And enjoy nature!
Oh yeah, sitting on a concrete pier, catching tiny fish.
Well, I imagine nature is more enjoyable after a few pom kryptonites
Havenāt been on this site for awhile. Really happy to find a fishing post. A few replies and observationsā¦
- No, you do not need a fishing license here in Taiwan, either for fresh or saltwater fishing.
- Apart from being a blast to catch, snakeheads are actually damn tasty! I typically catch-and-release most of what I catch, but occasionally will grab a snakehead for lunch when the water is decent. If you can filet a fish and have a frying pan and some butter, you will enjoy them a lot. They are predators and if you know fish, youāll understand why that makes a difference. Certainly better than carp or chubs and other bottom feeder soup-fish, lol.
- If you just want to have a fun afternoon fishing in Taipei, head to pretty much any spot on the Keelung or Xindian River (some areas are nice, some are a little stinky and industrial, some have a portable toilet or nearby Seven-11 or a place to sit down under a bridge out of the rain, others just some weeds and flies, pick a place that you can deal with, YMMV). Anyways, both rivers are teaming with absolute shitloads of tilapia, many quite large. They bite and fight hard. I donāt eat them but theyāre a lot of fun. All you need is a small hook baited with one of those silicone glow-in-the-dark beads. No real bait required. They are hungry. Like all rivers, youāll sometimes pull up some other fish to surprise you on occasion, including nice catfish. Iāve even caught stingrays near Nangang!
- There are pay-ponds all aorund Taipei that provide big-fish satisfaction for those willing to pay. I especially enjoy a few places in Hsinchu where I can catch-and-battle-and-release many 20+kg red drum and groupers for 3 or 6 hours and then head home.
- As others have pointed out, the shorelines around here are overfished. Unless you have a secret honey-hole, you end up sitting on a pier with 300 other people, trying to lift occasional small fish up to asphalt 10 meters above the water. I donāt really enjoy that, but if you do, thereās a lot of that to be found along the coast, especially near any harbor. Youāll get charged for parking and possible an entry fee as well.
- There are fishing party-boats you can sign onto that will take you out for beltfish or mackerel or anything else that happens to be swimming by that week. The prices are typically very reasonable. If youāre in northern Taiwan, a good place to start is Keelung Harbor, from where multiple boats sailā thereās a booking desk by the waterfront restaurants. Iām sure there are similar places near Tainan and Kaohsiung.
- If you have a good stomach and want to catch some lovely sashimi, book a boat to the Daoyutai (Senkaku) Islands and bring home a cooler of big Japanese Amberjack. Absolutely delicious. Be warned, they swim at about 200m depth. You will be vertical jigging with 600g steel jigs. If you donāt own an electric reel, you will if you go a second time, hehe. The fish are amazing but fyi the round trip is maybe 32 hours at sea. Not for casual fishers.
There are many other reservoirs and lakes and places to tryā ask me and I might know them. I live in Taipei, but I venture out all over the island in search of decent fishing, at least once every week or two. Hope you find this helpful. Let me know if you need more help, okay?
You obviously suck at fishing then, right?
Itās like taking up golf or playing bridge, isnāt it? Just a gradual acceptance of the ageing process.
A lot of youngsters here do it for sport, itās not just for old people to pass the time.
It depends on what form of fishing you like. I like to fly fish and tenkara fish, so you are always on the move hiking along the rivers or lakes looking for opportunities, so it is not just sitting there (not my scene). I was fishing off the beach a few weeks ago chest deep in the waves lovely in this weather.
1 Like