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 Hi again folks, February has been a bit of an up and down month here in Extremadura. We started the month happy to welcome our first Dutch client Ralph. Ralph being in the fishing game himself was an experienced angler with many trips abroad before under his belt. Ralph began his holiday with us in scorching sunshine on Orellana, we spent the first two days on this lake with Ralph bagging a 24lb Orellana common. After that, as things were a bit slow on Orellana, we moved up to Sierra Brava for the remainder of his stay with us. Things went well right from the start on Brava, with Ralph loving the fishing and banking some cracking fish up to 36lbs. Over the week on Brava, Ralph had over 20 runs and managed to put at least 10 of them on the bank whilst also finding out that you really have to be on top of your game and have a little bit of luck when fishing for the monster carp that lurk in Brava. He was beaten up badly by one big fish in particular and looked like he was going to be sick afterwards….. never mind mate, you’ll have it next time, looking forward to it.
In the latter part of the month Catch Carp Spain were pleased to welcome Bob and Steve for their first visit here in Extremadura. The day the lads arrived was a lovely sunny day and so was the following morning when we headed out onto Brava to begin fishing. Bob is an experienced carp angler, whereas Steve is very new to the game and had never caught a carp before. Things got off to a great start on the first day with me helping Steve get his rods out first. We’d only just finished putting his last rod out when his middle rod went off. Steve being new to all this never realised to start with what was going on as it had happened so quickly and after some vigorous prompting from myself he grabbed the rod and was into his first carp.  His first will definitely not be one that he forgets, for after picking up his rod he walked a few paces back, tripped over his gear and landed on his back, but like the true trooper he was, the rod was kept up and 5 minutes later he had his first carp in the net, a 17lb Sierra Brava common. Well done mate, an absolute classic. Unfortunately, this was to be the highlight of the trip as all hell broke loose an hour later. The lads were then unlucky to experience the most extreme weather that Extremadura has had in the last 20 years. To begin with, an hour after Steve’s fish we got hit by very scary thunder, lightning, hailstones and gales that came out of nowhere and ended up with Bob’s brolly being obliterated and Bob taking the full force of the storm head on. One he’ll NEVER forget.  After that it was torrential rain and gales more or less for the whole week with the lakes flooding beyond recognition. Needless to say the fishing was wrecked with the water in the lakes the colour of chocolate milkshake. We did soldier on, but realistically there was very little chance of catching fish. Although the fishing was terrible, the lads still had a good laugh, with loads of great banter about the conditions and Anne at Catch Carp Spain coming up trumps as usual with some incredible meals. Cheers again Anne.
I’m glad to say as I’m writing this that the weather has calmed down and they have opened up the dams so the water is coming down all the time and things should be back to normal in the coming weeks. Will keep you posted next month. |
 Hi Folks, sorry for being a bit late this month with the news update, but things have been rather hectic here. January turned out to be a bit of a mental month. The start of the month saw myself and Craig head out for some barbel fishing as the weather was looking non-conducive to good carp fishing. The first day turned out to have nothing to do with fishing and everything to do with us having our own little Top Gear special. The weather was hideous, lashing down with rain and the roads to the lakes being washed away in some places. Over the day I think we tried to get to swims on 3 different lakes with bugger all success, but having a great laugh trying, with both 4 x 4’s getting a proper work out. Ended up bivvied up on the edge of one lake late at night without fishing as we were both knackered and needed a drink. During the night the lake we were at, to give you an idea of how much water had fallen during the day, came up a metre and went back down again in the space of 8 hours. Next day we set out for a lake where there was very little water entering the lake, however, conditions were still horrendous with high wind and lots of rain, nevertheless persevered for a couple of days with little success. Did manage one small barbel of approximately 7lb, I say approximately as did not weigh it or take a picture as it was pissing down…..  Craig was also having bugger all luck, the only thing that seemed to be interested in his bait were the pain in the arse channel cats that also reside in this lake. Glad to say that the next 2 short sessions that Craig and I had in January were more productive. Both of these sessions were on Sierra Brava, with the first one a 3 day session which produced lots of runs and myself having at least 15 carp up to 30lb. Craig also had a good session getting into double figures for carp also. The next session was only a day and a half as the weather turned bad again, but still managed to put fish on the bank with the best being a cracking 37lb common. Not bad considering the crappy conditions. Looking forward to better conditions in February as things are busy here at Catch Carp Spain for the month. Will let you know as usual via the newsletter how ourselves and our clients get on. |
