Harry Abbott and I organised a rendezvous at the river the other day. It took us a little while to meet up. We both arrived at our chosen spot on the river at different times and Harry wandered off upstream and I ventured downstream! Continue reading
Category: Fish and fishing
My friend Harry Abbott has returned to Spain after a long journey which took in some fishing in Thailand and New Zealand. He told me that yesterday, while I was trying to stuff some understanding of Science in to unreceptive brains of indifferent teenagers, he popped off to the river to see if he could catch a few fish. Continue reading
Earlier in the week I broke a story about a huge pike allegedly caught by a work colleague. It seemed too good to be true. The fish was, after all, absolutely massive. At the weight claimed for it, some 29 kg, this fish would have been one of the largest pike caught anywhere in the world, ever. Continue reading
Here´s an odd thing. A colleague at work, David Días, told me on Monday morning that he had caught a huge pike. When he told me how big it was I though he was just pulling my leg. He claimed that his fish weighed, wait for it…. 29 kilograms! Continue reading
I normally fish alone but today I was joined by Norman Smith and John Langridge and I could not have wished for better fishing companions. I had not met John before although we have corresponded by email a few times. He is one of these guys who eats, sleeps and breathes fishing and is the author of several fishing books. I have read one of these, Aphrodite´s carp, and highly recommend it, and I am very keen to read the others.
John decided to try bait fishing as well as fly fishing and went off to see if he could interest the fish in some luncheon meat. Norman and I just stuck to the flies. Continue reading
For some time now I have been painting trout in watercolours and, slowly, after many failures and abandoned efforts, they are beginning to take shape. Continue reading
If you cast an eye over this blog from time to time you may remember a guy Called Harry Abbott. Harry lives here in Spain and we meet up from time to time to go fishing together. He is not only an accomplished fly fisherman, but a fellow float tuber, a bird watcher and wildlife enthusiast. He is also great fun and his après pêche “raconteuring” over a beer or two always winds up a day´s fishing perfectly.
For the last few years he has been setting off on fishing adventures in Thailand and New Zealand and sends me back pictures and updates from his travels. I try extremely hard to contain my jealousy! Continue reading
Last Thursday I organised a trip inland to visit a fish farm which grows both rainbow trout and, more interestingly, sturgeon from which they obtain caviar.
The caviar, not unexpectedly, does not come cheap. A kilo will set you back 2500 euros and a tiddly little 10g can costs 25 euros.
Caviar eating is a rich man´s game and I will leave the well heeled to get on with knocking back the stuff. I am far more interested in the sturgeon themselves. Continue reading
For some time I had been hoping to make a painting of the lovely brown trout my pal Mark McCann caught up in the Lough in Leitrim that we simply call the “Mountain Lough.” And, finally, I have completed it after several false starts and the usual distractions. Continue reading
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