ANGLING NOTES:I HAVE PLEASANT memories, from when I lived in London many years ago, of coarse fishing on the River Thames. Setting up camp on the riverbank at Hampton Court became a weekend summer pastime, fishing for bream, dace and roach by day and for shy, sporty barbel by night.
Of course, the elusive barbel was the main attraction. Ledgering with worms in the fast-running water, the magical sound of the bite alarm in darkness signalled a run to last several minutes before banking the whiskered fish of perhaps 4.5kg (10lb). To catch three in one session was considered an exception.
These memories were rekindled recently while on holiday in Spain, where I linked up with renowned flytyer Michael Hayes. Now living in Elviria, near Marbella, with his wife, Betty, he has discovered a plethora of rivers suitable for fly-fishing for barbel.
Michael was keen to point out that since joining Acpes, an association dedicated to fish conservation (or pesca sin muerte), it had directed him to locations deep in the mountain ranges of southern Spain.
While most rivers had dried up due to lack of rain, there were still some deep pools to be found, including one near Campanillas, 12km north-west of Málaga. We took time to allow a herd of wild goats and their shepherd pass by before descending down a deep dried-up gorge. “In the raining season, this is inaccessible, with a torrent of water from the mountains,” Michael said.
We soon found the pool at the bend of an otherwise dry river. And surprise, surprise, plenty of barbel cruising below the surface. In preparation for my visit, Michael had assembled some barbless Klinkhammer flies, dry flies that had previously worked well.
Cautiously manoeuvring the cast and trying not to spook the fish, I soon connected with my first Iberian barbel. After an exciting struggle the fish, of about 0.6kg, was landed, photographed and quickly returned to the water.
Our afternoon session entailed a short drive to the Casasola Embalse, a 9km reservoir that supplements the water supply to Málaga. Here, our quarry was black bass or large mouth bass.
“Try a tinsel-tailed yellow popper and create a splash on retrieval,” Michael said. Within minutes, these tough-skinned bass were attacking the poppers from all directions. I accounted for at least 15. Great sport!
Later in the week we travelled 10km west of Marbella, passing the beautiful white village of Ojén, en route to Arroyo and the River Grande. This river was also in drought, with just the deepest sections retaining water. The barbel were showing in good numbers, some to 1kg. I first tried the Klinkhammer, then a beaded nymph and finally got an “interest” in a tiny black midge. However, I missed the fish and instead spooked the residents, which brought an end to our fishing.
My thanks to Michael for allowing me share his fishing hideaways. “I like to go fishing at least once a week – it gets better from late October with the onset of rain,” he said.
- The fisheries boards remind salmon and sea trout anglers to return completed logbooks and unused gill tags to their local fisheries board. Today is the requested deadline under the Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme regulations (SI No 586 of 2008).
Anglers must return logbooks even if they had a zero catch. The boards also advise anglers to retain proof of postage for 12 months. Evidence is vital, as failure to return a logbook may result in a fine or prosecution.
The Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme provides valuable salmon data to fishery managers, policy advisers and research scientists. This data is critical for the design and implementation of strategies for the conservation of wild salmon and sea trout stocks in Ireland.
- The agm of the Irish Elasmobranch Group will take place on Friday, October 30th, in the National Fisheries College, Greencastle, Co Donegal, from 4pm to 6pm. Membership is open to those with an interest in shark, skate and ray. Anglers are particularly welcome, as their knowledge of these species is especially important.
Also, the first National Irish Basking Shark Seminar will take place at the same venue on Friday, October 30th and Saturday, 31st. More information is available on baskingshark.ie.
angling@irishtimes.com