 Hi Folks, and a Happy and Prosperous New Year to everyone from all at Catch Carp Spain. December has been a very quiet month for us here at CCS as we took the opportunity to have a holiday with friends and family, and a most enjoyable time was had. We actually only managed 2 days on the bank in the month of December which were spent with a good friend of Catch Carp Spain, Alfredo, in pursuit of Extremadura’s legendary Comizo Barbel, for those of you who do not know about this incredible fish, this is a barbel indigenous only to Spain, and in very limited areas within the country, that can grow to 40lb plus. This was the first time out to specifically target Comizo Barbel for CCS, and we’d like to thank Alfredo for showing us some of his secret areas which have been researched over many many years by him. Conditions weren’t the best as we still had not had much rain and temperatures were still warm for barbel fishing. Nevertheless, we gave it a good go over the 2 days, but unfortunately no luck.  I myself lost one barbel and managed one small river carp, whilst Alfredo had bugger all luck this time out. Though since the start of the month when we were on the bank together, glad to report Alfredo has had another session and been lucky enough to bank both a 20lb and 17lb comizo barbel. Well done mate. Although Catch Carp Spain is primarily and foremost a Specimen Carp guiding company, we are going to be spending some time over the next few months fishing for these incredible fish. All things being well, this may be something that we will introduce for our clients next winter. Now back to the carp, December has been a really mild month here in Extremadura, with the wind coming out of the south and west more or less all month which has made for excellent fishing conditions. Although we’ve not been on the bank ourselves, we’ve had plenty of reports back from local anglers that it’s been fishing really well, with many large carp coming out during the month of December. Looking forward to getting back out in January as it seems we’re escaping the freezing weather you’re currently enjoying in the north of Europe. Will keep you updated as usual through the newsletter next month. |
 Hi Folks, November has been a good month here in Extremadura as we expected. Started the month with a 3 day session on Orellana, with water temperatures having finally cooled to a good level after the extremely hot summer we've had this year and with a nice warm westerly wind blowing things were looking good for the session. On arrival at the swim I had chosen for the session, straight away I could see the fish were very active so was keen to get fishing as soon as possible. Whilst I was setting up I was lucky enough to get a visit from one of the other inhabitants of the Orellana, a very playful otter who spent a good 5 minutes munching crayfish 15 yards out from where I was setting up. Although I've seen otters on the Orellana and Sierra Brava before, it has always been at dusk or dawn and they've always been easily spooked. This fella seemed to be just as interested in what I was doing as I was in him, and all this at 3 o'clock in the afternoon……
 Anyway, back to the fishing. The session turned out to be a real cracker with runs galore, lost count by the end, but must have had up to 20 carp over the 3 days. The only thing that was a little disappointing for the session was that the carp were moving in each evening in large shoals which contained a lot of fish in the mid 20's, if you can call that disappointing, but it was making it hard to get to the bigger fish. Nevertheless, with some perseverance and a few different tactics, managed to get a couple of 30 plus carp on the bank and a cracking 41lb Orellana common, so all in all a top session to begin the month.  Followed this with another 3 day session on Orellana the following week, this turned out to be a much harder session as can often be the case. After taking a look at the weather forecast for the coming 3 days, decided on a swim where it requires boating all the gear out to. Big mistake, as Mr. Weatherman got it wrong again! Turned out that the winds that had been forecast never arrived, or when they did, from the opposite direction. Nevertheless, persevered and did manage to put 3 carp on the bank, all mid 20's. Was also joined on the session for 1 night by my friend Alfredo who did a bit better than me and stuck a 33lb common on the bank.  Well done mate. Ended the month with a short 2 day session on Sierra Brava, turned out to be a cold couple of days with not many fish moving, but still managed, as is the norm on Sierra Brava, to have 5 runs, managed to lose 2 in the snags I was fishing tight up against, but did manage to put 3 of them on the bank. Couple of doubles and a 22lb common. As I'm writing this, we've finally started to get some rain here in Extremadura, which in my opinion will be a good thing for the coming months' fishing, as the temperature is staying reasonably high. As you may have noticed, we are running a 10% discount on all prices on the website at the moment, won't last forever so get booking for an unforgettable carp fishing experience here in Extremadura with Catch Carp Spain. Until next month. |
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Hi again folks, well October has been a bit of an up and down month for Catch Carp Spain with the start of the month being wasted with myself having a crappy bout of tonsillitis which kept me off the lake for the first couple of weeks. Thankfully by the middle of the month, after a good dose of antibiotics, was feeling back on form for the arrival of Peter, Dan and Steve up from the Costa Del Sol. This was their first time here fishing with Catch Carp Spain in Extremadura, although Peter has been a good friend for many years and has spent some time with me on the bank in Andalucia. As they were only going to be here for a weekend on Orellana I went down the day before their arrival to the water to set things up for their arrival so that they got the maximum time fishing and also to get my first day back on the water. The morning they arrived I had two takes, although I lost one of the fish, did manage to put the other one on the bank, a nice 30lb Orellana common, so things were looking okay for the lad’s arrival. The weekend turned out to be a blast on the bank with a shedload of good banter and a sizeable amount of beer consumed….Peter was the first into the fish on the first night, banking two cracking Orellana commons followed on the second night with Steve doing the same with two larger Orellana commons.  Unfortunately for Dan who was on his first time ever carp fishing, the luck was not to be with him, but we’ve promised him a monster carp next time. Cracking time had lads and can’t wait for the next one. The last week in October I took myself up to Sierra Brava for a 4 day session. For Catch Carp Spain and me personally, this year has been a cracker, with myself having 40lb plus carp out every month this year bar February when everybody toiled this year, and the 2 summer months of July and August when we don’t really fish, so I guess I was due a bad session.  Well this 4 days was that bad session, I fished like a complete noddy for the 4 full days, had 10 runs over the session and only managed to put 2 fish on the bank, both being low doubles. There you have it folks, don’t say I don’t tell you the truth, I guess it happens to us all every now and again, but hope that’s the last I have of it for a good while! Looking forward to November and hopefully taking my finger out of my arse with regards to my angling. Will update you as usual at the end of the month. |
