Fly Fishing in Spain
Until this summer I had never fished for trout outside of the United States. I was lucky enough to stumble across @fishing.emotions on Instagram and the rest is history.
I contacted him, made a plan, and made it happen. My friend Sarah was traveling with me to Barcelona and eventually Girona, which is near the river, so I was able to fish three evenings looking for BIG rising fish.
Many people know I love dry fly fishing, but over the past year or so my nymphing game has picked up. However, in Spain, on this river, dry fly fishing was by far the best way to attempt a shot at a "big guy."
If you check out Ekaitz's Instagram, you will see what I mean by "big guy." He catches (and works very to hard to help his clients catch) giant brown trout on dry flies.
The river is wild and beautiful. The experience was surreal and enlightening. The new sounds, the Spanish wildlife, and the incredible scenery made it a truly special trip.
If you ever fish with a guide, the client should be an extension of the guide. The guide is fishing, but through you. I definitely felt that with Ekaitz. Of course I was there to catch fish, but I was also after a brand new experience. He helped me do both and for that I was extremely grateful.
The fish were there and they were rising even though daytime temps reached almost 100 degrees F each day. Were they rising in the heat... no. In the evening and in the shade though, I was lucky enough to see these big guys taking dries off the surface.
The bugs were similar to parts of the U.S. Little olives and sulphurs. Spinners at dark and Caddisflies bopping around like they do in the USA as well.
The biggest learning curve for me was casting. I can cast a dry fly. However, I rarely make long UPSTREAM casts. As we were walking through the wild growth down to the water I was informed that I would be making upstream casts to these fish. My heart sank a little... Literally weeks before I was making extremely long, DOWNSTREAM casts to big browns on the Delaware and catching them. The difference here was that these wild browns are extremely wily and clever. Anything spooks them; anything.
There's something special about that. There's something amazing about even the small browns carefully inspecting your fly in crystal clear water before deciding not to eat it.
The water was gin clear and I saw many a brown trout refuse (and several eat) my fly. On the first night I was lucky enough to see one of these big fish rising. You should have seen the tail on this thing! OMG. He said how lucky I was to see this guy at this time. I told him I felt lucky just fly fishing in Spain! Another thing I learned was the difference between "optimal conditions" vs. "the conditions." I had been checking the weather for weeks before my trip and I knew that the high air temps would mean evening only dry fly action, if that.
Fly fishing conditions are rarely "optimal" or "ideal", but that doesn't mean fish can't be caught. The fish are there and it's up to us to catch them, no matter the conditions. Although I had traveled all that way (5,200 miles!) to fish, I knew that the conditions weren't "ideal." Luckily for me, that didn't matter. Just being there was fantastic and my expectations were realistic. I have fished a few days in my life, so I have become a realist on the river.
In the picture below, you can see a rise, but it looks like more of a splash. I was actually casting to a smaller fish to his right, but he saw my line in mid-air and spooked. It was then I knew the challenge I faced. Hooking a big guy was not going to be easy.
Casting upstream was difficult for me because at first my leader was too short (9 foot), which lead to more fly line being dragged in the water below me, which in turn led to more casts in order to get that fly line in the air. Dealing with all of that line was frustrating because long casts were required.
My guide got my stubborn self to realize that a longer leader was going to be the ticket and it worked. Once I was able to get a leader to fit my rod I was able to more easily cast a long distance without dealing with the issues I was facing on night number one.
I did catch a few smaller fish on the first night and even though I wasn't scheduled to fish the following evening, I did. After one night out I was so focused on learning and getting better on a foreign (literally) river, that going out the next night was inevitable. :)
We fished several different spots and I had more shots at bigger fish with no takes. Obviously the bigger fish were going to be even pickier. On night #2 there were four big guys rising right next to each other under a tree limb. Now, I had learned from the smaller fish that as soon as they get hooked they swim to their home. Home for many of these big browns is under the bank. So, as these four hogs were eating spinners with reckless abandon I got a take (on my fly I might add). The power of this fish was immense and he took me right to the bank. This is not a big river so they have a lot of structure to swim toward (or into) in order to become unhooked.
I got him out of the bank, but as he headed downstream I had too much pressure on my 6x tippet and I got snapped off. It happened and was all over in a matter of seconds. Sometimes that's fly fishing, but to feel the power of a "medium" big guy (22-24 incher) was worth it.
The 3rd night the window of fishing was even shorter and I had a HUGE brown refuse my dry under a tree (one of the hardest casts I have ever made). He didn't eat, but when I saw him swim back for it I thought it was on! Unfortunately my offering was not perfect. Maybe next time...
I achieved my goal of hunting and hooking a big fish and even though I didn't get to see him up close I was OK with it. Showing up to such a special river and upping my dry fly casting game was important. The things I learned were invaluable and since I have been back in Colorado I caught a nice brown on a long upstream cast. I want to keep practicing that technique so when I return to Spain I'll be able to cast, hook, and land one of the big guys.
I didn't take that many pictures and I'm actually happy about that. It's an incredible fishery with special quarry that will live on in my memory forever.
Contact Ekaitz @fishing.emotions on Instagram if you're interested in a unique fly fishing experience in Spain. He was funny, passionate, informative, and extremely helpful. He loves fly fishing and he loves that river.
Lesson of the Blog: If you ever fish with a guide, listen. I have talked with enough guides to know that although this seems obvious, it isn't always the case. Clients have their own agenda and sometimes they only care about catching fish and getting "that" picture of a big fish. If you listen and take in everything a guide trip has to offer, you're experience will be that much better. Also, work on your precision when casting. Mine improved in three nights, but to catch the biggest and best fish, an absolutely perfect cast is required.
