help Valetta's fish market too
Would like to share with you my photos. Hope you will find them interesting. Pls click on the link below:
http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2093423328&code=27508153&mode=invite&DCMP=isc-email-AlbumInvite
Thank you, Alex
Hi Alex, thanks for sharing your holiday photos with us. I'm going to be in Malta in August, and haven't been back there in 30 years, so l sure did notice some changes...especially that tall building in Sliema l think. I will be staying in Sliema while in Malta. I didin't view all your photos. I stopped at 200.Did you get any of the fish market? And did you do any fishing while in Malta? It looked like you got around a bit. Well done!
Hi, Twoutes! I am glad that you like my photos, althouth there are too many of them. I stayed in Sliema too. If you go there, never stay in Europa hotel. It is cheap, just 6 Maltese lira a night, but the quality, service and breakfast are not worth even that amount. I liked Water Front hotel in that Sliema's part that is where the Strand is. The nice place to stay is St.Julians, very beautiful bay, close to Paceville. I will now add comments to all my photos. Hope that would help you to scroll them and find those which are of interest to you. As to fishing, I understand that April is not a good time for that, so I decided that it would be too expensive to pay MTL 150 (approx. GBP 300, or Australian $ 600-700) for one day fishing with a commercial operator. What I did is that I went to Marsaxlokk (Sunday fish market and biggest Maltese fishing town) and then to Marsaskala (second after Marsaxlokk fishing town) and tried to find a fisherman who would take me with them as a tourist. To my surprise, commercial charters for tourists are not very, if at all, popular in those cities (could be because it was April, not the season yet). But I managed to find one very old man who was willing to take me with him to fish for 500-700 grams "tuna" as he called them (pls see photo below). That "tuna" very small and it is not game fishing. Just for fun and to experience how he would fish on a line in a small traditional Maltese boat. He asked 8 MTL, which is not much, but I had to be there at 05.30 a.m. and at that time I should have taken a taxi which would cost me another 10 MTL. That fisherman was not commercially minded either and, as I understood him, he would fish for that "tuna" on a long line and I would be there to only watch that as a tourist. I asked him about fishing for swords or lampuki, but he said that his boat is too small to go that far away from the shore. Then I asked, can we fish anything exotic at least (like murena or octopus), but he was not interested. So I decided not to go with him. I got in touch with one guy from this forum, with Busumark, we met while I was in Malta and he was very kind to take me to the fish market in Valletta (at 03.00 a.m., but it was very interesting and worth it!). He and his friend with whom they usually go to fish felt that April is not a good time to go for a big fish and they/me didn't, therefore, fish this time. But they said that from June to September is the right time and if I come, we can go for lampuki (dolphinfish) from cliffs in the south or for offshore fishing for swords. I also mentioned that you will come to Malta in August and he showed interested to meet you, have a drink or go fishing, if opportunity arises. Actually, I am thinking of going there again this summer, may be in August or in September. I understand that both months are good for swords, but September or end of September is especially good for Lampuki (dolphine fish). I think it would be interesting to go there at the same time as you and socialise, try to arrange something, have a drink, have a chat, etc. Busumark also mentioned to me that there is a company which is called Perotta Fishing centre (if I spell it correctly) that organises 3 days trips from Malta to one Italian island (forgot its name) which is south of Malta very close to Tunisia. I understand that they offer to fish on the way tto that island and then also on or around the island and then on the way back. I am trying to find the web site of that company, but so far with no much success. So, that's it. When will you be in Malta? Alex
some of the pics were labelled wrong ... you put them as saint pauls bay but they were saint juilans not picking just thought i would let you know sorry i could not hook up with you this time but i was on night shifts the pics are very nice judging by the amount you took you never poot the camera down lol
hi, kempy! thank you for your comments. I corrected the labels. It's pity that you couldn't make it, but we'll have a chance to meet and have a drink. yes, I agree with you. I shall buy a video camera and stop taking some many photos!
Hi Alex, I will be in Malta between the 5th of August till the 1st of September. I'm all for catching up with you and any other people keen to have a good time, a drink or even a fishing session or three..... I have already aranged for a couple of fishing sessions while there, and very keen for more opportunities. As much as this is a family holiday, my ambition is to come back to Australia saying that l went fisihng in Malta and caught some good fish, regardless of species or size. Even so ,l would LOVE to catch a swordfish to add to my collection of bill fish already captured.Chack out this large black marlin we captured in Cairns last year
twouts,
thank you for you reply. I shall see if I can make it. If I go, I will do it in the end of August, for a week. if I won't be able to come to Malta, I will, most probably, go to fish giand Scotch skates in oban (2 hours from Glasgow). See this: http://www.worldseafishing.com/news/198/ARTICLE/1490/2006-06-19.html
I finally put lables to all photos. I think that you and all other guys may want to have a look at:
(i) Marsaxlokk fish market - see "day 4. Marsaxlokk" (photos nr. 473 to 510),
(ii) Wied iz-Zurrieq, "Blue Cave" restaurant, jaws and photos of the great white that was caught there 20 years ago - see "day 4. Wied iz-Zurrieq" (photos nr.531 to 536),
(iii) Valleta fish market at 03.00am, including photos of swordfish, sharks, Busumark from this forum, his friend John, and that guy who caught that great white shark 20 years ago - see "day 6. Valletta fish market" (photos nr.835 to 909),
(iv) small exsibition in Wied iz-Zurrieq, the fins of that great white, jaws of different sharks, etc. - see "day 6. Wied iz-Zurrieq" (photos nr.954 to 971).
