04-10-2021 till 08-04-2021: After the cancellation of Morocco and Norway due to the corona measures in both countries, Spain is finally the first and last major fishing trip we made in 2021. On Thursday we flew to Mallaga, were we picked up by our guide and brought to our hotel in Ronda.
05-10-2021: When we arrived on Friday I didn't know what I saw, we saw barbels swimming everywhere. Unfortunately, hope soon faded to catch one. In Spain they fish with surface bait, a way of fishing I had never done before and certainly not the way they did it. After a couple of barbels that swam past my bait without interest, there was one after two hours that bit full on the bait. After 3 hours I finally started to get it. After 5 barbels that came loose during the run I managed to catch number 6. The guide also managed to catch one, see photo of my wife. A successful first day and full of confidence we would go fishing on day 2.
06-10-2021: When we arrived at the lake on Saturday morning, the guide immediately told us that it was going to be a difficult day. The wind had turned and was blowing force 4 from the north-east. Hours passed when our guide got a nice black bass on the line. He quickly handed his fishing rod to my wife, who was allowed to reel in the perch.
At 13:00 we decided to stop fishing and go for a walk in the beautiful town of Ronda.
07-10-2021: They also predicted a northeast wind on Sunday, so we went fishing at 7:00 AM before the wind got really hard. The first hour we saw several barbels jumping, especially in the places where there was no wind, unfortunately we were unable to get one to bite. In fact, we had already given up hope of catching another fish until I got a hit on the rod. At first we thought we had a black bass on the line but after a few minutes barbel number 3 came up. The guide also managed to catch a barbel after which it was unfortunately over.
Unfortunately we were unlucky that Saturday and Sunday the wind came from the wrong direction so the fish were not active. However, we will definitely go back again to catch a black bass ourselves. In the end we had a great weekend, well arranged from the organization (tight lines) and a great guide (and his son) who taught us new fishing techniques.
09-11-2021: Today I went pike fishing with a colleague. In the end I managed to catch 2 pikes and he 1. A nice day of fishing in the middle of a Dutch polder.
14-11-2021: Pike number 17 this year ;)
21-11-2021: On the way to our hotel in Brielle, my wife wanted to do some shopping in Heenvliet. Coincidentally ;) I had put a fishing rod in the back of her car and I quickly walked to the waterfront.