   Hi Folks, sorry for the news update being a bit late this month but it’s been a busy time here at Catch Carp Spain. We’ve been eagerly awaiting the arrival of this month as it means the end of the long hot summer and the start of 9 months of the best fishing here in Extremadura. September began with a bang, with on my first short 3 day session on the Orellana managing to bag a fish every day, with the best of these being an absolute cracking 47lb Orellana Common, one of the classic long, hard fighting, fin perfect examples that the Orellana is famous for. Following this I had a couple of mates up from the coast for a social 3 day session on the Orellana. Good time was had by all with plenty of catching up being done, a few drinks had on the bank, and also myself managing to stick another couple of Orellana commons on the bank, the best of these being 34lb. Then it was a pleasure to have back for the second time this year some of the lads from the C.A.C.I club in Ireland. Deco, Gavin and Jordy who were here in March were also joined this trip for his first visit to Extremadura by Lewie. We started the lads on the Orellana as it had been fishing very well, but as luck would have it for the Irish, for the first time in 7 or 8 eight weeks the wind started to blow constantly from the east, which made fishing extremely difficult. We did give it a good go, but the fish were obviously being pushed out to the deeper water with the wind conditions. Conditions were to change later in the week, with the wind coming back out of the west, but as it was Lewie’s first trip here and he had not fished Sierra Brava, it was decided not to risk the weather forecast being wrong and head to Brava instead, where no matter what the wind conditions, I was reasonably confident of putting the lads on to fish. This turned out to be the case but not without it’s problems.   As is becoming the norm at Sierra Brava, there are a lot of competitions taking place at weekends and where we originally set up on Brava turned out to be right on the edge of where a competition was due to take place the coming weekend. With my knowledge of the water and how the fish behave during these competitions, I decided that the best idea was to move to the opposite bank from where the competition was to take place as I was sure with the extra noise and pressure on the water the fish would make their way over there. As it turned out this worked to our advantage, as straight away we started to get into the fish. Gavin especially was having a really good time of it, with him getting 2 new p.b.’s both a common and a mirror in the space of 10 minutes, then proceeding later on during the trip to better his common p.b. again. Well done Gavin, if anyone deserved it, it was yourself for the lack of luck you had earlier in the year. The unlucky mantle was definitely taken over by Lewie on this trip as he had many runs but was having no luck getting them to the net. He did bank one fish, but lost numerous others including some big ones, through no fault of his own. Deco too was having a bit of a tough time of it, losing fish in the snags, but just as it was getting to him, he landed a lovely Sierra Brava common. Over the 4 full days on Sierra Brava we managed to bank at least 14 plus fish and lost many more. Yet again, I’d like to thank the lads from Ireland as they are an absolute pleasure to spend time on the bank with, and with a special mention for young Jordan who never fails to put a smile on everybody’s face with his classic one-liners. I’d also like to take this opportunity, as I’m sure the Irish lads would too, to thank Anne of Catch Carp Spain for her outstanding new range of lakeside food packages. The evening “heat and eat” meals were the absolute bollocks and not a drop was left every night. As usual folks, we’ll keep you in the picture with what’s happening here with Catch Carp Spain here in Extremadura via our monthly news updates.    |
Hi Folks, well glad to say we are now at the end of the summer here in Extremadura. This year has been another roaster with temperatures in the high 30’s throughout July and August. It’s traditionally our poorest time of the year for fishing here in Extremadura and we have only spent 5 or 6 days over the whole period fishing. We did have Beaky and Mick up again from the coast for their third visit this year and spent 3 days with them on Sierra Brava. As is the norm at this time of year, fishing was hard and there were lots of summer anglers on the bank whose carp angling etiquette can sometimes leave a lot to be desired……Having said that, still managed to put fish on the bank, with Beaky doing particularly well, managing to put 4 or 5 carp on the bank over the 3 days.
Although we didn’t spend a lot of time fishing during the summer, we did put the free time to good use in securing some new and exciting areas on Orellana for our clients’ benefit in the coming months. Will keep you posted as to how these new areas are fishing as the year progresses.
I’d like to take the opportunity here, through the News Update, to answer a few frequently asked questions by people making enquiries through Catch Carp Spain.
- Is night fishing legal in Extremadura? – At the time of writing this news update, unfortunately the answer is still No. Legally you may fish an hour before sunrise and an hour after sunset. Although we at Catch Carp Spain do of course have total respect for the laws here in Extremadura, and a very good working relationship with the local authorities, we at the same time, in the good tradition of hard core carp anglers, will always stretch them as far as we possibly can for both ourselves and our clients.
- Can we bivvy up on the lake? – Yes. As long as you have the appropriate type of bivvy which Catch Carp Spain uses as standard.
