ISSN 1847-2915
ANGLING IN THE ADRIATIC - ENGLISH EDITION
CROATIAN ADRIATIC anglers' dreamland
* Giltbead seabream- king of the Adriatic
No. 2 - MAY 2014. - 22,20 KN - 2,90 € - 3,99$ - 4 KM - 335 DIN - 3,55 SFR
* Pimp my reel * Tying jigs
SUZUKI DF25A & DF 30A
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Redaction, Zagorska 23, 10430 Samobor Tel. 01/3691 693 Fax. 01/3691 694 brankarel@brankarel.hr www.ribolovnajadranu.hr
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Editor-in-Chief: Mladen Marković mladen.markovic@brankarel.hr Proof reading: Anica Rusan Stjepo Martinović Prepress: Marija Janjić Jurica Marković Online issue editor: Marija Janjić
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Contributing editors: Mark Inoue, Marin Huzjak, Stjepo Martinović, Igor Nuić, Dare Horvat, Marin Tušulić, Zdenko Huzjak, Carlo Leone, Paolo Polimeni, Saša Rakar, Vlada Vuković, Miljenko Omazić, Stefano Corsi, Željko Sokač, Slaven Čubrić, Mario Druscovich, Silvio Martinović, Vicenzo Caccico, Valentina Prokić, Branimir Hranilović, Janez Mužić, Ivica Škec, Anton Roca, Aljoša Hribar, Lovorka Pobor, Albin Pobor, Zoran Mijat, Tomislav Vujić - Bluefin, Tonći Luketa, Gordana Mijat, Tomislav Jukić, Ante Pekas, Nicola Zingarelli Publisher: BRANKAREL IZDAVAŠTVO d.o.o. Zagorska 23, 10430 Samobor CEO: Ivana Lisak ivana.lisak@brankarel.hr
Cover: Archive Ribolov na Jadranu Editorial is not responsible for the views and can cite the author. Manuscripts and photographs will not be returned
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Boat fishing
FISHING NEXT
to underwater reefs
Our Adriatic is full of underwater reefs, which can sometimes rise up to a few meters above the surface, and there are also those reefs that peep out of the sea during the changing of the tides. We usually avoid them for safety reasons, but that is a mistake because this reef gives excellent results, all you need to do is to position yourself so that the current „pushes“ the underwater currents in your direction Text by: Mladen Marković, Photographs: RNJ (Archive)
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eefs are underwater hills, which can rise to the surface and sometimes pose a big treat for navigation, but they also represent great fishing spots. Sometimes visible, and sometimes invisible, sea movement due to tides makes the underwater currents „collide“ with the reefs,
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and thus accelerating the movement, and in the foothill away from the reef, invisible microorganisms, plankton and small crabs end up in a whirlpool, and they are the food for „small teeth“, such as bogues, picarels, rainbow brass… among other fish. There activity is not unnoticed, because movement of the food will be noticed by bigger specimens of fish, and
the big fish eat the small fish, that's well known. That's life – everybody's looking for an opportunity to catch a bite...
A restaurant in the middle of the ocean A reef is actually a restaurant for fish, his residents eat regular meals, and the only question is
which side is open for business. Tides affect the underwater currents and once these hit an obstacle, such as a reef, they accelerate, which we all have learnt in the elementary school. Currents surround the reef and that creates acceleration, because – a mass in movement remains the same, but the space is reduced! That's physics! Anyhow, whirlpools are created, on
the side of the reef where the current passes around, that is, on the side of the reef that is opposite of the direction of the current, and this is where plankton, microorganisms, small crabs start to spin after they had been detached of the reef. And this is a perfect menu for lots of fish, regardless if the fish are feeding on the smaller pieces of the menu, or if they are feeding on fish which are feeding on the peanuts. And now it's our turn, we fishermen are on the top of the food chain, and we catch this big fish that eat the smaller fish, and the latter are eating that small invisible world! Sure, it's a little bit complicated, but what we are trying to say is that reefs represent Hot Spots, you just need to position yourself on the side that is opposite to the direction of the current, or even better, cast the anchor on
the top of the reef and let the current carry you away on that spot where the currents create a whirlpool and you're sure to catch. Who says that reefs are no good! Of course, I'm talking about „the reef“, and not some hazardous obstruction! I'm just kidding, the reefs are great... specially if they shelter plenty of fish...
