Spearing in Italy (freshwater)

[michl18]

hELLO guys,
I heard that it is possible to go spearing in the Garda Lake in Italy (freshwater) for around 20 € a day.
Is this possible ?
Where to buy a licence? any regulations ?
thanks mike

[spaghetti]

Yes it's possible all year long and you can spear any species of fish. The water is never crystal clear, but it's so much fun and quite fishy.
Yes you need a license but it's easy to get and it doesn't cost 20 euro a day, but about 20 euro for three months. When you get there, you must go to the Town Hall of the town where you're settling (ask for the Comune or Municipio) and ask for a touristic fishing license. Then you' ll start having fun: pikes, eels, tench, black bass, perch, trout, there's plenty.
some regulations:
-no scuba hunting
-no night hunting
-no lamp
-maximum 5kg fish per day + one single fish exceeding that limit (for instance, in a day, you may get a 7kg pike plus 4,99 kg of other mixed fish
-no spearing in ports, stay 500 meters away from beaches
-a buoy of float is compulsory
-no spearing fishes during the reproduction period of their species (I'll add a link below)
-no spearing undersized fish (I'll add a link below).
the links:
minimum size and reproduction periods:
http://www.pescare.com/Normative/Lom...isuretempi.htm
areas allowed in the 3 lakes and various regulations
Apnea Magazine - NORMATIVE, DIVIETI E DISPOSIZIONI PESCA IN APNEA LAGHI GARDA, COMO, ISEO

Just tell me exactly where on the lake you're planning to go (it's 160 kilometers of coast line!) and I'll give you some more specific tips on where to go, description of coastline and bottom, techniques, suggested gear and anything you need to know.
I'll be happy to help!

[Diving-Kai83]

Thats pretty cool spaghetti thank you a lot!!! Im really thinking of driving down to bella italia for a long weekend or more. I just have to drive about 500 km (living near Munich)
What do you think is the best spot or area to go spearing without having a boat?
Thats my main concern for the moment.
Do you have to swim far out to get some good fish or spot?
The best thing would be if there is a spot where it gets deep fast, because its not very secure to be out +200m with all the insane drunk austrian and german hobbycaptains and their boats ;o)

[spaghetti]

For Diving-Kai83
you don't necessarily need a boat, there are many good spots near the shore all around the 160 kilometers of lake shoreline. Boat traffic and related dangers are a real issue especially in Summer, but if you come in april-may (which is the best season) the situation is acceptable.
If you arrive from Munich driving down the Brenner Pass, a place to go could be Malcesine, in the middle of the east coast: very beatiful town, big choice of hotels and accomodation for any budget. A beach called Navene is the most appreciated spot in malcesine: you enter water from a beach and the bottom is interesting with spots of sand, kelp, rocks, then it goes down pretty suddenly. In April you may be lucky enough to find some big pikes in shallow water. And if the weather will warm up this months it will also be plenty of eels and tench. If you go early in the morning at Navene beach, on weekends you might meet some local spearos and ask some tips to them.
To be honest I am more familiar with south western portion, from Sirmione to Manerba: more choice of different bottoms, but for you it would be one more hour to drive.
---
Bring on a 5 mil wetsuit, a 75cm bandgun (a 90 might be too long most of the times) and a short with 5 pronger for eels, a mask with wide field of vision rather than low volume: water is never crystal clear, and the deeper you go, the darker it gets.
---
I'm taking some days of holiday there on the first week of April. Make me a whistle if you come over: we could eventually go hunting together if possile to arrange.

[Diving-Kai83]

Thanks for the good infos. Unfortunately I have to work until July, but who knows maybe I can get some days off and Ill come down to Italy and we can get some nice fish together.
I just have a Omer Excalibur 90 so I have to deal with it

[spaghetti]

Originally Posted by Diving-Kai83

Thanks for the good infos. Unfortunately I have to work until July, but who knows maybe I can get some days off and Ill come down to Italy and we can get some nice fish together.
I just have a Omer Excalibur 90 so I have to deal with it

Don't worry: whenever you come let me know anyway. I don't kow if I'll be there in summer but I know many spearos in the area who will be happy to help you to enjoy the spearing.
For the gun, no worry as well: whenever you come I'll set things to make sure you'll find some spearguns to borrow. You can use your 90 anyway for hunting deep pikes with the "dive-bombing" tecnhique, or also for shallow water agguato on clear water days (after south winds it's always nicely clear).
Don't forget: let me know when you come!

[Pastor]

Going to get myself down there too as soon as I can. Fresh water spearing would be a new experience to me. What's the main techniques used? Similar to sea water?

[spaghetti]

yes basically the same techniques apply, with variants related to bottom and visibility: if it has been raining with streams pouring in, or if it's very hot in summers and micro-algae grow, you could find yourself doing aspetto with a 60cm gun!!!
However it's agguato for pike, tench and perch, aspetto for black bass and Cephalus Cabeda (a sort of freshwater mullet), rock and hole for eels and turbots. There are also carps, gizzard, bluegill and lake trouts (but trouts have become rare).
The lake we're talking about, Garda, is very deep (340 meters in the deepest pit) with 25 different local winds and lots of different types of bottoms.
The behaviour and distribtion of fish may change a lot according to the season, and thus the techniques. In the winter all fish except gizzards, bluegills and mullet stay 30 meters deep. Pikes come shallow in early spring, then the sink back to 30 meters in summer, and get shallow again in sept/oct, and finally go back to 30 meters for the winter.
Deep agguato for pike is the most difficult technique: you must dive slow motion "dead-leaf" style down to 30 meters in dark, murky, 7°C cold water. It's not for everyone! (that's why I think I'll wait till april).
I tried a hunting session in the lake three weeks ago. Could stay in just for half an hour (too cold) but I did hit something for dinner. I'll post some pics soon.

[foxfish]

How big do the fish grow & do you eat them?

[Pastor]

Originally Posted by spaghetti

with 25 different local winds and lots of different types of bottoms.

Exactly the same here with the local beer monsters

It sounds very like what we have up here, rain is a killer for us or wind from any direction because we are on an island the tide brings around the murk from the other side. I had no idea lake Garda was that deep.

[spaghetti]

Originally Posted by foxfish

How big do the fish grow & do you eat them?

when I convinced my wife to move here almost three years ago she was surprised of the big fish I was bringing home, so much bigger than my seaside catches (except the occasional amberjacks and leerfish)
My personal records in the lake are: 9kg pike, 4kg blackbass, 1,35 kg perch, 5 kg tench, 18,5 kilograms carp.
Coming from the sea, my wife was skeptycal and didnt believe that lake fish could taste any good, but they do taste good! (except I don't eat carp and gizzards).
Some pics of where I'm living, tomorrow pics of my cacthes


...

[foxfish]

You will definitely get points if you can show pics of fish that big!

[glowworm]

Spaghetti is that correct you get Turbot in the lake?

[spaghetti]

Originally Posted by glowworm

Spaghetti is that correct you get Turbot in the lake?

Burbot, not Turbot. Did I say Burbot? Or Turbot? OMG
Burbot (Lota Lota) is a gadoid same as cod. I think it's the only freshwater cod existing.
I found some pics in the meantime, just a few. Struggling with the scanner but I'll post soon for those who don't believe

[glowworm]

Pictures will be interesting.

Do you eat Tench? I always thought they were very slimey.