that marlin is just excellent. it's huge!!! for how many hours did you fight with it?
With the boat backing up on it at 15 Knots, and because the fish stayed on the surface for most of the fight, it only took 20 minutes...But it went crazy at the boat when we put 4 flying gaffs into it.
What rig was it caught on? I think that would be quite interesting to know, even the chase bait etc, whether you had live bait....basically the technique.
Skip
Yes, that would be interesting to know. When I was fishing in Mauritius, boat there was moving quite fast trying to find places where there are many birds and probably smaller fish, squid, skipjack tuna and, therefore, marlin or dolphinfish or tuna. Our boat had 6 rods, but only 4 were used at a time, two that were idle, were from time to time used instead of two big ones to fish for shipjack tuna as a baite. I understand that technique is called trolling. Baites that were used look like squid or octopus (see photo below). Bigger bites were intended for marlin, tuna and dolphinfish (lampuki), smaller ones for skipjack tuna, which in turn was used as live baite to fish for sharks. When fishing for sharks, only two rods were used, hooks were put through shipjacktuna's eyes (I understand that it doesn't kill them and they can still sweam and look alive). When fishing for shark, the boat was still moving, but much slower then when fishing for marlin.
Hi Skip, yes the technique is very interesting. Firstly, in Cairns we are fishing with 130lb outfits as we are targeting large Black Marlin over 1000lb. We usually run two outfits off outriggers one on each side of the boat, travelling at about 6 knots. For bait we are using a DEAD large Scaley mackrel, Shark mackrel, Rainbow runner,or Mack Tuna of about 70 to 100cm long, which is rigged with dacron and waxed thread to skip on the surface and called a 'Skip Bait'. The hook sits outside the fish about 3cm away from the baits head. On the other outfit we put another dead bait out but rigged totally different, sometimes with a weight tied under its chin to swim naturally like a live fish. For the 'Swim Bait' we like to use skads which are the marlins favorite or Queen fish or any of the other baits mentioned in smaller size from 30 to 40cm. The hook on this bait is stiched within the bait with the use of wire, and having the point of the hook exposed under the belly of the bait. It takes alot of practice to stich a bait and have it swim like a live fish. We use outriggers not only to have the baits apart(about 18 metres) but also to allow a long loop of slack line in the water and then to a wooden release clip at the end of the outrigger. So, when the marlin hits the bait the line comes free from the clip, and the slack line ensures that the marlin feels no resistance untill we are ready to set the hook. Because we use circle hooks we slowly put pressure on the line to drag the hook out of the fishes belly, and once it nearly leaves the fish, hopefully near the corner of its mouth, the hook is able to swing around and connect. Since the use of circle hooks more marlin are released in good condition and not have their guts ripped open. Once we are hooked up the angler jumps in the chair and fights the fish. While the marlin is on the surface the skipper chases the fish to retrive line and capture the fish before it peels the 1000 metres of line off the spool, but also, quick releases gives the sharks less of a chance to attack the marlin while its hooked up. This happens quit often in some areas along The Great Barrier Reef. I feel very privledged to be apart of this type of fishing, and always try to release fish in good condition,as much as possible.I've attached a picture of a 'Skip Bait' for you to check out.
Wow,very interesting. And one hell of a bait :)
Shame we don't get those kind of big game fish here!
Hi Skip, if you like l'll bring some of my DVD's to Malta, and a few of us can get together for a good night of Marlin Fishing Action Australian style
Interesting link about game fishing in Croatia
http://www.vinko-entertainment.com/big_game.htm
Hi Guys....it's been pretty quite on the forum lately. Where have you all been? it's getting close to the fishing season there, and maybe you're all getting your boats and gear ready. That's Great! I have just been invited up north to 'Cape York' for a week. It's pretty wild up that way with crocidiles and wild pigs etc along the rivers. We are going to be targeting Barrumani, and hopefully l'll have some good pictures to show you all when l get back.They also catch sarratoga, fingermark, catfish and archer fish, all firsts for me, and all very exciting. We will mainly be fishing with light gear casting bibed lures around tree roots and snags. I've been told to load my overhead real with a 'Braided' line, and hang on if a large barrumandi takes off....hopefully that is the case. Got to go now as l have to go make some 'wind on leaders' for the trip. I've attached a photo of a giant trevelly l caught a while back.....This is only a small one l was told, and just as well because it took of like a rocket on the light gear l was using. Cheers!!!
