fishydreams

Every now and then I have a bit of time to myself and I realised on Friday that nobody had any particular plans for Saturday, or at least any plans involving me. The folks at home wanted a day to just chill and they gave me their blessing to disappear to the river for a dose of hydrotherapy. No sooner said than done!

The weather has begun to change as it does each year at around this time and some recent heavy downpours have breathed some life into the river.

It can be quite surprising how these changes seem to affect the distribution of the fish. I carefully stalked the summer hotspots but found them largely devoid of fish and it seemed I would have to go back to the drawing board.

Fortunately there were a few fish around and I took a couple of gipsies on nymphs in the first hour or so before things went a little quiet. Wild boar have been roaming along the river bank and it was quite something to stalk the banks and realise that my foot prints were joining the tracks of these heavy animals which busily forage the river banks while we sleep.

I have had the pleasure of fishing with a number of friends on the river and it will make some sense to Harry Abbott to say that the two fish I took early on were just downstream of where he once took a lovely four pound fish on a floating ant. And Steve Thompson will be familiar with the section of river, just a little way downstream, where he took a fine fish when he visited earlier in the summer. He may be interested may to know that the run in which he hooked it now seems empty of fish, as is the long pool downstream. Even the carp, which were rooting around in shallows at the tail of this pool only a couple of weeks ago, seem to have moved away.

It took a little footwork to finally find some fish again. In a deepish run I hooked the best fish of the day but unfortunately he threw the hook. Despite not landing this fish I was encouraged to fish the relatively deep water runs where there was a steady current and attached an indicator a couple of feet above the nymph to help spot takes. That turned out to be a good option because it allowed me to detect a take which I would not otherwise have been able to see. The result was a handsome barbel which would be the last of the day.

River flow on the Guadalhorce has been bolstered by recent rain.

The tracks of wild boar can be seen here on the riverbank.

It is beautiful here. Just beside the river here are groves of eukalyptus trees.

It had been some time since I have had a chance to catch a barbel. This was the first of the day.

I hooked a good fish just here. The water is relatively deep. He was on the line just long enough to show what a nice fish he was!

This was the last of the day. I never saw him and had to rely on a little foam strike indicator.