Here in Cantabria there are some areas where trout fishing is available to anyone with a licence, provided they follow the appropriate rules. Around our base here, the town of Reinosa, this is true of much of the Río Ebro, particularly the catch and release section between the town and the reservoir. There are other regions, however, where fishing is restricted and numbers limited and where a special permit is needed (and this applies to hunting too) and such regions are called cotos. I had never fished anything other than public water here before Friday but I did manage to acquire a permit to fish one of four cotos within walking distance. As a member of the Reinosa fishing club I bought it for the discounted price of 5 euros and 20 cents. This coto that I could access was the Coto de Fontibre and covers the stretch of the Ebro between Reinosa and the source of the river Ebro at Fontibre.
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I have spent a few hours recently stalking barbel and carp at the point where the river Ebro flows into the Embalse del Ebro. This is a beautiful place and I have been fortunate enough to have it all to myself.
Continue readingI was a little surprised when fishing the upper river Ebro at how abundant the barbel were. This area I had imagined would be home primarily to trout. The river source is not far away and the water is cold, just the way trout like it. But the barbel are here in good numbers and it is lovely just to watch these fish in the clear river water. Armed with a fly rod, however much fun they were to observe, I could not resist having a crack at catching one. As a result I have been fortunate enough to look at these fish from up close and they are absolutely stunning.
Continue readingAt the river inlet into the Embalse del Ebro reservoir the Ebro splits into two channels, each heavily weeded up in places but the clear water pushes through the weed growth, often in clear seams revealing the stony substrate beneath. Both flows converge before the water flows into a narrow tongue which extends to the west from the main body of the reservoir. From above it looks as though the embalse had extended an arm to greet the inflowing river that sustains it.
Continue readingOnly an idiot would go fishing on a Monday or, for that matter, on a Thursday. Where I am in Cantabria, if the guardia civil caught you in the act of trying to catch a trout in the local section of the Ebro on either of those days they would land you with a fine that would make your head spin.
Continue readingIt´s a few weeks now since I started noticing the new generation of toads put in an appearance as the dogs and I walked the quite roads and tracks of the campo in the early morning. They were tiny – about the size of the nail of my little finger and, if they were inclined to stay still, they could be tricky to spot.
Continue readingIt turns out that there was a perfectly good explanation for why the cat we came across this morning looked decidedly odd. It was not a cat at all. It was a mongoose! The dogs and I came across this thing at dawn this morning as we ambled along a camino. We often to head out early, the three of us, and manage to avoid any cyclists or people or cars and we can enjoy the campo, sometimes in the moonlight, before the world begins to stir.
Continue readingWhen we were away at Doñana last month I was asked by my students what my favourite bird was and I found it hard to answer because there are two that are vying for that particular position. One of these is the European Bee-eater and the other is the Red-necked Nightjar and at this time of year they both turn up on our doorstep.
Continue readingI have just come back from the reservoir at El Chorro where my cunning plan had been to extract a carp from the margins. I´m afraid I have to report (once again!) that I had no success. The last time I fished there I brought a foolish young dog that proceeded to leap into the water and charge up and down the shallows, scaring the hell out of the carp and every other aquatic organism in possession of a nervous system and so my lack of success was not unexpected.
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