- Can we go onto your new interactive booking form and choose different packages without submitting a booking? - Yes. The new interactive booking form is designed so that even if you are not booking there and then, you can still go on and try out as many options as you would like, to see which one suits your needs and budget without having to book immediately.
Well that’s it for now. We’re really looking forward to getting down to some serious angling again after the summer and to have 9 of the best months here in Extremadura for carp angling to look forward to. Will keep you updated at the end of every month as usual through our News Updates. |
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CATCH CARP SPAIN LAUNCHES IT'S NEW INTERACTIVE BOOKING FORM |
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 Catch Carp Spain has just completed it's first full successful year here in Extremadura with plenty of the region's monster carp being caught on Catch Carp Spain rods, it really has been a great first year for us. We at Catch Carp Spain like to think of ourselves as a forward thinking carp angling company and are always striving to make things more enjoyable and affordable for our clients. With this in mind Catch Carp Spain is now pleased to be able to launch it's new interactive booking system. The thinking behind this is to give our clients as much choice as possible when choosing the kind of holiday they wish to have with us whilst also making the booking process easier. Catch Carp Spain has scrapped the commonly used existing system of set packages and time frames and will now be giving our clients the choice of many different options in an easy to use booking form that will allow each group, on our website, to tailor their holiday with us to their requirements and budget. This means that you the clients can go to the interactive booking form page and choose from the many options available until you get a package that suits you. The booking form will also individually as you select your options, calculate the price for each person in your group, and for people in the Euro zone there is also a handy currency converter available for your use. So please go ahead and have a look at all the fantastic new options available to you on the new options page, then go to the interactive booking page and build the best package to suit you. |
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 Hi folks, Catch Carp Spain was lucky enough in this month to have the lads up from the Costa Del Sol again. Beaky, Mick and Jim spent four days on Sierra Brava with Catch Carp Spain and Mick also managed an extra day for the first time on Orellana. As usual when the lads come up there is always a good time had on the bank with plenty of banter and a fair bit of eating and drinking. Mick actually arrived before the others, so was able to have a night on the Orellana which turned out to be an alright night with Mick landing a 28lb Orellana common which led him a right merry dance, he also hooked into one of Orellana's monster commons but unfortunately lost this one 10yds from the net. Better luck next time Mick….As for the time spent on Sierra Brava, we had plenty of action and were using the new Mainline boilies for the first time, all of us having plenty of runs on the new boilies which was great for the first time using them on the water. Although we never managed to bag any monsters, we did manage to put plenty of 20's on the bank, with both Jim and myself managing a 28lb common each. Great time was had by all and can't wait for the next one. Cheers lads.
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 Hi Folks, been another top month here for Catch Carp Spain in Extremadura. Although we only managed a couple of short sessions this month on Orellana,  we still managed to put some cracking monster carp on the bank. The fish were still sporadically spawning down on Orellana and also we were having to contend with some pretty heavy weed still in the lake. Having said this, over the two sessions we still managed to get into double figures for the amount of fish caught with most of these fish being in the 30lb plus bracket, and the best being another 45lb monster common. The reason we at Catch Carp Spain haven’t been fishing so much over the last month is that we’ve been putting together some cracking new products for our clients.  These should be available for our clients to view on the website in the coming weeks and should make things a lot easier for our clients when deciding how they would like to spend their fishing holiday with us.  We’ve also been doing some work with Mainline Baits here in Spain and have a new boilie range coming out from them that we think is going to be perfect for here in Extremadura and at a very affordable price. Will be testing these new boilies for the first time in June, so will keep you updated on how they perform. So please keep your eye on the website for the new products which will be with you as soon as possible. |
 Hi Folks, April has been a pretty quiet month here in Extremadura for Catch Carp Spain, with it being the Easter holidays, we took some time off with family and friends.
Having said that, we did manage two sessions on our favourite private area on Orellana. The water had really started to warm up, so was optimistic about getting into some good fish. The first session I spent there was for four nights and although the session started slow with plenty of fish showing but not picking up the baits, by the end of the session had managed to put a cracking 43lb Orellana common on the bank along with one other smaller fish. Had also lost a couple of fish in the very heavy weed that we have here at this time of year which is growing from bottom to top. Alex Perrin from Mainline Baits in Spain also joined me for a night on this session as we were both planning to fish the same area the following week. He brought with him some of the new Mainline baits to pre-bait the area for the next week’s session. On my arrival the following week it was plain to see from the start of the session that the fish were turning on to spawning mode. This as you can imagine made for extremely difficult fishing conditions, but nonetheless turned out to be one of the most enjoyable four days I’ve spent on the lake. Did manage to put four fish on the bank, with the best being a 30lb Orellana common, but the real story of the session was some of the monster carp that myself and Alex were able to observe close up from the boat. Usually in this area, with it being crystal clear water, as soon as you go out in the boat the fish would spook and disappear, never giving you a chance to look at them.
