Of all the underwater fishermen that maybe only once have had experience of the Croatian sea, opinions are very divided. Excluding dating experiences (first ’90s) in which it was quite easy to make bag without much knowledge of the area, the reason is easily explained. Perhaps more than anywhere else in these areas (Istria and Dalmatia) the presence of fish at depths accessible by apnea is strongly linked to weather conditions. This aspect is so important that if you have the opportunity to fish with the “right” ones, it’s almost indifferent to choose an area rather than another. It ‘obvious that every area also has its seats more or less valid.
But all our knowledge will be useless if, for example, we find the cut of icy water to 7 meters. Or if we know the myriad of caves oases of the Western part of the region, but that day they’re covered by a cloak of yellow water … cold and lifeless. I realize that the speech can be easily extended to all the fishing areas around the world. But in Croatian sea this fact has higher value than elsewhere. Probably because the rocky areas are easily recognizable and therefore exploited. There are not, for example, the same wide expanses of caves than in deep Tyrrhenian Sea, from Tuscany to Sicily. And the meadows of Posidonia are not large as those of Marsala.
The depths of Western Istria are characterized, as I said, from caves oasis apparently distributed at random. You can fish mostly on the wall, never beyond 100 meters from the coast. Dalmazia differs in almost 3 seas.
The inner part, the so-called canals, the Velebitska kanal. Only the strong bora makes it impractical, with all the other winds you can fish. But only with the strong sirocco, which does not cause very rough sea, the thermocline changes to 20 meters, enough to make richer in life the many peaks that plunge into the blue, nearly 100 meters. Obviously the the islands are more interesting and abounding in fish, from the island of Krk to the bridge of Pag, through the beautiful Rab.
The intermediate zone, the so-called Kvarneric is also very deep. Both here and on the inside part, coast falls very rapidly, with the exception of some outer areas of the mentioned islands . We’ll find here many giltheads and basses in autumn and late spring. But here we already start meeting the beloved shoals. There are plenty from Punta Kriz to the island of Premuda, the Palaciol shoal, stage of numerous international apnoea fishing competitions, starting from the first edition of the spearfishing world championship. At the departure of the ferry from Brestova island to Cherso, there’s still a writing on a wall in front of the dock, which commemorates the event.
The most interesting area is the outer one. The one which looks straight to the east coast of Italy from Galiola to park Kornati islands. Here the depth is so various, water is increasingly clear and the thermocline often stands at 20 meters and beyond. This is because the sea here is much more open and therefore exposed to the sirocco winds (known as Jugo because of his direction, parallel to the ex Yugoslavia) to the north wind and the mistral, so frequent during summer. There are depths suitable for all tastes. you can hunt a bass in one meter of water up to the extreme grouper fishing, at almost 30 meters. But above all, as indeed in all the areas seen before, that’s the seabream motherland.
If the capture of this beautiful seabream is considered a rarity in Italian waters, it is not here at all. I am not saying this is easy, but there are days when you can have several opportunities to catch considerable specimens within 20 meters of depth. Just remember that from April 15 to June 15 there’s the biological fish control for these species. A real shame because May and June are the best months. When there wasn’t the biological control, I remember the wonderful sea breams in 10 meters of water, a show that I have never seen anywhere in italy. In these depths, I caught sea breams up to 10 kg of weight and I saw others between 12 and 14! The islands and Sansego and Unie are worth a visit and further south, Premuda, Isto, and Long Island (Dugi otok).
In the mentioned areas, but especially on the inside, it happens so often to find some wall with cavernous dens at the bottom. Full of tunnels and sand. They’re not easy to find. But if we’re there between late April and early May, we will see a spectacular amount of Zebra seabreams. They come to lay their eggs in that period. And the males, particularly strong, watch the hatching of eggs, keeping other fishes away. If we’re watching this kind of scene, we better choose only a few big samples, avoiding to disturb the flock. It ‘a kind of fishing where you feel an exterminator if you exaggerate. And who knows and loves the sea, and is a true apnoea fisherman, should have the good sense and the ethical behavior worthy of the name.
Igor Bisulli
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Tag: croazia, igor bisulli, pesca sub
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