marcustackley Posted January 17, 2007 Report Share Posted January 17, 2007 I'm after some unbiased 'client' based feedback on the various guides out on the Ebro. I've fished big rivers across Europe and the US for the past 6 yeards but this is my first trip to the Ebro. I've visited all the websites and spoken to most of the guides or their respective companies but there's nothing like recommendations from carp anglers. If you have something good to say then post it up, I guess in the interest of fairness if you weren't happy you could PM me with your thoughts - it'll go no further. For my first trip I want pre-baited swims or use of a boat, I don't want to be charged a hundred quid for an airport pick up ( as I might as well hire a car and fish it myself) and I don't want a guide sitting on my shoulder all day, just a pointer to a spot that produces and left to my own devices. Any info out there gents would be greatly appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachcomber_bar_mojacar Posted January 18, 2007 Report Share Posted January 18, 2007 Hi Marcus.You dont say what species you are after but I'm guessing Catfish as you want a prebaited swim. Maybe you could confirm as it matters when suggesting a company or individual to help you,all the best, John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcustackley Posted January 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 Sorry - carp primarily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachcomber_bar_mojacar Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 Hello again Marcus. If you dont mind quite a few Cats then prebaiting is fine but my best "Carp only" sessions have come without any.Other good sessions have come from being 100 or so yards downstream of Cat anglers. Dont get me wrong big Carp run with big Cats and the 30 and 40lb plus's get caught regularly by Cat anglers.On 100lb line and 7lb TC rods of course but the fish still got caught.You will of course have to put up with catching a lot of fish you are not angling for. Decisions eh? It sounds to me you wouldnt be happy with the fully inclusive guiding companys but im sure even they will cater for you.Companys such as Catfish Capers and individual guides like Big Ron and Jason Latham.My experience of the former two come from recommendations from friends,people I have met on the Ebro and comments on Web Forums. Jason who is based in Mequienza I have a little more personal experience of though Ive never been guided as such.He I think would suit you if you want the biggest Carp as Mequi is where most live.You will have to put with possibly some horrendous snags and flowing weed. Mike Ward who has become a friend over the last 18 months sounds,under the circumstances of your comments your answer.He and his wife Gill will feed and water you well 24 hours a day,give you a clean bed and good company.Mike will if you wish put you on the fish and leave you to it for the session although if you are alone,what will you do when you hook a 150lb Cat in the tail,I often glove out my own cats but that senario would be nigh on impossible, a cut the line job I think. Have a chat to Mike on 0034 976634250 Best wishes,John Beachcomber.(AKA Beachcomber John) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penner1 Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 Marcus i have met a lot of the guides in my travels out there and fished socially with a couple there are some that are "sharks " excuse the pun only after your money and no service a mate fished recently with Steve Buss of carpandcatbussters.com and highly reccomends him and i have to agree have a look on oxfordcarp.com in there forum in global carp section there is a post and some picc,s which might help you decide Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachcomber_bar_mojacar Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 Marcus i have met a lot of the guides in my travels out there and fished socially with a couple there are some that are "sharks " excuse the pun only after your money and no service a mate fished recently with Steve Buss of carpandcatbussters.com and highly reccomends him and i have to agree have a look on oxfordcarp.com in there forum in global carp section there is a post and some picc,s which might help you decide Yes,sorry Penner and Marcus,I meant to mention Steve as well. Although I have yet to fish with him,some of my friends do regularly and say he is a great angler and guide,John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcustackley Posted January 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 Thanks Gents, I ended up booking with Colin at Catmasters primarily because they were just about the only company with availability. They too suggest lightly baiting but I can't get my head around this, surely with shoals numbering up to 200 fish you need to bait big to try and stop them or at least pick off 10 or so before they move through? I've fished several river systems extensively including the Seine, St Lawrence and large systems in the US and to stop the shoal and take some big hits I've needed to boat (or on some miserable ocassions!) spod up to 100lb of maize - is the Ebro different? