The Sessions - December 2017
More pain in Europe and a Xmas Day double
Rio Ebro, Mequinenza, Spain
So how did the rest of the trip go?? We were struggling and running out of ideas and I’ll cover the rest in my December blog is how I left things last month.
We moved again to a swim on the Ebro that faces the confluence with the Segre called Ebro Point. The area offers a huge variation in spots to drop baits ranging from 10 – 43 feet, we have found in the past that the area about 16 feet as it slopes up is a good spot so I rowed my baits out the 180 yards and dropped them in position. Colin then followed suit and we covered a good area hoping to catch any fish moving through.
The water coming down the Ebro is generally warmer than the Segre especially at this time of year but unfortunately it had still had the 6 degree drop which wasn’t good, but we were hoping the fish would know this and have moved into the warmer water.
This spot sees very little sun, approx 45 minutes a day so is very cold in winter, add to this the wind that really got up making it uncomfortable fishing and then great care has to be taken rowing out in a big wind but foolishly or not we still do it and enjoy every minute.
I had a take at teatime but it was quickly evident it was a Carp, now I had a problem as Colin had gone back into town and we had no landing net as all the Cats are gloved which is much safer and more effective way of handling them. I played the Carp into the deep margin and saw it was quite a good one so I threw the Cat weigh sling into the edge and made my way down, this wasn’t easy as the bank is steep in this spot. I then had to play the Carp into the sling, drop the rod and gather it all up, I managed it at the second attempt, unhooked it and took it up for a quick photo. I didn’t weigh it but would suggest it was 36-38 pound, not quite the same on a Cat rod and 75kg braid but still nice to catch.
We fished up to midnight and then reeled in without a bite, there is no night fishing in Spain and the police are on it at the present time so al the old tricks don’t work, the fines now are just not worth the risk. To be honest I have night fished a lot in the past and being totally honest 95% of my big Cats have come in legal hours so knower days I’m happy to reel in and sleep easy without one eye open.
I was up at first light watching the water and there were Carp crashing all over so I made the decision to swap over to Carping for the day. While I was getting sorted I had the feeling I was being watched, I turned and looked up the mountain side and there was a young Ibex stood on the edge 50 feet up watching me, I managed to get the camera and get some good shots before it moved away, what a lovely sight.
It was mild and cloudy and I got the baits out in the same area and was hoping for a good day.
The forecast for the week ahead was grim with real cold weather coming in and we were already struggling. The day had passed without a take and they had stopped showing, we’d discussed a move to a lake in Limoges, France a few times and the conversation came up again so we rang the owner to see if it was possible, he agreed we could go so a decision had to be made. We weighed it all up, cost, travel, fishing time and decided to go for it so packed up there and then and went back to town to get supplies and pack the trailer.
We were up and on the road the next morning at 6am for the eight hour drive to Limoges and a lake called Etang Meunier.
The drive was long but went quickly, we’ve been mates years and always have stuff to chat about, add to that the Pyrenees which is a stunning area to travel through made it a good journey.
Etang Meunier, Limoges, France
We arrived late afternoon leaving plenty of time to get baits out. I’ve fished it once four years ago and Colin is a regular going at last once a season so we knew the areas to place rigs so very little prep was required. It has a house with two bedrooms and all the facilities you would expect including a tackle room under the house with bait freezers, the tackle room also doubles up as a bivvy, making it comfortable this time of year.
The lake has a reasonable head of fish mainly over 40plus, with definitely two 60’s, one of which may go 70 in winter so we were hoping for a biggie, Colin had been early November and caught 12 fifties!!
Stealth is the key at this lake, it pays to be quiet and create very little disturbance on the water so all the rigs and bait are bait boated into position and left 24 hours unless a take occurs. As it was unplanned I had none of my ever reliable bait from Mad Baits so had to visit the tackle shop for bait, I bought a popular bait that features in the press a lot so still felt confident but was secretly wishing for the familiar smell of Pandemic. All the rigs were set up with balanced baits sitting over the hook with the hook on the bottom, a tactic we have used successfully there before and baited with minimal free offerings due to the cold weather.
It was in the minus at night and we were waking to a frost and clear sunny days, not the best conditions but we’d caught here before in similar.
We were seeing fish bubbling up but didn’t get a take until the second morning when Colin had a 37-08 Common, he then took a 35-00 Mirror in the night.
The weather was getting colder with rain that was chilling the water further, it wasn’t looking good. By the fifth day we decided to try zigs and made up rigs at different depths and tried different baits, I used trimmed down pop-ups and Colin was using different fake pop-up baits.
It felt good to try something different and keep thinking of ways to get a take even after a two week struggle, one thing I’ve always had is resilience if even sometimes it was fruitless I never want to give up.
