Parga, Greece 2019 (July)
A White Sea Bream taken on LRF tactics you’d replicate at home for Perch & Trout. It really is that easy…
If you’re anything like me, when a holiday is booked, Google Maps gets some serious attention! Coastlines, satellite view… Basically where the hell can I wet a line!?
It’s safe to say that this holiday will live long in the memory for many reasons. I’d get into the people, the food etc but this is a fishing blog and let me tell you, the shore fishing was nothing short of sensational! Anyone who knows me knows about this trip……
I was struggling to find a destination in all honesty as I wanted to book this trip as a surprise for my girlfriend with finishing her teaching degree and landing a job! It was only recalling my dad had visited 4 years earlier and mentioned the sea was more like an aquarium than the typical ‘Dead Med’. So like the blind leading the blind, holiday booked and so the trawling of Google Maps began.
Parga is situated on the West coast of Greece’s mainland around 30 miles south of Albania. A stunning, unspoiled area and archetypal Greece. It is a rocky area that possess very deep water within a stones throw from the shore. (Closest well know destination would be Corfu). Hire a boat (which is easily done) and within 600 meters from the shore, you’re in 100’s of feet! Very accessible to the likes of us who do not know the area. Easy to see on google maps with the inky blue so close to land. The local restaurants fish counters are awash with Grouper, Red Snapper looking fish (Dentex, Red Sea Bream etc). Get up early and you see day boats heading out to sea that seem to stop almost too soon. That’s the thing though, the fishing grounds are right on the doorstep
Probably the first item I pack, look after your eyes!
Flying into a new destination is always exciting, new places, virgin territory and the fact you’re finally back on Terra firma. Incidentally the runway at Preveza airport has a big rock formation in case of an over shoot… Being a small airport you taxi to the end and spin round to exit right to the terminal building, thus exposing this mass of rocks mid turn… Reassuring it is not! I suppose it’s fitting to mention we flew with Thomas Cook and being from Manchester, it’s a real shame to see so many people lose their jobs shortly after with the unfortunate predicament the airline faced.
How poignant ….?
Shortly after collecting our bags we were on the transfer bus and heading to our hotel. Meandering over the coastal roads gazing into the inky blue ocean from 200 feet + was unreal. Lush green turning navy really fired up the thoughts of “I wanna go fishing!” It was probably the only transfer I’ve not had an ‘Inbetweeners moment’ wondering as we come to a stop.. “who has booked this dive?” Such a beautiful part of the world.
Parga itself is nestled on a very steep hillside and our hotel wasn’t far from the top so actually going to the sea wasn’t too bad…. However, coming back was a totally different story in the blistering midday heat or evening humidity. You’ll need a few yoga classes to stretch the calves out once back home! The smell of petrol along with the sound of 50cc engines filled the atmosphere as the locals have it dialled in… MOPEDS. Taxi’s were our choice of transport but what id have given for a moped walking back for breakfast after a mornings LRF!
The island proved to be a special place and my favourite LRF spot I’ve ever visited. To get to it you swim to it… I’ll get to that shortly.
On arrival we were met by Christos, keen to showcase his hotel he’d ran for over 30 years. A real family affair and somewhere I will be going back to ASAP. Our first night we snatched food at the hotel bar and on chatting, it was obvious our host was a fellow angler. Sharing a few pictures of my freshwater exploits his reactions were that of disbelief when he saw just how big our Perch get. However, when I pushed regarding the fishing around HIS local area, I was met with the ‘side eye look’ and the phrase “Ahhhh, no fish here my friend.” Laughing to himself, he waked back to the bar and left us to our food. Knowing how productive the area can be, and having video evidence, I still held high hopes!
