Good evening.
Sunrise.
Well, I have finally made it out onto the banks of Sierra Brava since my short Christmas session. There have been a few times since that session when the desire to go fishing has crept into my mind, but I have been quite busy with other things in January, such as my trip to Prague, and working on my house. These things were priorities. I also go fishing when I want to these days and not because I have to. I think you should fish on these terms to get the most from the sport and when I feel I am just going through the motions and enduring it, rather than enjoying it, I don’t want to be on the bank.
I am fishing a new swim. I have decided that over the next month I will try to get on the bank at least once a week to explore some new territory. I have favoured areas but the water level is really low at the moment and not how it was at this time last year. This has advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is the fish are easier to find as there is less water for them to hide in, but the disadvantage is the access around the lake is very easy with a normal car meaning areas that were quiet last year, might not be this year. Last year there were some great areas that could only be reached if you had a good 4 x 4 and you basically had this certain section of the lake to yourself. However, this certain area would not be the same at the moment as the water levels are low, so I suppose it doesn’t matter anyway!
The plan therefore is to do some homework and find some swims that offer really good fishing for myself and my clients, and fortunately on Sierra Brava that is never hard to do. For example I have only been fishing 24 hours and I have caught two carp already, from a brand new swim I have never wet a line in before. This is what I love about Sierra Brava – the whole lake fishes well to be honest and if the conditions are right and the carp are having it, most people stand a good chance of getting a bend in their rods.
Vital Bait's new creation.
I am using the new boilie I mentioned in my last post. Vital Baits Banana GLM (green lipped mussel). Banana flavoured boilies seem to work very well at Brava and many Spanish anglers use a banana boilie that isn’t exactly high in nutritional value, but it works well all the same. The Vital Baits boilie is packed full of NV. GLM, birdseed, and a subtle, smooth, banana flavour. I knew this bait would work and I have always been a huge fan of baits with GLM; now we have a great combination. I will be buying this boilie for my clients to use as I think they will have very good results with it.
Halibut stick mix - ready to use straight from the bag!
Hemp & halibut mix, ideals for pva bags, spomb mixes etc..
Krill glug - it stinks!
Nicky Hedin at VB has also launched some new products for the angler who likes to use little tricks up his sleeve. A stick mix containing halibut, and another product containing crushed hemp and halibut. Extra attraction is sometimes needed, especially at certain times of the year, and when the water is cold, I think extra attraction can be very beneficial in drawing in some fish to your hook bait.
Playing around with the products, and creating halibut paste coated boilies, caught me my first 20 of 2012.
I have been playing around with the new products today and one of the things I did was to roll some of the boilies in the sticky krill glug. I then rolled these in some of the halibut stick mix powder and made sure they got a good coating. You can repeat the process several times if you like and effectively build up a thick layer of paste. I have seen this technique done before many times before and it has already worked for me, as I had a take at long-range at 5pm this afternoon. I was having a siesta and was woken by the run and the carp put up a nice account of itself. It came in straight as a die to begin with, like a dog on a lead, and then began to kite a little as I got it near the bank. A bit of side-strain turned it and I soon had my first twenty pounder of the year in my net. This fish would probably have weighed about 15lb last summer, but it was incredibly fat, and the extra weight pushed the needle to 20lb. First twenty of the year always deserves a photo.
A Plump 20lb'er
My other carp was caught at 4am this morning. I caught this one using a single VB Banana GLM 20mm boilie. Yesterday when I arrived at 4pm I got the rods sorted immediately and two were put near a tree sticking out of the water at about 40 yards range; the depth is about 25 foot. I then put a kilo of the boilie around the general tree area with my throwing stick. I wanted to see if the bait would work without a stringer or any other hook bait attraction aid, and I am pleased to say it did. I think that is good proof of a good bait.
My favourite weather - windy!
It was hellish windy when I was setting up, which made everything more difficult than normal. I had to set up my bivvy using my Navara for shelter. It was a peg by peg erection that took some patience and technique to stop the whole thing taking off. The weather is how I like it at the moment, in the fact we are getting some really strong winds in the daytime. North westerly’s blowing up to 25km/ph, which on a big lake like Brava is enough to get a really good chop on the water and white horses racing across the lake. The days are sunny and the nights are chilly and I have timed my session in accordance with the full moon, the wind, and the fact that last night, tonight, and possibly tomorrow night are milder. 2+ as opposed to minus 4-6. It is still winter and I know ‘real’ winter has arrived in many parts of Europe, so Spain is going to get some of the knock on effects!
That is all for my first session blog. Till the next one, take care.
Jake Langley-Hobbs