 This time as the fish had started to spawn, we were able to drift up and down the weed beds where this was taking place, and far from spooking the fish, they were quite happy for the boat to be there and on many occasions we actually had groups of fish following the boat. The number and size of fish that we saw was unbelievable. Although from the boat it’s not easy to put an accurate weight on these fish, there were many fish at over 4 feet in length and one fish in particular which was at least 5 feet long. We must have seen over a hundred fish just in the small bay we were fishing, but all around this area in the other small bays we could see the same thing happening.
So apart from the sunburn from having been out in the boat all the time, it was great to see up close how many cracking monster carp are in the area. Now can’t wait for them to finish spawning so that we and our clients can get out there and put them on the bank. |
 March has been an absolutely cracking month here in Extremadura with Catch Carp Spain. The month began with an old friend of ours coming up from the coast for a session on Sierra Brava. Beaky was an original customer of our tackle shop in Marbella, and was one of the first clients we took to Extremadura. Beaky had brought his mate Keith with him and another friend Mick was due to join us the next day. When we arrived on Sierra Brava for the first day’s fishing, weather conditions were pretty bad, with strong winds and the roads around the lake an absolute mess from the amount of rain we’d had in the previous weeks. After looking at the conditions, myself and Beaky decided it would be a better idea to crack open a bottle and catch up on old times whilst waiting for conditions to improve. Needless to say myself and Beaky got very little fishing done on the first day, but nevertheless had a great laugh. On awaking the next morning, the wind had died down a bit and the swim I’d chosen was looking promising, so 3 rods went straight out. Within 45 minutes I had my first fish on the bank which was a cracking 36lb Sierra Brava Mirror. After taking some pictures, got the rod back onto the same spot and 30 minutes later another cracking Sierra Brava Mirror was on the bank. This time weighing in at 31lbs. It was after this that events took a somewhat farcical turn.  Anyway, to cut a long story short, and to save anyone any unnecessary embarrassment, the next couple of days were taken up with extracting a rather pissed off Beaky’s once shiny 4 wheel drive from a rather muddy hole. So, anyway, enough said….. back to the fishing. As it turned out, Beaky was to have the last laugh as on his first day back from muddy hole he landed a new p.b. a well nice 32 and a half pound Sierra Brava Common. Before leaving the boys, as I had to get back for more clients arriving, I managed a 28lb Common and by the way it was stripping line off my reel, I could have sworn it was a 50 plus fish. I was also glad to hear the next day that Mick banked a lake p.b. 36lb Common. Great time had lads, but next time can we leave out the drama?
In the middle of March it was Catch Carp Spain’s great pleasure to welcome our first fellow Celt group of anglers here to Extremadura. This turned out to be the best session of the year so far. The writing was on the wall from the outset with the lads being from Ireland, St Patrick’s Day falling during their stay with us, and Scotland playing Ireland in the Six Nations Rugby, as per usual Scotland lost the rugby and we all got well pissed on Paddy’s Day. So anyway, back to the fishing.  The group consisted of A.J., Ricky, Declan, Gavin, Gary, Brian and not forgetting young Jordan. A.J. and Ricky spent the duration of their time with us on Sierra Brava with some outstanding results. Right from the off the boys were into big fish. On the first morning A.J. was straight onto the fish and had a 39lb Sierra Brava Common within the first hour of his rods being out. The boys managed in the first area they fished over the first 3 days, 3 or 4 fish all over 30lbs, whilst also losing a few good ones as well. The weather conditions at the time were not the best as there was not a cloud in the sky and temperatures were very hot with very little wind. This meant that the carp were milling about on the surface having a good old sunbathe. So it was decided after 3 days to move the boys down to one of my favourite swims on the lake. This swim is not everyone’s cup of tea as it’s fishing right in amongst a mass of snags and is real locked up, hit and hold stuff. After watching the lads fishing over the previous days, it was clear they were up to the job. I could go on forever about the fishing that took place over A.J. and Ricky’s next 6 days, but a brief summary being that the lads banked around 18 to 20 fish between them, with the majority being 30lb plus and A.J. landing the biggest at 43lbs.  While the size of the fish were good, I think that both lads were more astonished at how hard fighting the Extremadura carp really are. Both A.J. and Ricky have fished abroad many times and have never seen tackle take so much abuse with rods sounding like they were going to break at any moment, hooks straightening and rodpods bent in all directions. A great time was had by all, with some top angling, and a couple of great gargles to boot. The other lads started their holiday with us on Orellana as they were all keen to land one of Orellana’s monster wild carp. Although the weather was extremely hot, the water temperature was still very low on Orellana, and new water still coming into the lake. Nonetheless there was the occasional fish showing, so it was definitely worth a go. After a couple of days with nothing on Orellana, Gary and Brian decided to head up to Brava as the lads up there were catching fish. Declan, Gavin and young Jordan decided to stay on Orellana and give it another couple of days.  Although the lads put a lot of hard work in, and with some big fish moving into the area, it was decided by the Wednesday after having no runs, that it would be best to move up to Brava with the other lads. It really has been a slow start this year on Orellana due to the unusually cold winter we’ve had here in Extremadura, and with the Orellana lake constantly filling with new water which has kept the crayfish dormant much later than usual. After Gary and Brian had moved on to Brava they started to get into the fish. Gary did particularly well out of the two, catching somewhere in the region of 10 or 11 fish, with 2 or 3 nice 30lb plus mirrors to show for his efforts. Brian had a bit more difficult time of it, losing some big fish, but still managed to bag a couple of doubles before his time with us ended. Declan, Gavin and Jordan also got into the fish once they’d moved up to Brava, with Gavin in particular experiencing the raw power of Extremadura’s carp. On his last morning he had a crazy hour where he had somewhere in the region of 7 runs, and one in particular that he won’t forget in a long time.  One run was so savage, the fish pulled the rod off the rod pod and as Gavin went to grab the rod, the butt swung up and gave him a nice reminder of his holiday, right in the family jewels! Nevertheless he did manage to bank one double and everyone was well chuffed for him. Declan also managed a double for his efforts, a lovely 24lb mirror. And last but definitely not least, Jordan, the young comedian of the group also managed to bank a double on his uncle A.J.’s rod. Catch Carp Spain had a top time on the bank with these lads and if their fishing is anything to go by, Ireland has an extremely healthy carp angling scene. The end of March was every bit as good as the start for Catch Carp Spain, with myself spending the last 2 days of March on Sierra Brava before it closed for the month of April and having an absolutely cracking short session, catching 9 fish which included a 35lb, a 40lb and a monster 53lb common. It’s been a great start to the year for Catch Carp Spain, doing what we do best, putting big fish on the bank, both for our clients and ourselves. Cheers to everyone who has helped to make the beginning of the year such a success.