Irini Studios, some backdrop
Being diligent, I’d searched the internet (mainly YouTube & Google Maps) in the run up and stumbled across some incredible videos shot by ‘Maelstrom Fishing’ (I’ll leave links below). These are a bunch of lads who specialise in ultralight spinning in South East Europe. Trout and Chub are on the agenda but they have had real success fishing the Greek coast for a whole host of species. They are affiliated to the rather premium Japanese brand ‘DUO.’ Those familiar will know but for anyone unaware, they design an array of high-end gear with 50mm crankbaits setting you back way north of £15. The levels of detail in their design are phenomenal. Given, I have a couple as I’m a massive ‘tackle tart’ but I’ve only ever caught 3 fish on them. A small Barracuda in Cyprus and a couple of the ever-reliable Painted Comber (a beautiful almost pygmy Grouper ever present all over the Med).
The Painted Comber, such an obliging fish in the Med. Highly aggressive and love to shred soft plastics… Take Plenty!
Melstrom Fishing with a cracking Leerfish taken on a LRF setup. Lure fishing royalty in the Med…. Leerfish resemble an Aussie Queenfish and are the ultimate light game species at this size. They get three times this size in other areas like Morocco & South Africa. They continue to evade me!
You can imagine the feeling after booking a trip, stumbling over videos of the exact same beaches you’re heading to… It raises the anticipation, ever so slightly
These guys have caught baby Amberjacks in Parga and a multitude of other species, including Leerfish. The below videos are well worth a watch. The techniques employed can be put into practice all over Europe. They’ve just done a series called Greek Week (10 episodes over 10 days) and many others so have a scan if you’re heading away. Knowledge is power at the end of the day! Seeing these videos, and something I’ve wanted to connect with for a couple of years now was a decent White Sea Bream. I’ve wanted one for a while and Parga seemed to be the place it might happen.
One of the many rocky coves that just beg a cast… or three! Here casting a 12g Savagear Sandeel on a slightly heavier set up in the hope of a rogue Bass or Leerfish.
So first morning I decided to go and check out the area. This meant an early start but how can you not!? I’m a big believer in making the most of things and fishing in blazing sun is not only uncomfortable, but ‘usually’ the slowest part of the day.
On almost tumbling down the hill to the beach and to my amazement, I was greeted with not only small coves, steep rock faces & pebbly beaches but deep holes along with massive rocks almost landscaped by an angler. They acted like ambush points, perfect fish holding areas. There are moments in fishing you turn up to a new mark and you go “STOP ITTT” (while foaming at the mouth in anticipation of what the next few hours may bring). One morning I was laughing to myself, counting to 3 and in that time, I’d hook into something every single cast. All of the mentioned ground is within a ten minute walk of the ‘hotel area’ (much like all of Europe). One minute you’re on a small rocky sea wall in front of restaurants, the next you’re on a secluded pebbly beach hoping a shad across the bottom, BANG, rod tip slams over > small grouper… Admire its power and ferocity and flick the 4 inch fish back home, meanwhile wondering how can such a small fish be so powerful?!
When you don't leave your Go Pro on charge
What you will find at these types of places are rocky bottoms covered in seaweed. The above picture is a classic and after a few casts with the bigger lures, I decided to switch back to the ultralight set up. This morning I winkled out numerous Scorpionfish, Painted Comber and Gold blotch Grouper. These three species were so prolific, darting out from their rocky homes to snatch anything that looked like a potential meal. In this case a slightly shortened Spro Komodo Shad. They put a serious bend in the rod as well! You’ll be surprised how quickly a 2oz - 10oz fish can ‘reef’ you unless you give it some stick, especially on LRF tackle. This is the whole enjoyment of LRF, numerous bites that genuinely feel like the rod is going to get ripped out of your hand. None of the trembling rod tip that similar sized perch would give you. A distinct WHACK and its game on!
A Gold blotch Grouper caught bouncing a 5cm shad mounted on a 2g jig just above the bottom.
