Spanish Interlude

On arriving at our destination in deepest Spain, Nicky and I walked out onto the bridge for a quick look at the river. We were accompanied by hundreds of martins and alpine swifts each swerving and diving to catch the myriad of fly life that swarmed over the placid water. They should have tried the flat, there was enough flies there to keep a family of swifts going for a few days :-) Not really, Hobby did some excellent Ninja maggot hunting and only a handful escaped his highly tunes skills, these were dispatched with a few well aimed swipes of the Carpworld magazine.

Anyway, back to the bridge and, as my eyes grew accustomed to the light conditions, I spotted a few small barbel drifting here and there then, suddenly, at the tail end of a pool, a shoal of at least thirty fish drifted into view. A very welcoming sight.

The flat was bigger than I expected, Tony's got himself a brilliant bolt hole hear and we quickly settled in.

Day one was spent sorting bait and provisions as well as a drive to one or two spots on the river to get my bearings, with the afternoon temperature topping 30C there was little point in rushing anywhere.

On Friday we went to the weir, a beautiful fishing location that, were it in England, would have queues of people waiting to fish it. I started catching almost straight away and, after two double hook ups, used just a single rod. I couldn't sort out any of the bigger fish, just loads of little fella's the males of which were in full spawning colours.

Find of the day was a diminutive turtle that was waddling about in the shallows, his shell was the size of a 50p - very cute.

After a dozen or more fish I started to wane. The sun was beating down and the car gauge showed 32.5C when we left.

We were there to sightsee as much as anything and Saturday was taken up with a long drive around the two large reservoirs through a spectacular and varied scenery. We saw plenty of bird life including rare Egyptian vultures.

A stop at one dam revealed some carp. "Go on then", I said to Nicky, "You've seen plenty of carp, how big do you reckon these are?" She paused and gave a considered reply "They're 'kin huge!" I couldn't argue with that, they were.

I only fished for an hour and a half on the Sunday, it was at a spot where I blanked last year (despite assurances as to it's abundance of fish) and I again went biteless. I was not feeling too special so returned to Castle de Tony and fully embraced the local custom of siesta.

It was now Monday and time had passed quickly. We went to an area of the river where matches are held and where, unusually, the fish are used to angler's baits. Within a few minutes of introducing a pint of maggots I was getting bites. I had a few small barbel but the rest were from an annoying little carp that has no doubt been introduced to bolster match weights. These things are small - pasty sized - don't fight very well and greedy. After about fifteen of them, one small common and the barbel, I left. I'd not been there two hours.

We went back to the weir and I had another half dozen barbel up to about 4lbs. No Comizo's this time but one or two of the fish showed that beautiful two tone effect of the Andalucia strain, not as orange as the fish from the south but some bright yellows - nice.

Last day and another drive to catch the scenery. Again, we saw birds aplenty including Spanish Imperial Eagle and we had to swerve around a snake. Off one of the dams we saw hundreds of small carp basking and sipping in flies and some locals catching good sized bass on lures, the potential in some of these waters is incredible.

Wednesday came all too soon and the long drive up to Madrid felt like a real chore. It was a glorious week, cloudless skies, plenty of fish and loads more to see and enjoy. I must say a massive thank you to Tonio for the use of his place and thanks to Faye for the loan of her pajamas...................... not really :-)

NB

Did any of you spot the deliberate mistake? One clever little boy did and has informed me that the fish pictured at the bottom is indeed a small Comizo. Well done Leo but no prizes available on this occasion. I am amazed that such small Comizo's were frantically spawning, I assumed that they would wait until they were a little older but hey, the warm Spanish air, a glass of Rioja and if the mood takes you....

A Change of Scenery

I figured that those that have looked in on me of late will welcome a change of scenery, me too but more of that later.

I love this time of year, the new life bursting out of the ground. I had a walk around my new syndicate lake the other day - shhhhhhh! Secret squirrel. The sun was out and basking under the overhanging trees I found a few carp, nothing big, maybe upper doubles but it was really good to get a first look at my targets for the year. Then, out of nowhere appeared a lump. A big, pale mirror that was a pound or two either side of the thirty mark. Now I'm not that worried about size, a double stalked from the margins is always a worthy fish, but seeing things like this can really get the juices flowing. Roll on May 1st.