To be honest the trip was struggle and I’d hammered my phone having to charge it daily so this trip was a good test for my RidgeMonkey vault which passed the test with flying colours, it lasted the whole two weeks charging my phone and head torch with charge to spare, I don’t do any sessions without it in the car with me.
Well the night came and went and I woke up at first light to snow everywhere that showed no sign of stopping, it was also freezing, the reels and alarms were frozen and the line froze in the rings which did make for some good photos. Colin was asleep so I was up with camera and took some shots of the rods and then went for a walk round the lake, note the Movember moustache.
I love walking in fresh snow especially in areas of woods and countryside and was snapping away while being quiet as you never know what you’ll see. I was really conscious of being watched again for the second time this trip, it’s odd how the sixth sense kicks in but it certainly does. I stood stone still and looked around and sure enough there was a Roe Deer sitting under a tree no more than 15 feet away from me trying to keep warm and sheltered from the snow, it was a lovely moment as we just looked at each other. I fired of a quick snap from chest level and then slowly lifted the camera up and got a great photo that was a real highlight of the trip.
After watching her for a minute or so she started to spook and got up and moved up into the trees, the photo below shows how good the camouflage is as the Deer was no more than 25 feet away.
I didn’t want to spook her anymore so moved away slowly and made my way round the lake, I had another photo target, a Coypu I’d seen earlier in the week. The fresh snow just shows how wildlife moves around in the night, I could see where the Roe Deer had come from and there were other tracks I did not recognise. I walked quietly round to where I thought the Coypu would be and there he was sitting on the bank, he dropped into the water but didn’t dive, probably as it was so cold, so I was able to watch him and fire off a few photos.
Colin was up when I got back and doing the same with his camera and the rods. We cooked breakfast and had another decision to make, we still had two days to go but the forecast was bad with more snow. The Pyrenees was impassable with the three villages before closed, the only route back to Spain was round the Pyrenees to Girona. It would have been madness to stay so we packed up in the pouring snow and left at lunchtime. The journey back was awful and dangerous, it took 11 hours and we finally arrived in Mequinenza at silly o’clock to finish an eventful but still enjoyable trip. As far as the fishing goes it was my worst trip in 50 plus trips fishing overseas, but I can’t wait to go again and we have a lot of plans for the next two years.
24 December – River Trent
I’d had one Perch trip to my Herts lake, where I broke the ice to fish which resulted in me being freezing cold all day and right on dark the float dipped under. I thought big Perch all the way even as it went in the net and was gutted when I lifted it out to see the big lips of a 4-08 Chub.
So by Xmas Eve I was dying to get out again, I had nothing planned, Julie was having a mum and daughter evening so I loaded the car and drove up to the Trent. I knew the river would be quite high so went to an area I know fishes well in these conditions and was gutted to see another car there, who fishes Xmas Eve……err me. When I got to the area he was not in the spot I wanted so after a quick chat I went in a swim well down from him feeling pretty confident.
Out went two rods on Pandemic and pva bags with no other bait put in. I didn’t start until after dark but I know the swim so it wasn’t a problem, the only issue was the bank, it was treacherous and I had to be really careful not to slide into the river. I expected takes early evening but they didn’t come and as much as I like Talk Sport it’s a long evening from 16:30 hours.
25 December
00:40 hours – the first take came but didn’t really take off, I lifted into it and it was clearly a good Barbel but fell off in the margin which wasn’t to pleasing!.
04:10 hours – it took a while for the next take but this one stayed on at 8-10, not big but a Xmas Day Barbel which is what I wanted.
I was sleeping but was conscious something was not right and started waking up as I felt something walking up me on top of my sleeping bag, it felt heavy but was clearly a Rat that as it got to my shoulder was sent flying to the back of my shelter, not my favourite Xmas present this year.
07:00 hours – I was awake but in the bag as the rod smashed over, this one took the butt out of the cup and was hanging over the Delkim. I quickly got to it and knew this was the one I wanted, all went to plan and I had my Xmas Day double at 11-04.
07:05 hours – as I was playing the fish the other rod went over but I thought it was the other fish on the line. When I put the 11 back it went again and was another one at 9-09.
I’d had what I wanted so packed up an hour later and headed home for a great Xmas Day with Julie and her family.
That was my last trip of 2017, a funny year for me with a new job that has impacted on my fishing, I’ve caught less but still had a higher % of double figure Barbel and had my second Ebro 50 Common so all in all it’s been a good year.
Thanks to my sponsors for their continued support,
#ridgemonkey #madbaits #jackpyke #castawaypva #ukspecialistangler #Freespirit you’ve been awesome and I really appreciate it
December 2017 a difficult month with only one nights Barbel fishing, 3 Barbel / 1 double.
Until next month be lucky, tight lines and happy New Year
Julian Barnes