Good Morning.
I have many return clients but the Bristol lads were the first group to return for trip three. Their first trip was March 2012. They came back in October last year, and re-booked during that time to do a ten day trip in May of this year. In fact they like the holiday I provide so much, they have re-booked another ten day trip in November later this year.
I will be taking bookings from the begininning of October up until the middle of December this year. I caught my 46lb common in late December and it does fish really well all year round.
I took the Bristol lads to a spot I know is good when the water level is high – a nice secluded bay. It already had anglers present – a rarity on a Monday morning, so we moved further round to the entrance to the bay and found a great stretch that looked even better. I had fished here in March of this year in fact.
I kitted the boys out with the usual kit but new SKS landing nets from Sonik were given to each angler. They were soon in their swim of choice and the Uber trailer was soon set up and the first ‘big sandwich’ lunch was being prepared. I gave the lads 15kg of Vitalbaits Krill-am boilies to start with in three sizes from 14-24mm. They also were given a large 15kg bucket of freshly prepared particle.
After they had picked their fishing spots, some recommended by myself, I left them to decide on their distance and to walk out the rods to the same distances. I did also suggest they try a long range rod in the daytime too as the fish do often move or pass through, in deeper water.
The boys decided to have a little competition amongst themselves. I wasn’t fishing as I have more than enough to do with three clients on the bank. There were six prizes up for grabs all worth 10 euros each, so henry was pleased when he had the first carp of the trip which was a 22lb 14oz common. No-one could take that prize away from him.
Over the next few days Henry and Paul B had a few more fish with Paul taking a lovely mirror of 23lbs. Paul H was having a little difficulty keeping his carp on his hook though and his first four carp were sadly dropped. Fortunately his luck was to change as he changed his tactics slightly. Using a hinge rig with a bright orange tutti pop-up, and a larger hook, he soon had his first fish on the bank. His third fish was the first thirty of the trip and a beautiful mirror weighing 30lb 11oz.
Paul H was soon catching Henry who had gone into a healthy lead. Henry’s swim seemed to temporarily go off the boil, and Paul took full advantage.
The fish kept coming, but the lads did lose a lot of fish. They know it, and they know I know it. Some were down to being too slow to react to the fish, some were from being too slow to get to the take, and some were down to inexperience. When a fish wants line and there are no dangers or snags, you let the fish have line. Having clutches set properly, and using your legs to walk as you play the carp, are all important factors in the winning the battle.
Needless to say – the boys do come to Brava for a holiday, and the fishing is the bonus aspect of that holiday. Paul H took five of the prizes including total weight, most fish, biggest mirror, biggest common, and smallest carp. Paul H had been leading the total weight competition for three days up until the final morning, when Henry caught a precious 20lb 10oz mirror. Henry was now only 4oz’s ahead of Paul H with four minutes to go.Paul H then had a drop back from his long range spot and landed a 16lb 8oz common taking back the title.
Their final tally of fish was 37 fish to 35lbs. They should really have caught about 50 fish but maybe they will redeem their losses when they return in November for their fourth holiday with Sierra Brava Dreams.
The lads opted for the chauffeur (complete with cold lager onboard) transfer option, from and to Madrid airport. They stayed in my house on night one, as they arrived very late, and we were on the lake by 10am the next morning. Most of the fish were caught in the morning or throughout the daytime. None of the fish were caught in the hours of darkness. We fished the final night and stopped fishing at 11.30am and were off the lake by 12pm.
Back soon with another report.
Cheers
Jake Langley-Hobbs
