Advice on fishing Marsascala at the end of September

[blueskip]

I am coming top Marsascala with my wife to visit our son at the end of September, on condition that I can go fishing for the week, so I need advice please. Where are the most likely spots for me to catch something from the shore, in the Marsascala area? what methods should I use? (spinning, running ledger, paternoster)? hook sizes & most important what baits do you recommend?
I have the usual "grockle tourist" equipment, 3m telescopic float rod, 5 piece Shimano Exage 12ft beachcaster, spinning rods, loads of surface, shallow & deep diving lures, Dexter wedges, Jellyworms etc. I have a selection of multipliers & fixed spool reels loaded with braid & monofilament, what should I bring & what should I leave behind?
I have suggested to my son, that he should invest in a boat (a 13' 6" Dell Quay Dory type with a 10-15HP outboard would be nice), & he might just do that, if so, what would be my best options using that?
Lots of questions I know, but I have wasted so many days in the past finding the better spots & methods in Majorca, Crete, Rhodes, Canaries etc, if I do find good spots/methods the holiday is usually over, so I am hoping some of you local anglers might help me out here Thanks
blueskip

[placebo]

hi blue skip, fishing marsascala must prove entertaining.

light ledgering in port during the night is good for breams and even the giltheads.

mullet is plentiful using a running/ fixed float.

lures are good also in some places (on the pier just below the church- i mean the main big pier in the area)

fishing night might encounter the elusive sea bass which is a predator found mainly in the very end of the bay (in the shallow places just under waterline restaurant). I do not know much how to capture the bass but i heard they use floating bread and pices of take away chicken.

[blueskip]

Thank you Placebo, exactly the sort of advice I am looking for, I assume that the bait for the bream would be small strips of calamari, or bits of shrimp same as the UK?
I enjoy fishing for mullet with breadflake, using the float, they can be difficult to catch over here, & you need to bait the spot you intend to fish for several days, before you eventually try your luck.
Bass over here, we usually use peeler or soft crab, or a fillet of mackerel if we fish the bottom, or we use Dexter wedges, or shallow diving lures, or even surface poppers for the big ones (over 3kg) if we spin for them, I will bring some & give them a try. Again thanks for the information, I will now look on Google Earth for the pier in Marsascala, & get my son to check it out for me, so I dont waste any time looking for it when I get there!
blueskip

[blueskip]

Placebo
My son is useless regarding fishing & fishing spots, is the pier you are talking about, the one near the Cerviola Hotel at "Honey Corner" (he called it)? or is it the smaller pier near the Parish Church? I have told him to walk along the seafront, & find out where the fishing is being done, & to ask some questions. I doubt that he will though, if he cant drive there, & park there, he doesn't go, typical bank worker!
blueskip

[placebo]

both piers are good for lure fishing....at least they were 2 years ago for spinning barracudas.

for bream we locally use yabbies or ragworm and at daylight also shrimp is good (not so effective at night - but you never know)

mullet is not so difficult over here but you have to learn the technique - very good reflexes and also good grounbaiting the area.

in the inner port especially in the area near Brighton tak away you can have nice time with mullet.

by the way breadflake is very good in the inner side of the port .... in the shallow part just in front of the swings. You may end up catching a nice bass on breadflake also. We used to fish bass with a controller float in the surface.

Should you need more info just ask foer my phone number and I can help you with any tips regarding tackle and bait while you are in Malta.

good luck

[Aab131]

Hi Blueskip,

The pier that placebo is talking to ou about is opposite the one below Cerviola. He just can't miss it. It's underneath the police station. Also last monday evening I stayed night fishing inside the bay for around 3hrs for xilep and we had very much fun. Caaught 6 all weighing around 400grms and 600grms with very light tackle. We lost around another 10. But was worth it. If u want when u will be in Malta just contact me and we can go together. Basically I go fishing at Marsascala twice a week for sure so therefore it shouldn't be a problem from my part.

[blueskip]

I am coming on 28th Sept until Sunday 5th Oct & I will be fishing as soon as I get bait on Monday. I am thinking about bringing a kg of "harbour rag" in a coolbox, in sea peat, that should stay alive 4/5 days, they catch everything over here.
If either of you are fishing during that week I would love to come with you, & "pick your brains". What are xilep? I suppose they are one of the bream family.
I also look forward to fishing breadflake on a small bubble controller in the shallows when all sensible people are sheltering from the sun. I wasn't going to come this time, but seeing as I am allowed to go fishing, I cant wait for Sept 28th
blueskip

[placebo]

hehe blueskip Aab looks one of the MSkala guys who catch the wonderful XILEP. Yes in that area they catch this nice fish which gives a very hard fight on ragworm (korean type) i guesss. They fight it on very light tackle it is really nice on soft tip rods.