Guests in a restaurant in the middle of the ocean Who are the „guests in a restaurant“ in the middle of the ocean? We said that plankton, microorganisms, small crabs, etc. represent the food but who are the guests? So let's start with the tiny microorganisms and small crabs which are meals for „small guests“, such
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Boat fishing
FOAM IS NOT
solely for shaving
A long time ago, when I for the first time began boat fishing close by the shore, or more specifically, when I saw a boat very near the shore and foam formed by incessant breaking of waves againts the shore, into which my friend cast his bait exactly where the foam was at its peak, I thought he was crazy, but the craziest person onboard was definitely me since I was persuaded to follow this kind of fishing Text by: Mladen Marković, Photographs and drawings: RNJ (Archive)
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ou're going with us, it's a good day for fishing – was an invitation by a friend of mine. I, as any other exemplary fish, was immediately hooked, and so I found myself in a situation that was unknown to me. We sailed out of the harbour and after a ride that was quite unpleasant due to strong waves, we arrived near to one of the nearby islands. What I would never do, my friend however did: he stopped the boat very close to the island coast, which was logical since foam that was made
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by breaking waves turned white and dense like snow and moved in our direction. I stood silent because I was a guest and so I started preparing my tackle. My friend started approaching the island and that foamy white mass, and I must admit that I wasn't too happy about it, but you remain silent when you're invited as a guest on someone's boat. Without anchoring, as the coming and going waves sort of kept us in one place, my friend and his companion threw bait by the shore. I was polite and I didn't make any weird gestures, instead I was trying to understand what's going on,
while simultaneously eying the distance between the shore and the boat. What are you waiting for, why aren't you fishing – my friend rebuked me, and I was thinking – I'm not a madman, what am I supposed to catch in this conditions... while I was still troubled with previous thoughts – here, now... was my friend’s cry whose rod was curled in a bow and that interrupted my actions! How could that be… I was about to say when his companion cried. What in the name of... but I didn't get the chance to finish the sentence because my friend yelled at me– throw it, throw it, they're here! I didn't
know who was supposed to be here, and the two of them were having difficulties doing whatever they were doing, so as I was startled I threw it and managed to hit the rocks which were above the foam. I was trying to pull back the equipment with a lot of cursing, when that crazy friend of mine said – that's the way to do it, good job, leave it there. I couldn’t believe what I have just heard, but looking at him I realized that he was pleased with my casting. The lead will pull the hook just by the shore to the sea bed, and there you're surely get a bite – he was crying in ecstasy while raising a nice dentex
weighing around 2, 3 kilo, in my opinion. His companion was still wrestling with „a professor“ from the depths, a fish that must have completed all colleges, his impressive choice of bad words confirmed the expectations and made me blush a little, although everybody knows that I'm quite good at cursing, and some people witnessed that I can make others blush while I'm exercising this discipline. My bad reaction made me loose a fish in a matter of seconds because I wasn't ready, because I was paying more attention to the boys that were mastering this fishing method instead of paying attention to my own equipment. The hit was so sudden that I reacted poorly and it was my friend’s turn (the one that invited me) to demonstrate his knowledge of the art of cursing. After all I caught a dentex, weighting barely over 2.5 kg... it's not bad, but we lost at least two fish far bigger then our bottle-brush, as my friend „baptized“ it. Once more, all three of us cast our baits, and I was no longer amazed by this type of fishing, crazy people, as I was thinking to myself. Crazy – not at all – I managed to be the first one to cast bait, even though the barge was getting dangerously close to the rocks where the waves were breaking and returning towards us in the form of white foam. Less than five minutes afterwards, my friend started crying once
more... something like – you see losers, this is how it's done – Then he said something like – some of us simply have the know-how – and some other inappropriate remarks, which we won't discuss now, while me and his companion looked at each other helplessly. Unfortunately, we have spent the rest of the fishing trip listening a long speech about the importance of the knowledge that is necessary in order to catch a fish because naturally he had pulled out another dentex, but this one weighed almost 5 kg. There was nothing left for us but to humbly listen as he was fooling around, while I was still trying to put the pieces together about what happened, how did this „crazy people“ get this results, and how did it all work out so well for them. The thing that troubled me the most was the weather, even though my friend told me – It's a good day for fishing!
