Carp reign in Spain
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<!-- // .image-frame -->MONSTER CATCH: Gary Allen shows off a 12kg carp. Source: Herald Sun
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<!-- // .article-media --><!-- google_ad_section_start(name=story_introduction, weight=high) -->Life in rural Spain is quite unhurried, until you get a monster fish on the end of your line. <!-- google_ad_section_end(name=story_introduction) -->
<!-- // .story-intro --><!-- google_ad_section_start(name=story_body, weight=high) -->THE River Ebro in northern Spain was once regarded as the world catfish capital, with anglers coming from all over in search of these predators that grow to more than 116kg.
Nowadays, the River Ebro is regarded equally as trophy water for other fish: common carp that are up to 28kg and zander that can reach 6kg.
A favourite starting point for many is the village of Mequinenza, on a hill by an imposing medieval castle of the same name.
Standing at the foot of Mequinenza castle, the visitor overlooks vast green blankets of citrus trees, in valleys surrounded by mesa-like hills.
Upstream is Lake Mequinenza, created by a dam built for hydroelectricity. From here the river runs for more than 60km.
<!-- // .story-sidebar -->Mequinenza is on the River Segre, upstream from the confluence of the Segre and Ebro rivers.
In 1970, the Spanish government acquired the original village, which was as old as the castle, to make way for the dam that created Lake Mequinenza.
Such was the haste in village construction that the streets were not named, instead receiving alphabetical designations such as Q St, where my guide, Gary Allen, lives.
Gary is an expatriate Englishman who moved here more than 13 years ago to work for a German guiding company. Three years ago, he started his own guiding business, called Gary Allen's Regency Angling.
The fish hadn't been coming on the bite early so Gary decided we would go to the local coffee shop for a bacon roll washed down by cups of coffee.
Along with us was Erik Torres, a motor mechanic who takes summers off to go fishing.
Gary has a 5m centre-console boat powered by an 80hp outboard, and we launched about 9am, motoring down the River Segre and into the River Ebro for several kilometres to a stretch of riverbank covered in reeds.
Bow and stern anchors were dropped and Gary and Erik started to rig their 7kg outfits.
The target species for the morning was carp.
The rods were about 3m long and had soft, parabolic curves, and these were coupled with threadline reels.
Gary used monofilament, but Erik preferred braid.
The rig was a running sinker with a braid leader and what coarse anglers call a "hair rig", which consists of a No.8 hook tied to the leader with a loop of braid running off the back of the hook.
This loop is threaded through a bait called a boilie and held in place by a plastic stopper. Boilies are spherical balls of bait made from "secret ingredients" that are mixed together, boiled and then moulded. Gary told me our bait was a "tuna spice boilie".
Finally, he attached a PVA bag full of berley to his hook and then cast. PVA bags are made of a soluble netting material that dissolves in water in about 30 seconds, leaving the boilie surrounded by the berley. It's a neat idea. Some anglers soak their PVA bags in water before casting so that these dissolve as the bait is sinking.
Carp were moving in the grass along the bank and there were a couple of boils about 20m upstream. Both anglers placed their baits close to the reeds where the carp were most active.
Gary's rod bent over as a carp inhaled his boilie and took off.
For all the bagging that carp get in Australia, there's no denying they are good fighters and when carp weigh 12kg, like the fish on Gary's rod they give you a run for your money.
The need for 7kg tackle and long rods soon became apparent. Hidden under 2m of water along the shoreline are tree stumps. The carp need to be stopped from running into the reeds, and the angler has to high stick the fish to keep them out of the snags.
Erik hooked up next, and then Gary was into another carp.
The fishing was constant and the carp, all more than 10kg, remained active for three hours.
When the fishing slowed, Gary decided it was time to get some food. In Mequinenza, restaurants and coffee shops remain open in the afternoons. Everyone else, it seems, has a siesta.
We were to return later in the afternoon when the carp come out of their slumber, like the shopkeepers of Mequinenza. It is a laid-back lifestyle.
