Fishing at Valbiska, island of Krk

Valbiska is on the island of Krk, which is reached by passing the city of Rijeka and the picturesque bay of Bakar; you cross a very high and spectacular bridge, which in case of strong bora is closed, making the island inaccessible.

Once on the island there is only one road heading south, so keep straight on until the signs for the ferry to the island of Cres, in the town of Valbiska. Park the car on the left side of the boarding pier and continue on foot along the clearly visible path that runs along the sea.

Once you reach the lighthouse at the entrance of the small harbour, continue for another fifty metres or so; from here on, as you like, almost all the spots are ideal for tempting gilthead bream and dentex. This stretch of coast is renowned as a “DENTALARA”, named after the Trieste dialect word for dentex, “DENTAL – DENTALE”. Baiting with live bait, and above all with rainbow wrasse, you can tempt good-sized dentex, but also leerfish, amberjack and other predators.

At Valbiska the bottoms drop sharply from the coast and, without exaggerating the casts (15/20 metres), the sea reaches a depth of even 30 metres. Beyond the first step, the bottom is sandy, with large patches of posidonia and rocky areas. A sinker you can afford to lose is a must; don't underestimate the chance of hooking a fish of 10 kg or more. Fishing near the surface with live bait, attacks by bonito and little tunny are not rare.

Bring light sources: there is nothing in the surroundings that can help us see at night, the area is very quiet and the car is at most 10/15 minutes' walk away. With the island of Cres in front, this whole area is well protected from south-westerly winds and reasonably so from south-south-easterly ones; it is perfectly fishable even with strong bora, but open to north and north-westerly winds.

It is 125 km from Italy (1.5 hours' drive) and, given the vastness of the fishing area, even in summer you can fish quietly, even with a massive presence of tourists.