A good day for fishing!? What makes a good day to go fishing, that's the prize question? You know those things: monitoring the tides, the sun, the moon, the winds that are blowing, sometimes we even go spitting in the wind...it's true, that's very professional, but I'm not like
that! The truth is, I'm the kind of fisherman that goes fishing any time, I don't care about the forecasts, even if the forecast is completely inappropriate for fishing. My smart phone says that the weather is bad, and I have some spare time! I don't care about the forecast, and that it says bad weather, because the sea is where I want to be with a rod in my hand, and my Samsung Galaxy can tell me that the weather is bad as much as he wants. But, before the previously described fishing I would never have gone boat fishing on such bad sea conditions, but once you arrive as a guest because – It's a good day for fishing – there's no other place to be, god forbids that others call you a coward who is afraid of the sea. To tell you the truth, although I adore the sea, I'm always careful even when a whiff of fresh air would breeze against my cheek on a sunny day, first I look towards the Velebit mountin and then I prefer it more to be next to a port. However, I would never have known about boat fishing in the foam, if i had not gone fishing that day. Shore fishing in the foam, that is comprehensible, but boat fishing with the waves dangerously approaching to the sharp rocks... I'm not so sure that I would embark alone on that adventure before the experience that I had in the previously mentioned fishing trip. However, after that
first experience my opinion on that matter has changed significantly and I don't consider it to be a foolish act any more, nor do I consider the fishermen that are exercising this method to be crazy – since it would be like I'm telling myself that I'm the one that's crazy. I must admit that I insist that there's somebody behind the wheel, even if others consider it cowardice. Besides, it's best that from time to time people on the boat take turns in steering the rudder, so that nobody gets deprived of fishing, in that way everybody gets to feel the rod without endangering our safety. Fishing in the foam is something that should always be good, but one can never be careful enough, and I would never leave the wheel in a situation where the barge is being tossed by the waves, carrying it like a nut shell, as a friend of my did one time, because in one moment we were getting dangerously close to the rocks and it was necessary to rush towards the rudder, which he considered to be a normal thing.
The bait and the fishing method A friend of mine and his companion prepared two crates full of baits. There was fresh sardines, Spanish mackerels with up to 15 centimeters of length, bobtail squids, Patagonian squids,
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Boat fishing
JOHN DORY MAKES
your desires come true Anyone who ever tried reef fishing, in the local waters off the islets of Blitvenica or Jabuka, have probably caught a lot of different bottom fish, such as exemplary forkbeard, weever, red scorpionfishe, black seabream…but surely they were most delighted with John Dory, the fish which is preferred by many as the most appreciated delicacy, what’s basically not so far from truth Text by: Mladen Marković, Photographs: RNJ (Archive)
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ohn Dory, auric fish, or Pesce di Cristo (Christ’s fish) as our neighbors Italians like to call it also, resides in the Adriatic sea in depths ranging up to 300 meters, but we, the sport fishermen, catch it mostly at depths between 70 and 150 meters. Its body is flattened, with specific oval shape and a large head (which some gourmets praise to the skies) and with large back spines in the fin, while on each side it has a dark oval smudge surrounded by a bit brighter edge. A legend says that John Dory is the fish Jesus multiplied at Tiberias Lake, and that the two black circles on its belly are indeed his fingerprints. Another legend says that John Dory got its name after an anecdote in which Saint Peter caught it and found a golden coin in the mouth of the fish, which he needed for payment of toll to the Romans. The touch of Saint Peter left his fingers marks on the fish, which transcended to all of its descendants. A legend is a legend, but the truth is that John Dory is a fish which you can catch in the Adriatic Sea at many different areas, no matter if it’s a sandy, chitinous or a mixed bottom. John Dory is an outstanding predator which
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World of fishing
WEEVER FISH a dangerous resident of the Adriatic
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Most of Croatian fishermen have at least once hooked weweer on their rods, and reactions are very different. A person not acquainted with weever, takes it off the hook with his bare hands, others use tongs, and those that are careful simply cut off the leader. The latter are the ones that say: Better safe than sorry. But we all have to agree on one thing: weever has quality meat and it is an excellent dish, some consider it to be a gourmet ingredient for fish stews (brodetto), which is quite truth. Text by: Mladen Marković, Photographs: RNJ (Archive)
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hen discussing about weever we are actually talking about for different kinds of weever, namely, the spotted weweer (Trachinus Araneus), the starry weever (Trachinus Radiatus), the greater weever (Trachinus Draco) and the lesser weever (Trachinus Vipera). All for siblings are dangerous creatures, especially the lesser weever, whose venom destroys red blood cells and inhibits the central nervous system. Of course, other weevers belonging to the Trachinidae family are equally dangerous because they have three very sharp venomous thorns on dorsal fins and gill covers. The sting is very painful, and the flesh around the affected part can suffer for days, as was the case with our colleague from the editorial staff. His fin-
