Category: Other bits and bobs


Women in swimsuits

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August 7, 2016

If you are a regular reader of this blog you might well imagine its author to be some kind of Neanderthal throwback who creeps around muddy riverbanks on the lookout for some dumb fish to catch. To be honest, if that´s the view you take, you would not be too far off the mark. But I will have you know that I am coming up in the world. Things are looking up. As evidence of this I am pleased to announce that I am now mixing with the social elite of Marbella and have perfected the knack of pouting my lips and throwing my hair around in an alluring manner.

Only the other night I was at Marbella´s glitzy Starlite venue. My wife was partaking in some kind of corporate hospitality thing and had an invitation for free cocktails and an open air concert. Her invitation included a partner and, needing a dynamic and glamorous socialite to accompany her, her thoughts quite naturally turned to me. Continue reading →

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Just down the road

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July 31, 2016

I got in trouble with the law the other evening as I was about to launch my float tube in a reservoir close to one of Málaga´s satellite towns called Santa Rosalía. Just as I was about to slip my moorings some security guy comes up to me on his moped and asks if I am aware that I am breaking every law in the country. For one thing I am about to go afloat on the reservoir where being afloat is verboten, where swimming is verboten, and I was planning to fish within 50 metres of the dam wall which is also verboten. He was unclear about whether fishing beyond the 50 metre zone was okay but that was probably verboten too.

He was actually a nice guy and was being helpfully informative. The guardia civil would have fined me if they came across me showing such blatant contempt for the law or maybe thrown me in a dark cell never to be seen again. Continue reading →

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A chance encounter with mountain goats

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July 29, 2016

The ibex is what the locals would call the “cabra de montaña” or mountain goat, which stands to reason because it is a kind of wild goat and the mountains are where you will find them.

I was lucky enough to come close to a female ibex and her kid the other evening as I was paddling around in my float tube casting into the margins. The two ibex showed little alarm and spent a while grazing in the vegetation close to the waters edge and I was lucky enough to get some reasonable photographs. Continue reading →

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Crayfish Wars

Filed under: Natural history, Other bits and bobs — 3 Comments
July 25, 2016

From time to time I have come across the remains of crayfish on the banks of the Guadalhorce river but had never seen any live specimens until yesterday evening when I chanced upon three individuals which I must have disturbed from the marginal vegetation. They scurried out into the shallow river leaving a trail of disturbed silt in their wakes. Continue reading →

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A little secret

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July 8, 2016

I´ll let you in on a little secret. One of the most beautiful places I have seen recently is where the Río Verde joins Concepción Reservoir near the town of Istán. It is not easy to reach and if you get there, chances are you will have the place to yourself.

Last weekend I paddled my float tube about a kilometer to reach it and it was well worth the effort. The river was crystal clear and flowed through a beautiful rock pool before making its way into the reservoir. Continue reading →

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Grand Slam

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July 3, 2016

There are a few places, Florida among them, where fly fishermen may, on rare occasions succeed in catching, on the same day, at least one specimen of three different species; bonefish, tarpon and permit. This is a feat for celebration and entitles the successful angler to wear a smug grin that seems almost painted on his face. His mates slap him on the back. People buy him drinks. For a while he considers himself an equal among the supernatural forces of the universe. And he pulls up a stool next to a bowl of peanuts at the pantheon of the gods. Continue reading →

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A nice carp

Filed under: Fish and fishing, Fishing reports, Flies and fly tying, Other bits and bobs — 2 Comments
July 2, 2016

I caught a good carp today. It took a fly intended for black bass and I had no reason initially to think it was not a big bass. The fly was cast in close to the margin and I had just begun to work it back when everything went solid.

I saw a flash of flank initially and it did seem pretty dark but then the fish sounded and for the next 10 minutes or so I saw nothing beyond the end of my fly line or the first few inches of leader. Continue reading →

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New Recruits

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June 30, 2016

After school yesterday I took two of my sixth form Biology students, Frank Huisman and Elliot Lee, to the river to have a go at fly fishing. They had honed their casting skills on the school volleyball court the previous day and were keen to cast a fly where there might be a fish in the general vicinity (we all agreed that the prospects of catching on the volleyball court were not great). Continue reading →

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A little trout from Andalucía

Filed under: Books and stuff, Fish and fishing, Natural history, Other bits and bobs — 4 Comments
June 28, 2016

Like nearly every fly fisherman I know I have a particular soft spot for trout and was very excited recently by the prospect of fishing for the little wild trout of the upper Guadalquivir. I caught only one of these but I was nevertheless delighted. It may only have been little but it was as pretty as a picture. Continue reading →

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Fishing Concepción with Johan

Filed under: Fish and fishing, Fishing reports, Folks I know, Other bits and bobs — 2 Comments
June 26, 2016

It is a little while since I fished Concepción Reservoir from a float tube but I did so this morning in the excellent company of Johan Terblanche. Johan is frequent visitor to Andalucía and another fishing nut. He has caught, amongst other things, shark on the fly. Our quarry today was likely to be smaller and less dangerous which is perfectly fine in my book! Continue reading →

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