Posts Tagged ‘TOKS’

Greetings for 2012!

January 29, 2012

Good Evening.

My fishing year is just about to begin again at Sierra Brava. Last year, as expected, was rather slow on the business front, and it was really a case of surviving my first year in Spain; renting a house, and fitting in with the locals. The last part of that sentence is probably the most important factor to take into consideration, when living in a rural village. I am the only Englishman living in Zorita, and respecting the locals, making an effort to learn some of the language, and joining in with their lifestyle, traditions, and culture, is what living in Spain is all about for me. I really feel at home in a funny sort of way.

I have been busy writing.

I have many clients booked in already for this year which is really exciting for me, and likewise for the adventurous anglers who have chosen to book their holiday with me. Promotion has helped bring a few more clients to the table, along with my website, blog, and my notoriety!? I have just written a Sierra Brava article for International Carper in the UK; something some of you might find an interesting read, before deciding on your next foreign destination.

With new agent David Fort at my first talk at a carp fishing event in Prague.

I have just returned from a long weekend in Prague. I went there for three reasons. Firstly, to undertake my first ever talk at a carp meeting, secondly to help with the launch of a new website which I am providing material for, and thirdly to talk with the owner of www.carpfishing.cz  who will be an agent for my guiding business. David Fort who incidentally won the last World title of TOKS is heavily involved in the carp scene in Czech Republic, and is confident he can send me clients from his home country, and also soon from Hungary.

I am now the ambassador for online carp fishing competition TOKS

In February I may have a film crew from Germany, CarpHeart TV, arriving at Sierra Brava to film some footage of the lake with me fishing. I am hoping this will bring a few Germans to Spain to sample what is on offer on my doorstep.

Late February sees the first of my clients arriving. I have just started offering a Drive & Survive option, for those who wish to do everything themselves, but still wish to have a little assistance with obtaining licenses, access to the lake, and a host of other useful additions I can offer. It is a long drive to Extremadura and if you have to waste another day or so, getting everything you need to begin fishing, it can lose you valuable fishing time. I can have everything ready and waiting, on your arrival, and you should be set up and fishing within a couple of hours of arriving in my village. It is the perfect starter aid for Drive & Survive clients.

I WANT TO SEE THE DRIVE AND SURVIVE OPTION PLEASE

My first package clients will be fishing throughout the month of March, up until the closure date of April the 1st. Sierra Brava closes for one month. I will be heading to fish a nearby lake with my old friend Matt Dent, for about two and a half weeks; and this will coincide with my birthday and a weeklong fiesta in Spain celebrating Easter. Last year I attended all of these events, but have chosen to fish this year instead, not only giving my wallet a welcome break, but probably saving a few brain cells in the process.

May sees more clients arriving and I will be operating Sierra Brava Dreams right through till the beginning of July. I then take my annual leave. It is too hot to fish to be honest, even if you like the sun, and although there is still a chance of landing a large fish, I would rather my clients booked at more favourable times of the year, not only for the fishing, but for the sake of their skin. The sun is incredibly powerful in this region and the heat is quite dry. It is uncomfortable for the residents who live here, sensibly they all sit in the shade, as they know the dangers the sun ray’s can bring.

September brings more clients to my local lake, and likewise October. I am hoping to have clients through till the beginning of December this year as the lake does fish well till then. At this time of year, January, it is all about the weather, more so than other times of the year, as the water temperatures are slightly colder, as are the nights. I constantly look at the weather on my laptop, looking for big changes in the weather, moody fronts moving in, with winds, rain and milder temperatures are what I look for. This winter has not been fantastic for such weather, and in fact we have had very little rain at all. Fortunately we are getting a lot of sunshine in the days and news from the lake is good – it is starting to fish very well.

In my calendar for this year I still have a few weeks left to fill. For everyone concerned it is all about suitable dates and possible availability. Most of my clients are fairly flexible with dates, which always help all concerned, in choosing the right time of year, and the right week to suit. As a rule of thumb I would not have more than three week bookings in a month. I need a few days ‘changeover’time to prepare everything for the next batch of anglers due to arrive. It is fair for everyone concerned and keeps quality standards high, and ensures you all get a better holiday.

