The Sessions - May 2017

1 May – River Segre, Mequinenza, Spain

I’d finished last month’s piece at the half way point of my Spring Carping trip after having landed a 50-02 Common on the last day of the April and really hoped the second half would be as good.

I’d got a good soaking on the way back in the previous evening and it rained all night, the weather had been a real mixed bag on the trip so far and definitely had an impact on the fishing. Before going in I’d put some Maize and Tigers on the spot and was confident the fish would still be there the following day. I motored out there for 11:00 and slowly drifted into the area and lowered the mud weights. The night had been cold and it was clear and sunny in the morning but windy, with the level being two to three foot deep it needed the sun on the water to get the fish in there and feeding.
To re-cap I was fishing a 3oz lead on a clip, a 7” Korda IQ boom, a small ring, 2-3” piece of braid to a size 2 Mugger hook with a 22mm pellet topped with fake corn.

14:10 hours – it took a while but eventually I got a take resulting in a long lean fish at 23-15.

I continued to see fish silting up but I didn’t get any more takes, I’m sure the rain chilled the water enough to knock them of the feed again.

For the evening I moved back to deeper water where I’d caught the 38 on the Saturday where I felt the temperature may be more consistent. This proved a mistake as the levels were up bringing down lots of weed making presentation very difficult. The deeper water is right in the main flow hence why I had so many problems with weed.

2 May

The night had been very cold again, down to 4 degrees, but it was forecast to start getting warmer again day by day so I hoped the fishing would pick up again as the week progressed. I always go for two weeks when travelling to allow for inclement weather for part of the trip, there is nothing worse than planning a week away and having it ruined by bad conditions.

I was out on the river by 10:00 and was stood up in the boat motoring along at the lowest setting, by standing up I was able to see fish silting up well before I got near them, I could then judge my approach a lot better.

I’d gone round the island and the shallows without seeing a fish, I went back to the 50 spot and again didn’t see any so I made the decision to try down the Rio Ebro. I went down to an area Colin and I had great success in during the winter of 2007, it’s on the edge of an old orchard that was there prior to the old river being dammed. The area now is a good 180 yards out into the river and I dropped the mud weights in 16 feet of water and tied off to the one remaining tree that is still out the water. I then flicked the rigs out into 20 feet of water on the drop off, the Carp run up and down this area when they are there. Out went a few pellets and a few pouch fulls of Maize and Tigers.

I’d love to say it was a great success but it wasn’t and I was on the move again. I went back up the Rio Segre and tried three areas in the big bay eventually catching a 20 plus in the last hour, another frustrating day.

3 May

The night had been warmer and the morning was cloudy and cool. I’d been able to moor the boat up on the Segre the previous evening as the guides had a Cat swim set up so that saved me 30 mins motoring down the Ebro to the confluence and up the Segre.

I saw fish show at the entrance to the back channel in two feet of water so lowered the mud weights and flicked the rigs in. It didn’t take long and I soon had a tatty double figure Common in the boat.

Once the rig was back out I was back on patrol like a Heron, it’s a key part of boat fishing for Carp on the river system, you have to stay alert, keep watching and move when the opportunity arises. I kept seeing fish rolling and lumping out approx. 75-100 yards upstream and some of them looked huge, it was too much and instinct was telling me to move so up came the mud weights and I slowly motored up to the area. When going to a new area I motor in slowly with my prodding stick in my right hand checking depth every few yards. It was a deeper margin, with patches of weed and a few dead trees. Once my spot was identified I turned of the motor and drifted in and lowered the weights to cause as little disturbance as possible.

I saw movement against the reed margin in four feet of water so flicked a rig to the spot, the fish continued to show and my confidence was sky high; I just knew I’d got it right.
13:10 hours – I was stood up in the boat with the other rod in my hand ready to cast to a small bay in the reeds when the first one went, it had been in the water not even a minute. I struck and felt a proper thud of a big fish, the fight was short and brutal and again this one went past the boat and looked big, it then went round the boat and after a little panic with the mud weight rope it went into the net. It looked huge and longer than the fifty and I was thinking a possible Spanish PB until I lifted it in, but I wasn’t complaining it was a magnificent fish at 47-06.

After that fish they disappeared and it took a few moves to get back on fish but again once I found them I got it right.
20:00 hours – I was back in shallow water and pretty quickly the rod went, this one didn’t feel like a Carp and I was right when a 20 plus Cat popped up.

20:05 hours – I’d just put it back when the other rod went, this one felt heavy and went into the weed, steady pressure got it out and into the net, another good fish at 30-02.

