RIVER EBRO
I went on holiday to Salou with my girl friend Nicky in July 02, while we were there we drove
up to the river Ebro for a day, I didn't take a rod with me, what was wrong with me. Walking
along the river we saw Carp & Barbel all over the place, dozens of them. Seeing the river and
all those fish gave me a buzz and I new I would be back soon. 6 weeks later pal Bob and me were
flying to Spain. We booked a fly drive and a log cabin with a boat in a town called Mequeninza
which is where the river Segre meets the river Ebro, a known hot spot for giant siluro (catfish).
Day one we fished the Segre we settled in to some beer drinking and sunbathing within two hours
of fishing one of Bobs ratchets starts clicking, he grabbed the rod counted to three and hit it,
the rod arched over and the battle began. The fish swam straight for the boat Bob was winding
like a mad man to keep up with it then a hard fight at close range I boated our first siluro.
We had to estimate the fishes weight and we both decided that it was a between 90 & 95lbs
a superb fish and another pb for Bob, see what you think.
After a fish so quick we thought we were in for a hectic weeks angling, it turned out to
be fairly hard fishing for the cats. It was day four before we next had contact with some
pussy. We were out at dawn trying a new area and I spotted a big cat rolling out in the main
river, so we moved out there. Pretty soon Bob had a bite he struck the rod a very big
fish made a run for it and the hook pulled, Bob said it was like hooking a speedboat.
I wanted so much to hook a cat I was willing a pussy to my rod and bang my rod was hit,
I was in at last not a huge fish but a hansom 30lbs, I was over the moon and now had a
smile as big as Bobs.
We returned the fish and carried on fishing I was relieved to have landed a siluro at last.
About an hour past we were dozing in the sun one of my rods was off again I gave it a
few seconds and set the hook, the rod slammed down to the water and line peeled off
my reel, I know what Bob meant about hooking a boat now. The fish stayed deep, this
was a heavy fish, I could not lift it off the bottom for a minute or two, then it started
coming in slowly. When it broke surface we could not believe it, Bob said that's a ton
up fish, I was shaking in my shorts. Bob grabbed it as if nothing else mattered, nice one
Bob. We weighed the cat, We had hit the jackpot 110lbs, was I dreaming ? No it was real.
That turned out to be the last of the siluro, but the carp fishing was great fun with plenty of
fish to low doubles, these carp fight like there's no tomorrow. Top quality fishing.
Catching fish the sizes we were lucky enough to catch is worth every second you try.
The landscape and scenery were a pleasure to look at. The Spanish people were very
friendly and we had the time of our lives, it only a matter of time before we return to
this unforgettable place. I have never seen Bob smile so much as he did in Spain,
come to think of it I never knew I had so many teeth.
THE NUTS.