TALES FROM THE RIVERBANK
By Mike Smith
Since writing last month, sport on the river has been fairly slow; with the river being two to three feet up, it has been a case of fishing the slacks and sitting it out, waiting for a bite. I have found that using a feeder packed with ground bait, maggots and worms (using worm on the hook), has paid off.
On the catfish front, sport has been a little up and down. Some anglers have been having some good sport, catching fish into the 188 lb bracket, being taken by a visiting angler!
There has been no news on the reported catfish and carp culling programme on the Ebro. Spanish carp and catfish fishing is hugely popular with visiting UK anglers and fishing is a massive industry in this part of Catalunya. If the “powers to be” go ahead with this cull, without first consulting local anglers and businesses, then this will be nothing short of a disgrace. Catfish were put into the Ebro at Mequinenza around forty five years ago. Carp were here long before that.
Since then, the catfish have populated the whole of the Ebro and Segre river systems and because they have made such a good job of populating these two river systems in such a short time, in my opinion, it would be very difficult to eradicate them. It could also do untold damage to the river and cat-fishing on the whole. The Ebro is renowned throughout Europe for it´s cat-fishing and brings additional revenue to this part of the country. They should be promoting it, not destroying it. Let´s hope that they realise that the catfish are here to stay and that we can get on with enjoying our sport.
If readers have any thoughts on this matter, we would love to hear from you.
Until next time, tight lines.
Short URL: http://www.chroniccat.com/?p=181
Posted by editor
on 2010-04-04 Filed under Angling, April 2010.
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Printing an email below that we received on this subject.
Dear Mike,
I don’t think we need to worry about an Ebro fish cull. On recent Winter visits to Utxesa and Chiprana we noticed the following. Utxesa :- there are no small fish left in the lake as there were at least 100 or more cormorants ‘feeding’ on them for most of the winter.
Chiprana, Aragon :- I have been there fishing during every month of the Winter. I took my wife with me in January, she decided never again. it was filthy, rubbish everywhere, and the usual dead fires on the bank and carp remains everywhere. This week there were local guys going across country to the carp spawning grounds opposite Chiprana town and spearing the carp near the surface. They came past us with 6 dead ones, telling us that sometimes they can get 10 or more. We can’t blame them, as they eat them but it does’nt take much to add up the annual totals. They didn’t believe that we put fish back in the water.
I’m afraid that it is a policing problem that doesn’t seem to exist, probably due to money and the CRISIS. Having seen the size and quality of carp and cats in France and the UK in fishing mags and the quality of camp/chalet sites, it won’t take long for the VISITORS to take their money and vote with their feet.
I think that one could say that the Spanish authorities ‘just don’t get it’, a wonderful asset squandered.
P.S. At Flix on the last two trips we didn’t even have a bite! probably again due to unofficial ‘culling’ for food. I would be interested to know where is good fishing without a boat now! Regards/saludos.
Barry Humphreys.