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- STEVE COOPER
- From: <CITE>Sunday Herald Sun </CITE>
- July 05, 2010
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<!-- // .image-frame -->MONSTER CATCH: Gary Allen shows off a 12kg carp. Source: Herald Sun
<!-- // .caption -->
<!-- // .tabs .js-tabbed -->
<!-- // .article-media --><!-- google_ad_section_start(name=story_introduction, weight=high) -->Life in rural Spain is quite unhurried, until you get a monster fish on the end of your line. <!-- google_ad_section_end(name=story_introduction) -->
<!-- // .story-intro --><!-- google_ad_section_start(name=story_body, weight=high) -->THE River Ebro in northern Spain was once regarded as the world catfish capital, with anglers coming from all over in search of these predators that grow to more than 116kg.
Nowadays, the River Ebro is regarded equally as trophy water for other fish: common carp that are up to 28kg and zander that can reach 6kg.
A favourite starting point for many is the village of Mequinenza, on a hill by an imposing medieval castle of the same name.
Standing at the foot of Mequinenza castle, the visitor overlooks vast green blankets of citrus trees, in valleys surrounded by mesa-like hills.
Upstream is Lake Mequinenza, created by a dam built for hydroelectricity. From here the river runs for more than 60km.
<!-- // .story-sidebar -->Mequinenza is on the River Segre, upstream from the confluence of the Segre and Ebro rivers.
In 1970, the Spanish government acquired the original village, which was as old as the castle, to make way for the dam that created Lake Mequinenza.
Such was the haste in village construction that the streets were not named, instead receiving alphabetical designations such as Q St, where my guide, Gary Allen, lives.
Gary is an expatriate Englishman who moved here more than 13 years ago to work for a German guiding company. Three years ago, he started his own guiding business, called Gary Allen's Regency Angling.
The fish hadn't been coming on the bite early so Gary decided we would go to the local coffee shop for a bacon roll washed down by cups of coffee.
Along with us was Erik Torres, a motor mechanic who takes summers off to go fishing.
Gary has a 5m centre-console boat powered by an 80hp outboard, and we launched about 9am, motoring down the River Segre and into the River Ebro for several kilometres to a stretch of riverbank covered in reeds.
Bow and stern anchors were dropped and Gary and Erik started to rig their 7kg outfits.
The target species for the morning was carp.
The rods were about 3m long and had soft, parabolic curves, and these were coupled with threadline reels.
Gary used monofilament, but Erik preferred braid.
The rig was a running sinker with a braid leader and what coarse anglers call a "hair rig", which consists of a No.8 hook tied to the leader with a loop of braid running off the back of the hook.
This loop is threaded through a bait called a boilie and held in place by a plastic stopper. Boilies are spherical balls of bait made from "secret ingredients" that are mixed together, boiled and then moulded. Gary told me our bait was a "tuna spice boilie".
Finally, he attached a PVA bag full of berley to his hook and then cast. PVA bags are made of a soluble netting material that dissolves in water in about 30 seconds, leaving the boilie surrounded by the berley. It's a neat idea. Some anglers soak their PVA bags in water before casting so that these dissolve as the bait is sinking.
Carp were moving in the grass along the bank and there were a couple of boils about 20m upstream. Both anglers placed their baits close to the reeds where the carp were most active.
Gary's rod bent over as a carp inhaled his boilie and took off.
For all the bagging that carp get in Australia, there's no denying they are good fighters and when carp weigh 12kg, like the fish on Gary's rod they give you a run for your money.
The need for 7kg tackle and long rods soon became apparent. Hidden under 2m of water along the shoreline are tree stumps. The carp need to be stopped from running into the reeds, and the angler has to high stick the fish to keep them out of the snags.
Erik hooked up next, and then Gary was into another carp.
The fishing was constant and the carp, all more than 10kg, remained active for three hours.
When the fishing slowed, Gary decided it was time to get some food. In Mequinenza, restaurants and coffee shops remain open in the afternoons. Everyone else, it seems, has a siesta.
We were to return later in the afternoon when the carp come out of their slumber, like the shopkeepers of Mequinenza. It is a laid-back lifestyle.