I went for a couple of times an it was really fun. I am sure AAB knows more than me about it and he can help you more!

By the way you can find live bait over here so if i was you i wouldn't go into too much hassle importing weird stuff!

[blueskip]

Placebo, so long as I can find live bait out there that's fine, I dont want to have to use the frozen/preserved rubbish that you find in tackle shops all over the world. Our "Harbour Rag" are small mud dwelling ragworm, about 50-70cms long, they are very good bait, everything eats them over here.
Do I have to go into Valetta to get fresh bait? or is there somewhere closer to Marsascala? or do I bring a fork & dig my own? not much chance of that, seeing as the tide doesn't go out in the Med!
Here we have an average 11m rise & fall in each tide, & sometimes it goes up to 12.5m, then there is a 2km walk from the high water mark, to the low water mark! you can dig plenty of bait in 2kms!
Look forward to meeting you, & going fishing with you.
blueskip

[redbus9]

Hi Blueskip what part of the uk are you from? I,m from South Wales and our mud rag are only 4-5cm long.Yours must be huge or did you make a mistake with the size?Our tides in the Bristol Channel can go up to 44ft,the second highest ries and fall in the world.The highest is Fundus Bay in Nova Scotia.Iwill be in Malta in August untill October.

[placebo]

hi you can find good bait in three places close to MSkala - either FRANKY petshop (zabbar)

or else Fishing Mania (on the road from MSkala to Zabbar) or else there is a small fishing tackle shop in Mskala just near the cerviola hotel (some 200 - 300 mtr up the road) the shop is Seabreeze.

Else i have a friend who catched yabbies nearly 3 times a week. You can find him evenings just near the parish priest church (near boat slip)

[placebo]

at the moment i only do boatfishing. Very rarely i do shore fishing as all the seas are full of swimmers. I only do some rare angling competitions in summer (when i'm in the mood) Boat fishing takes most of my time in morning weekends.
Should you like to join and do some boatfishing i can take you on my boat for free. It's just you have to come to Birzebbuga on your own. Normally i go out very early mornings so be prepared to wake around 4.00am if you're up to it!

my mob nr is 00356 79476448 just give me a call if u want.

[blueskip]

Placebo, your offer of a trip on your boat is most generous, & I will be delighted to take you up on it, getting up at 4am doesn't worry me, & I will have a car to get me to Birzebugga, the only problem is that I will only be able to come on the Saturday morning, we arrive Sunday night, & return very early the following Sunday morning. From what I see of the driving in Malta, 4am would seem the best time to be on the road, before the rest of the "Lewis Hamiltons" get on the road!
I will ring you when I get to Malta (thank you for your number), & I will try Seabreeze for bait first, as my son lives near the Cerviola, it will be convenient to walk there from the house, I will also pay your friend with the Yabbies a visit.
What rod would you suggest for the boat? do you troll or bottom fish? I have about 20 rods at home, but the only ones I have suitable for bringing on the plane, are a 5 piece Shimano Exage, which is a 4m graphite beachcaster, & a telescopic 3m medium action float rod. I may have a look at a telescopic 20lb class boat rod, I can leave that over there, I have loads of multipiers from Abu6500C up to Abu 9000C all loaded with 30lb braid, & several fixed spools loaded with both braid & monofilament on the spare spools. I gather that tackle is more expensive to buy in Malta than in the UK, so it makes sense to buy a telescopic boat rod here, rather than buy a conventional 20lb class rod out there?
Redbus I live in Swansea, if you go to Rogers Tackle on the marina, his maddies are like king rag, you need a whip when you put them on the hook, I think they dig them in the Ferryside area.
blueskip

[blueskip]

Placebo, just ordered a rod via mail order, Penn Firestix 12-20lb class, 7' 6", 4 piece travel rod in a carrying tube, for ?39.99 (about 50 euro). It will be fine if my son buys that boat I told him he needs What would it cost to buy the same rod in Malta? if tackle is that much dearer over there & you want anything bringing over, let me know before I come. One of my other sons is in USA at the moment, with a shopping list for me, for braid, lures, etc, most of the stuff over there is 50% cheaper than over here.
blueskip

[placebo]

Blueskip, do not worry much about tackle. I have some rods over here and it is no problem at all.
yes my friend no problem for Saturday's as it is okay. If weather permits we can go for albacore but mainly at the moment i am more focused on early mornings coastal predators in the likes of barracudas, saddled breams and amberjack. We can follow with some bottom fishing. Normally i do not stay out very long ..... at 10.30am i am back to grounds.
just give me a ring when u are here and we can plan the morning.

This morning it was good and i got 4 barracudas and 3 amberjacks

hope we can have some fun.