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 Hi folks, sorry for the delay in this news update, things have been so busy here with Catch Carp Spain throughout February and March, that there has just been no time to sit down and write the news. Seems a long time ago now that we had Chaz, Karl and Paul here on a week’s holiday at the beginning of February. Unfortunately for the boys this turned out to be one of the worst weeks for fishing that we’ve had here in Extremadura. The weather was absolutely atrocious, with freezing gale force winds coming from all directions the whole time they were here. Add to that Arctic conditions for here in Extremadura, lots of rain, a rush of new cold water filling the lakes and even a couple of hailstone showers thrown in for good measure. This all made for an extremely trying time on the bank. We started the lads on the Orellana lake but after a couple of days, it became apparent with metre high waves coming down the lake, it would be better to try our luck on Sierra Brava. Conditions were not much better on Brava, with us seeing not a single fish, but we persevered and finally on the last day of their trip the lads managed to get a couple of runs with Karl landing the only fish at 15lbs. Although the lads never had much poundage in carp, they all went home a good few pounds heavier, as they were on a full board package, and Anne’s food hit the mark as usual. Just like to give Chaz a special thanks for his little prezzie in the post and his kind words in his letter. Look forward to having you here with us again.
In the middle of February we had Lee and Marisa here on a 4 day holid ay. The weather couldn’t have been more different from the start of the month with not a cloud in the sky and rapidly climbing temperatures. Although it was great conditions on the bank for getting a suntan, fishing was still very slow. We were on Sierra Brava for the duration of their holiday with us, but as we had so much rain in the previous weeks, the cold water was still pouring into the lake meaning that the water temperature was still very low and the fish were not feeding. This resulted in only one fish on the bank, a 17lb Sierra Brava common. It was a pleasure having them both here and hope to see them again.
At the end of the month it was our pleasure to welcome Tom and Nobby of Advance Technology Tackle here for a 5 day holiday with us. The lads started their trip on Orellana as they were very keen to net one of it’s wild monster carp. Although the weather had been improving since the middle of the month, there was still a lot of new water entering Orellana and water levels rising by about 2 inches a day. Though we were seeing the occasional fish, they were still not feeding as the water temperature was still pretty low. After 2 days with no runs, I decided it would be a good idea to take a run up to Sierra Brava and check things out. Once I’d spoken to some of the anglers on the lake, although there weren’t many fish being caught, after checking the water temperature which was well up on Orellana, I decided to move the lads to Sierra Brava the next day, as with the right tactics and in the right area we would have a good chance of getting onto the fish.  As it turned out this was the right move, as over the next 2 days between them they caught over 20 fish. Both these lads have fished many different venues throughout the world and have been regular visitors to France over the years, so it was a great pleasure to hear them both say how the Extremadura carp were the hardest fighting and best conditioned fish they’d caught. Although the boys never got into any of the really big monsters in Sierra Brava, they did manage five 30’s, with them both having 39lb fish, with Nobby’s being a new p.b. common. Have to say that Catch Carp Spain had a great time on the bank with the lads from ATT and with them already planning a return trip before they left, it’s safe to say they had a great time too.