ger had suffered greatly, whereas another colleague of ours suffered only from barely visible redness which dispersed after a few days. How can that be? The matter is that not all people react to poison the same way. Some will get only high temperature and tolerable itch, while others must cope with life-threatening illness. While speaking about the sting, one of my colleagues accidentally stepped barefoot on a weever which had been caught a moment ago, it was soon a question of life and death, and today he is still alive thanks to the fast police boat that was available on the island at that particular moment. Therefore, my dear fishermen, I suggest you to cut the line if you are not sure in taking it off the hook. Or at least use a pair of tongs. You can find special tongs in the fishing tackle shops, so that you can safely handle
dangerous fishes, and they are the best for handling weever while cutting dangerous spikes with scissors. All weevers have thermo labile venom, therefore, you should soak the puncture wound in hot water, which can be difficult while fishing outdoors, so fishermen often use lighters to heat the wound. There is still talk in my former fishing team about a story regarding a new member of the team which raised a weever on hook and grabbed it with his bare hands, before we got the opportunity to warn him. He knew the trick with the lighter, so he literally burnt his finger, and as he panicked in the Novalja city hospital, he asked the doctor what is she putting on his hand, to which she calmly replied: „Ointment for skin burns, sir.“. Of course, the entire fishing team was eavesdropping to find out what’s
going on. And after they heard: „Ointment for skin burns, sir.“, they all cracked up. Although our fellow fisherman did not appreciate the joke. (Excuse me Roby, I had to tell this story.) What do you have to do if a venomous weever stings you? As we mentioned earlier, it would be a good thing if you had hot water (at about 50 degrees Celsius) next to you, so equip your fishing gear with a gas cooker, not because of weever, but for the hot coffee or mulled wine in the winter times, and it’s the best cure in case of a weever sting. A hand or a finger is the most common area of the stab wound you should immerse it in hot water and hold it for as long as possible. Also bear in mind to avoid situations such as „Ointment for skin burns, sir.“ Check the wound prior to that, there may be a tip of the sting inside it. Don’t even think
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Shore fishing
GILTBEAD SEABREA king of the Adriatic
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Giltbead seabream and gold fish are some of the names that refer to the fish rightfully entitled the king of the Adriatic. Besides having the most delicious meat of all white fish, it possesses a characteristic that will leave no fisherman indifferent. Many fishing stories will tell you about its grit, some of them are unbelievable, but whether you believe it or not, they’re true Text by: Mladen Marković, Photographs: RNJ (Archive)
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here are many articles describing this fish as something unique, when it comes to shore fishing. Of course, we are not talking about the small immature exemplars that got hurt as collateral damage during any act of shore fishing. The matter is, due to sharing the living space with the other white fish species, the immature giltbead seabream are victims of fishermen who exercise the catch & cook discipline, who are not worth wasting words, however, grown mature fish are caught only by experienced fishermen, or giltbeaders as we call them sometimes with the utmost respect. How to recognize an experienced giltbeader? The answer is simple, because masters of giltbead seabream fishing are easy to recognize. If you catch
sight of a hunched figure that is trying all kinds of systems (baits, rods reels...) and holding its position for days and nights regardless of the weather conditions...there's no question about it, you have found him. Everyone who went fishing in Mali LoĹĄinj must have seen the local giltbeader team, surely among the best in the entire Adriatic area, because they use sophisticated tackle, and they know the giltbead seabream behavior better than anyone. You can often see them as they observe fish movement before they even start fishing, and that's the first advice. That is, know your enemy, some would say! Enough with the jokes, if you go fishing for the Adriatic queen you must be thoroughly prepared, that is, prepare the best tackle that you can put your hands on, because giltbead seabream has true grit and it
will punish you for the slightest mistake.
Giltbead seabream Giltbead seabream belongs to the sparidae family and can grow up to around 60 centimetre in length, and weigh up to ten kilo, according to ichthyologists, although a few specimens weighing 12 kg were caught in the Adriatic too. Giltbead seabream has a strong body so that it's no wonder that it's an excellent swimmer. They are found all over the Adriatic, but mostly prefer sandy and muddy sea beds. They particularly enjoy coming to coves and ports, but it's forbidden to go fishing in our ports, so be careful, because of the implacable harbour patrol. We can usually find them in depths ranging from 5 to 10 meters, but this fish can also descend
The last swim in the cracks
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