20:30 hours – I managed one more after another move to showing fish, another double at 15 plus to finish a good day.

4 May

The one down side to celebrating catches and helping people is you often find them on your spots the next day and that’s exactly what happened, I went out on the river mid-morning to find clients fishing on my areas. On the plus side the river is huge and there is always somewhere to go.

It was clear and sunny but quite windy making spotting fish difficult. I drifted down the edge of the shelf on the Segre and on instinct lowered the weights in an area that I felt would hold fish. However no bites were forthcoming so I was on the move again, the river seemed to have shut up shop again.

I continued to move and feared the first blank day was on the cards. The wind had been difficult all day making holding bottom a problem. It wasn’t until the evening it dropped and I drifted behind the island and saw a show in an area that had been good on the first week. I anchored up and flicked both rigs in.

19:10 hours – I was relaxing watching the Marsh Harrier on evening patrol when one of the rods went to start a crazy two hours, this one went 30-04.

19:40 hours – I recast the rod and it went straight away, the result was an upper double.

20:20 hours – I’d moved the other rod to a slightly clearer area and it went pretty quickly and fought real hard but went in the net at 31-07.

20:55 hours – I’d done the photos and got the rod back out when the other rod went again, this was another thirty at 32-10.

21:10 hours – I did one picture of the 32 and popped it back, got the rod out and the other went, this one felt heavy and weeded me up, again steady pressure told and it was out but wouldn’t give up and gave me the best fight of the trip, eventually it went in the net and was a beast at 39-08.

21:20 hours – I was trying to weigh and do pictures of the big fish when the other rod went, all I could do was strike to set the hook and put the rod back down. To be honest it was funny trying to do self takes in a boat with a baitrunner steaming off next to me. It was inevitable what was going to happen and by the time I got the fish back the other was solid in weed. I had to up anchor and go to it but it had gone which was no surprise but four thirties on the trot in two hours I wasn’t going to complain.

5 May

When I went out in the morning the levels had been dropped a foot and it was continuing to drop and the weather warming up. As expected some fish started to spawn and most of the shallow areas were too low to be able to get into. I moved ten times trying to find feeding fish and it was struggle, I finished the day with a Cat, a 1-14 Roach and a 25-06 Common.

6 May

It was the last day so I planned to fish half the day and was out on the water by 10:00 hours. The levels had been lowered even further making most areas I had been fishing unfishable. I went up to the area where I’d caught the 47 with the intention of fishing out into the deeper channel, when I got there I saw fish showing straight away so felt I had a chance. With the lower levels there were trees exposed all along the deeper margin so I anchored up in an area that was clear.

The channel was 14 feet deep with the low level, I flicked the rigs out and catapulted a few pellets around each. Getting bites was no problem but boating them proved to be, I had four bites in two hours fishing but I lost three and landed a 26 Common. The problem was there were tree stumps that I couldn’t see and the Carp were diving into them, I was able to get them out of all except one and on each occasion I had to up anchor and go over to it and was cut off each time on the hooklink by Zebra Mussels attached to the stump. I don’t like to leave tackle in fish so despite the fishing being good I wasn’t happy with the result so packed up.

That was the end of a tough trip with difficult days, the key to success was staying mobile which is not easy on your own but as always I just love being out.

I finished with 3 Catfish, 2 Roach at 1-14 & 3-00 and 28 Carp, all Commons, 8 doubles, 10 twenties, 8 thirties, a 47-06 and the highlight of the trip a real brute at 50-02, for me a river fifty is worth a seventy from a French lake any day.

Spain is fantastic if you love nature and birds in particular, the birdlife is amazing and I lost count of the species seen during the trip. Colin loves bird watching and had been telling me about a rare bird he had seen way up in the farming district this Spring. The bird is called a Little Bustard and even the farmers and shepherds in the area did not think it was there until Colin came across one who had seen a pair. Sure enough he was right and Colin found them so during the afternoon and evening we were driving for miles looking for this bird. We saw so many species and the highlight for me was watching a Golden Eagle, what a magnificent bird, and we watched it for some time up in the air on patrol and then it came down and was sitting on the hill top watching for prey……fantastic!!!

As the evening was drawing in we were about to give up when Colin heard the call and then sure enough there it was, a Little Bustard. They like ploughed fields with low level vegetation and you wonder how you couldn’t see it as they are a big bird about the size of large Pheasant, what a stunning bird and a real privilege to see one so close in the wild. Bird watchers spend years looking for these and we saw one in one afternoon, the first thing I did when I got back to England was to purchase a good camera with a x65 zoom so next time I want to capture it on film.

Until next month tight lines.

Julian Barnes