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Ricardo Gavina
Captain

Ricardo Gavina

Funchal, Portugal
50+ reviews
Captains Ricardo Gavina and Sérgio André are the owners and operators of Madeira Sight Casting. Their grandparents and fathers were anglers before them and now they carrie on the family tradition by introducing other people to the fantastic fishing Madeira has to offer. The entire crew loves fishing so much that they often stay out past the end of shorter trips because they want to keep fishing. If you're looking for a fun, dedicated team of true fishing enthusiasts, you've come to the right place.

Charter

Rating

4.9
69 reviews
4.9
Boat & Equipment
4.9
Captain & Crew
4.8
Fishing Experience

What anglers say

98%
Good experience
98%
Friendly captain
100%
Recommend this charter
71%
Appropriate for children
98%
Satisfied with the boat
93%
Caught fish

All reviews (69)

Showing 1 – 5 of 69 reviews
  • Glenn Stroppolo
    Glenn Stroppolo
    Repeat angler
    lu
    Luxembourg
    Member since 2024
    2 trips
    5.0
    Verified

    Holy s***t!!!

    Half Day Trip AM • 1 adult

    I don’t even know where to start… Summary: this was an amazing fishing trip with the best crew! After browsing through several offers for fishing trips, I decided to go for this crew because of the reviews from other people. And they did not exaggerate. These guys absolutely know their business! We met just before 6 AM at the Funchal marina. I was still pretty sleepy, but the wake-up call came pretty quickly. After a short drive, we stopped and caught roughly 20 mackerel as baitfish. Then a longer ride through the dark, leaving Funchal’s lights behind us. The crew knows their spots, so they quickly found a cloud of baitfish and some promising echoes. And it didn’t take long before I caught 2 beautiful red snappers. Already happy, they told me that this was just a warm-up. And boy, they weren’t kidding! Not long after, I had something really heavy on the hook. What followed was just unreal and not what I had expected. After an absolutely exhausting 20 minutes, I had a roughly 20 kg greater amberjack on my lap. I just couldn’t believe how draining it was to drill such a fish. But thanks to the directions of the crew, I felt confident at every moment of the fight. Still shaky and with adrenaline rushing through my veins, they were already taking the boat to the next spot. And again it didn’t take long before I hooked onto another good fish. This time the fight was shorter, but still amazing, and it took my last energy reserves to get that superb-looking amberjack on board. So if you want to go on a fishing trip with a crew that knows exactly what to do, I highly recommend you do it with these guys. And besides their expertise, they are really funny, and we had a few good laughs. Just don’t be sensitive to Portuguese swear words 😂 Thanks again, guys, these memories will last a lifetime!

    Reported catch:
    Amberjack
  • Simon Clark
    Simon Clark
    Repeat angler
    gb
    United Kingdom
    Member since 2023
    2 trips
    5.0
    Verified

    Great day out, highly recommended.

    Full day • 1 adult

    This was a really great trip, you could tell the crew really wanted you to catch and have a good day. After catching some fresh bait, we headed to some spots and started catching straight away, as soon as they felt a spot was not producing, we were off to another. I hadn’t caught Dentex / Red Snapper before, so was pleased to catch these, and also a sea bream, which was a new species for me. Boat is really comfortable to fish from. Also saw whales, not far from the boat and also flying fish. All in all a great day out with friendly, helpful crew, would not hesitate to book with these guy’s again. Thank you Madeira Site Casting.

    Reported catch:
    Dentex
  • Timm Lehmann
    Timm Lehmann
    Repeat angler
    de
    Germany
    Member since 2026
    2 trips
    5.0
    Verified

    unvergesslicher Trip mit echtem Profi

    Half Day Trip AM • 2 adults

    Wir waren während unseres Aufenthalts mehrere Tage zum Angeln unterwegs und können Ricardo absolut empfehlen. Insgesamt hatten wir zwei Trips einen mit der Native Crew (Pedro), bei denen andere Techniken ausprobiert wurden (Trollling und Dead Squid Angeln) – trotz doppelter Angelzeit hatten wir dort leider nicht den gleichen Erfolg. Bei Ricardo war das komplett anders. Auf unserem 4-Stunden-Trip haben wir zuerst Live Bait gefangen und sind anschließend gezielt auf Amberjack gegangen. Das Ergebnis: über 40 kg Fisch – einfach unglaublich! Auch der Trip ging um 06:00 Uhr los nicht erst um 07:30 Uhr. Das hat einen großen Unterschied gemacht. Ricardo ist ein echter Profi, der genau weiß, was er tut. Er kennt die Spots, erklärt alles ruhig und verständlich und sorgt dafür, dass man wirklich eine faire Chance auf große Fische hat. Boot, Equipment und Organisation waren ebenfalls top. Man merkt sofort, dass hier viel Erfahrung dahintersteckt bei einem Fischer in der dritten Generation. Wenn ihr auf Madeira ernsthaft angeln wollt und nicht nur eine Bootsfahrt machen möchtet, dann bucht bei Ricardo. Wir würden jederzeit wieder mit ihm rausfahren. Vielen Dank für dieses großartige Erlebnis!

