A little over a week ago I began three days of filming on the Río Grande and Río Guadalhorce for Spanish national television. I was joined on the rivers by my friend John Langridge who is a great character and a hugely experienced fisherman. He is also a veteran of several films on fishing and an author of a dozen or so books on fishing. The TV people got in touch with John and he in turn asked me if I wanted to be involved. As if he needed to ask! Fishing is always fun on these rivers but in the company of a fisherman like John I knew I was going to be in for a real blast. View full article »
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It can be very difficult to choose where to fish, particularly at times like this when the Río Grande and the Guadalhorce are fishing well but today I opted for the Grande. This river all but dries up in the heat of the summer although there are a few deepish pools where the fish can tough it out. At the moment it is just lovely and is carrying a fair amount of water.
It occurred to me that I should take advantage of the raised water levels to explore a stretch of river I had not fished for a couple of years. View full article »
The stretch of river Guadalhorce which leads from its meeting with the Río Grande is quiet for much of the year. I usually have it to myself. But it was heaving with horses and people this afternoon. This is due to the annual Romería when crowds turn up at the river bank and hold a party al fresco. The most beautiful women attend this event and, sitting side saddle with drink in hand, they are quintessentially Andalucían.
I don´t know a great deal about horses. The last one I sat on would not even move until my Mum
put a coin into a slot beside it. But here at the Romería horses are everywhere and there are some real stunners. There is a real buzz here with kids, and old and young all hanging out together finding shade under the eucalyptus trees and the cool of the riverside breeze. View full article »
Fly fishermen spend a lot of time thinking about rods and lines and reels and flies. Fair enough, that all makes sense. But here fishing the local river for much of the year I would consider a decent pair of polarized sunglasses and a nice hat to shade them to be among the most important bits of kit to throw into the car when heading off. And another thing that is equally important is a decent pair of neoprene boots.
I had a pair that the puppies chewed up so badly they had to be abandoned. These bloody dogs chew everything. Just recently the black dog, Boris, took a big chunk out of Bill Bryson and Grandad appeared one morning last week only to discover that he had left his book outside the previous night and that Boris had swallowed a sizeable chunk of recent history, including much of the Victorian era. View full article »
Every day I take a walk in the campo with my dog Bonita. She is getting on a bit now and is getting slow but we both enjoy this leisurely stroll. And we both take an interest too in sights and sounds and smells. Bonita specialises in the smells and I do the sights. About a week ago while we were out on an early morning walk we witnessed something pretty interesting although, frankly, I don´t think the dog took too much notice. View full article »
Today is Easter Sunday and I came across an Easter procession, quite by chance, in Fuengirola today.
Fuengirola, if you are not familiar with it, is a town of similar size to Marbella and located just a little further along the coast. It lacks Marbella´s pretention and snob appeal and has an altogether earthier feel. It is a little rough around the edges but that is something I like about it. It certainly seems to have a greater appeal to those who are looking for a cheap and cheerful holiday. If you are an English speaker and want a bit of sunshine without everything being ruined by “foreigners” you will find that you are well catered for here. There is premiership football in the seafront bars and fish and chips if you are nervous of seeing something on your plate which is unfamiliar. View full article »
I can barely get my arse out of bed in the morning if it is an ordinary work day but if there is an early start for a fishing trip I hardly even need to set the alarm. This morning was typical. I woke at around 5.00 am and decided to get up and hit the road. The alarm on my phone went off when I had already broken the back of the journey to the reservoir and my arrival coincided with the first bit of light that was good enough for fishing. View full article »
It looks like the gypsy barbel are getting close to their spawning time. The males have prominent tubercles on their snouts, rather like carp develop, and so can be easily told apart from the females. Two of the three fish I took yesterday afternoon were males. View full article »
My A level Biology students get to use the word “fart” in exams which is something I feel they should be excited about. What other subject would let you get away with that? The farts in question are emitted from the rear ends of cows and are said to contain significant amounts of methane, an important greenhouse gas. Technically, the gas is much more abundant in cow burps but the word “burp” doesn´t quite have the same appeal. This methane is a by-product of the complex process of cellulose digestion and is actually produced by microorganisms residing in the cow´s intestines rather than the cow itself.
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