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Angling holidays in Spain are becoming increasingly popular. The
Atlantic coastline off Galicia is home to many varieties of fish and
unlike the Mediterranean, the Atlantic is tidal. Being tidal,
a good supply of bait is available for digging when the tide is out.
I had some excellent fishing when I visited a friend in El Ferrol.
He dropped me off at a jetty protruding out into an estuary armed
with a spade for digging the bait, my rod and the rest of the
tackle. I'd only taken a two piece spinning rod on holiday
because my sea tackle back home in the uk was too cumbersome to lug
all the way to Spain. The tide was out when we arrived
and I spent about an hour and a half digging near the jetty which
produced a huge amount of ragworm. When the tide started to
come in, I climbed back onto the jetty and cast out about twenty
yards. The weight hit the water which at the time was less
than a foot deep and the whole sea within about a thirty foot
diameter circle of where the weight came down erupted with fish.
Wow, this was really amazing.
The fish turned out to
be sea bream feeding on ragworm which apparently are easy for the
fish to find when the sea is at such a low level. Within 20
seconds I had my first bite which almost pulled the rod off
the jetty. I managed to land the fish which was a sea bream weighing
about 1.5 lbs. Realising how good the fishing was here,
I had my doubts whether this light tackle would stand up to it but
within half an hour I'd caught another eight, all about the same
weight. As the tide came further in the bites started to tail
off but then I had a massive knock and grabbed the rod which
immediately bent almost double. Whatever this was it was huge.
The sea in the area was so clear, I actually saw the fish which was
about two foot long. |
SEA BREAM
PHOTOGRAPH BY FREE CAT
With my rod almost at breaking point, I tried desperately to adjust
the clutch on the reel to take some strain off and let the fish take
some line. The problem was
that the fish was so big I had to hold onto the rod with both hands.
I could hear the line singing and knew that it wasn't going to last,
which it didn't. I nearly fell backwards when the line snapped
because I was putting so much effort in to trying to grapple with
the fish. I never found out what it was but since then I've
always promised myself that I would return one day with heavier
tackle. If you ever find yourself on this stretch of coast,
try and get some fishing in, you won't be disappointed.
As well as sea
fishing, the Galician countryside can offer some excellent fly
fishing for brown trout in one of the many streams and rivers which
flow through the area. Angling holidays in Spain are now big
business and an angling holiday in Galicia would be a fantastic way
to relax and take in the sights.
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