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.
Gerry With His First Fish
Richard With One Of His Many Thousands
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.
A Nice Mirror Carp
Ready To Net Yet Another For Gerry
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