Until next time (my end of summer trip to Montana!), tight lines my friends.
I contacted him, made a plan, and made it happen. My friend Sarah was traveling with me to Barcelona and eventually Girona, which is near the river, so I was able to fish three evenings looking for BIG rising fish.
Many people know I love dry fly fishing, but over the past year or so my nymphing game has picked up. However, in Spain, on this river, dry fly fishing was by far the best way to attempt a shot at a "big guy."
If you check out Ekaitz's Instagram, you will see what I mean by "big guy." He catches (and works very to hard to help his clients catch) giant brown trout on dry flies.
The river is wild and beautiful. The experience was surreal and enlightening. The new sounds, the Spanish wildlife, and the incredible scenery made it a truly special trip.
If you ever fish with a guide, the client should be an extension of the guide. The guide is fishing, but through you. I definitely felt that with Ekaitz. Of course I was there to catch fish, but I was also after a brand new experience. He helped me do both and for that I was extremely grateful.
The fish were there and they were rising even though daytime temps reached almost 100 degrees F each day. Were they rising in the heat... no. In the evening and in the shade though, I was lucky enough to see these big guys taking dries off the surface.
The bugs were similar to parts of the U.S. Little olives and sulphurs. Spinners at dark and Caddisflies bopping around like they do in the USA as well.
The biggest learning curve for me was casting. I can cast a dry fly. However, I rarely make long UPSTREAM casts. As we were walking through the wild growth down to the water I was informed that I would be making upstream casts to these fish. My heart sank a little... Literally weeks before I was making extremely long, DOWNSTREAM casts to big browns on the Delaware and catching them. The difference here was that these wild browns are extremely wily and clever. Anything spooks them; anything.
There's something special about that. There's something amazing about even the small browns carefully inspecting your fly in crystal clear water before deciding not to eat it.
The water was gin clear and I saw many a brown trout refuse (and several eat) my fly. On the first night I was lucky enough to see one of these big fish rising. You should have seen the tail on this thing! OMG. He said how lucky I was to see this guy at this time. I told him I felt lucky just fly fishing in Spain! Another thing I learned was the difference between "optimal conditions" vs. "the conditions." I had been checking the weather for weeks before my trip and I knew that the high air temps would mean evening only dry fly action, if that.
Fly fishing conditions are rarely "optimal" or "ideal", but that doesn't mean fish can't be caught. The fish are there and it's up to us to catch them, no matter the conditions. Although I had traveled all that way (5,200 miles!) to fish, I knew that the conditions weren't "ideal." Luckily for me, that didn't matter. Just being there was fantastic and my expectations were realistic. I have fished a few days in my life, so I have become a realist on the river.
In the picture below, you can see a rise, but it looks like more of a splash. I was actually casting to a smaller fish to his right, but he saw my line in mid-air and spooked. It was then I knew the challenge I faced. Hooking a big guy was not going to be easy.
Casting upstream was difficult for me because at first my leader was too short (9 foot), which lead to more fly line being dragged in the water below me, which in turn led to more casts in order to get that fly line in the air. Dealing with all of that line was frustrating because long casts were required.
My guide got my stubborn self to realize that a longer leader was going to be the ticket and it worked. Once I was able to get a leader to fit my rod I was able to more easily cast a long distance without dealing with the issues I was facing on night number one.
I did catch a few smaller fish on the first night and even though I wasn't scheduled to fish the following evening, I did. After one night out I was so focused on learning and getting better on a foreign (literally) river, that going out the next night was inevitable. :)
We fished several different spots and I had more shots at bigger fish with no takes. Obviously the bigger fish were going to be even pickier. On night #2 there were four big guys rising right next to each other under a tree limb. Now, I had learned from the smaller fish that as soon as they get hooked they swim to their home. Home for many of these big browns is under the bank. So, as these four hogs were eating spinners with reckless abandon I got a take (on my fly I might add). The power of this fish was immense and he took me right to the bank. This is not a big river so they have a lot of structure to swim toward (or into) in order to become unhooked.
I got him out of the bank, but as he headed downstream I had too much pressure on my 6x tippet and I got snapped off. It happened and was all over in a matter of seconds. Sometimes that's fly fishing, but to feel the power of a "medium" big guy (22-24 incher) was worth it.
The 3rd night the window of fishing was even shorter and I had a HUGE brown refuse my dry under a tree (one of the hardest casts I have ever made). He didn't eat, but when I saw him swim back for it I thought it was on! Unfortunately my offering was not perfect. Maybe next time...
I achieved my goal of hunting and hooking a big fish and even though I didn't get to see him up close I was OK with it. Showing up to such a special river and upping my dry fly casting game was important. The things I learned were invaluable and since I have been back in Colorado I caught a nice brown on a long upstream cast. I want to keep practicing that technique so when I return to Spain I'll be able to cast, hook, and land one of the big guys.
I didn't take that many pictures and I'm actually happy about that. It's an incredible fishery with special quarry that will live on in my memory forever.
Contact Ekaitz @fishing.emotions on Instagram if you're interested in a unique fly fishing experience in Spain. He was funny, passionate, informative, and extremely helpful. He loves fly fishing and he loves that river.
Lesson of the Blog: If you ever fish with a guide, listen. I have talked with enough guides to know that although this seems obvious, it isn't always the case. Clients have their own agenda and sometimes they only care about catching fish and getting "that" picture of a big fish. If you listen and take in everything a guide trip has to offer, you're experience will be that much better. Also, work on your precision when casting. Mine improved in three nights, but to catch the biggest and best fish, an absolutely perfect cast is required.
Until next time (my end of summer trip to Montana!), tight lines my friends.
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