You often hear of people going away on a golfing holiday or going skiing in winter, it is also becoming increasingly more popular to go on fishing holidays as well. Fishing is the kind of sport where you can easily transport the necessary equipment when you travel, and you can also hire everything you need quite easily as well. Whether you like to fish from the shore or go out in a boat, fishing is a very popular sport with people from all over the world. If you are looking for a good fishing destination, then you could do no worse than choosing to go to the island of Majorca, in Spain. Here, you will find lots to offer the modern sports fisherman and also plenty of charter boats that you can hire and go do some sea fishing. Whatever your preference is, you will find that fishing in Majorca can be a lot of fun.
Getting Certified
Anyone who is fishing in Majorca will need a license. If you go on an organized tour or excursion then this is provided for you, otherwise if you are just looking to do some fishing along the shore or one of the canals, then you will need to get this sorted. Anyone under 14 years of age does not need to get a license, and there are five different types of license available;
- Individual License – For any one person 14 years old or over.
- Collective License – This license covers a party of up to 12 people.
- Submarine License – This is generally for scuba divers or snorkelers and you would generally use a spear gun rather than the traditional rod and reel.
- Sport License – This covers people for competitions and tournaments and is not charged for.
- Boat License – This covers up to five people fishing from a boat.
The most popular license would probably be the individual one as this will allow you to see fish from the shore. You can get your license quickly and easily with very little fuss, and it is best to do this in person. All you need to do is go to the local office, fill out the application form which is also available in English. Then they will give you an invoice which you will need to take to a bank, upon paying the invoice you will get a receipt and you then take this back to pick your license up. You can also do this process online by applying at local government website – www.caib.es. This can take up to a month to process though so you will need to do it in advance of your holiday and you will still need to go to the government office to collect your license.
Charter Service
If you are not planning on doing an extensive amount of fishing when you are on holiday in Majorca, you may wish to use a charter service instead. There are lots of companies offering this service, and there is a wide range of fish that you can catch. If you do use the charter services then they will arrange your license for you, so there is no hassle at all. Depending on the fish you are after, will dictate where you go and how far off shore, this should be discussed with the boat’s captain before you set off. Fishing along the coast will allow you to catch Grouper, Rainbow Wraffe, Scorpion Fish and Red Mullet to name but a few. If you go out to the deep water fishing grounds then you are more likely to get Blue Fin Tuna, Albacore, Spear Fish, Dolphin Fish and Sword Fish. There are rules which need to be followed when fishing especially when catching fish such as Tuna, so you do need to follow the captain’s instructions, and if the fish is not of certain size then it will need to be thrown back. If you are lucky though you may just get a fish good enough to keep that you can take back and get cooked freshly for you to enjoy when you get back to shore. Then you can sit around with a couple of friends and have a couple of drinks while you talk about all of the ones that got away. This may be your best holiday in Majorca ever!
Ted Hunter wrote this article for Travel Republic during holidays in Majorca. Ted is a keen angler and enjoys sharing his experience and tips in the articles and blogs that he writes. He enjoys fishing and scuba diving together with his family.
