Latest Content

Tag Archives: fishing holiday

Alternative River Ebro part 2 – catfish cannonade

River Ebro catfish fishing Riba Roja

The streets and riverbanks of Riba Roja resounded with the laments of disgruntled guides and disheartened anglers.  It was our fourth day of six fishing the Ebro and hardly any catfish were being caught by anyone.  We had a sense that the catfish were starting to wake up a bit, but I shall start with how our week began… The first morning we were understandably high on a heady cocktail of anticipation, intrigue and enthusiasm.  We wanted a good start so the pressure would be off, but none of us had seen the Ebro before, let alone fished it, yet its legend gave us high expectations.  We boarded Carl’s California skiff, headed out to an island at the far side of the river and anchored up to cast our rigs for the first time.  These were straightforward sliding floats through to heavy braided traces holding single size 3/0 heavy-gauge trebles.  The stop-knots were set at around 80% depth and we lip-hooked bleak and trotted them downstream.  We moved every 45 minutes or so and the third spot we settled in was full of features and looked perfect. As we watched our floats steadily trotting, Shane’s float jerked downward, then back …

Read More »

Alternative River Ebro part 1 – zander, roach & carp

zander fishing - alternative River Ebro roach, barbel, carp fish - Riba Roja

It must be the best part of two decades since I first gazed at photos of John Wilson et al posing with huge catfish they’d caught from the Ebro.  I’ve wanted to fish there ever since, but had been put off because in many popular areas such as Mequinenza and Caspe, the “fishing” has evolved into nothing more than sitting back while your rods are positioned for you by someone in a rowing boat, your hair-rigged pellet hookbait tipped over the side with several kilos of loose pellets.  When a bite materialises there is little more to do than winch in an overfed, pellet-addicted lump of a catfish.  This is a far cry from the traditional tactics employed on the Ebro such as “clonking” and boat fishing with a float or lure.  This is what fishing on the Ebro is all about to me – putting in the effort yourself whilst drawing upon the experience of a good guide – and I‘ve always felt the river could offer me more. Despite this watering-down of methods, there are still alternatives available if you can find the right guides in the right areas.  A chance conversation with Will Barnard a couple of …

Read More »

Sturgeon fishing – Canadian style!

Sturgeon fishing Canadian style on the Fraser River, BC, Canada

In the past couple of decades one place in particular has become synonymous with catching giant sturgeon. It is, of course, Canada’s Fraser Valley in Southern British Columbia. Recently I was lucky enough to visit this region and sample its legendary sturgeon fishing for myself. The Fraser river itself is immense, running some 850 miles from it’s source in the Rocky Mountains all the way to the Pacific Ocean at Vancouver. The majority of sturgeon fishing is concentrated on the river’s lower reaches, with most charter boats being based in the “city” of Chilliwack. I had booked 3 days fishing, along with my friend Tim, with a local company called Aqua Ventures, which is operated and skippered by experienced guide Grant McCallum, who I met in person at the “Go Fishing” Show in Birmingham earlier in the year. When looking at the Fraser as an angling venue, don’t expect to have the river to yourself. You will see plenty of other boats over the course of the day, but the river is so vast that the angling pressure is hardly noticeable. Besides sturgeon, the Fraser is possibly the world’s most important salmon river, as it channels millions of pacific salmon …

Read More »

Magic mahseer! Fishing India’s Ramganga river in the Himalayan foothills

Masheer fishing in India Himalayan foothills Ramganga river fish

Delhi, India; is the most relentless attack on the senses imaginable. The capital of the world’s largest democracy is a bustling, noisy, overwhelming place. It’s a fitting introduction. to this most remarkable country, and the place which saw the start of my quest to catch a Himalayan mahseer. After 5 hours of queuing, rejection and plain confusion, I finally purchased a ticket – along with my travelling companion, Titch – for the sleeper train from Delhi to Ramnagar. Next morning we awoke in seemingly another world compared to the hubbub of Delhi. We were now in the lush green foothills of the Himalayas. Where wild tigers still roam and even wilder rivers carve their way through the rocky landscape. This is mahseer fishing country! Although we had planned to fish for mahseer during this trip we had little in the way of concrete plans. With little more than some basic information found on the internet, a Rough Guide to India and a copy of Paul Boote & Jeremy Wade’s excellent Somewhere Down the Crazy River for inspiration, our “plans” were pretty haphazard! The Rough Guide mentioned the Govind Guesthouse (which, I believe, might now be Garhwal Sweets And Hotel Garhwal Residency) …

Read More »

Travel Fishing Tackle Guide

Andrew Kennedy mahseer fishing in India

Please note: this article is now quite old. Whilst some of the information is still relevant, the standard and range of travel tackle available to buy has increased exponentially and I haven’t had chance to revisit the article to bring it up-to-date. I continue to host this page mainly for archival reasons. For some of the best current ranges of telescopic rods and travel rods, check out the following ranges: Shimano Travel Concept (S.T.C.) fishing rods Fox Prism Travel Series lure fishing rods Fox EOS Telescopic carp rods Nash Scope Snide travel carp rods Orvis Encounter Spin/Fly Combo – 2 in 1 travel rod Daiwa saltwater travel rods Savage Gear travel rods Travel Fishing Tackle Guide Deciding to take fishing tackle with you on a family holiday can be a potential excuse for divorce! However, if your situation allows, with a little bit of planning and careful purchasing, a lot of great fishing can be enjoyed – whether you’ve got a spare couple of days, or just the odd free hour here and there. The rewards can be excellent – catching exotic species you would never dream of catching at home, or if you’re a coarse angler on a trip …

Read More »

Norfolk Broads Pike Fishing Trip

Pike fishing in the Norfolk Broads

Fishing for pike on the Norfolk Broads Since writing my last article, I have only had chance to fish twice. The latter session was the Norfolk Broads trip which I mentioned last time. Both trips were extremely fulfilling; but for contrasting reasons. One resulted in my biggest pike catch ever. The other was a full-on experience, with hardly any fish action at all! Due to the Norfolk session being a pike-oriented trip, my friend Matt and I decided we would have a confidence-building pike session first, on a venue we both knew well. It ended up being an exceptional day in terms of the number of pike caught. I took a dozen fish on lures, from a 100-yard stretch of water and Matt took the largest pike of the day – 14lb 4oz, on a deadbait; along with a few perch and some lost pike on a jig. We had found a huge concentration of pike, which only seemed to be interested in slow-moving baits, so I spent most of my time lure fishing. I caught the majority of my fish on a large Mepps spinner, with two fish caught on a Salmo crankbait. Both retrieved very slowly, close to …

Read More »