I’d also like to take the time to talk about the absolutely top class alarms and receivers that Advance Technology Tackle have on the market at the moment. Both Tom and Nobby were using their new ATTs alarms with the ATTx V2 receivers. These alarms and receivers never put a foot wrong the whole trip, although sometimes we were fishing in strong winds and often a good hundred metres apart, even whilst standing behind the Land Rover having a coffee while getting out of the wind, the receivers never missed a run. One of the things I’ve had a lot of problems with here while fishing on lakes this size is when the wind gets up you get a lot of false indications on your alarms, which as you know can drive you nuts. Not once throughout the whole trip did we have this problem with the ATTs alarms.  This is due to the unique roller system that these alarms have. For this reason alone I would buy a set, but add to this the stylish look, total reliability and price, it’s an absolute no-brainer for the serious carp angler. If you’ve not had a look at these alarms already, it’s time you did. For more information on Advance Technology Tackle products go to the link on our links page. Glad to say Tom is back here fishing in April and the set that I’ve ordered are coming with him. Can’t wait.
Keep a lookout for the March News Update as it’s going to be a cracker. |
Hi Folks, it’s been another difficult month here in Extremadura, with the cold conditions persisting throughout the month which has kept the bigger fish from coming on to the feed. Having said that, as my wrist finally healed, managed to get a 4 day session on Sierra Brava. Not having fished for 6 weeks due to my wrist, it was great just to get on the bank again. Wasn’t expecting much from this session as temperatures were dropping as low as minus 3C at night. Despite this, the sun was coming out occasionally and things were warming up when this happened. First couple of days were pretty hard going with only a few fish being caught and the biggest only 12lb.
However, on the third day, after changing my baiting tactics, and fishing very small popups on the hook, things started to improve. Managed a couple of fish up to 18lb and the day was starting to get warmer. That afternoon, a couple of hours before sunset, the left hand rod which was placed tight up against a snag went off. As soon as I picked the rod up I knew it was something big and after 10 minutes I was well chuffed to have a 49lb Sierra Brava Royal Mirror sitting in the net. The last day produced a few more fish, the biggest being a 22lb common, so all in all, a cracking first session of the year for Catch Carp Spain.
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Hi Folks, It’s been a very quiet month here in Extremadura. What with the Christmas holidays and a trip back to the U.K. to see family, then knackering my wrist on my return, for the first time in many a year, we’ve not managed a single day’s fishing this month. What made it even worse was the fact that there were a couple of weeks with some outstanding fishing weather.
It’s not all been bad news this month though, as Catch Carp Spain is glad to be able to tell it’s clients that LEGAL NIGHT FISHING IS COMING TO EXTREMADURA IN 2009. This is absolutely fantastic news and will confirm Extremadura as the must fish location for carp anglers in Europe. We at Catch Carp Spain fully believe that with the introduction of night fishing we will see significant rises in fish caught and more of the monster carp hitting the bank which can only mean good news for our clients. At the moment we have no confirmed date for the rule change, but as it stands at the moment, it is looking like some time around Easter.
If you are a client who has already booked with us, but not yet had an e:mail to tell you about this, Catch Carp Spain will be tailoring new packages to take advantage of the new night fishing rules. These will be appearing on the website in the coming weeks, so look out for them. Don’t worry if you’ve already booked an existing package, or are about to book with Catch Carp Spain, as you will be able to change your booking to any of the new night fishing packages as soon as they come into effect. |
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 Catch Carp Spain has had quite a quiet November with the Extremadura region of Spain not escaping the cold snap which most of Europe has had this month, with night-time temperatures dipping below freezing on some nights. Add to this, heavy rain and cold winds coming predominantly from the North, fishing conditions have not been at their best. Having said that, Catch Carp Spain has still managed to get in a couple of short sessions on Sierra Brava. Even though the fishing was tough going, Catch Carp Spain rods still landed over 20 carp for the two sessions. Though the average size was lower than we’re used to here in Extremadura , this being down to the difficult conditions, we still managed 7 fish over 20lb and a cracking 30lb Sierra Brava common.
Just remains to say that Catch Carp Spain wishes all our clients a Very Happy Christmas and keep your eye on the website for some cracking Festive Season deals coming up. |
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 October has been another cracking month here in Extremadura with plenty of big carp being caught on Catch Carp Spain rods. We have also had the added bonus this month of having one of the U.K.’s top specimen carp anglers choosing to take a weekend holiday with us. Jon McAllister of Nash Bait and Tackle, holder of the coveted Anglers Mail Challenge Cup 2007/2008, and who is also the holder of the U.K.’s record brace of carp in a day, spent a weekend in the middle of this month here with Catch Carp Spain on Lake Orellana. This was Jons first time fishing in the Extremadura region of Spain, though Catch Carp Spain has spent time on the bank with him elsewhere in Spain. Catch Carp Spain picked Jon up from Seville airport on the Friday lunchtime and made our way straight to Lake Sierra Brava. Although Jon would not have time on this trip to fish Brava, he was very keen to see the venue as he is planning a return trip with Catch Carp Spain to have a go for the Sierra Brava monster carp. After an hour spent there and seeing plenty of good fish topping, it was time to leave and take the 20 minute drive down to our base on the banks of Lake Orellana for a welcome and delicious meal prepared by Anne our resident “chief cook and bottle washer” and then off on the 5 minute drive to one of our private areas on the Orellana lake to get some bait out and set up the rods for the next days fishing. The bait that we would be using was Catch Carp Spains’ own particle mix along with the quality new MACH 1 boilies from NASH BAITS that Jon had brought with him.  