One of the most popular places to visit in Europe is the Algarve, which is in the south of Portugal.
The Algarve: A Fantastic Fly Fishing Location
With more than 130 miles of coastline, you can also fish for mullet, mackerel, and bream, among other saltwater fish, if you want to look for sea bass and freshwater fish simultaneously. There are barbel, carp, and bass in several rivers and lakes.
But sea bass and its subspecies are fun fish to catch with a fly rod here in the Algarve. It is a hungry predator with different names in different parts of the world. In the US, they call it a striper (Morone saxatilis). We fish for sea bream (Dicentrarchus labrax) or spotted sea bass here in Portugal.
Sea Bass Caught on the Fly
Spotted sea bass are easy to spot because they have black spots on their upper bodies. They are even more assertive than regular sea bass. They can get as tall as 50 inches and weigh more than five pounds. Sea bass are beautiful fish that are silver in color. They can get as long as 70 inches and weigh up to 25 pounds (record registered weight).
This size of fish is, of course, very rare. Getting sea bass It’s not easy to fish for flies in Portugal, especially in the Algarve. The Portuguese were always sailors and explorers who lived off the sea. Unfortunately, commercial fishing has grown a lot in recent years, putting a lot more stress on the ocean.
Since people want sea bass because of its good meat, it has a high market value and is in high demand in restaurants. But slowly but surely, people are starting to see that things need to change to keep a healthy saltwater ecosystem going for so many years to come.
You can fish in the less rough estuaries in the south of the Algarve. Even though the fish here are smaller, there are more of them, which makes it easier to catch sea bass. And, of course, a cracker can always eat your streamer, especially in the winter when boats are scarce, and the sound of the water is louder than anything else.
Where you can catch sea bass
The best place to catch big sea bass is in the western part of the Algarve, around “Costa Vicentina” and the southern part of Alentejo. Most of the time, when the sea is rough, there will be strong waves, strong winds, and strong currents. To do well here, you need to be a more seasoned fly angler in good shape because the conditions will put you to the test.
The weather is rougher, but you will likely catch big sea bass. In this part of Portugal, you can catch fish that weigh 10, 15, or even 20 pounds. Here, it would help if you were consistent with how you cast. When you use big streamers, you usually have to make long casts, and you often have to cast into the wind.
Bass can be caught with poppers, flies that stay under the water’s surface, or flies that are fished a little deeper. All of it is contingent on the weather and the light. Most of the time, the best times are around a fresh start and sunset. Plan your trip well, particularly if you want a chance to catch a big fish.
Picking your Tackle
With a floating, intermediate, and sinking line, you can fish in most situations and change your approach to improve your chances of success. Most of the time, it’s best to use a fast-action rod because you always have to cast heavy streamers quickly into the wind.
If you are required to catch sea bass, you should have shrimp, Clouser minnows, and EP baitfish streamers in your fly box. A trying-to-shoot basket can be a useful tool a lot of the time. No issue where you are or what time of year it is. It would assist if you always had a solid rain jacket. The biggest question is whether you should wear waders or a wetsuit.
Some people might disagree with me, but it’s best to use a wet suit when fishing in bigger waves because waders can be dangerous if they are too big. If you want to fish in an estuary, you can wear waders. If you want to fish for sea bass or other fish in the Algarve, you can contact Marco de Sao Vicente at flyfishingalgarve@gmail.com. He knows the waters of the Algarve better than almost anyone else and is an expert on sea bass.