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachcomber_bar_mojacar Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 Yes Marcus the Ebro is different.Bring your rule book and throw it in the nearest bin. Heavily baiting will work but you will have to graft your way through the cats,the more bait you put in the more you will catch.This I do agree will bring in some big carp too but working your way through the Cats will be hard. A way out for you may be to bait heavily and get what Carp you cAN OUT OF A SWIM AND WHEN THE CATS MOVE IN AFTER TWO DAYS, MOVE AND DO THE SAME AGAIN.THis has worked for me when Carp fishing with Cat anglers. Bloody caps,sorry,John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcustackley Posted January 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 John - interesting mate - when you say graft your way through the cats, is that inevitable regardless of whether you bait with maize, seeds, or boilies? I'm really not interested in cats, is there a way to avoid them or lessen the chances you have of catching them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penner1 Posted January 20, 2007 Report Share Posted January 20, 2007 Marcus i take it you have booked the unguided carp package you will be picked up in the morning and dumped for the day in a swim of there choice and you don,t get a boat so i hope you are good at spodding and the river can be up to 500mtrs wide depending on where you fish the best way of tackling the carp is like you say large beds of maize to try and stop them and pick a few off before they move on a boat and echo sounder make life so much easier as you can find the depth they are feeding at and there are considerable differences in depth 7 to 60ft and plenty of snags in some of the swims no wonder they say bait lightly as they don,t supply maize only pellets and boillies you can buy these cheaper in the tackle shops and if you use too many pellets you will attract the cats into your swim and they may stay all day keeping the carp out most of the big hits on the carp you read about have come from pre baited swims that have had large amounts of maize 100kg,s + over a few days before your arrival maize is dirt cheap out there but you need someone to prepare it for you in advance the other problem is keeping your swim as in the busy times there are a lot of anglers cruising around looking for the hot swims and think nothing of grabbing your swim in the night if you have any other questions ask away m8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcustackley Posted January 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2007 Thanks Penner - we've booked a guided carp package but I'm hiring a car so I can move if needs be. I'm used to fishing big rivers and we spodded out 600lb maize at the last world carp championships so the hardwork doesn't worry us. I've been told you can buy pre-soaked maize - is this not true? Can you night fish on private land? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penner1 Posted January 20, 2007 Report Share Posted January 20, 2007 Marcus didn,t know he did a guided carp package a sign of the times maybe hiring a car is a good idea at least you are not dependant on anyone as nothing gets done fast in spain and you can move quickly if needs be perhaps he has listened to the complaints from his customers who don,t want to fish with sbs boilies /pellets / groundbait and has started doing prepared maize you can only legally fish for the carp from 6am till 1hr after dark even on private land and there is a fair chance you will be visited by the Guardia at some stage who know the difference between catfish gear and carp gear and will confiscate your tackle if caught breaking the rules be warned you can sleep on the bank under brolly type shelters but not bivvies with a ground sheet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcustackley Posted January 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2007 great info Penner, thanks for this. I have extremely reliable info that there are other spots further down stream near Fayon and on the uper lake that produce but aren't subject the pressure on the Segre junction from every man and his spanish dog so w'll go in search if we have to - thanks for your opinions Marcus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
691785 Posted February 2, 2007 Report Share Posted February 2, 2007 quick question for any who fishes the ebro fairly regualry is the month of july a bad month to due to trying to cope with the heat? i go to madrid in august and its really hot theres no chance u could fish all day in tht! is it th same for the ebro in july? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachcomber_bar_mojacar Posted February 3, 2007 Report Share Posted February 3, 2007 quick question for any who fishes the ebro fairly regualry is the month of july a bad month to due to trying to cope with the heat? i go to madrid in august and its really hot theres no chance u could fish all day in tht! is it th same for the ebro in july? I've fished the Ebro for two weeks during July and another two in August and yes its tough but the fishing is good so you have to make your choice,John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachcomber_bar_mojacar Posted February 3, 2007 Report Share Posted February 3, 2007 I have extremely reliable info that there are other spots further down stream near Fayon Fayon is less pressured to the point I left tackle etc (Openly) hidden near my swim from September 2005 to May 2006 and nobody went near.You can tell when someone has fished your swim and nobody did during that time. Problem is the snags.(Whole flooded towns) No matter how good an angler you are I think the amount of good fish lost is not worth it.There are too many Cats and Carp with my rigs attached to them. John. P.S. Back to a previous question,groundbaiting with baits such as Maize and other particles will delay the arrival of the Cats but it is the activity from Carp feeding which will also bring in the Moggies....