Has any one heard of any swordfish caught or sighted yet this season. That's one fish l would love to catch while l'm in Malta in less than 4 weeks!!!!!
We saw two nice ones yesterday, maybe 20kgs or so, was doing 20 knots and he jumped around 1/4 mile ahead, as I turned towards a second one jumped at maybe 1/2 mile. As I passed the area of the first i actually saw he pass alongside the boat you could his silver body flash past.
Have no idea whether stopping before and trying to troll squids would work as they tend to be very shy. Perhaps stopping and throwing bait in the area might be good and then trying to with live bait whilst stationary. Not sure what the techique should be as its not really done here.
I don't have a live baitwell on the boat, in fact I reckon virtually no one does. Occasionally watch this guy in Costa Rica I think, the hardcore fisherman who just goes to a bay throws a net over a bunch of bait fish, fills his baitwell and goes. We can't do that here, there's nothing to catch if you throw! At best you could catch some mackerel at night and then if you had a baitwell keep them alive for some night sword fishing etc.
You'll have to offer your expertise there.
Friends of mine caught a 17kg pastardella last weekend from the Filfla area.
Skip, maybe that's what you saw. Its slimmer than a sword, but otherwise looks extremely similar.
Don't be fooled that aren't any boats equipped with live bait wells! We do have some pros here catching beautiful fish, hopefully we start getting them to the forum and let them teach us a little!
Pastardella is best caught with shiny lures, but I don't know much about the technique, best times, etc..... It could be a good idea to leave a shiny lure floating on the surface behind you when you go for albies. Although I know of few people that caught swords on trolling, i know that others catch plenty on long lines, so swords are plentiful, especially on the North/North East.
Were they trolling or stopped with , day or night? Interesting info ciappinu
We have never caught a marlin that we have seen on the surface first. The ones we do hook up normally appear behind our baits and tease us for a while before they decide to take one or the other, or attach the bait aggressively first up, or nothing at all. Most times we see baits on our sounder first with distinctive signs of marlin on them (normally dense arches on the screen) and we then work the area for a while... this normally produces sighting a marlin on the surface and maybe a take. Live bait tanks are not that hard or expensive to set up. l made my first one using a 50 litre plastic container with a clear lid and a 12volt bildge pump and some hose. Cost me les than $100.00. (25lm). We do however fish strictly for marlin, and have an extra small lure out for bycatch.....Dolphine fish tuna etc.... but our main goal is to catch marlin.
I have been reading some good reports of tuna sightings and captures.....has any one heard any thing about 'Sword Fish' or maybe even 'Spear Fish'.I suppose it would be getting closer to catching 'Lumpuki' now? Would't it? I would be very interested to know!!!
twoutes,
I am writing an article about game fishing for our local inhouse magazine. can I use some of your photos of marlin fishing? I will show you a copy of the article when it is published. Thank you
Alex
No Problems at all Alex. Let me know if you need anything specific, and l'll email them direct to you. I have just recently returned home from Malta where we had a great time, met some nice people, and saw some really good sights. Can't wait to get back there.
Thank you, twoutes. So, any luck with swordfish or tuna in Malta? Any photos? Regret that I couldn't make it. I am changing job and it takes all my time. But I will be in Mauritius for two weeks in November and will try my luck there again!
You can read all about my fishing trip in Catch Reports under 'Lumpuki Trip'. On another trip we managed to catch a small 5kg Swordfish...but dropped it at the side of the boat. Also on the last trip l saw a very small swordfish free jumping at the side of the boat, simular to marlin free jumping over here. My best catch in Malta was a 15kg Blufin Tuna which we caught when l went out with Nick.
see this clip. its a bit difficult to happen in malta
http://thatvideosite.com/view/1498.html
THAT'S Amazing Footage. He looks like a rag doll going out the back of the boat. I have the full DVD of the event. Lucky for him he was not hurt except for some bruises.Been doing any fishing lately?
at this time of year i fish mainly for klamari, tumbrell and bottom fishing with long-line or handline but right now i am trying my luck for klamari.
I think these are Klamari???? ??? ??? ???
yes those are klamari. very nice ones. there are that size right now caught a few this week
Check this out! never lose a fish again.... :) i cant even get my dog to fetch my slippers......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jkExrrm_sQ
went with long-lines for swordfish but no luck only 2 small ones.
how deep should the hooks be? how many hooks 50? for swordfishing....
b 50 laqqas tibda habib. Il konz trid tkalah fil wicc bl uzu tal voltiggi (flixken zar tal plastik) li torbot mal konz. Triq mil inqas 200 sunnara ghal pixxispad