A detailed article about fishing in Montenegro for tourists. What you need to know about it, where and how the locals fish, how much fishing costs for a tourist, what kind of fish you can catch, where and how to look for a boat for fishing. You will find this and much more later in the article. Fishing is a very popular activity among the locals, especially among the elderly. But let’s talk about everything in order.
Table of contents:
- Fishing in Montenegro: general points
- What kind of fish can be caught in Montenegro
- Sea fishing: everything you need to know
It will be difficult for you to plan your dream trip to Montenegro without these websites
Fishing in Montenegro: general points
Fishing in Montenegro is a popular hobby and pastime for both locals and tourists. But fishing is different. Here you can fish for free, and for 300-400 euros. Let’s figure it out together:
- In Montenegro, there are about 40 large lakes for this region in which fish are caught.
- There are also several dozen rivers. The largest river is the Tara. Almost all the rivers of Montenegro are mountainous with turbulent streams and icy water. In such rivers they catch grayling, river trout.
- The coast of Montenegro is washed by the Adriatic Sea. The link is a large article: where you will learn everything about the sea in Montenegro.
It’s important to know:
In Montenegro, there is a huge problem with live bait: it is impossible to find maggots, worms, bloodworms, and so on. Locals fish on turntables, spinners, wobblers. When fishing from the shore, bread and dough are used as bait. For some fishing methods, mussels and chicken hearts are used, but this is more of an exception.
To sit on the shore and set up a feeder – you will not succeed here. There is no such way of fishing here.
What kind of fish can be caught in Montenegro
The lakes are mainly fished for trout, char and probably perch. And I have not heard of bream or roach being caught here. And fishing in the lakes here is not very popular with tourists. Almost all travelers want to try their hand at sea fishing.
About fishing in the lakes:
Almost all national parks in the country (Durmitor, Biogradska Gora, Skadar) allow fishing with your fishing gear. A 1 day license costs 20 euros. Local fishermen here catch only trout. You can read more about these locations in the article: National parks of Montenegro.
Here is a list of the most common fish that can be caught off the coast of Montenegro:
- European bass (Dicentrarchus labrax). But the locals call it sea bass 🙂
- Redfish – Sebastes marinus. Delicious when smoked
- Barracuda
- Mackerel
- Moray eels. Very tasty by the way. I tried it for the first time in Montenegro.
- Mullet
- Dorado
- Sea eels
- Well, and tops the list of Montenegrin cherished trophies – tuna. The most desired fish. Fishing for tuna is the most expensive 🙂
Interesting to know:
Spearfishing is allowed and popular with locals in Montenegro. The fish are shot either from a spear gun or a crossbow. They hunt far from the beaches among the rocks.
The most popular fishing among tourists is sea fishing.
Sea fishing in Montenegro: everything you need to know
Few common points.
- Sea fishing in Montenegro is allowed everywhere.
- Fishing is prohibited only on city beaches
- Sea fishing also requires a license, it costs 6 euros per day in 2022. But here’s the point:
- If you fish from the shore, no one cares. Nobody needs your license.
- And if you go sea fishing on a boat, then the issue with the license is decided by the one who organizes this activity for you.
Fishing from the shore in Montenegro
Fishing on the beaches is prohibited in all cities. Therefore, all fishermen look for rocks where it is deep enough and fish there.
- It’s free
- Most people use spinning rods like we do. The bait is different: spinners, turntables, ordinary wobblers. You can catch a small barracuda or even a moray eel, there are groupers.
- If it is deep, fishermen use fishing line with a weight lead and a hook, dough or bread as bait. The catch is small fish for cats.
The Bay of Kotor is ideal for fishing from the shore. It is deep enough near the shore – more than 10m. And if you can cast a spinning rod for 50 meters, there is a depth of 30 meters or more.