My availability calendar can be found on my website www.sierrabravadreams.com/make-contact.html on the Make Contact page. It clearly shows the dates I have left for this year. If you are interested in a package at Sierra Brava with SBD, ranging from 3-14 days, check the calendar, find the dates you like, and drop me a message on the same page using the contact form. I will be in touch within 24 hours – that’s an SBD guarantee!

Quite a few of my clients have opted to hire cars from the airports this year, as it means they can be more flexible with flight times. It is something worth considering when you book your flights as you get the transfer part of the package price given back to you, meaning it can be put towards car hire and fuel. If there are two or more of you it is certainly worth considering..

I am getting ready to go fishing myself this week. I will be testing out Vital Baits new boilie and will let you know how I get on. I think it will work well and if it does I will be buying lots for my clients. I have also just ordered four new chairs for my clients. The set that I bought last year proved very disappointing. The problem with a lot of fishing tackle these days is the fact it is knocked up in China, and the build quality just isn’t durable. I have gone with Angling Intelligence chairs for 2012 and hopefully they will be more reliable. I have also been busy getting my house ready for clients. Clients generally will have to stay the first or last night of their holiday in my house. It all depends on flight times etc. I have basically decorated the whole house since I moved in last August. When I am not fishing I am not lazy!

So it just leaves me to say I hope you are all, having a good 2012, and I will be back with more news soon.

Cheers

Jake Langley-Hobbs

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Back on the banks of Brava!

November 23, 2011

Good evening.

I am all set up and waiting for action! It is about ten days since my last session finished and I have five nights planned for this trip. What lies in store? The weather is dramatically different compared to my last outing, and not perfect conditions in the eyes of a carp angler who likes to fish in the brunt of a storm. Clear, sunny days, easterly winds, and cold temperatures don’t exactly signal screaming bite alarms, but you can only try, and it beats sitting at home behind my laptop in my kitchen!

Five nights of blissful sunsets and hopefully some glorious carp!

Due to the climate change I am baiting on the side of caution. I am fishing with maize and tigers as my bed of bait with a light scattering of boilies. Carp love maize, carp love tigers, and I like the visual factor that maize offers. Many anglers use huge amounts in Sierra Brava; and although I don’t often rely on it as a hook bait, it is great for drawing in fish, and keeping them in your swim, until they start picking off boilies, then eventually your hook bait.

Have you heard of TOKS? It’s the on-line carp fishing competition where you enter your four biggest carp during the timeframe of each competition. It is free to enter which is one big plus point and there are some great prizes to win, for regional and overall winners. David Fort from the Czech Republic won the last world title with four carp amounting to an impressive 83+kgs. I have been on the panel of experts for the last couple of years, but the organiser of TOKS is in the process of adding me to his staff, and awarding me a title, yet to be confirmed. This now means I can enter TOKS. I am doing so to help promote the competition, and to be a role model for the Big Four International contest. I spoke to Ken Keene in America, yesterday evening, and I made it very clear to him that if I do happen to be lucky/jammy enough to win a prize, then I will donate it to a fishing charity of my choice.

Fully prepared with my TOKS badges which must be displayed in submitted carp pictures. These can be downloaded once you register. Print and your ready to go!

Check out the TOKS website if you are interested in having a go. The current competition runs from November 15th to February 16th. You can join on-line at anytime during these dates.

That’s it for tonight’s post.

Back tomorrow.

Jake Langley-Hobbs

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Still Here!!

August 25, 2011

Good Afternoon.

Many of you may have started to believe that I had given up fishing, or indeed, got lost in Spain; on the contrary. It simply gets ridiculously hot in Extremadura, and July and August are the hottest months of the year, with temperatures rising to 40 C. I endured two whole summers of hardcore angling in France and Italy, and after putting myself, and my dogs, through some very uncomfortable sessions, in soaring heat, I decided that I would not put myself through it all over again. If truth be told, I love the warm weather, but I would rather be sat by a swimming pool, or in the shade, or on a beach; and even though I have caught some big carp in hot weather, I really prefer to fish in Autumn, Winter, and the Spring.