Alas, Neil can't get a ticket on my water so he's opted for the Cotswold Water Park. If you've never been there, its a vast series of gorgeous looking gravel pits and Neil's ticket enables him access to half a dozen of them with massive carp, tench, bream etc available. We had a wander around a couple of them last week and on one of them we witnessed three carp caught in ten minutes! Now that got the boy's enthusiasm on overload. The best of the three was this heavily spawn bound (on April 1st!) twenty two pounder.

As I type, Neil is setting up his bivvy for a three or four day stint - I hope he has a flyer.

I see that Fish N' Bits fell at the first, an event that makes me feel that there is still some common sense in angling. The idea that there is an 'all new readership' out there is such a flawed business plan it beggars belief that it ever got beyond the planning stage. The other failure was in the 18 to 30 demographic. They should have aimed at years of age rather than IQ but hey, someone's last a bob of two so let's not go on about it.

I saw this above a doorway on the Cob at Lyme Regis the other day........

Looks like I could be around for a while yet then :-)

My change of scenery comes on Wednesday when Nicky and I visit the country mansion of the infamous Tony Rocca. Nestling in the Spanish heartland it will be a welcome change from the UK after such a long and, at times, tedious winter.

I'm really looking forward to showing Nicky the Estremadura region, it has some magnificent scenery and the bird life has to be seen to be believed - can't wait. Our only trepidation involves the welcoming committee. When Tony and Hobby were there a few weeks back there was something of a mass escape from the detained maggot fraternity. Apparently 'Hobby' did some ninja stalking and wrestled many of the itinerants back into their box but, and it is a big but, how many did he miss?

I'll let you know in a week or so.

The Big One ('s)

After a week when only a handful of barbel were landed there was a relative deluge of fish taken over the weekend as the weather turned mild. I however, was not there to enjoy the bounty as I was touring the Big One at Farnborough, scoping out the goodies. It was my first time at this show and it was quite impressive. Not as grand as the heady days of the NEC but plenty to browse and a good list of notables doing talks, not that I had time to attend any.

It was one of those shows where you can buy as well as look which is usually great for snapping up bargains but I did notice that they were a lot thinner on the ground. the 'Show Special' prices were quite stingy and some stands seemed to be asking prices higher than normal! Obviously it's just a sign of the times and the tackle industry is feeling the pinch. That said, I did manage to get a great deal on a bivvy so I went home a happy bunny.

One thing that I do not understand about these shows is the blatant use of good looking girlies in tight or short clothing, to sell tackle/holidays/magazines. Are we men that shallow that we would rather miss out on a quality item elsewhere just to have some unavailable babe flutter her eyelashes at us? Well - yes. it works. The way some guys behave when these girls are around is unreal! I just think that its a bit sad - maybe I'm just an old grump.

But its reached an all new level, enter the introduction of a new fishing magazine 'Fish 'n' Tips. On their stand a couple of beauties (on each of them) smiled and handed out free copies of the latest angling mag to hit the shops. The front cover shows one of the babes posing with a carp, her blouse is undone and her ample frontage strains the polka dot red bra to the point of overspill. Do we want a magazine full of girls in waders and not much else? Does that really enhance the content? There are no exposed naughty bits, in fact the only tits you will see are some of the contributers :-) But I just think that its a bit sad.

The sight of the huge Mark Barrett, the mag's editor, sat between his Bivvy Babes was reminiscent of a scene from a Sci Fi film, now what was it?.....

Last night the temperature plummeted so I doubt that I shall make the effort to fish today, In many ways I shall be glad to see the back of the season as it has been my least productive for years but I am looking forward to the summer and I shall no doubt find something to blog about along the way.

