DAY 1: EXTREMADURA FISHING TRIP
Before our three-day guided fishing trip on Lake Orellana in Extremadura, Spain, my father and I decided to explore the shores of a small nearby pond ("charco") that I had managed to find through a video from the youtubber Bar d'Ecume...
Fishing in a pond ("charco") and already a nice 46cm bass!
A "charco," a kind of small pond used for irrigating crops, but it can also hold some very nice fish.
"These ponds are often good for fishing because they are usually not very deep, and thanks to their small size, it is easier to get in front of the fish and trigger them."
A short 1-hour session resulted in a beautiful 46cm bass caught on the surface with a popper, providing an exciting fight.
The real fishing day starts now!
Up at 7 AM, heading to "Velero," a Spanish bar that serves "tostada" (toast with olive oil and tomato) just overlooking the boat launch. We had just enough time to devour a tostada con cafe con leche when Jayson, our guide for the next three days, had already arrived with his magnificent bright yellow Nitro Z9.
After getting to know each other, we headed to the first bass fishing spots using the Wacky technique. It's an extremely simple technique in theory, involving a worm hooked in the middle with a single hook, cast out, and allowed to sink slowly, hoping that a bass will inhale it on the way down.
"Fishing with the Wacky technique is quite technical because the bass won't always swim away with the worm; they may just stay in place, which doesn't always allow the angler to set the hook properly at the right moment. As a result, there are quite a few lost fish!"
Furthermore, we are using very light gear, a 2-10 gram rod with a 2000-size reel and very thin braid, which makes the fight and especially the hookset quite delicate.
The most technical part is actually the hookset because you can't set the hook "as usual," otherwise, the line breaks instantly, but you also need to set the hook firmly to penetrate the mouths of bass, which are quite tough.
After a few fishless hours, Jayson takes us to fish under the pillars of a bridge with the Nitro Shad, trying to target zander close to the bottom, but still, nothing! It's already 11 a.m., and with not a single fish in the boat, time is starting to drag.
Before heading for lunch, Jayson suggests going back to Wacky fishing in the back of a lake where the underwater grass has already started to grow. The spot is truly beautiful and perfect for Wacky fishing, but the fish appear quite lethargic, and we only manage to catch two small 30 cm bass...
An afternoon turned out to be much better...
After a lunch break filled with fishing stories shared with other Extremadura Monster customers, we decided to take a break from bass and switch to targeting zander in hopes of getting some strikes.
"Very quickly, using the Nitro Shad with a very slow and close-to-the-bottom retrieve, we started to catch fish, including some decent zander. It was a good start to our trip, but I was still hoping for more and especially for some big bass!"
During the afternoon, we changed spots several times because the fish were biting well from the first casts, but their activity gradually waned. Nevertheless, we managed to catch about ten zander, with one nice fish measuring 75 cm, caught near a rock.
In summary, this first day was quite challenging (as catching about ten zander in Extremadura isn't extremely glorious), but I'm still very happy. We caught fish, experienced the adrenaline rush of light tackle fishing, learned new techniques, and explored an amazing environment.
I hope that tomorrow will be a better day, and this time, the big Spanish bass will be out in force...
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