It was for the above reasons that I took it upon myself to take a well-earned break for the summer. At the start of the year I was very busy setting up my guiding venture at Sierra Brava – a mammoth task in itself. Sadly, I have only had a handful of clients but they all had good results and over a 100 runs were shared between three separate bookings, resulting in over 70 carp landed, and four personal bests – which proves just how good the fishing is at Sierra Brava.

My yearly calendar will remain the same every year in Spain for clients wishing to book, and for my own personal fishing time. Sierra Brava is closed in April, but that month happens to coincide with my birthday, and Semana Santa (a Spanish fiesta celebrating Easter, for a whole week!), so the closure means I get a little time off to enjoy myself. I won’t take bookings either in July and August, for the reasons I mention above. ‘Vela’ is the name of another popular fiesta in Spain, and this occurs in August, which means I get another chance to let my hair down; when looking after clients on the bank is not a priority! You could say that the fiestas, weather, and my birthday are matched perfectly to my annual fishing calendar!

The fiestas in Spain are something of a tradition, dating back many years. The villages all throw their own fiestas, and they can last from a few days to a couple of weeks, depending on the size of the village. They did have Bull Fighting in my village, but I don’t agree with this practice, so I didn’t attend! The community spirit in each village is quite amazing and the fiesta is for everyone, children and grandparents alike. The family unit in Spain does seem to be a very integral part of their lives, and I admire the value they put on the word ‘family’.

Now I have lived in Spain for almost a year, I have got used to their daily schedules. For example, due to the hot weather, the Spanish tend to get up very early for work, and will normally start at 6am or 7am. They finish earlier and go home for lunch, normally at 2 or 3pm.A siesta then follows, and then they appear from their homes for activities such as swimming in the municipal pool, before going home for their cena, or dinner as we call it, at 9-11pm. Then they often sit in the street, or go to bars at around midnight, and their day may finish at 2am, before going to bed, and getting up a few hours later for work. A strange day you may think, but it is all due to the very hot sun. The Spanish are much more intelligent when it comes to sun bathing. Basically they don’t do it, and certainly not like typical Brits abroad, who resemble pink lobsters after day one of their holiday! No – the Spanish sit in the shade because they understand how dangerous the sun can be for the skin.

It is now almost September and I can feel my fishing head beginning to twitch! The other day I went to Sierra Brava with my friend, and Flash, for a swim, and a small dose of sunshine. The water is swimming pool warm, and I even got Flash swimming – a rare feat in itself. The water levels are as they were last year when I arrived in September (down about 4m), and one of my missions over the next month, will be to get round the lake on my motorbike, and photograph all of the swims I take clients to, showing them roughly where the snags, trees, and other hazardous obstacles actually are, and need to take into consideration, when the water levels are high. My fishing is going to start very soon, I am preparing some tiger nuts and I will also be using Vital boilies that I had great success with last year. My break from fishing has done me the world of good to be honest. I didn’t burn myself out, instead I needed to settle into Spanish life, and make Spanish friends, and learn Spanish. I can now communicate to a certain level, and this means my quality of life in Spain can only blossom and grow. One of the things I have observed in Spain, especially In Extremadura, is you can not rely on one business for your income. I intend on setting up a small English school for the children in my village, as there is quite a demand for it. I just need to improve my Spanish a little bit more, and hopefully by Christmas, that will be up and running for a couple of days a week!

Finally, I did my first piece of 2011 official writing yesterday for TOKS. TOKS is an online carp fishing competition and it is free to enter. There are great prizes to win, and unlike a lot of the ‘big’ carp fishing competitions that take place, there really are no strings attached to TOKS. Have a look at the link, enter your details to receive your TOKS badge, and get out there, and take part. The competition does rely on honesty, as ‘you’ enter the true weight of each carp that you put forward. You can put four carp forward in each competition but, if any of the photographs of an entered carp look suspiciously underweight, then it is my job, along with eleven other ‘panel of expert’ anglers, to scrutinize and judge the pictures. We then decide if the carp’s weight is really true, and if it isn’t, then that particular carp is eliminated from the competition.

SIGN UP FOR TOKS NOW…..

I hope you have all caught some nice carp this year, and I will return soon, with some Sierra Brava captures to show you.

Cheers

Jake Langley-Hobbs & Flash

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