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A couple of weeks ago I travelled up to Embalse de Argos to meet up with friends Richard and Gerry. We had fished together a month earlier at Embalse de Alfonso XIII without much luck, only Richard out of the three of us managing to land a three pound carp. We set up at Argos on a very chilly morning as the sun was rising and using a variety of baits, fished near the reservoir wall end of the water. Now, Richard is a very experienced coarse angler and his knowledge is fascinating. Log books he has kept over the last thirty years conjure up a fascinating insight into the world of a very keen and committed angler for whom I have the greatest respect and admiration. Gerry is new to this having retired to Spain and found fishing as his new hobby. He had not caught a fish and was obviously eager to do so. It is a difficult period for the angler starting out fishing for hours in anticipation of the moment the line tightens. The only problem being is when does anticipation turn to boredom and the thought of giving up? I could see that after the first hour the fish were starting to leave familiar circles on the surface and the chance of a catch was good.
I had opted for an in line method feeder using a mix of chick feed and sweetcorn, then sweetcorn on a hair rig. Richard and Gerry were on bread paste, both using bolt rigs and Gerry also had a float out. The sun was warming us up and a pleasant day we were having, especially when Richards alarm screamed out. A decent carp was landed! The fish was around the four pound mark. Now I know that some of you will be thinking why bother with carp that size where are the twenty pounders. This is not what fishing is all about to me. Catching fish is the pleasurable part of fishing, together with the wonderful surroundings and the nature I observe while fishing. We would all love to go and haul out massive carp, pike and zander or even catfish every day and if we did then what would be the challenge in that Anglers would want to catch bigger ones and where would it end. I much rather fish for the common sizes and maybe be lucky enough to land the big one as a surprise, then it means much more than being an everyday occurrence. That's what I love about this area of Spain; it is virtually unknown territory and every trip is a surprising learning curve. And above all it is meant to be fun, relaxing and pleasurable.
I had opted for an in line method feeder using a mix of chick feed and sweetcorn, then sweetcorn on a hair rig. Richard and Gerry were on bread paste, both using bolt rigs and Gerry also had a float out. The sun was warming us up and a pleasant day we were having, especially when Richards alarm screamed out. A decent carp was landed! The fish was around the four pound mark. Now I know that some of you will be thinking why bother with carp that size where are the twenty pounders. This is not what fishing is all about to me. Catching fish is the pleasurable part of fishing, together with the wonderful surroundings and the nature I observe while fishing. We would all love to go and haul out massive carp, pike and zander or even catfish every day and if we did then what would be the challenge in that Anglers would want to catch bigger ones and where would it end. I much rather fish for the common sizes and maybe be lucky enough to land the big one as a surprise, then it means much more than being an everyday occurrence. That's what I love about this area of Spain; it is virtually unknown territory and every trip is a surprising learning curve. And above all it is meant to be fun, relaxing and pleasurable.
A few minutes after Richards catch I landed another carp of similar size, then another. I could sense Gerry was watching us with envy and I also knew his fishing equipment was, well lets say, dated! Richard proceeded to catch again and then Gerry shouted out he had a fish. Richard went over and helped net. The look on Gerry's face was priceless and as I have said that is what it is all about, at that moment it was better than a lottery win to him. All he wanted was a picture to show his grandchildren because he said they would not believe him when he tells them he has caught a fish. He was now one of us, a true angler. He had a new found confidence in what he was doing and then there was no stopping him, he caught four and lost two. A great day for Gerry, one he will remember for years to come. I have now sourced him some decent tackle so he is up and running. Richard and I caught another four or five apiece and a good day was had by all. We stopped on the way home for a coffee and excited chat about the next time. So if your sat reading this and want to have a go, get out there and do it. It can be a very rewarding and pleasurable pastime.
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