The Day We Landed Two 100-Pound Dogtooth Groupers off Mallorca
By Jonas Bock
Mallorca, a small island in the Mediterranean Sea next to the Strait of Gibraltar. It´s a place where nobody expects much. But we proved once again, why it is one of the hidden gems of sport fishing.
On the 26th of April, when we went out fishing in what is arguably one of the best spots in the Mediterranean Sea. The mighty Fort de Frances or in this text named Banco. It is an underwater structure measuring 4,5 miles by 2 miles. To the east, the shelf drops to more than 8,500 feet and to the other three sides down to 3,600 feet. However, the Banco rises to 300 feet, forming the only structure in the area, where the ideal conditions for baitfish, currents and large fish converge. End of April and May are the perfect time to go there, because the giant bluefin tuna come into the Mediterranean Sea to spawn.
We went out prepared to battle big tunas, swordfish and six gill sharks. Also to get some nice bottom fish such as john dory and red porgies for eating. We knew that the big grouper come into shallower water in spring, and in the past, we were able to catch them but not often – usually one specimen per trip – and usually on slow-jigging. We dropped our live bait in the water and were hooked up straight away with some nice 150-pound bluefin tuna. The bottom fishing was going great as well. The first day, we landed three tuna and caught lots of other good fish. The next day began with a 500-pound bluefin, which made everyone happy. In the evening, we prepared some delicious fish nuggets made fresh from black-spot seabream, as well as ceviche. We prepared for the night and whatever darkness would bring.
But before we knew it, the float from the nearest tuna rod went under, and a fierce battle began. The fish didn’t want to come up and was just stayed very close to the bottom. Everyone on the boat was thinking the same thing but nobody wanted to jinx it. It could be a big grouper! After 10 minutes the fish was brought up from the bottom, and it got considerably lighter on the rod. We could now say it with certainty that there was a nice grouper on the end of the line. The atmosphere was tense and when the fish rose to the surface, belly up, everyone erupted in screams because it was now clear that the adversary at the end of the line was a tasty, big dogtooth grouper. We gaffed it, pulled it onto the boat, and celebrated. While I was deploying the tuna rods again, my Captain, Marek, screamed over the top of everyone´s cheering, that there was a big mark on the sonar right under the baitfish I had just send down. Could there be more grouper down there? I put the baitfish further down and it seconds later, the rod started to bend once more. The next angler was quick on the rod and after another vicious battle we managed to get the second dogtooth grouper into the boat in less than 20 minutes after landing the first one. We stood there shocked and overjoyed at what we just accomplished.
We spent the next hour filleting the two fish and putting them straight on ice to ensure optimal quality. Fortunately, we had enough ice on board, because we were planning to stay out at sea five days. From that point on we only practiced catch and release because we already had our boxes full of fish. We weighed the first grouper before cutting it up and found that it was 112 pounds; the second one weighed 106 pounds.
After spending several days at sea, we returned with a haul of tuna, a few sharks and, of course, plenty of grouper fillets. All in all, it was a very successful trip!
Author: Jonas Bock
Phone: +49 176 72993149
e-Mail: jonasbock84@gmail.com
Website: https://www.balearicfishingcharter.com
Company: Balearic Fishing Charter
Location: Cala Figuera, Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain)
