BIG FISHING IN GUADELOUPE
Discover everything about big game fishing in Guadeloupe on the Babywane with Captain Eric BALLET
What is big game fishing in Guadeloupe?
Big game fishing in Guadeloupe is practiced from a drop of 100 m up to 20 nautical miles from the coast in a boat specially equipped for this fishing. This sport fishing provides strong sensations from a muscular, visual and auditory point of view.
What an auditory sensation for a fisherman to hear a reel of the largest size start to scream for minutes as the rush of these large fish is long and powerful.
What a muscular sensation when you hold the rod and the fish pulls so hard that it feels like it's tearing your arms off or what a visual sensation to see these large fish come completely out of the water and literally dance on their tails.
In Guadeloupe, the species encountered for this big game or sport fishing are, blue marlin, white marlin, sailfish, yellowfin tuna, mackerel and dolphinfish.
Coryphene sea bream
In Guadeloupe, it is fished from October to May for dead or live fish with rods from 20Lbs to 50Lbs depending on the size of the specimens which can reach 25 Kg and 1.5 m in length.
This bright green, white and blue-spotted fish is very combative and frequently leaps out of the water to make spectacular seals. The smallest specimens, from 2 kg to 4 kg, present all year round, can be caught with fixed drum rods using dead fish, surface lures or poppers.
The king mackerel
The Spanish mackerel is the target species because they are the largest specimens, weighing 8 kg to 30 kg and 2 m in length.
It can be fished all year round with heavy or fast trolling and is more present from October onwards.
This slender fish with sharp teeth attacks its prey at speeds of up to 120 km/h. His rushes are spectacular and he is a good fighter.
Yellowfin tuna
In Guadeloupe, this fish is more present in summer along the coasts of Guadeloupe.
Black and silver in color with yellow fins, it weighs 20 kg to 40 kg and can reach 1.4 m.
Pound for weight, it is by far the most powerful fish and its resistance in combat is the strongest. It is fished by drift or parachute, with live or dead fish, with 80 lb rods.
Sailfish
Sailfish Its common name is part of the Marlin family and not the Swordfish family and should be named Sailfish Marlin.
It is not the largest of the marlins, from 10 kg to 30 kg for 2.5 m, but certainly one of the most beautiful with its very large dorsal fin reminiscent of a sail. It is fished in winter, from October to April using heavy trolling.
This trolling is generally done with 5 rods from 50 lbs to 80 lbs and 2 to 3 teasers at a speed of around 8 knots. It can also be sight fished with dead fish thrown during heavy trolling with a dedicated rod. In combat, it can jump out of the water with its backbone extended, trying to get rid of their back by shaking its head violently.
The blue marlin
In the world, it is the king of fish for big game or sport fishing with black marlin which is not present in the waters of Guadeloupe.
It is large from 80 kg to 500 kg from 2.5 m to 6 m. Dark blue in color with a slender body, it has a developed dorsal fin and a large rostrum.
This fish has an extremely developed survival instinct and during the fight it will do anything to get away.
Its first rush is dazzling and can last several minutes, it puts a very heavy test on the equipment which must be checked and adjusted without concession.
It is fished by heavy trolling with the same system as the Marlin Sailfish. Depending on the size of the specimen, the fight can last from 45 minutes to several hours and the outcome is always uncertain.
In a fight the Blue Marlin can practice several release techniques, probing, then going up and jumping vertically while shaking its head violently, going over the side of the boat and coming out in front, or performing several horizontal jumps and then probing again.
This extreme fighter, he doesn't give up and very often regains his freedom.
The sensations, from the very violent touch, to the sight of this large fish on the edge of the boat after a long muscular fight are very strong and unforgettable.
The white marlin
In Guadeloupe, they are identical in size to the Sailfish Marlin and are fished in the same way. As the name does not indicate, it is not white but electric blue.
When seen in the water, it is fluorescent blue in color. It is distinguished from the Blue Marlin by its dorsal fin which is not of the same shape.
He too jumps out of the water either horizontally or vertically with his body fully extended.
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