If you stay on the coast of the sea, and not in the bay, then you need to look for rocks. They are everywhere, you just have to move along the coast for 500 meters from the main beach of any city. Budva, Becici, Petrovac, Dobra Voda, Ulcinj and so on. The only city where there are few rocks in the city is Bar. You need to drive at least 3 kilometers from the city.
It is better to take your tackle with you, there are few fishing shops here. There are tourist rods that, when folded, fit in a suitcase like tackle.
Sea fishing in Montenegro on a boat
Just take a walk in the marina of any city in the country, there are a lot of boats with advertisements for sea fishing. Finding a boat is not a problem at all, and in the Bay of Kotor too.
What you need to know about boat fishing:
- You are taken to the sea 3-10 km from the coast.
- Such fishing takes at least half a day, and even the whole day.
- All tackle and bait will be given to you
- You can take your catch with you.
- They fish in two main ways:
- Trolling. You can catch: tuna, perch, barracuda, probably even moray eels.
- Deep sea fishing. When the boat stops and you are fishing with line, hook and live bait (mussels, pieces of octopus) at a depth of 30-40 meters. You can catch: moray eel, dorado, squid and a dozen different fish.
Good to know:
Usually for the whole day you will try both ways of fishing and more than once. Trolling, of course, is more exciting, but it is more effective to stand still and pull the fish from the depth. But it happens for hours without a single bite when trolling.
Fishing in Montenegro: prices
And now about the prices. Fishing in Montenegro is not a cheap sea activity. For the most standard boat with a motor from 140 hp:
- Renting such a boat for the whole day costs about 300 euros (tackle rental included). You can try to bargain, but just keep in mind that 300 euros for the whole day is the standard rate.
- Two fishermen can be taken on such a boat. There may be more other people, such as your wife and children. Everything is negotiated in advance on the shore with the captain. But those who will fish – no more than two people. If you are fishing with a friend or companion, you will pay 150 euros each. Also, the owner of the boat can find a second fisherman. It will also cost 150 euros. The trip of other people (not fishermen) is free.
Good to know:
Getting seasick can happen quite badly in the open sea 3-10km from the coast. It’s not a good idea to get a lot of people on a boat, and then come back half an hour later to drop everyone off. Keep this in mind.
You get the usual sea fishing for 300 euros as I described above. I want to draw your attention to the fact that tuna fishing in Montenegro is offered separately and it is more expensive.
In fact, tuna fishing takes place in the same area as regular sea fishing for 300 euros. The same gear, the same trolling and route. The only difference is the price. Tuna fishing in Montenegro on average costs 60 euros more and the standard price is already somewhere around 350-360 euros.
Why such a difference in price, you ask? Everything is very simple, when you go fishing specifically for tuna, the captain buys 60 kilos of small sprat (which is on the market for 1 euro per kilogram) and during trolling it is constantly thrown overboard. The chance of catching tuna and large predators is greatly increased. That’s all the difference. In fact, the surcharge is for sprats for tuna bait.
There is a chance to catch tuna without sprat, but just for good luck. The choice is yours.
- A very useful article about yacht charter for a day/week, how much it costs, where to find it. We rented a yacht with a captain for a week, and it turned out to be cheaper than living on land.
- And about the budget of holidays in Montenegro, how much money to take with you, where and how much you can spend, read in this article at the link.
In conclusion: fishing in Montenegro is different and attracts tens of thousands of tourists every year. You can fish from the shore, you can find a boat and sail away for the whole day – the choice is yours.
Resources to help you plan your dream trip to Montenegro
- Flights at the best prices with discounts
- Car rental in Montenegro (cheaper – only by bus):
- Discovery Cars – a large international resource
- LocalRent – work with local rental companies. Leader in car rental in Montenegro.
- Hotels and apartments all over the country: Booking
- Tours, excursions and activities (including extreme ones):
- Comprehensive travel insurance: EKTA
- eSIM virtual sim card with internet in Montenegro
- Taxi and transfers from Montenegro airports: Intui.Travel