Fishing The Fly Scotland Forum

Mike Barrio

A Few Days In Spain
« on: 12/10/2015 at 20:51 »
I was over in northern Spain for a few days fishing with friends recently. It was a very enjoyable trip, the fishing was good fun and the food, drink and social side of things are always great over there too :cool:

Most folk think of sun and beaches in Spain, but fly fishing and fly tying are very popular and there are lots of clubs and social groups, I am a member of one fly fishing group that has more than ten thousand members!



The province of Leon has plenty of cracking rivers and mountain streams to explore and although the trout tend to be smaller than our local ones, the clear waters, variety of pools and scenic locations would bring a smile to any angler's face.

Getting to grips with the tactics again is always fun, flies tend to be size 18 to 28, leaders are pretty long and usually end in 7X tippet if you want a take, wading is often 'flotando cajas' ( floating your fly boxes ) with the water half way up your waist coat, most of the fishing is dry fly, most folk fish 9 ft 3wt rods and semi auto reels are very common as they are only really used to retrieve the line at the end of a session.



A regional annual fishing licence costs about 15.5 euros ( approx £11.50 ) and this gives you catch and release access to the vast majority of the water on all the rivers. This system seems to work very well and it is policed well too, I was only on the water three days but I had my licence checked by a Guardia (police) and he also eyed up my gear and asked a few questions about how the day was going, probably making sure there were no trout under my hat :z4 I'm sure I spotted him in the shadows the next day too, it is good to know that the rivers are being looked after.



Leon is the home of the famous 'Gallos de Leon' ( Coq de Leon ) and I stayed with my friend Tomas, a well known farmer of these birds.  The farm and the fly tying workshop are always very interesting and you wouldn't believe how much racket a thousand odd  cockerels make at dawn, there was no way anybody was going to sleep in :z4



It is considered a bit unsociable to split up and look for a bit of water by yourself in Spain, Spanish friends usually fish in pairs or threesomes and work their way up through the pools keeping their casting to their half, or third of the river.

This is actually a very enjoyable way to fish, with plenty of banter, especially if you miss a take or get in a tangle and you can help each other out with flies etc as you go .......... it just takes a moment to get used to after our "there was somebody else on my beat" attitude to the sport :z4



On this trip, fishing started at around 10 am and finished at about 2 pm, then we had a lunch of around five courses in the local Meson (bar/restaurant) that lasted a couple of hours, followed by some fly tying or casting. Then it was time to return to the Meson for supper, which had even more courses and lasted for longer. Followed by coffee and a few drinks ....... and then you realise that it is 3 in the morning and you'd better get back to the house for some sleep before those birds start their wake up call again  :z4 

Great fishing, great food and great company!



But those small flies and fine tippets are hard work with tired eyes!

Hamish Young

Re: A Few Days In Spain
« Reply #1 on: 13/10/2015 at 08:38 »
Interesting read Mr B  :z16

Mike Barrio

Re: A Few Days In Spain
« Reply #2 on: 13/10/2015 at 10:34 »
The Queimada ( The Burning ) ...... a little late night fun :cool:

This is a great way to prepare Orujo, Orujo is pretty much pure alcohol, the kind of stuff they show you at a whisky distillery,  but don't let you drink :wink

Put a few coffee beans in a big dish, then add some lemon peels and orange peels, followed by about a third of a bag of sugar and pour in the Orujo to about half the amount that you want to make.



While this is being prepared, the same amount of Orujo is being heated in a pot and when everything is ready you add this to the dish and set light to it, letting it burn for about twenty minutes.



Then it is simply a case of using the ladle to fill your mug, or glass and drinking the Queimada hot ...... Awesome stuff and not one to over indulge in if you want to be fit for fishing the next day! :z4

Aitor

Re: A Few Days In Spain
« Reply #3 on: 13/10/2015 at 12:10 »
Hi Mike,

If "most of the fishing is dry fly" there must be another country called Spain out there! :z4 :z4

Mike Barrio

Re: A Few Days In Spain
« Reply #4 on: 13/10/2015 at 12:18 »
Fair comment Aitor  :z4  :z4  :z4

OK ..... most of the fishing that we did was dry fly, it suited the conditions on the rivers that we fished at this time of year ..... and the fish were rising! :wink

I stopped the car and watched this guy for a while on my way back to Cantabria, he was fishing nymphs with great success below the bridge.



Aitor

Re: A Few Days In Spain
« Reply #5 on: 13/10/2015 at 12:30 »
A friend od mine is the most important distributor of fly fishing tackle in Spain. The other day he was laughing out loud because some famous european rod manufacturer was  trying to convince him of selling their 9' #5 rods. They don't know how is the fishing trend here, he said.  :z4 :z4

Mike Barrio

Re: A Few Days In Spain
« Reply #6 on: 13/10/2015 at 12:40 »
What are the most popular rod lengths and line weights in Spain Aitor?

Am I right in thinking that the 9 ft 3 wts are very popular?

Cheers
Mike

Iain Cameron

Re: A Few Days In Spain
« Reply #7 on: 13/10/2015 at 12:56 »
great read Mike - not sure about the flaming drinks though!

Mike Barrio

Re: A Few Days In Spain
« Reply #8 on: 13/10/2015 at 13:30 »
not sure about the flaming drinks though!

You wouldn't say that if you tried it Iain :)

Aitor

Re: A Few Days In Spain
« Reply #9 on: 13/10/2015 at 16:31 »
Mike,
Almost all "fly fishing" in Spain nowadays goes round "Spanish nymphing": heavy tungsten "perdigones" fished exclusively with monofilament. Consequently rods have tended to go longer: 10', 10'6", 11'.
Anyway, I am not very very well updated since I only fish a couple of places around here, mostly alone and 99.99% of the time with dries.

 




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