{"id":564,"date":"2026-10-08T22:36:59","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T22:36:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reelzy.co\/blog\/what-can-you-catch-fishing-malaga-by-month\/"},"modified":"2026-10-13T20:42:26","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T20:42:26","slug":"what-can-you-catch-fishing-malaga-by-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reelzy.co\/blog\/what-can-you-catch-fishing-malaga-by-month\/","title":{"rendered":"What Can You Catch Fishing in M\u00e1laga? A Month by Month Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

Off M\u00e1laga you can catch something worth eating in every month of the year, but not the same fish. Winter and spring belong to the reef species, sea bream, dentex and conger, caught bottom fishing over rock and wrecks. Summer brings the fast pelagics, bonito, little tunny and amberjack. Autumn is the best all round season, when dorado (lampuga) arrive and the reef fish feed hard before winter. Bluefin tuna pass through too, but in 2026 recreational bluefin fishing in Spain is closed.<\/p>\n

The short answer<\/h2>\n

Book bottom fishing from November to April and trolling from June to November, and treat September and October as the months when you can do both well.<\/strong> The Costa del Sol sits right next to the Strait of Gibraltar, so Atlantic water and Mediterranean water meet off the coast. That mix is why the species list is long, and also why it moves around: a warm or cold year shifts every window below by a few weeks. A good skipper will tell you what has actually been biting that week, which is worth more than any calendar, including this one.<\/p>\n

Month by month<\/h2>\n

Read this as the usual pattern for boat fishing out of M\u00e1laga, Benalm\u00e1dena, Fuengirola and Marbella, not a promise.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Months<\/th>\nWhat boats usually target<\/th>\nHow<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
December to February<\/td>\nSea bream, pandora, dentex, conger, squid at dusk<\/td>\nBottom fishing over rock and wrecks, short trips on calm days<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
March to May<\/td>\nDentex, sea bream, early bonito, bluefin passing the Strait<\/td>\nBottom fishing and drift fishing, first trolling as water warms<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
June to August<\/td>\nBonito, little tunny, amberjack, albacore offshore<\/td>\nTrolling and jigging, early starts to beat the afternoon wind<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
September to November<\/td>\nDorado (lampuga), amberjack, bonito, dentex, bream<\/td>\nTrolling for pelagics, bottom fishing on the reefs, mixed trips<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n

Winter: December to February<\/h3>\n

The sea is at its coolest and the weather comes in fronts, so trips are planned around calm windows. What you lose in comfort you gain in reef fishing. Sea bream and pandora feed over rocky ground, dentex take live bait or jigs close to structure, and conger come up off wrecks. Squid fishing at dusk is a local favourite in the colder months and a fun short trip for families. Ask the captain whether the boat has a cabin: a 10 hour day in January is much kinder with somewhere warm to sit.<\/p>\n

Spring: March to May<\/h3>\n

As the water warms the reef fishing stays good and the first pelagics show. This is classic dentex<\/a> time, the fish Mediterranean anglers rate above almost anything for its fight and its taste. Bonito start to appear on the troll late in the season. Spring is also when Atlantic bluefin tuna run through the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean to spawn, which is why tuna stories are so common along this coast. Read the bluefin section below before you book a trip around them.<\/p>\n

Summer: June to August<\/h3>\n

Flat mornings and a westerly or easterly wind that builds after lunch. Boats leave early and troll for bonito<\/a>, little tunny and amberjack, or jig over deeper ground. Albacore sit further offshore and need a longer day and a bigger boat. Summer is also the busiest season for families and groups on holiday, so book ahead and ask how many guests share the boat on a shared trip.<\/p>\n

Autumn: September to November<\/h3>\n

If you can choose your month, choose this one. The sea is still warm, the crowds have gone, and dorado (called lampuga locally, mahi mahi elsewhere) arrive around floating cover in late summer and autumn. In the Balearic Islands, for comparison, the 2026 lampuga season opened on 25 August. Amberjack and bonito are still about, and the reef fish feed hard before winter, so a mixed day of trolling in the morning and bottom fishing after is realistic.<\/p>\n

Bluefin tuna: read this before you book<\/h2>\n

Bluefin are the fish everyone asks about, and the answer for 2026 is simple. Spain’s ministry of fisheries closed recreational bluefin fishing on 23 June 2026 because the recreational quota was used up, which means no catching, keeping on board or landing bluefin from a recreational boat for the rest of the season (ministry resolution<\/a>). The rules are set again every year and the window can be short, so if a tuna trip is the whole point of your holiday, ask the captain what is open for your dates before you pay. Our guide to fishing licences in Spain and PescaREC<\/a> explains the catch declaration rules that apply on top.<\/p>\n

What the boats here actually offer<\/h2>\n

There are three kinds of day out of M\u00e1laga and Marbella, and the boat you pick decides which fish you can realistically meet.<\/p>\n

Reef and light tackle days.<\/strong> Rods and lines sized for bream, dentex and bonito, ideal for beginners and children. La Starfisher<\/a>, skippered by a captain with more than 20 years on this coast, runs 10 hour days for up to 8 guests offshore and over reefs, with light tackle and a list that covers bonito, conger, dentex, dorado and gilt-head bream. The fishing licence is included and the crew keeps the catch, so check that suits you before you book.<\/p>\n

Trolling and jigging days.<\/strong> Bigger boats, longer days, aimed at the pelagics. La Faeton Blue Marlin<\/a> is a 26 to 40 ft cabin cruiser with a flybridge that takes up to 12 guests on full day trips with trolling, drift fishing and jigging, and here guests keep their catch. Pickup and drop-off are included, which matters if you are staying inland or along the coast.<\/p>\n

Mixed family and group days from Marbella.<\/strong> Blue Tide Marbella<\/a> takes up to 9 on a sportfishing boat and switches between trolling and bottom fishing depending on the season, with rods, tackle, bait and cold drinks on board. It suits families, groups of friends and team days where not everyone is a keen angler.<\/p>\n

You can compare all of them on the M\u00e1laga fishing charters<\/a> and Marbella fishing charters<\/a> pages.<\/p>\n

What changes the catch more than the month<\/h2>\n