Just how simple the fishing is makes it accessible to all. Because of the nature of the seabed, I found it best to fish a ‘jig and spin method.’ Allowing your lure to sink to the bottom but being in contact so you can feel the seabed and immediately lift the rod tip to avoid snagging (often bites came on the drop due to the shear amount of fish present!). By doing this you are fishing just above the seabed, out of the way of the weed. Using your ‘minds eye/fishing skill’ (or lack of in my case), allowing the lure to flutter enticingly just above the rocky bottom. These fish are real predators so commit fully to killing whatever it is that fits in its mouth. By adopting this approach, you have minimal gear loses and it allows you to cover all levels of the water column. There could be more Pelagic species present such as Bass, Garfish, Leerfish, Amberjack or Bream (white and gilthead bream are common inshore all over the med. Throw some bread out and they’ll come out of almost nowhere). There’s no need for two rods or changing set ups, you’re covering all bases here! Using a jighead and soft plastic is also much cheaper than losing sinking crankbaits etc (and kinder on the fish with single hook as I doubt you’re local and throwing everything into a pan). It is a dead cert, you’ll lose the odd jighead here and there but once your ‘mind’s eye’ dials in to the depth of water things will fall into place. Remember, a light jighead is affected more by current so more likely to wash under a rock if left static for too long.
Make sure you pack plenty of end tackle. Not only will you be liable to losing the odd jighead but everything has teeth. Here I’ve had a short strike, the fish had clamped down and I’ve struck but missed it, tail bitten clean off. This is a 3g Spro jighead as I was fishing slightly deeper water and had a little more current. The fish loved it fished aggressively so the heavier jighead allowed for a faster, more jerky presentation.
Here I found some larger Painted Comber. The seabed drops away here (see the colour change) hence the heavier jighead.
They have powerful jaws and small teeth but nothing that hurts so a lip grip is easily achievable
What the eagle eyed may pick up on is the use almost solely of Spro Komodo shads in 6cm variety. These shads are my go to for Trout and Perch (Pike love them as well). Anything of a similar ilk is fine but these in particular have a great action and a relatively cheap. I mount them on nothing heavier than a 3g jighead. You’ll probably see I have bitten off the heads to shorten them slightly. This is a method I employ when Trout fishing on our northwest rivers. Sometimes you get short strikes from Trout as they almost always ‘turn’ as they take the lure. I then began doing this with perch and my hook up ratio went up slightly. Personal preference but it works for me. These Spro jigheads do not have ‘lure keepers’ so the lure (you’ll see above) can slide down the hook shank when you get a bite meaning the cast is then almost useless if you miss that first hit. After a few fish it can occur too often and become quite frustrating. Majorcraft Jigheads in the 1.5g upwards and Savagear 1.2g upwards have lure keepers so find myself using these more often in the last few months. They keep the lure right where it needs to be. Some anglers dab superglue where the jighead meets the hook for more solid rigging.
One of the great things about Parga (which I mention earlier can be slightly annoying) is because of the hills that surround it, the sunrise is much slower. It works in your favour and equals a way more comfortable time while fishing. In June, July & August, even at 7:30am, the sun across Southern Europe can be too much , and if you can’t dunk your feet, you’re a hot sweaty mess and dying to get back for a shower. Due to the hills surrounding and being nigh on shear drops, the shadows they cast allow you to be tactical and follow them as the sunrise progresses. Even in the heat of the day there’s shelter, fishable shelter… And where do fish go to get out of the sun, they find shade. It’s simple maths and common sense but this is what sets this place apart! You can fish and have a great chance of catching at any time of the day and not worry about overheating, sunstroke and the likes of… Just make sure you’re caked in SPF!
The sun rises behind me so my morning began at the colourful buildings (right of pic) and slowly followed the shade as the sun rose, exposing this side of the bay. Behind me is a cliff that casts a shadow almost all day so there’s always somewhere to escape if need be!
This area being a little shallower threw up 100’s of Scorpionfish. Again, using the same method, jig and spin, this time on a 1.5g jighead to slow down the lure’s decent. The visual aspect is fantastic. You can see your lure and then a dark mass fly out and slurp it down in three feet of gin clear water. So addictive…. So addictive in fact, the missus got off the sun lounger to have a go! Scorpionfish are known to be poisonous, so a lip grip is what I’d consider the safest way to deal with them…Their mouths are enormous in comparison to their body size.
