trip to Madeira

[takeshi]

Hello all,
I went to Madeira, Portugal for two weeks in february for spearing.
Unfortunately I was out of luck with the weather and got less cathes than I had hoped for but still did alot of diving. From what I learned I had the two worst winter weeks from a spearing/diving perspective in the last ten years or so, hehe. I had been hoping for a big amberjack or wahoo but was out of luck.

Madeira apart from spearing is an island manageable in size for tourist-style-touring but a car is a must. If you do have a car though you can get to spearing spots on the whole island on a day trip. The first days had alot of waves and low viz so we went all around the island on two days without hurrying at all.

The island landscape is very scenic with steep mountains falling into the atlantic and narrow deep valleys and villages but not a party place. I think I was the only one under 65 on the plane there. Madeira is very popular among the senior citizens of sweden.

Spearfishing wise it is a great place. I was unlucky to get alot of rain and low wiz but picked a bad time to go. In the summer to september or so there when there is less rain I was told the average visibility is 20m and 30+ is not uncommon.

The spots I went to were mostly in the 10-25 m depth range. The coast is rocky so one can find good spots accessible from the shore. The noth coast has more fish but often bad conditions.

There were less smaller fish than in norway which I think is the best place in scandinavia, but madeira has what norway has not, nice big fish like greater amberjack and wahoo. There does not seem to be a shark problem compared to some places but they see hammerheads on occasion.

One can get a license for spearing in the city of funchal. The rules are not more than 5 fish per day per person, no groupers. There is a stretch on the south coast were spearing is not allowed, a marine park, from funchal to reis magos.

I you go there dont miss to try out 'espetada', big chunks of grilled meat on a skewer, honey cake, and poncha which is lemon juice, honey and strong alcohol, impossible to avoid.

[foxfish]

Interesting report takeshi.
It looks like you at least caught some fish, what are they?

[marginatus]

i remenber your questions on the other thread around january.
Nice that you liked but too bad with the weather - it's unusual.


foxfish - those are Pseudocaranx dentex: http://www.horta.uac.pt/species/Pisc...nx_dentex.html
strong and tasty fish

[takeshi]

Yes that's it, pseudocaranx dentex, the madeiran name is Xaréus. Very tasty and strugglers for their size. They were rewarding to hunt with aspetto, they came in groups of 3-4 and were nervous enough not to be too easily caught but not too difficult either. The depth I think was around 15 m.

[marginatus]

here's one that i caught in the last summer.
location: Pico - Azores.
gun: RA caranx 1200 with 70m reel
dept: around 10 m
the picture isn't that good because it was taken at night (we got of the water when it was getting dark, really dark)

tak, sorry take your thread.

[Oldsarge]

Hmmmm, sounds like Sven and I should take a gander at this place. Tourism for the wives, fish for us . . . and plenty of alcohol! What more can we ask?

[takeshi]

marginatus, no worries man, nice catch. Hey, add a trip-thread about your spearing on pico/the azores, I bet it would be a nice read.

[Wanny]

yes do, madeira and the azores are both on the shortlist for a trip before the end of the year. as sarge says, plenty for the wife to do whilst I nip off for the odd dive.

do you need to take all your own gear out there? and are there any local info sources or is it a question of jumping in and having a look?

[johnny]

nice fish and report Takeshi, shame about the weather.......

hey Marginatus, i heard about an apnea comp coming up soon in the Azores....do you know anything about it ?

cheers Johnny.

[marginatus]

the apnea comp already took place in Faial (Edit: my mistake it's in 01/04/06)(island next to pico 5 miles apart) take a look at http://www.azoresapneia.com/
there was Herbert Nitsh, Rafael Serrano and the portuguese record holders.
About the trip/thred to pico/azores, soon it will be a living thread since i'll finish my studies and i'll be back for good. I promisse to post a thread with some catches and info after some things i'm on...

take care

[marginatus]

wanny (and others), for info about Pico and Azores feel free to ask and i'll do my best to answer and/or look for it

Fernando

[europebytrain]

About Madeira, check out Madeira Nature - The Nature of Madeira.

Lots of info about fauna and flora for divers, trekkers, birdwatchers and seawatchers alike.

Cheers.