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penner1 Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 Just found this on youtube Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catman1 Posted March 12, 2007 Report Share Posted March 12, 2007 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ivs4phlaAJ0 well i have just foun¡d these then what a suprise that is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-VbTKzGEps and i beleive there is a lot more where that came from Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penner1 Posted March 12, 2007 Report Share Posted March 12, 2007 stick up then m8 give us all another laugh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catwoman Posted March 13, 2007 Report Share Posted March 13, 2007 Hi Guys We've had a brilliant few weeks down in Mekki with a nice 48.5lb carp netted by a couple of first time visitors to the Ebro. Weather was bright with warm sunshine and T shirts were off in early March ! See some great pics and read all about it. www.ebrocatncarp.com/fantastic-forties.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catman1 Posted March 14, 2007 Report Share Posted March 14, 2007 pre baited swims and the choice to roam and fish where you want . only good advice and maybe a boat to access some of the dificult ares just for the carp. and the oportunity to fish for some other species if you choose to. bait tackle and well basicaly anyhting you choose. if you also fancy a day out on a quad or sailing or even paintballing canoeing or archery then you can have a day off from catching all those big lumps. this is what i can offer. so i hope that your choice where ever you go is the right one with no unbiased mood swings from frustrated people. tight lines and good luck you will need it mate i would like to just add one more thing if you do decide to go with a guide then you ask for the following. this will be a guide for many other people as well as follows. residencia number this is to verify permission to work in spain most guides have one insurances and who there with what skippers licence they have if there boat is over 4mts and there engone is 13.05hp or more .also there numbers on the boats should corespond with spainish numbers after all your in spain not regiusterd then dont go with them and dont be fooled and convinced otherwise . also you should receive receipts for anythign you pay for from a valid and authorised company the baots numbers if they are rental should start with 6a if there not rental boats then they will start with 7a if they are fishing boats not for public use then either 3a or 5a folowed by there regional numbers ta is tarragoano and so on i hope this will give you an insight i d¡mention this simply because of a recent accident on the river involving an illegal guide who is in priosn after hitting a treeflaoting in the river and two of the three people onbaord fell out near fatal no insurance no licences for the baot no skipers licence and th boat was over 4mts long no insurances .simply because if you do not have a spanish number on your boat then you cannot obatin a spanish insurance. yes if your baot has english numbers your baot will be registerd in england usable for bussines there. also if you hire a boat over 4mts you yourself will require a licence to drive a boat. this outlines the guradia civils ongoing search for illegal workers as this accident has alerted them to the amount of companys not paying there way. only a few but still. I hope this true and unbiast opinion will help you make the right choice and help any anglers to experience a relaxing holiday stress free and knowing they are in fully experienced and profesional hands. but more importantly catch some big fish. good luck and tight lines. you can look up peolle like colin bunn where his company is fully registerd or my self you simply phone the local authrotys and ask them there are more like the bavarian camp for whos services have been know for a long time. but we are all legal and paying our way trying to keep our kids fed and our wifes happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catwoman Posted March 14, 2007 Report Share Posted March 14, 2007 Some very valid points raised by Catman1. I would also add, ensure you know how many hours guiding per day, you are paying for before you book. Find out exactly what is included in your price package, don't get hit with a bill for unexpected 'extras' on your way back to the airport. Good outfits will be happy for you to chat to previous customers and happy customers will be pleased to share their experiences and recommendations. The Ebro is amazingly diverse, and Riba Roja, Mequinenza, and Caspe each offer something different, wherever you go, the big fish are definitely there for the catching ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penner1 Posted March 20, 2007 Report Share Posted March 20, 2007 Her's a link to the site got lots of local info as well http://www.mequinensa.com/es/turisme/establimentsturistics.asp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
691785 Posted March 21, 2007 Report Share Posted March 21, 2007 I have just booked my trip to the ebro for the end of june. I have fished the river in september last year can i expect the same type of river conditions etc. By this i mean will the flow be the same and will there be the same amount of weed as there was a lot last time. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachcomber_bar_mojacar Posted March 24, 2007 Report Share Posted March 24, 2007 I have just booked my trip to the ebro for the end of june. I have fished the river in september last year can i expect the same type of river conditions etc. By this i mean will the flow be the same and will there be the same amount of weed as there was a lot last time. thanks Depends where you are fishing but the river will have a lot more water in it (Above Mequi) and so there wont be much flow and there is normally no weed anyway. I suspect you are fishing below the Segre and Ive not managed to pin down when the weed does or doesnt come down, its very patchy,John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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