Written by my weekend client – Barry Aldridge.
Second fish of the day was a new PB common.
So, I’ve just got back from a long weekend on Sierra Brava with Jake and his dog Flash. I have enjoyed it enough to want to write about it, and to let anybody else out there who is thinking about booking, to stop thinking about it, and get yourself booked! You won’t regret it.
I live in Andalucia so it was just a case of getting in the car and doing a 4 hour drive to his house. The Tomtom took me right to his door and the drive is enjoyable in itself, a truly beautiful part of the world. I left work early on the Thursday and arrived around 9 pm. A few beers were in order to get to know each other and see a bit of Zorita, a nice little pueblo where everybody knows everybody.
It was hot weekend – Flash loved it!
Friday morning started with us loading up the 4by4 after a coffee and breakfast and off we go to get a good spot for the weekend. Jakes knowledge of the lake is as impressive as the size of it and we were soon in an idyllic spot that looked full of potential for the fishing ahead. It being May the carp were spawning amongst the trees about 60 yards or so in front of us so there was no doubt that there were fish in the area.
It seems Korda has produced another clanger of a product. Remember Hybrid Stiff – this isn’t any better for sudden breakages.
Jake helped me out with the tactics for the weekend and got to work on improving my casting accuracy and distance straight away. The first day was an ok start with a lower double as a first fish, and then a lovely looking common that just tipped over the 20lb mark. I had two savage takes during the night, one at 2 am and one around 4 am. The first got off and the second managed to snap my 25lb braid Korda Super Natural hook link! The power of the fish before it managed to snap me was extremely impressive and although I was disappointed it had got off it also got me excited with the potential of the fish that were clearly out in front of us.
Barry was treated to a new PB mirror too!
The fish spent most of Saturday spawning but the takes started again just as the sun was going down. I landed a beautiful mirror, just over 27lb, after a long and enjoyable fight and just had enough light left to get plenty of bait out for the night with the Spomb. A 23lb common woke me up at 4am and then around 6 am I was into what I knew was a good fish straight away. A little while later I was holding a PB common of 29.7lb with Jake taking the photos. A perfect start to the day.
Awesome fish to begin the day with – 29lbs 7oz.
I lost a few fish after runs that were hard to stop, the carp are amazingly strong, it’s like somebody has been putting steroids in the water and the carp love it. I am sure that I will top the 30lb mark on my next visit.
Jakes food was top notch and he was good company for what was a great fishing weekend. On top of that he is very knowledgeable and patient enough to work with you to get the most out of you and improve your fishing. I have come away from the weekend happy with some good fish netted, more knowledge, and a better angler for the tuition. I still have some things to work on…..Jake will see the difference when I am back in November.
Thanks Jake!
Barry A.
Tags: carp, jake langley-hobbs, Korda Super Natural, Sierra Brava, steroids
