Countdown to the 17th Spanish Coastal Trolling Championship

The waters off Ibiza will host the 17th Spanish Coastal Trolling Championship from the 16th to the 18th of October, a catch-and-release competition in which every strike, every decision on board and every release will count towards determining the new national champions.

It will still be dark when activity begins at the Santa Eulalia Nautical Club. At seven o’clock on Saturday morning, 17th of October, skippers and crews will begin a day that will last eight hours at sea, during which every detail could make the difference. Breakfast, signing of the start sheets, boarding and, at exactly eight o’clock, the start of the only heat that will decide the 17th Spanish Coastal Trolling Championship.

Santa Eulalia Bay will provide the setting for one of the country’s leading events in this discipline of sport fishing. The championship will take place from the 16th to the 18th of October and will be based at the Santa Eulalia Nautical Club. It is convened by the Spanish Federation of Fishing and Casting and organised by the Balearic Federation of Fishing and Casting, under the supervision of the discipline’s Technical Committee.

This will not, however, be a competition in which success is measured by the amount of fish brought ashore. Quite the opposite. The Spanish Championship will be held entirely under a catch-and-release system: all target species must be returned to the sea in the best possible condition, and none of the fish caught during the competition may be killed.

That principle will shape much of what happens on board. Every catch must be documented on video in accordance with a very specific protocol. The recording must be continuous, show part of the fishing action, clearly identify the species, and document the unhooking and release process alongside the cards identifying both the catch and the boat. If the jury cannot properly verify the entire procedure, the fish will not score.

Finding the fish, therefore, will not be enough. Every manoeuvre must be carried out precisely, the crew must work in coordination, and the entire process must be properly documented. The final standings will be determined by adding the points awarded for catches and releases validated by the jury, with different values assigned according to species. In the event of a tie, the team that has successfully validated the greater number of fish will take precedence.

The Spanish Championship will be decided in a single eight-hour heat, leaving virtually no margin for recovering from a bad day. The specific fishing area will be announced at the skippers’ meeting and may only be changed for safety reasons or other circumstances that warrant doing so.

Strategy will therefore begin even before the lines are put in the water. Reading the conditions, choosing where to search for target species, deciding how long to maintain each course and managing the available hours will all form part of a competition in which consistency cannot be built over several days: everything will be decided on Saturday.

The regulations will allow a maximum of five rods in action per boat, and fishing will only be permitted by trolling, with the boat always underway. Other techniques such as spinning and jigging will not be allowed, nor will the use of natural bait. The hooks and lures themselves will also be subject to restrictions designed to minimise injury to the fish before they are returned to the water.

The championship will officially begin on Friday, 16th of October, with the arrival and registration of participants. That afternoon, between 7:00 and 8:00 p.m., the skippers’ meeting will take place. Boat numbers will be drawn and the final technical details will be announced, along with the fishing area and the communication systems planned for the competition day.

Saturday will bring the decisive moment. After eight hours of navigation and fishing, the boats must be back in port by 4:00 p.m. Another crucial part of the competition will then begin: the submission of the catch sheets and video recordings, allowing the jury to verify which fish comply with the protocol and which can be officially included in the standings.

The results are scheduled to be published at 6:00 p.m., and two hours later the dinner and trophy presentation will bring the championship to a close. The three highest-ranked boats will receive gold, silver and bronze medals, recognising the Spanish champion, runner-up and third-place finisher.

The organisers may accept a maximum of 25 boats, with registration open until the 8th of October at 8:00 p.m.

Over the course of the weekend, Santa Eulalia will once again become a meeting point for sport fishing, hosting a competition in which technique, knowledge of the sea, strategy and teamwork will have to coexist with the principle that defines the championship above all else: catch, document and return every fish to the sea in order to keep competing.