If you are a regular reader of Carp Fisher you will remember my Marco Polo series of articles where I took you travelling with me in search of carp from several different countries. Well in this article I’d like you to travel again with me down to sunny Spain, and the mighty River Ebro system which starts its life in the Cantabria Mountains of northern Spain and then travels east between the Pyrenees in the north and the Iberian Mountains in the south. It’s the longest river in Spain and flows for some 565 miles, before it enters the Balearic Sea of the Mediterranean.  I don’t know if it’s true, but I've been told you can catch carp in the area were it flows in to the sea!

The River itself cuts through coastal ranges in a series of spectacular gorges, which prohibit seagoing vessels travelling upstream further than the city of Tortosa, some 22 miles from the river's mouth. I have heard plans that this passage back up the river is going to be extended in the very near future and it may be possible to travel up to Mequineza, an area I know very well.

The River Ebro is mainly associated with its huge catfish - however it holds some enormous carp too, with fish reported to seventy pounds. I've seen fish to well over the forty-pound mark and when I was there catfishing with my son Lee and friend Tony Davies Patrick, he said he had seen them much bigger… and I don't doubt his word. As yet, I've not had anyone show me a picture of any carp over fifty plus, but they are certainly present.

The cats in this section of river once thrived on the small carp that used to be there in abundance. But as the big cats have feasted on them, the small carp, which are mostly commons and fish in the 3 to 12lb bracket, have had their numbers drastically reduced, leaving only the much bigger carp. They fight like crazy and you can expect to catch plenty of twenty and thirty pound-plus fish at Mequineza. As they are now caught on a regular basis, the potential for a real whackers to come out is there and it's only a question of time before we see what this area really contains.

An article on the Ebro would never be complete without reference to its monstrous catfish. For those that didn't know, there are approximately 2500 different types of catfish throughout the world, I believe, varying in size from species as small as one inch, with fish reported up to 15 feet at the other end of the scale. The largest species is the Wells Catfish, Latin name Silurus Glanis. This is the species that inhabit the Ebro and a 200 lbs+ fish is on the cards there, if not already been caught and kept quiet. I have been informed that they grow to over 700lbs in Russia.

On the Continent, the Wells is known by several names. In Germany it is called the Waller, in France it is the Silure and in Russia as Ssum or Sheatfish.

The Wells catfish is a scale-less slimy fish (very slimy) which can vary in shade according to the water colour. There are also a few albinos present in this area and I have been lucky enough to have one, when fishing with the German camp set up over there on the river’s edge.

When fishing over there for carp or cats, as I always state on the many web forums I post on, location is of primary importance. If you can't find the fish, then there is really no point sitting in a swim because it looks nice or feels comfortable and waiting for them to come to you!! As on a river they could literally be miles away. Therefore an echo sounder is very necessary in my opinion so you can understand all the features in your swim, plus measure the depth of water you are planning to fish in. Don't stop in a swim too long if you are not seeing signs of fish. It will pay to move on as it is a big stretch of river and the fish can be holed up anywhere.

Tackle wise, for the carp, I will say what I usually say – up-grade your tackle when fishing abroad and be sure it is adequate for the job. PVA bags of pellets worked well for me last trip, fishing a large hook bait over them, 15 lb line and size 2 hooks. You don’t want to hook in to a big fish, only to lose it because your tackle is not up to it.

For the cats, there are several methods, the effective 'Buoy method', the clonk spinning and ledgering, all methods will take cats of 100lb plus fish on a regular basis. Tackle required will be multipliers or the big 6500 bait runners, sea style rods like Uptiders being my choice.
Another area you will need to keep in mind is the climate, as the strong sun can have devastating effects on you at certain times of the year. November to April, are the cooler months, with it really getting hot in June, July and August, so if the heat does affect you, be warned, as some of the areas you will fish will leave you cooking in the middle of the day from the powerful sun.

The scenery is absolutely breathtaking as the river runs through the rugged mountainous region. As it passes through the wild terrain it meets the large hydro-electric dams that have been built and this has then produced some very large reservoirs full of huge cat fish, carp, zander and bass. The wildlife is amazing, as the river Ebro is like an oasis drawing in hundreds of varieties of beautiful birds to the area such as the hoopoe, bee-eaters, golden orioles, shrikes, egrets and storks. There is also an array of birds of prey which you will see, such as the griffon vulture, many varieties of eagles including the golden eagle, and the beautiful song of the nightingale can be heard all night long.

So if you fancy a trip to the beautiful River Ebro why not join us on one of our guided trips.

Big Ron Woodward