    Reported catch:
    Amberjack
    Wahoo
    Response from Captain

    thanks for the review,we feel very happy that you enjoyed your trip with us. it means a lot to us. 🙏

  • Patrick Schallmoser
    Patrick Schallmoser
    de
    Fischbachau, Germany
    Member since 2026
    5.0
    Verified

    Top! bester Angeltrip auf Madeira!

    Half Day Trip AM • 2 adults

    Es war ein durchaus gelungener und schöner Ausflug. nach ein pasr bait fischen ging es ins tiefe. es dauerte nicht ksnfe dann biss ein Amberjack. kurz darauf Ein großer Snapper! insgesamt fingen wir 3 Fische. Leider hat dann das Wetter nicht mehr mitgespielt, ansonsten hätten wir vermutlich nich mehr gefangen. Vielen dann für den tollen Ausflug und die super Tipps für die nächsten Tage auf Madeira. Würde ich jederzeit wieder buchen wenn ich nochmal herkomme.

    Reported catch:
    Amberjack
    Dentex
    Response from Captain

    ♥️🙏

  • Andrew Brown
    Andrew Brown
    Repeat angler
    gb
    United Kingdom
    Member since 2025
    2 trips
    5.0
    Verified

    Great morning fishing trip

    Half Day Trip AM • 2 adults

    Ricardo was a great skipper. He had us on the water early and after catching our bait we moves onto some areas for bottom fishing. we caught plenty of fish ans lost a few too. Very good few hours on the boat with Ricardo and Reuban. We had a laugh and caught fish!

