Fishing from tassergal to lure in the Mediterranean Sea

 

he tassergal is a predatory fish that frequents warm waters. It is considered a tropical or subtropical sea fish. There is no doubt about his hunting abilities when we observe this fish: a large mouth with sharp tooths, a thick jaw, large eyes, a tapered body... It is commonly between 30 and 70cm in which it can exceed the metre!

The tassergal, also rarely called the pomatome (Latin name Pomatomus Saltarix) is the only representative of the genus Pomatus and the family of pomatidae. It looks like a wolf or bar crossed with a liche friend. He also shares some mores with the latter. Its head is massive, it is silver to blue/green on the back. His head is vaguely reminiscent of that of a piranha! It has very characteristic pointed, spaced teeth that can identify the species in the blink of an eye.

It is present all over the world, from Australia to America or Mexico, to the Black Sea to the Atlantic coasts of Africa. Well known in the world as bluefish as a "game fish" recognized that has its followers in the world, it is a fish relatively unknown in France but tends to be more and more sought after. Indeed, with global warming, the coasts of the hexagon, during the summer and autumn lend themselves particularly to its hunt.

It is a pelagic predator that approaches the coasts in schools to hunt and breed. It migrates quite randomly, so some years it is found in abundance on certain areas and the following years it seems to be nowhere to be found. It is a fickle fish that can follow a decoy several times without attacking it. On the other hand, it can be very aggressive and cut in half a small fish or a live that passes within its reach. The tassergal is known for its brutality and explosive attacks.

Where and when to fish the tassergal?

The tassergal tends to spread in the Mediterranean, Corsica or in the mouths of the Rhone. It is mainly present during the hottest periods in summer and early autumn (June to September). The tassergal is fond of relatively "classic" spots where other predators such as the friendly liche, the wolf or the barracuda are found. Thus, harbour exits, estuaries, rocky points... are suitable areas to insist on. The beaches battered by the waves also seem to be good posts but wide to prospect. Juveniles are often found in large shoals in ponds, harbours or lagoons. From our observations, the tassergal seems to be aggressive and biting especially during the beginning of rising tide. This is a trend that has been observed several times but needs to be cross-referenced with other fishermen in different areas.

The big eyes of the tassergal make it very comfortable to hunt at night. The best times are in the evenings at nightfall or early at dawn. It can also be tracked down in the middle of the night, in the dark. It is an opportunistic predator mainly ichthyophage (feeding on fish) that hunts mules, orphies and small sparids. It often hunts in more or less important benches. It has a reputation for typing in anything that moves during short phases of frenzy and leaving prey dying or cut without even eating them!

How to fish the tassergal?

The tassergal is a powerful sport fish that requires the use of suitable equipment. A slightly heavy combo for the wolf will do the trick. But if liches run, I recommend a powerful cane even very powerful. I use an Element Rider Rising Phoenix S250XH from Illex (20-100gram power) with a Shimano Stella 5000SW. At 2.50m in length, I shoot very far from the edge and I properly animate the different decoys I use. On my reel, I have a braid in PE2 with a resistance of 30lbs (15kg). As a bottom line, I place a large fluorocarbon in 80 or 100lbs to protect myself from cuts. As remember, the tassergal has sharp teeth that can cut a bottom line as a pike or barracuda would. A friend was also cut on a big popper (14cm) that is to say.

From the point of view of decoys, the tassergal is very receptive to hard lures, swimming fish and surface lures. The queen fishing of this fish remains topwater fishing. The ideal is to use very present lures, with a brisk swim, emitting strong signals or having a nervous swim. Jerkbait-type swimming fish are very relevant when the tassergal do not go up to catch the lures on the surface. Recovery will have to be fast or very fast, interspersed with jerky animations.

In topwater, you can use spoons to flapper, popper, stickbait or riserbait that quickly come back to the surface or generate noise and splashes. Decoys for large exotic predators can be used! It is a gruelling fishery with relatively heavy equipment. Check and change your hooks regularly, they must be extremely pungent. The tassergal has a very hard mouth and it is unfortunate to pick up a fish because of this detail.

On the sidelines, the ironing must be very strong, the hooks very pungent, keep control because the fight is brutal and violent; the cuprgal jumps, shakes his head quickly, can probe, come back to you or make very quick rushes. Stalls are not uncommon... Fortunately, he's running out of steam.

Once the fish is dry, handle it carefully. If you want to release it, do it quickly because the tassergal starts off badly. Once you've tasted his surface attacks you'll only want to relive that moment!