Fishing for a Dream: Journey to Morocco with Andrea Petetta

As a passionate shore angler using artificial lures, I have always been irresistibly fascinated by the crevalle jack. Over the years, I have constantly tried—so far without success—to catch one of those large specimens that roam the Adriatic coast during the autumn months.

This year, however, I decided to pursue them elsewhere. With the travel agency GoToFish, we announced, during Pescare Show 2025, a fishing adventure in Dakhla, in Western Sahara, open to our subscribers.

So, in October, we set off with the goal of fishing both from shore and from boat to target the mighty crevalle jack, along with many other species inhabiting this part of the Atlantic Ocean.

The participants of the Morocco trip.

The setting is breathtaking: the sands of the Sahara meet the ocean, creating vast beaches interrupted by rocky cliffs plunging into the sea. The Gulf of Dakhla is a bay about 30 km long, sheltered from the waves but constantly swept by the wind. One of the features that impressed us most is the enormous tidal range (up to 4 meters), which completely transforms the landscape every few hours.

An example of Dakhla’s landscape: desert and ocean.

Shore spinning fishing is done with gear similar to what we use in the Mediterranean: 4000–5000 size reels and 40–100 gram casting rods with strong backbones to handle potential big catches. Casting distance is often the key to success: long rods (2.70–3 meters), thin braided lines, and aerodynamic lures make all the difference. In fact, the lures that gave us the most satisfaction were metal jigs, weighing 30–80 grams, thanks to their ability to be cast far, even against the wind.

We were amazed by the number of different species caught from the beach. Here, both Mediterranean species (such as spotted seabass, crevalle jack, amberjack, and barracuda) and tropical species, which I had personally never seen before, coexist. In some sessions, we caught more than 10 different species.

Giacomo and his spotted seabass (Dicentrarchus punctatus).

Bruno (2 meters tall) making even a decent-sized amberjack (Seriola dumerili) look small!

Alessandro with a fine barred jack (Campogramma glaycos).

The most unexpected fish caught by Giacomo: a rubberlip grunt (Plectorhinchus mediterraneus).

Boat/spin fishing from a small inflatable was by far the most exciting. It’s amazing to see how, even just a few hundred meters from the shore, the fish species change—and it’s much easier to catch large specimens. The star of the boat fishing was definitely the pompano, a carangid with a unique body shape that fights with extraordinary explosiveness. We caught them both with metal jigs and large soft plastics, often vertically. Their first run once hooked is simply unstoppable!

The Alexandrian pompano (Alectis alexandrina), a truly unique and incredibly feisty fish.

Catching multiple pompano was not difficult.

But the main goal of the trip was to encounter the giant crevalle jack, which rules these waters as well. We had trouble finding it from shore, likely due to the enormous number of mullet we encountered along the coast every day. When there is so much live bait available, it’s hard to fool the crevalle jack with artificial lures!

Huge schools of mullet along the coasts of Dakhla.

From the inflatable, however, Giacomo and I were lucky enough to encounter the crevalle jacks while moving from one spot to another. There were many of them, gigantic (estimated at least 20 kg each), hunting the mullet. It wasn’t easy to entice them to strike, but we managed. I fooled one by quickly skipping an 80-gram metal jig just below the surface. Meanwhile, Giacomo, while I was fighting mine, managed to hook another with a large jerkbait. After a long battle (it took Giacomo 40 minutes!), we both succeeded in conquering this incredible predator.

My giant crevalle jack (Lichia amia).

Giacomo’s giant crevalle jack.

This double catch with my best friend was undoubtedly an unforgettable moment. And I finally achieved a dream I had been chasing for too many years: to catch a giant crevalle jack on spinning gear!