Cyprus-Forum.com

[Talisker]

I have the same problem, I am a useless fisherman. Inquiries to the local folk, many of them kids, who fish succesfully about bait and gear have shown that you must use the smallest hook and a variety of bait. Once on Hydra island the local kids brought out lots of fish using ground meat as bait. Not so strange when you consider that the most edible fish are carnivorous.

I may be useless at catching fish in Cyprus, but I can easily catch fish in the canal behind our house in the UK. In fact, I once caught a fish before I'd even begun fishing! This gave me huge kudos with my son and his friends who were with me. We arrived at the canal and the first thing I did was put some bait (a maggot) on the hook, then noticed that the line on the rod was slightly tangled, so started the untangling process (definitely not one of the joys of fishing!). Whilst doing this, the hook and bait were dangling in the water, and a suicidal fish hook gleefully 'took the bait'. The boys were impressed! Trouble is - you wouldn't want to eat any fish from the canal.........

[Nikitas]

Talisker,

Lately I have been thinking of a fish trap, the thing they call "skarka" in Cyprus. It has certain advantages, like no hooks and lines to tangle, no need to sit on top of it waiting for the bite. According to my info you must age it first by burying it in wet soil, rub it with foul smelling mixtures containing fish oils, then you bait it and sink it at a likely spot with a float on top (presumably so you can find it again). Do this at night and pick up in the morning and then you can choose which of the fish you want and return the rest to the water unharmed. It sounds neat and tidy and for that reason it will probably not work, but it would be fun to try.

[Nikitas]

Cyprusgrump,

I do not know about souvla, but once I threw some souvlaki and salad in the water and a whole bunch of Kefaloi mobbed it and ate it. That was in Poros in Greece, maybe in Cyprus the fish are more choosy, the cuisine being richer than here.

[cyprusgrump]

I went fishing with a friend, his brother and his father in Zygi… I think lots of fish escape from the fish farm there.

Anyway, we were all in a small boat and the father pulled out one fish after another – we were using the same bait, some paste that they had made up. Of course we insisted that we swap tackle as it must be the rod making the difference. Of course, he kept pulling fish out while we caught nothing.

Final score, Father 12, sons 3 between them and me none.

So it must be more to do with technique than bait or tackle.

[Talisker]

Talisker,

Lately I have been thinking of a fish trap, the thing they call "skarka" in Cyprus. It has certain advantages, like no hooks and lines to tangle, no need to sit on top of it waiting for the bite. According to my info you must age it first by burying it in wet soil, rub it with foul smelling mixtures containing fish oils, then you bait it and sink it at a likely spot with a float on top (presumably so you can find it again). Do this at night and pick up in the morning and then you can choose which of the fish you want and return the rest to the water unharmed. It sounds neat and tidy and for that reason it will probably not work, but it would be fun to try.

Nikitas,

I love the sound of the 'skarka' - hassle-free fishing . I'm presuming it has a similar design to the traditional lobster pot i.e. easy to enter, near-impossible to exit?

[Talisker]

Could the difficulty in catching fish in Cyprus be due to a general lack of fish in this part of the Mediterranean? My 'surveys' are done by snorkelling (I'm not volunteering at this time of year!), but I have noticed there is really massive diversity and quantity of fish off the Mani coastline in Greece compared with my observations in Cyprus over recent years. Anyone else notice fish numbers diminishing around Cyprus, or to be much lower than other parts of the Med?

[bill cobbett]

Never attempted sea fishing in Cy but have had some great times at some of the dams. This site may be helpful.

http://www.charisfishing.com/

[Talisker]

Never attempted sea fishing in Cy but have had some great times at some of the dams. This site may be helpful.

http://www.charisfishing.com/

Thanks Bill, this looks like a great site. I was at one of the dams yesterday and wondering about fishing.

[bill cobbett]

Never attempted sea fishing in Cy but have had some great times at some of the dams. This site may be helpful.

http://www.charisfishing.com/

Thanks Bill, this looks like a great site. I was at one of the dams yesterday and wondering about fishing.

Which one T ? I've heard that water levels are at dire levels with very bad effects on the fish. I've seen pictures of lots of dead fish. Are you able to report a first hand account ?

[Talisker]

Never attempted sea fishing in Cy but have had some great times at some of the dams. This site may be helpful.

http://www.charisfishing.com/

Thanks Bill, this looks like a great site. I was at one of the dams yesterday and wondering about fishing.

Which one T ? I've heard that water levels are at dire levels with very bad effects on the fish. I've seen pictures of lots of dead fish. Are you able to report a first hand account ?

Dam behind Argaka near Polis, Bill, and it is quite full! Water about the 22m level, estimate it is about 4m below the overflow level. No sign of dead fish either. Reassuring news for anglers and Argakans(?) alike.......