Well Spotted

I've got 9 miles of the Wye to choose from but when I have, for whatever reason, my heart set on just one swim, its uncanny how often the only other angler for miles is sat right where I want to be. This happens way too often for it to be anything other than a massive conspiracy probably backed by the KGB, CIA or KFC.

So, when I decided to fish a sheltered spot for perch I was not too surprised to see the other angler already there. He'd not faired well and, to be honest, I wasn't surprised as the water was a bit lower than I expected and it is flood water that forces fish into this area. He was about to move on to pastures new but rather than fish that swim I moved around the corner to a place where I have seen plenty of perch activity in the past.

Circle hook, ideal for predators and worm fishing

Overhanging trees and a blustery wind made my float difficult to control so I took it off and paternostered a worm on a two swan shot link. I used the float rod and set it between two rests with a mud bobbin for bite indication - all very advanced stuff ;-) The hook was a size 10 circle which is great for worms. I love circle hooks for my predator fishing and it again proved the right choice when I had a drop back bite. The fish roared off at a phenomenal speed, surfacing twenty five yards away before I could tighten the clutch. It was a trout, out of season and an unintentional catch but a magnificent fish none the less. At over 3lbs I'd love to get it in May on a fly but these old fish are as wily as you like, until they see a big fat lob worm that is. The hook was, of course, lodged in the scissors and he went back none the worse for his little adventure.

I had every intention of staying into dark but Neil, who was fishing downstream despite suffering all week with a virus, faded somewhat so we packed up early. Not to worry, there's rain on the way and next week I'll be back for another go - lone swim pinchers permitting.

The Thick End

Whilst the bacon cooked we tackled up, me Mike and (newly retired) Pete were sharing a day on the delightful river Wylye that runs through the Wiltshire water meadows on its way to join the Hampshire Avon. Its been a while and I felt quite rusty as I sorted my self out. I kept hearing Mike shout "The thick end!" and eventually cottoned on. Its been so long since I've fished I was holding the rod the wrong way around.

Anyway, with a belly full of bacon butties we set off to a new section (for me) and I settled into a glide above a sluice. It looked spot on but my trotted bread and maggots failed to get a response. Its the problem with grayling at this time of the year, they are often tightly shoaled and can be hard to find but, once located, they are dead easy to catch. Pete was beyond the sluice in a little pool and his rod seemed permanently bent.

I leap frogged past Mike who had found a few good grayling but my wanderings were rewarded by a solitary trout and the sole falling off my wader boot.

A couple of hours later we moved and I returned to a tiny pool on a tributary where I had a score to settle. Last time I fished it, a couple of years ago, I lost a good fish so I wanted a rematch and this time I came armed with those superb grayling hooks - the Guru QM1's.

Mike trickled a few maggots in and suggested that I fish close in rather than the attractive main flow. I took his local knowledge on board and tucked the float right against the nearside rushes in a little back eddy. First go and I had a small trout. Next 'trot' and I had what I had come for, a proper grayling. It looked all of 2lbs in the water but in the net I estimated it at about one and a half. It may have gone bigger but I didn't bring scales, they don't seem relevant some days.

More grayling and trout followed over the next half an hour before we had a tea and cake break. We then moved to the bottom of the fishery where a few coarse fish are on the cards. It looked really nice and I couldn't wait to run a small piece of flake through a slightly deeper section I had found. I only had one bite but it came from a beautiful roach that may have reached a pound in weight. To be honest, I was satisfied and went for a chat with Mike and Adrian, the river keeper. When I got back to my swim I knew I'd had enough, I ached from the exertions of the other day and a three hour drive separated me from a hot bath and a glass of wine so, rather than fish into dusk, I bade farewell and drove home fully sated.

Danny Glover

You know him, the black bloke in the Lethal Weapon films who played alongside the anti Semitic drunk one. Well, his catch phrase was always "I'm too old for this shit" and yesterday I had my Danny Glover moment.

Nicky and I were driving in Leominster when two yobs ran out in front of us carrying large bouquets of flowers. Their speed, an alarm and the shop assistant in hot pursuit were all indications that they had not fulfilled the standard prerequisite purchasing procedure.

