One of the problems that PR and I had when trying to catch a Mediterranean barbel is that not terribly much seems to have been written about them, and little specific guidance seems to be available. The sources of information that we consulted included John Langridge´s book on Spanish barbel and a few blog posts and snippets of information on the internet or short film sequences on Youtube. The simple truth was that this was to be something of a journey into the unknown. Continue reading
Category: Other bits and bobs
You may remember me banging on about how frustrated we were on account of failing to get a fishing license for Valencia in a recent visit. Well, Paul Reddish and I went back fishing in Valencia last week and I was determined that we would succeed this time round. In advance of our appointment I downloaded the necessary forms and dotted all the i´s, and crossed all the t´s. I made online payments, secured appointments and then turned up with PR in the right building in Valencia city with every document in my possession, including my great grandmother´s marriage certificate and a certificate showing that both of our dogs had been electronically chipped. Continue reading
On Saturday I fished with my old friend Mark McCann. We have fished together on and off, along with my brother Sean, ever since we were schoolboys. Mark was over here in Spain while his wife Nicola was playing with the Irish croquet team against their Spanish counterparts. While all the ladies were out on the lawn the two of us sneaked away to see if we could manage to catch a few or two out of my local rivers. Continue reading
I have a pretty soft spot for a little article I sent to FlyFishing and FlyTying monthly some little time ago. It never appeared in print until the February edition which popped into my postbox on Monday. To be honest, I suspected it might be considered to be a little risqué for readers of a conservative disposition and that the editor might have decided against using it. After all the average fly fisherman is no spring chicken and the thought of naked young women could be positively hazardous to him if his cardiovascular system is not in absolutely tip top condition!
December has just started and I realise I have never written, as I had planned, about the way another month ended. That month is not the November that has just slipped by but the October that preceded it. The last couple of hours of daylight were, for me, the highlight of the whole month. Continue reading
Things are pretty challenging on the river at this time of the year. The gypsy barbel seem to have abandoned the old haunts they prefer in the warmer months and are sulking, unseen in the deeper water. Continue reading
There are nine species of barbel in Spain which makes it something of a European hotspot. The UK by contrast has only one (Barbus barbus) which is not found in Spain at all. John Langridge and I have fished for my local gypsy barbel on many several occasions on my local river, the Guadalhorce, and his book Fishing for Spanish Barbel is the definitive guide on the subject of Spanish barbel. Continue reading
Paul Reddish and I went out to see if we could catch an enigmatic little fish on our recent adventure in Valencia. This is a nase which has a distribution limited to a couple of regions in this area. To the best of my knowledge it doesn´t have a common English name and scientists pin it down with a binomial that seems much more substantial than a little fish like this deserves: Parachondrostoma turiense. Continue reading
If you suffer from low blood pressure and are advised to reverse that tendency an excellent remedy is to go about procuring a fishing license in Valencia as Paul Reddish and I discovered on Monday morning. Continue reading
I have made a rule not to talk about politics on this blog. After all, if like me you follow the shambolic events in Westminster, you don´t need any other pundit putting in their tuppence worth. Nobody can agree on anything. People lie. People obfuscate. And, miraculously, we can remain bored, frustrated, hopeful and despairing all at the same time. What a circus! Continue reading
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