These quality boilies will be on sale from NASH BAITS next year. Once we got the bait out and our rods clipped up ready for an early start, it was time to chill out have a couple of Havana Clubs and catch up on what’s new. The next days fishing went pretty well considering the challenging weather conditions we were having, one minute sunbathing, the next it was pissing down, with the wind constantly changing directions. Having said that, we still managed to bank 10 carp between us for the day, with Jon very quickly realizing why everyone’s talking about Extremadura as the place to be carp fishing. Of the 10 we caught the average was below the norm for the swim we were in, with most being in the mid 20’s and the biggest being 31lb. Though as Jon pointed out, all were in tip top condition and were some of the hardest fighting carp he had caught.  We were hoping for a bit more settled conditions for his last day on the bank and the next morning things were looking up, with us both hearing big fish crashing around during the night. The wind had also calmed down and was coming out of a constant direction, so with both of us feeling confident, the rods went out. We didn’t have to wait long before Jon had the first carp in the net, which was another tip top Orellana carp of 29lbs and over the course of the day another 6 carp fell to our rods, with all of them being around the 30lb mark. Jon was absolutely loving catching the hard fighting Extremadura carp and with just a couple of hours to go, pulled into his best fish of the session, which after a good 20 minute battle, was safely in the net. This turned out to be an absolutely fin perfect 37lb Orellana Common which he was well chuffed with. After this it was time to pack up, head back to base for a shower and another one of Annes’ cracking meals with Jon making plans for his next holiday here with Catch Carp Spain in Extremadura. Catch Carp Spain as always when fishing with Jon, has had a top session and would like to thank Jon for choosing us for his Extremadura carp fishing holiday. Looking forward to the next one mate. |
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 We at Catch Carp Spain are glad to have got traditionally our poorest month for fishing out of the way. August is the month of high temperatures, high pressure and low water levels. This all adds up to a very difficult month on the bank with only a couple of days spent fishing in August, with not a great number of fish caught, and not of a great size. So it was with a sense of relief to get August out of the way and into some serious fishing again in September.
We have managed 10 days on the bank in September and we’re happy to report that things have been pretty good. Temperatures have dropped in both the water and on the bank. There have also been some low pressure weather fronts which have made for some pretty decent fishing conditions.
 At the start of September I spent 3 days with my son on Lake Orellana with young Rory banking a 39lb common. This however can’t be classed as a new p.b. for the young lad as I had to play the fish on his rod for 5 minutes, as it took him this long to get out of his pit and wake up! Next time I have the feeling he’ll be quicker out of his pit!
After this I had 2 three and a half day sessions on Lake Orellana with both of these sessions having been productive, with the big fish now moving back in and starting to feed again. For the 7 days fishing I have banked 8 fish over 30lb, the biggest being a lovely 38lb common, and a further 9 fish over 20lbs, with the majority of them being over the 25lb mark. There were also a couple of teens taken.
So a good start to the proper season here in Extremadura and will keep you posted on how things are going.
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Ciudad International Airport |
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New Airport Opening Catch Carp Spain is pleased to be able to tell its clients that the new Ciudad Real International Airport will be open before the end of this year which should mean cheap budget airline flights from the U.K. starting the beginning of next year.
This will reduce travelling time from the airport to Catch Carp Spains’ base on the banks of the Orellana to just over an hour.
For further information keep an eye on our News Page as we will keep you posted on developments regarding flight schedules.
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Costa Father and Son p.b.’s with Catch Carp Spain |
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 Catch Carp Spain had the pleasure of having Mike and James here from the Costa Del Sol fishing with us in Extremadura in June. Although their stay was only a short weekend break and their carp fishing experience was limited, both Mike and James managed new p.b.’s and improved their fishing tenfold.
 Although they lost a lot of carp to the snags on Sierra Brava, they managed to put 4 or 5 fish on the bank each day. Father Mike managed a new p.b. of just under 20lb and James netted a cracking new p.b. of 27lb. Well done lads. Looking forward to having you here again. |
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One for the future from Catch Carp Spain |
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 Catch Carp Spains’ junior angler Rory on his first session on Sierra Brava bags a 28lb mirror. Nine year old Rory is the son of the owner of Catch Carp Spain and has been carping since he was 4 years old.
He has spent the last 5 years fishing on the lakes of Andalucia, has had lots of success catching large numbers of carp up to 9lb, but has been keen for some time to try his hand for the monster carp of Extremadura. After receiving a new rod for Christmas, this March he had his first 3 day session with his father on Sierra Brava.
 Things started well, with Rory bagging 4 or 5 carp in the 10 – 18lb bracket, whilst also losing a few monsters. On the last day he finally managed to get one of the biggies to the net, which turned out to be this cracking 28lb kipper. Everyone at Catch Carp Spain is mighty proud of Rory and will keep you posted on his progress. |
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Catch Carp Spain is pleased to announce that from February 2009 the full range of Mainline Baits will be available to it’s clients at unbeatable prices. As I’m sure most of you are aware, Mainline products are of the highest quality on the market. For the first time here in Extremadura, we will be able to offer our clients not only all the shelf life ready made products, 
