With its 1385 km of coastline, a fishing trip in Morocco may make your dream of catching a giant fish come true. The number of fishing spots in Morocco is enormous. Alternating at the same time sandy beaches, rocks and lagoons, you will always find a very nice little corner to catch some fish.
Mirleft :
As a first stop, we have chosen to stop at Mirleft. A small beach town located 160 kilometers south of Agadir and 20 kilometers north of Sidi Ifni.
Mirleft beach is made up of rocks, with pretty sandy coves. We stayed there for two nights, mainly to collect our gear and bait and everything we usually need for our fishing and camping trips. Indeed during this short stay, the ocean was very rough and did not allow us to fish; however we have been here a lot of times before and I can personally certify that here you can surely catch some good sized Bass, Seabreams and Sheepheads with bloodworms and sardines. The bloodworms are easy to find when browsing the lagoons and some beaches at low tide. As for sardines, just go to the market and negotiate the price (around 10 Moroccan Dirhams a kilo).
You can also do the same for bloodworms, if you don’t want to bother because it will only cost you two dirhams per unit! On the other hand, in case of bad weather, as was the case for us, you can always fish from the cliffs, its safer when the waves are high and we still catch some good size fish.
Second stop: Naila. Very famous for its Pink Flamingos , located 450 km south of Agadir, it is a charming little beach consisting of a large lagoon, protected by a bar of sand islets and sumptuous cliffs. This place for fishing is great and exotic. There are several options available to you. As a playground, you have the lagoon, ideal with children, the large beach or the cliffs. As for the Lagoon, It’s a very nice and quiet spot. It is located on the beach, just behind the barrier of islets that separates it from the Atlantic Ocean. We hired a boat for 400 Moroccan Dirhams that took us to the other side of the lagoon where the big sand dunes are and that’s where we set our camp and did all our fishing. The bait we used here was the same, bloodworms during the day and sardines at night. we caught few sea breams, and some sea trout during the day and few eels with a couple of stingrays at night.
Something I noticed from fishing at this lagoon quiet few times is that it is rare to find fish weighing more than one kilo, especially during the day, because it is above all a nourishing zone. Another very interesting spot: the exit from the lagoon, where violent currents pass (beware!).
Akhfennir :
finally, our last and favorite spot was the magical cliffs of Akhfennir and its famous caves. Who has not seen the Thalassa report filmed on Moroccan fishermen living on the cliffs? In addition to having watched this report, we do experience it each time!!. The experience is magical, we highly recommend it.
Here the bait is either Sardines, squid or calamari. We didn’t catch any big red drums (famous around here), but the atmosphere was great. It all started with a Moroccan tea and a discussion. The rest followed naturally. But the best moment of this fishing trip will be the fish cooked over a wood fire and eaten with your fingers, accompanied by local vegetables. This all makes you dream of huge fish, bundled up in your sleeping bag, because the nights are rather cool. In the spring fishermen here catches bass, sea breams and large congers as well as some huge red or black drums that can weigh up to 60 kilograms. Unfortunately the ocean was very strong during this session, and we did nothing. Definitely next time, “inch Allah” as we say. On the other hand, I suggest you take old fishing gear with you, believe me you will make people happy by bartering it and they will thank you! A pure Moroccan tradition. Apart from fishing, it is possible to discover the coast by renting ATVs for around 200 dirhams an hour, taste some fish Tagines on the local modest restaurants, surf the pretty waves of Tarfaya not too far or simply “laze” on some of the beautiful beaches in the area.
At the end of our fishing trip we all left the area with some sadness and bitterness counting on coming back as soon as time allows and of course keeping a great memory of it all.