This Scorpionfish was taken in around 3 feet of water, jigging a small shad around the small boulders on the seabed. Randomly the boulders were ‘river bed’ smooth with zero weed so any snag up just required a wade out.
Fun for all…? Absolutley!
The Island….. A very special day indeed…..!
This is possibly my favourite fishing story. I’ve got a few, I’ve been at it 24 years but this one really stands out. What followed was the best day’s fishing with a light rod I’ve ever had!
All week Christos had been telling me about his winter fishing in the bay on his boat for the big Dusky Grouper, huge Dentex, Gilthead Bream, Amberjacks and other bigger both pelagic and reef fish. They even get big Dolphinfish (Mahi Mahi) just 700 yards from the beach! The reason it is so prolific is two-fold. A small population and extremely deep water with a ‘sandpaper rough’ seabed. Commercial fisherman stear clear of the area so the abundance of marine life is left near as dammit untouched.
All week Christos had been laughing because all the fish I caught are classed as bottom dwellers. He opened up throughout the week realising we both shared this burning passion. He kept telling me “Up in the water, you must fish higher up.” I knew this but how how HOW can you leave fish? Each session was a sack full of Grouper, Wrasse, Scorpionfish and Painted Comber and the odd Rainbow Wrasse.
Some nice surprises and another species ticked off the list - Rainbow Wrasse
Our last day was coming up and he asked what the plans were. I continued to tell him I was going to go to the island (thinking I could wade out to it chest deep). Local knowledge being key he advised us to stick to the sand patches as the area was full of sea anemone, and that its about 6 feet deep. My intention was to float my gear over on a small inflatable… No sooner had I took a sip of my drink, Christos was back with a yellow square child’s inflatable, a black bin liner and even a spare snorkel mask. LEGEND! The bin liner waterproofed everything so we could take cameras and phones as well as bags, food and fishing gear.
I set off for the island early morning with partner in tow, swam across and marooned ourselves there all day. Bear in mind it was the middle of July and we saw two people! TWO! Secluded but within 120 yards of the shore!
To begin with I fished the jetty next to the chapel (forgetting my GoPro leaving it on charge at the hotel – idiot!). Painted Comber were queueing up quite literally. The tiny beach to the left threw up much of the same... A great snorkel spot, again with high banking so shade was easy to find. Pictures banked I moved to the seaward side of the island behind the chapel on the rocks. Plenty of white water made this spot look like something a little more special show its face and boy did it?! Big gullies offered two massive Painted Comber and a Grouper around 1lb but lost all of them from the rather high vantage points. One of those (we all have them) I’ll worry about that ‘if’ I get something. I decided to move slightly and have a cast for something a little different.
The white arrow shows the deep gully and the triangle shaped rock at the foot of the trees are around 8 feet from the water.
Now usually you look at a spot like this with a little white water and nothing happens but this time, the gods seemed to be on my side… Rather than jigging my soft plastic, as said earlier, this method lends itself to fishing higher up in the water as well over the same ground. I began casting into the small bay with not much luck. As with everything in fishing, we’re often casting past fish to get to fish, this being no different. I pinged a cast down the rock line about 6 feet from the water’s edge and around 8 turns of the handle, everything went solid. My Okuma RTX started to sing, I was well and truly IN! After a series of darting runs what came up was a dinnerplate sized White Sea Bream. “Yes, one of my Mediterranean Pelagic species ticked off!” Clambering down the rocks I landed the fish by hand in the awkward but manageable surf. These fish light up electric blue on the fins when in the water, much like Striped Marlin. Unreal colours glinting in the clear warm water. Holiday made, I slipped the fish back, still shaking as I’d actually caught the fish I’d targeted! To get one on a lure was really special.
