Even more species hunting adventures on Crete: Part 1.

At the end of September last year, I headed off to Crete for a fortnight to chill out with my partner Lillian and do some fishing. After two years without a foreign holiday, we were both looking forward to getting away again immensely! We've visited the island three times together in the past, and I've been allowed to take my trusty HTO Rock Rover to do some species hunting the last two times. You can read about those two adventures by clicking on the links below.

Species hunting adventures on Crete

More species hunting adventures on Crete

As our accommodation was in Koutouloufari, up in the hills above Hersonissos, we stayed in that vicinity for the first few days of our holiday and explored on foot. As a result, my first few fishing sessions were all around Hersonissos Harbour. I've fished there before, so had a rough idea what I could expect to catch. A friend of mine, who'd been on holiday there a few months before me, had spotted a lionfish slowly cruising about in the rocks behind Hersonissos Harbour, so the whole time I was fishing there I was keeping an eye out for them.

A drop shot rig with a small hook baited up with Gulp! Angleworm being worked slowly back towards me along the bottom. It's my go to "catches most things that swim" rig.

Inside the harbour over the mixed ground, I caught my first species of the trip, a marbled rabbitfish.

This was followed by lots of yellow spotted puffer...

...and a solitary slender goby.

Over the mainly sandy areas just outside the mouth of the harbour, I caught a couple of pearly razorfish...

...and a small wide eyed flounder.

I also had one session after dark too, which produced some nocturnal species in the shape of...

...a salema...

...a black scorpionfish...

...and several ruby red cardinalfish.

Whilst sitting having lunch in Hersonissos a few days into the holiday, we experienced our first earthquake in the form of mild tremors that only lasted a few seconds. The epicentre had been on the south coast of the island, a distance of over 40km from us, so it was quite incredible to think that we had felt it from so far away!

On the way back to our accommodation, we passed this badly cracked road. Nothing to do with the recent seismic activity, but I couldn't resist a photo opportunity.

After a few days we picked up a hire car and hit the road, heading west to visit CRETAquarium, because catching lots of fish just wasn't enough, I love to look at them in tanks too! There were a couple of exhibits containing potentially dangerous fish that I was pretty keen on catching before the holiday was over. From the sea though!

Lots of highly poisonous lionfish have now moved into the waters around Crete. I really wanted to catch one!

So has another Red Sea migrant, the silver cheeked toadfish, a large species of puffer that has highly toxic flesh. I have a love/hate relationship with puffers, but catching one of these would also be awesome!

During our last trip to Crete, we visited Kournas Lake, the only freshwater lake on the island, where I made a failed attempt to catch a goldfish. We headed along there for a day trip, so I could have another go, stopping off in Giogioupoli on the way there to briefly annoy the resident fish in the river that meets the sea there.

Giogioupoli Harbour is a great little spot to catch a wide variety of different species.

Having caught a few of its residents already, I focused my efforts on adding to my trip tally and did so in the shape of a large rusty blenny...

...and a (not so giant) giant goby.

We then headed up to Kournas Lake, a very popular spot where you can swim, hire a pedalo and freeline bread for the resident goldfish.

Mission accomplished! The biggest of three that I caught.

The goldfish were easily my favourite captures of the trip at that point, not just because they are beautiful, but also because it was actually quite a challenge catching them. Trying to control your drift on a pedalo is tricky, especially whilst fishing at the same time. They're definitely not the most manoeuvrable of fishing platforms! The task was made even trickier by the hungry water fowl and terrapins that were also keen on eating my bread flake too!

By that point we were about midway through the holiday, having a nice time and my species hunt was going very well, although I'd not caught anything new. Perhaps I'd get lucky during the second half of the trip? Any new species would be very welcome, but most of all I really wanted to risk getting stung by a lionfish!

Tight lines, Scott.

Click here for the next part.