If the world were a simple place you would get a fishing license by going somewhere where these things are sold and saying “can I have a fishing license please?” And then having handed over the necessary fees you might expect to be able to walk out with the thing in your hand.
But things are not so simple here. This is Spain and, of course, Spain has elevated bureaucracy into an art form.
The other day I went into Banco Sabadell with four printed pages in my hand. I said “can I have a fishing licence for Extremadura please? I have four pages here with data I have filled in online and printed out”
The lady looked at me as if I had two heads. Nobody had ever asked for a fishing licence for Extremadura there before. I might just as easily have been a visitor from another planet.
She looked at the paperwork and seemed to agree that Sabadell was, indeed, one of the banks which could carry out this remarkable feat of paper shuffling. But soon we ran into obstacles and she had to get on the phone to head office to find out about codes for the computer system and other similar avenues for bewilderment.
Meanwhile the queue was growing and people were getting fidgety. Sabadell, in common with all banks here, has a policy of having one person attending to the public while everybody else is round the corner having a café con leche. There is always some bugger who embarks on some drawn out transaction and prevents everybody else from getting on with lives. On Monday it was my turn.
Happily I succeeded in my quest. The bank kept one signed and date stamped copy of the application. I kept another two: my own and a copy for “administration” whoever that turned out to be. I handed over the grand sum of 4 euros and 95 cents for a two year fishing licence – class A.
And you think that was an ordeal? Try getting a fishing licence to fish in Andalucía!
fishydreams 
nice one Paul! i had exactly the same experience 4 years ago. most amusing in retrospect but infuriating at the time.funnily enough I had a look at the Andalucía licence the other day as a bad weather option for us….. some hope!
anyway, it’s looking nicer for the end of next week. see you then!
forgot to mention; you’ll receive a “proper” licence through the post in a few days. despite the bureaucracy, they’re incredibly efficient. mine was waiting for me when I arrived back home from the first trip!
Sounds promising except that the address I added in the paperwork is our home address and is somewhere in the middle of the campo where the postman never sets foot!
Looking forward to it!
does any one have the address to send off the application as the bank that we went to in Talarrubias returned the pink and white copies, one to send off, and one to keep. But no advice as to w h e r e to send it !! All help appreciated.
Hello. Talarrubias is in Extremadura and so the procedure for getting a license is different from here in Andalucía. It is possible to obtain an Extremadura fishing license online and simply print it out.