Philippines is a natural fishing ground with 7,107 islands, 17,640 km of coastline and 150 million hectares of marine water surely one can find a wide diversity of marine life. Deep fishing is a nice recreational activity although it is not as popular as diving and snorkeling in the Philippines, there are some fishing clubs or sport fishing charters such as Philippine Anglers Game Fishing Foundation, Blue Sky Sport Fishing, Filipino Anglers and KI Marine Sports Center that can assist anglers. The cheapest way to fish in the Philippines is to hire a boat to some boatmen who really make a living thru fishing for they can take anglers to nice fishing ground for a cheaper price. With 2,400 species of fish dwell in these grounds it is not impossible to fish year-round from local fishing to offshore fishing. During the month of March to May there is an abundance of jack and travelly, yellowfin tuna and skipjack tuna. The month of August to November is the high season for fishing wherein one can catch almost everything. The finest fishing grounds can be seen along the coast of Ilocos, Mactan, Batangas, Zambales, Bicol Region, Visayan Islands, and Mindanao particularly Surigao.

Top Game in the Philippines

Blue Marlin
Blue marline is the only marlin family fish that can be found in all warm oceans. It is known for its smooth and shiny powerful body that is skilled of great fighting ability. Using live bait fishing or artificial lures is a primary technique in fishing blue marlin. Blue marlin dwells in tropical oceanic water and mostly seen in the open ocean in assemblage in bottom structured area. Blue marlin can grow up to 150 kg to 450 kg. The biggest sport fishing blue marlin captured in Hawaii has a size of 819.47 kg while the biggest blue marlin caught in the Philippines has a total weight of 28 kg in the coastal area of Pangasinan.

Trevally
Trevally is a large coral reef allied predator one of the most aggressive fish. Mostly found in the warm coastal waters of Indian and central Pacific Oceans. Trevallies are considered as an important commercial and recreational fish. Giant Trevallies can grow up to 130 lbs. The biggest trevally caught in the Philippines weighs about 79.2 lbs.

Sailfish
Pacific Sailfish is one of the striking game fish in the world. It is distinct characterized by it large colourful sail-like dorsal fins and its impressive leaps out of the water. It is considered to be the fastest among the billfishes with a speed of 70 mph in short burst. Sailfish are species of billfish that usually seen in Indian Ocean, Mediterranean Sea and Pacific Ocean. A sailfish can easily be teased with hook-less bait.

King Mackerel
King Mackerel is an excellent game fish that can usually be found at the near shore or offshore of open waters on the western Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. The slender and cylindrical shape fish with black iridescent bluish green and loads of finlets on the dorsal and ventral sides of the dorsal and anal fins with silvery sides are considered to be a migratory fish, usually migrate during winter to more northerly water springs. This fish is one of the sought-after game fish. This game fish can grow up to 180 cm and can weigh up to 50lbs. There are numerous method that can be apply in catching the King such as live-baiting, dead drifting baits, hooks, wire and rigging,

Needle fish
The needle fish is a long slender pointed silver fish with a jaw that is similar to marlin bill that create an odd beak-like appearance. There is an abundance of needle fish during the months of June to November. It usually dwells in shallow marine habitats or on open sea. The fish usually grow up to 18 in long.

Grey Snapper
Gray snapper is a dark brown coloured fish or gray reddish or orange spots. It is considered as one of the toughest fish with two conspicuous canine teeth at the front of upper jaw and a head with a snout almost like a dog. Although they are caught year-round the month of May to July is the best month for fishing grey snapper. The commonly caught grey snapper has a size of 8 to 10 lbs. They are most fun to fish with when the depth of the water is around 180-240 ft although usually found inshore in tidal creeks, mangroves as well as near shore or offshore on rocky reefs.

Dorado
Dorado or dolphin fish is a well coloured species of ray-finned fish that can be found in tropical and subtropical waters. The average weights of Dorado are between 15 to 25 lbs and can grow up to 90 lbs and have a life span of 5 years. They are considered as astounding game fish offshore with a flair for aerial acrobatics and tail walking fight. They also have the speed that runs estimated at 40 mph. Dorado can be found in as low as 100 feet of water but goes deeper up to 400 feet. They can be caught using any fish method- bait-casting, drifting live bait, spinning but the most productive method is trolling.

Bluefish
Bluefish is one of the most popular marine game fish that can be captured year-round. They are characterized by their blue or greenish blue colour on back, silvery sides and fading to white lower sides and belly with large powerful jaws that are lined with a single row of triangular razor sharp teeth. Considered as a migrating fish they usually found moving in a large school of the same size offshore. Bluefish are commonly captured on a bare hook.

Pacific Barracuda
Pacific Barracuda are common identified by its upper blue-gray colour with dark bars body and lower silvery with dotted dark blotches. They grow up to maximum size of 4.5 kg and a maximum length of 1.22 m. Pacific barracudas are not dangerous not like Atlantic barracudas. Primarily, barracudas are best caught during summer although they have been nearly a year-round proposition. They are often sea around the reefs or over an isolated peaks or shallow flats. Variety of fishing methods can be used in catching barracudas such as trolling natural baits, lures, or strip baits, deep trolling of lures and minnows, casting lures or drifting, but usually easily caught by bone jigs or bait. Barracudas have a powerful fist run and a high jump that make them as one of the favorite game fish.

Warsaw Grouper
Warsaw groupers are spotted dark brown fish with lighter brown shading on its lower body. These fish are usually found in very deep drop-offs, ledges or seamount and usually encountered in more then 200 feet deep water. The Warsaw groupers usually grow up to 30 to 80 lbs but the largest warsaw grouper recorded weighs 436 lbs.

Yellowfin Tuna
Yellowfin tuna has a soft dorsal and anal fins and bright yellow finlets. They are usually found in open water tropical and subtropical sea and can go as deep as 100 fathoms. The best time to fish yellowfin tuna is during summer for there number oscillates in the annual catch. They can grow up to 440 lbs and as long as 94 in. Trolling is the best fishing method to catch a yellowfin tuna.

Skipjack Tuna
Skipjack Tuna has dark blue or purple back and silvery lower sides and belly with fine and slender teeth. They are considered as important commercial and game fish. The depth range of skipjack tuna go as deep as 260 m during the day. Their size usually range from 2.5 kg to 3.5 kg but can grow as large as 18 kg. Skipjack are usually captured by trolling or casting small lures from the boat. They also serve as good bait for variety of marine fish.

Wahoo
Wahoo are dark blue with striking iridescent blue and silver vertical bands on the back. They are commonly found in tropical and subtropical seas. They can exude a slime that makes their body very slippery during the moments of fear and aggression. Wahoo can grow as large as 83 kg and can swim up to 47 mph. A single wahoo can eat three trolled live baits without being caught by the angler.