Instant bookingAxopar 37 cabin with AC and 600 hpFree cancellation up to 1 day beforeFrom €1,700
Mister Fish ChartersFree cancellation up to 5 days beforeFrom €350
Pesca en barco en Marbella Full refund if weather cancelsFrom €830
Most rockfish live tight to hard bottom: reef, rubble and the edges of deeper banks. They sit still and engulf whatever small fish, prawn or crab comes close. In Spain the gallineta, or blackbelly rosefish, is a red, big-eyed rockfish of deep water and is highly valued in the kitchen for its firm white flesh. Like their cousins the scorpionfish, rockfish have sharp fin spines, so leave the handling to the crew.
Rockfish from Marbella and Malta
Pesca en barco en Marbella runs private trips from 08:00 out of Marbella, from three hours up to eight, for up to 9. The skipper picks trolling, drifting or bottom fishing to suit the season and supplies rods, rigs and bait, with cold drinks, insurance and permits included.
In Malta, Adele II is the long day: a 37 foot Axopar from Floriana, private from 08:00 for twelve hours with up to 11 aboard, quick enough to reach deeper ground within her 12 nautical mile licence and fitted with an air conditioned cabin. Mister Fish Charters is the short one: up to 4 people from Marsascala, three or four hours from 09:00, with bait fishing and slow pitch jigging over the reefs. Rockfish take a slowly worked jig near the bottom as well as a bait, which suits a slow pitch session.
On all three boats rockfish come with the bottom fishing rather than being the whole plan, sharing the ground with bream, dentex and grouper. Deeper drops mean heavier leads and a longer wind up, so if anyone in your group is new to it, ask how deep the skipper expects to fish.
Questions and answers
Short answers to what people ask before they book. Anything else, ask the captain in chat.
What is rockfish called in Spain, and is it good to eat?
The deep-water rockfish in Spain is the gallineta, or blackbelly rosefish, and it is valued for its firm white flesh in stews and baked dishes. Pesca en barco en Marbella and the two Malta boats catch rockfish while bottom fishing.
Which rockfish trip suits a small group with little time?
Mister Fish Charters in Marsascala, Malta, runs private trips of three or four hours from 09:00 for up to 4. In Spain, Pesca en barco en Marbella also offers a three hour trip from 08:00 for up to 9.