My first White Sea Bream
What ensued following this fish was nothing short of outrageous. Not one but four fish from the same rocky spot. Had I found my honey hole. Will I fish there every day if I get the chance to return? ….Absofrickinlutely!
The reward from a little research and using your noggin’. Gotta save the best ‘til last right?
To say I returned home a happy man is an understatement. When these fish realise that meal was fake, they scream off at 100mph. Their short bodies give a funny sensation up the rod almost like a ‘fat vibration.’ Almost like a Crucian Carp on steroids but have the brains to swim away rather than in cicles. They’re perfectly adapted to working the rocks close in. Their teeth resemble that of humans almost. As well as eating small fish and shrimps, they must specialise in taking linpets off the rocks.
I can’t wait to target them again. As I said, these White Bream were caught casting and retrieving the very same lures used for Perch and Trout. My last cast of the day resulted in my losing something much bigger. Any other day you’d be spewing… Was It a good Bass, Bluefish, Leerfish or even an Amberjack…? God only knows but all I know is it did a 40 yard run, broke the surface in a frantic splash and came of…… Who was I to complain?! One thing is for sure, I’ll be returning. And hopefully with a group of anglers keen to push the LRF boundaries. What an experience it would be to share with like-minded people.
Less my rucksack & cap, these are all the items you’d need to enjoy a session on holiday. Albeit I’d stock up on a few more packs of jigheads and soft plastics. You don’t even need braid but for lure fishing I’d say its essential. Most have braid these days, especially now most anglers are seeing the opportunity for perch and especially trout from any around 0161.
Any travel rod will do. A rod around 6ft 8’ – 7ft generally comes as a 4pc blank. This will fit straight into the suitcase. The one I have in the picture has a protective tube but socks over the tips, slap in the middle of the case has never failed me. Just be mindful and use some common sense.
HTO used to do a 4pc travel rod for £35. I’m sure it’s their ‘Rockfish’ range. I had one in Cyprus 2018 (Another really fun trip). It served me perfectly. Rods these days have come a long way and with the range available, they must compete. You’ll feel the difference when splurging but how often will most use a 4pc travel rod? Personally, I carry mine everywhere. Working away gives me the opportunity each week so well worth investing. You absolutely do not have to though.
We’ve all got small reels. These are 1000 & 1500 size loaded with braid both 6lb (pink) and 9lb (chartreuse). As I say, braid isn’t absolutely necessary but if you use it already, you’ll know just how much more ‘feel’ you get over mono.
Fluorocarbon is more resilient to abrasion than braid so a length of around 3 feet is perfect to avoid break offs with rocks or rough ground. Some use a tiny swivel to join their braid to fluro. Personally I like to tie directly with a double grinner knot. This way you don’t lose any sensitivity.
Sunglasses of the polarised variety. Protect your eyes and see what’s going on down there. Often, you’ll see fish move with polarised glasses, just as you’re about to re cast. It’s always worth fishing around your feet. Let’s face it, you’re stood on structure (rocks, walls etc).** I’d missed off a cap off the picture. We all know it helps shield yourself from the sun. Caps also limit the light getting to your eyes so allow polarised glasses to be more effective.
Jigheads and soft plastics speak for themselves in the 1.5-3g range & upto 2inches in length.
Here you can see I have shortened the shad by biting off the head as mentioned earlier. Colour is something I like to keep natural. I just don’t tend to use bright coloured lures especially when the water is gin clear. They do have their place though (and I do carry them).
Hopefully this has given you an insight into how I go about my fishing when on holiday. Fingers crossed it allows you to maximise your next jaunt away from British shores. It really is great fun and I guarantee once you’ve given it a go, you won’t look back! You can literally sneak off for an hour here and there. No worries about bait and where to get it. You’ve got everything you need at your fingertips. Try finding a river close to your house and test it out. Get a feel for what its all about then you’re fully prepared once you’re on away in the sun.
Thanks for reading and if there’s any questions, give me a shout :D