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Barbel and Baubles

Filed under: Fish and fishing, Fishing reports, Folks I know, Natural history, Other bits and bobs — 6 Comments
December 30, 2017

I don´t know about you but I´ve spent the Christmas period sitting on my arse with my feet up on the coffee table. I noticed that some idiot left an open box of Quality Street lying around. They won´t do that again in a hurry!

This shameful self-indulgence is tolerated and even encouraged at this time of year and usually acts as a catalyst to sign up to healthy new year´s resolution like marathon running, cross-channel swimming, mountain climbing or at least taking the dogs for a walk. View full article »

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Meet the family

Filed under: Fish and fishing, Folks I know, Other bits and bobs — 7 Comments
December 28, 2017

One of the great benefits of the blog, as far as I´m concerned, is that it has introduced me to a new extended family made up of other fly fishermen and like-minded souls. Many live overseas and have been in touch from time to time. Others I have had a chance to meet up with in person, often on the river bank. View full article »

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The missing link

Filed under: Fish and fishing, Fishing reports, Folks I know, Other bits and bobs — 3 Comments
November 23, 2017

You may be aware, following the recent screening of an episode of “Jara y Sedal” that I have become a major A list film star! As a matter of fact I am waiting by the phone for the calls that should come in from Hollywood agents as I write this!

In one of my regular tongue-in-cheek exchanges with my beloved wife I said that I hope that fame does not change me. She said simply “I hope it does!” View full article »

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On the Telly

Filed under: Fish and fishing, Fishing reports, Folks I know, Other bits and bobs — 10 Comments
November 19, 2017

Three years ago a film crew from Madrid drove down to my local river to make a film about fly fishing for gypsy barbel. The makers of the popular TV series “Jara y Sedal” had been in touch with John Langridge, a veteran of several fishing programmes and author of many books on fishing, and they asked of he would like to be part of a feature on the Río Guadalhorce. View full article »

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A tale of two flies

Filed under: Fish and fishing, Fishing reports, Flies and fly tying, Other bits and bobs — 2 Comments
November 14, 2017

Whenever I have finished fishing for the day, or when a change of fly is needed, I deposit whatever fly I have removed from my line into a little tupperware box where it joins comrades recently retired from active duty.

There are two flies in that box at the moment that, in my view at least, are quite interesting for one reason or another. View full article »

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The Man who stares at Goats

Filed under: Other bits and bobs — 2 Comments
November 10, 2017

You should never underestimate the usefulness of goats. Down at the river I come a across flocks of these all the time and last Saturday, when I finally managed to track down a few fish in a shallow pool on the Río Grande, a flock materialised and went tramping noisily among the far bank. The goat herders keep dogs which are about the size of horses and which act as communal bodyguards for the goats and a couple of these giants decided to jump into the river to intimidate me. View full article »

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The Río Grande Nymph

Filed under: Fish and fishing, Flies and fly tying, Other bits and bobs — Leave a comment
November 4, 2017

If some clown comes up to you and says “listen, I´ve got this fly pattern that never fails” you should treat him with distrust. I was going to say “contempt” but that´s a bit strong. After all, the guy may be well-meaning although a bit weak in the head.

Let´s face it, anything he says should be taken with a pinch of salt. In fact you are probably better putting some distance between the two of you. He may be a decent enough chap and his intentions may be good but, fundamentally, he is not to be trusted. You probably know all this already. View full article »

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Felix and the Fish

Filed under: Fish and fishing, Fishing reports, Flies and fly tying, Other bits and bobs — 4 Comments
October 29, 2017

I went to El Chorro yesterday afternoon not knowing if fly fishing held any real prospects and, somewhat to my surprise, I managed to catch a lovely carp. The water level has fallen since my last visit which was perhaps 6 weeks ago and the the Río Turón was little more than a shallow trickle as it spilled into the reservoir. View full article »

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Painting a perch

Filed under: Other bits and bobs — 8 Comments
October 21, 2017

For some time now I have been working on a watercolour painting of a perch. I laid the keel, so to speak, back in June when I sketched a pencil outline but then the project when on hold during the summer when my “painting room” was occupied by Grandad and I succumbed to a prolonged apathy that seems to afflict everyone here during the height of the summer.

Recently though, when life was simplified by the departure of guests and the sting had come out of the summer heat, I wandered back into Grandad´s room, dug out the perch and continued to work on it. View full article »

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Bad news on the river

Filed under: Fish and fishing, Other bits and bobs — Leave a comment
October 20, 2017

On Wednesday we finally got some rain here. It has been a long time coming and when it did arrive it drove down with an unrelenting ferocity that, in pretty short order, turned roads into shallow rivers and gave us a few hours of chaos. It is often the way things go here. The rains, when they do come, come with a vengeance. View full article »

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