They legged it down an alley so we had a drive around the other side and saw them disappear into some derelict buildings. By now I had reverted to my old instincts and after first checking they had not come around the other side, went to see if I could find them. I did and it was then that I realised I had made something of a schoolboy error. I didn't have a clue as to the name of the street or how to describe my location to someone sat in front of a computer screen in Birmingham. Whoops!

I bluffed it out and, when they reaised I wasn't going to leave them alone, one legged it whilst the other tried to vault a wall. Well, he was easy to grab but the momentum of him coming off the wall at a rate of knots was enough to make me tumble. I was then running like a fat lunatic after two chavs. Nicky had blocked their exit and gamely grabbed the tallest - exchanged a few pleasantries - but could not stop him from getting away. Seeing dearly beloved in the clutches of another man - on Valentines day - I increased my wobbly speed but before I could get there I fell ass over tit in the most spectacular way. They both escaped.

Police arrived, we found the shop where the theft had occurred and were greeted with the underwhelming response of "Oh, I never fawt we'd get them back". They even looked a little disappointed that I had bled on the ribbons.

One of the baddies gave himself up at the local nick and will have a 'Community Resolution' which basically means that he will have to apologise to the shop keeper - big bloody deal. Whatever happened to the stocks I say.

So here I am this morning, I've lost skin and gained bruises to my hands, knees and side and last evening my left elbow was the size of a cricket ball! Was it worth it? Yes. Little shits that commit what are deemed 'petty' crimes should be hammered as, in my opinion, the little crimes that go unpunished are the ones that effect society the most. Would I do it again? In a heart beat but and I really mean BUT, next time I'll stand back and let the current police officers do the difficult bits because I really am way, way too old for this shit.

Plans

I had some bad news in a phone call the other day. Paul Ashton rang to say that there had been a fish kill on one of my old carp waters. It is suspected that the prolonged ice lid on the pool had lowered the oxygen level to a fatal level and carp, bloated with gas, had popped up to the surface all around the water. To see those enigmatic fish distorted by death was sad and one wonders how long a water like that will take to recover. Still, its given the otters plenty of easy meat.

It has happened all over the country of course and this last winter will remain in our memories for a long time to come.

Still haven't been out. The river has had that green tinge which means tough fishing and the lakes are still pretty dire. My self imposed angling break will continue for a bit yet.

That doesn't mean that I'm not thinking about my fishing. I've been pouring my laptop and have been deep in preparation for the coming year. I have plans aplenty and they have been kick started by a visit to my new syndicate water. Now, unfortunately, there is a total publicity ban on this water so I will not be able to report from there. This is a pity as it is a venue that will inspire many words, it is quite simply stunning and I consider myself extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to fish there. So, if the blog gets a bit thin (again) in the summer, there's a reason and you'll just have to guess at the joy I'm experiencing ;-)

I've booked a trip to Castle de Tonio in sunny Spain for April. Nicky and I are going to mix a bit of sightseeing and fishing for a week, I only hope that its a bit more productive than last year when I was put in all the bad swims. I am extremely grateful to Senor Rocca for the use of his Iberian abode and promise not to treat it in the same manner that he treats his hire cars.

Castle de Tonio

May will see me in France for a bash at the rivers and I've bought a set of Harrison Chimera 3.25 tc rods for just such an occasion. Phil, Bunny and I are making up the party and are aiming for the Seine, well, you may as well go big and there's no bigger river in the country. I'm doing my homework and have picked out a few areas that look right for our needs. We will, however, travel with an open mind and should conditions require a rethink due to high water or whatever, then its just a case of driving on to plan b, c, or wherever feels right.

June is set aside for a trip with Nicky back to France. We intend touring and sussing out a few more venues for future exploration. I'll have a couple of rods in the car at all times ;-)

As you can see, I have been busy without actually wetting a line and there will be much to report on later.

For now, I'm looking at getting off my ass and wetting a line this week. I fancy a dabble for perch but I've got a horrible feeling that most of them have perished but there's only one way to find out. I'll also take some maggots along and try for some roach.