    Reported catch:
    Amberjack
    Dentex

Real catches shared by our community

  • Madeira Sight Casting
    Madeira Sight CastingFunchal, MA
    Solo angler proudly holding a large amberjack aboard an inflatable fishing boat on open ocean.
    Fish 1
    Yellowtail Amberjack
    Glenn S.
    Glenn S.
    I don’t even know where to start… Summary: this was an amazing fishing trip with the best crew! After browsing through several offers for fishing trips, I decided to go for this crew because of the reviews from other people. And they did not exaggerate. These guys absolutely know their business! We met just before 6 AM at the Funchal marina. I was still pretty sleepy, but the wake-up call came pretty quickly. After a short drive, we stopped and caught roughly 20 mackerel as baitfish. Then a longer ride through the dark, leaving Funchal’s lights behind us. The crew knows their spots, so they quickly found a cloud of baitfish and some promising echoes. And it didn’t take long before I caught 2 beautiful red snappers. Already happy, they told me that this was just a warm-up. And boy, they weren’t kidding! Not long after, I had something really heavy on the hook. What followed was just unreal and not what I had expected. After an absolutely exhausting 20 minutes, I had a roughly 20 kg greater amberjack on my lap. I just couldn’t believe how draining it was to drill such a fish. But thanks to the directions of the crew, I felt confident at every moment of the fight. Still shaky and with adrenaline rushing through my veins, they were already taking the boat to the next spot. And again it didn’t take long before I hooked onto another good fish. This time the fight was shorter, but still amazing, and it took my last energy reserves to get that superb-looking amberjack on board. So if you want to go on a fishing trip with a crew that knows exactly what to do, I highly recommend you do it with these guys. And besides their expertise, they are really funny, and we had a few good laughs. Just don’t be sensitive to Portuguese swear words 😂 Thanks again, guys, these memories will last a lifetime!
  • Madeira Sight Casting
    Madeira Sight CastingFunchal, MA
    Two anglers proudly displaying a large Snapper on a fishing trip, showcasing a successful catch in a scenic ocean setting.
    Fish 1
    Fish 2
    Red Snapper
    Erkand N.
    Erkand N.
  • Madeira Sight Casting
    Madeira Sight CastingFunchal, MA
    Solo angler proudly holding a large red snapper aboard an inflatable fishing boat offshore.
    Fish 1
    Common Pandora
    Simon C.
    Simon C.
    This was a really great trip, you could tell the crew really wanted you to catch and have a good day. After catching some fresh bait, we headed to some spots and started catching straight away, as soon as they felt a spot was not producing, we were off to another. I hadn’t caught Dentex / Red Snapper before, so was pleased to catch these, and also a sea bream, which was a new species for me. Boat is really comfortable to fish from. Also saw whales, not far from the boat and also flying fish. All in all a great day out with friendly, helpful crew, would not hesitate to book with these guy’s again. Thank you Madeira Site Casting.
  • Madeira Sight Casting
    Madeira Sight CastingFunchal, MA
    Anglers aboard a boat proudly displaying a large Snapper caught during a fishing trip.
    Fish 1
    Red Snapper
    Patrick S.
    Patrick S.
    Es war ein durchaus gelungener und schöner Ausflug. nach ein pasr bait fischen ging es ins tiefe. es dauerte nicht ksnfe dann biss ein Amberjack. kurz darauf Ein großer Snapper! insgesamt fingen wir 3 Fische. Leider hat dann das Wetter nicht mehr mitgespielt, ansonsten hätten wir vermutlich nich mehr gefangen. Vielen dann für den tollen Ausflug und die super Tipps für die nächsten Tage auf Madeira. Würde ich jederzeit wieder buchen wenn ich nochmal herkomme.
  • Madeira Sight Casting
    Madeira Sight CastingFunchal, MA
    Angler proudly displaying a large Yellowtail on a fishing boat, showcasing a successful day on the water.
    Timm L.
    Timm L.
    Wir waren während unseres Aufenthalts mehrere Tage zum Angeln unterwegs und können Ricardo absolut empfehlen. Insgesamt hatten wir zwei Trips einen mit der Native Crew (Pedro), bei denen andere Techniken ausprobiert wurden (Trollling und Dead Squid Angeln) – trotz doppelter Angelzeit hatten wir dort leider nicht den gleichen Erfolg. Bei Ricardo war das komplett anders. Auf unserem 4-Stunden-Trip haben wir zuerst Live Bait gefangen und sind anschließend gezielt auf Amberjack gegangen. Das Ergebnis: über 40 kg Fisch – einfach unglaublich! Auch der Trip ging um 06:00 Uhr los nicht erst um 07:30 Uhr. Das hat einen großen Unterschied gemacht. Ricardo ist ein echter Profi, der genau weiß, was er tut. Er kennt die Spots, erklärt alles ruhig und verständlich und sorgt dafür, dass man wirklich eine faire Chance auf große Fische hat. Boot, Equipment und Organisation waren ebenfalls top. Man merkt sofort, dass hier viel Erfahrung dahintersteckt bei einem Fischer in der dritten Generation. Wenn ihr auf Madeira ernsthaft angeln wollt und nicht nur eine Bootsfahrt machen möchtet, dann bucht bei Ricardo. Wir würden jederzeit wieder mit ihm rausfahren. Vielen Dank für dieses großartige Erlebnis!
  • Madeira Sight Casting
    Madeira Sight CastingFunchal, MA
    Adult angler holding a large red snapper aboard a boat, with a mountainous coastal shoreline in the background.
    Christopher D.
    Christopher D.
    Me and my girlfriend had the best time fishing with the guys from Sight Casting Madeira. Sergio and Ricardo are great fishermen, very knowledgeable, and work hard to put you on as many fish as possible. From the first drop at the break of down till it was time to go the action was pretty much non stop. Besides that we felt very welcome and super well taken care of in any aspect. I consider myself a fishing freak and sometimes it's hard to find charter crews around the world that match my "fish or die" - mindset. With these guys I would fish every day! Muito Obrigado🩵🎣
  • Madeira Sight Casting
    Madeira Sight CastingFunchal, MA
    A young angler proudly displaying a large Snapper while fishing in a scenic coastal environment.
    Fish 1
    Pink Snapper
    Steven R.
    Steven R.
    My Son and I had an absolutely wonderful time from start to finish. We caught lots of fish and were looked after so well by Ricardo and Sergio. They did all they could to make the trip memerable and I highly recommend them. Thank you for a great trip - we can't wait to come back!
  • Madeira Sight Casting
    Madeira Sight CastingFunchal, MA
    Close-up of fishing rods and reels secured in rod holders on a boat, showcasing the gear setup for a fishing trip.
    Fish 1
    Red Snapper
    Ruben A.
    Ruben A.
    These are incredibly handsome guys and excellent fishermen! I highly recommend booking an adventure with them. We caught plenty of snappers and two amberjacks using both live and dead squid — we had an absolute blast!
  • Madeira Sight Casting
    Madeira Sight CastingFunchal, MA
    Two anglers proudly displaying a large Yellowtail Amberjack while fishing offshore, showcasing a successful day on the water.
    Fish 1
    Yellowtail Amberjack
    Philippe V.
    Philippe V.
    Everybody was very professionnel and sympathic.
  • Madeira Sight Casting
    Madeira Sight CastingFunchal, MA
    Two adult anglers proudly display a large trevally-style fish aboard a boat on open coastal waters.
    Fish 1
    Pink Snapper
    Joe S.
    Joe S.
    My girlfriend and I (especially me) had a blast going out with these guys. They were friendly, funny and very knowledable. We caught two nice amberjack and a snapper in a short time. Would highly recommend them. I will book them again if (when) i return to Madeira.

What's biting with Madeira Sight Casting in Funchal

Top catches for November