Cariba Sol Guided Carp and Catfishing Trips To The Ebro /Catch Reports/ fishing for carp or catfish fishing in mequinenza/ guided tours fishing for carp and catfish in aragon and caspe

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Tony Toffolo, Olley Bentley and Lee Wakeling booked their 1st trip with Cariba Sol (5 days) although it was not Tony & Olly´s 1st trip to the Ebro. We fished the 1st night and day on a favoured swim on the Segre. There was no action and the water flow began to speed up, so we packed up and drove to Chiprana on the top lake. Our 1st full day produced 3 catfish one of which was a PB for Olley at 97lb. The second day was very slow and we only banked 1 cat. The 3rd day produced the biggest cat and 2 smaller ones .Carp were caught steadily throughout the 3 days we fished at Chiprana and all 3 Anglers caught PB Carp, two of the three had PB Catfish. Tony who organised the trip failed to beat his PB Cat which still stands at 114lb.

When 67 yr old Ken Oxley and 61 yr old Dennis Pitts booked their 1 week trip they had no idea what they´d let themselves in for! They thought it was deck chair out, cast a rod 10m in front and wait. Now of course , they know better.They were taken to the same swim Steve had fished successfully a week earlier. But this time Steve was armed with a 40kilo sack of maize and his cooking pot in readiness for some daytime carp fishing! We set up just before nightfall and were soon into the cats. Ken was 1st up on the rods and was amazed at the power of a big fish he had hooked. After playing it for 20 mins he was snapped up just as we were about to land it. Just before midnight another rod screamed off and Den grabbed it! This time after a long fight Dennis banked his 1st big cat weighing in at 118lb. During the days we fished for carp and although the biggest caught was only 27lb the quantity and quality of the carp(including a couple of fully scaled mirrors) was more than enough to keep them happy! Seriously heavy rain poured down and ruined the fishing for 1 day! The lads decided to head back to the comfort of the apartment while Steve and Dio held the swim!! After the rain stopped so did the bites, so we packed up and moved to the Top lake at Chiprana for what was going to be our last 2 days and nights. The 1st day was a busy one! We had 10 runs and banked 6 fish up until midnight! The biggest was 114lb and the smallest 35lb. This action took its toll on the lads who had coped well in this difficult swim that involved a rock climb down to the water! By the last day, dodgey ankles and sore knees were rife! So they decided they had caught more than enough fish and were happy to pack up and head home earlier than planned.

Steve needed a vehicle driven to Mequinenza and who better to ask than his brother Richard. Payment was 3 days fishing for Richard who although is a keen fisherman,had never fished for cats before! We arrived late so the 1st night we set up in Mequinenza. By morning we had not had a touch so decided to move before getting settled. We drove to a favoured swim up river from Mequinenza on the Segre. We were soon getting takes on live baits and banked a couple kittens before nightfall. Once darkness fell Richard Banked his 1st big catfish at 102lb. We had 2 more takes during the night but failed to hook them. The following night(our last night) was the best. We had more small cats followed by 2 more decent fish. The 1st was banked by Richard at 120lb The 2nd by Steve at 146lb. The swim was busy with carp but we were not prepared for carp fishing. Next time we will make sure we have plenty of Maize to chuck in!

Cariba Sol regular Andy Balchin phoned Steve to get a last minute Solo deal. He booked a long weekend trip to the Ebro (his third trip with us).There were only two provisos from Steve for this last minute deal.One was that he could fish with his 2 rods himself and the other that Steve could bring along his new co guide (and new puppy) Diablo! Andy agreed and flights were booked. We arrived in Mequinenza on Friday morning to hear that the river was not fishing very well due to the snow melt in the mountains constantly changing the temperature of the water. Andy ( an experienced catfisherman) was desperate to catch some carp so we went to a favoured swim on the Ebro which was a deep water swim. We got some bait out and fished for carp with all 4 rods. Andy banked a mid double as evening approached, this was our first fish and the signs were not good. We had a few runs during the night but lost them all on a big snag in the swim. Saturday saw the weather change and a strong uncomfortable wind began to blow. At times we were holding onto our bivvies even though they were pegged down well! The day only produced another small carp but as night fell our luck changed for the better. Steve had a screamer and soon realised a cat had picked up his single hook bait! After a 30 minute battle on 18lb main line he banked an 89lb cat. Later that night Andy banked a 25lb common.Sunday was another windy day but turned out to be a memorable one! Andy noticed large numbers of silver fish spawning by the bank under overhanging trees. We also kept hearing catfish surface in the same area. We put out a float rod and soon caught several small fish to use as live bait. Steve set up a cat rod and put out a drifting live bait. Within minutes he had a take from a small cat which was just 18lb but now we were onto something! Andy had the next go on the rod and was elated to hook into a proper fish of 105lb. We managed to bank 6 cats in all making the trip very worth while. Unfortunately we ran out of live baits. 6 of them caught us fish and the seventh was stolen by a local moggy which was annoying as we´d had a take with each bait we put out on the one cat rod! The carp were slower to take the bait but Andy rounded his trip off perfectly with a 36lb PB an hour before we packed up to head for the airport!

For the 2nd year running spanish residents John and Martin booked a long weekend trip to the Ebro. When we arrived in Mequinenza on Thursday morning, it was bitter cold! There was a freezing fog which delayed us rowing baits out (for fear of being lost at sea)!!!. We opted for putting a PVA bag on each carp rod and casting out into the heavy fog. Suprisingly we were soon rewarded with 3 Mid doubles and later a stunning 32lb common. We got the 2 cat rods out by mid afternoon but they remained silent for the next 24 hours! During the next 48 hours we had plenty of action on the Carp rods although quite a few were lost on snags. There were only 2 more 20´s caught. A 27 and A 29. On the 2nd day at around 2pm We finally had some movement on A Cat rod. It was not a fierce take like we would normally expect but after 10 minutes the fish woke up and began to fight properly. It battled for 30 minutes before we were able to see the fish and what a great sight it was! An Albino mix which weighed in at 131lb! The Cat rods were silent for the remaining 24 hours. We packed up on Sunday before heading back south.

For 61 year old Pete Johnson and his friend Colin Hockenhull, the thought of bivvying up at El Dique on the top lake this time of year was chilling! But the weather turned out to be perfect during the day and just a little bit chilly in the early hours of the morning. We arrived Friday morning and had the rods out by Mid day. We put out a sack of pellet for the 4 cat rods and had 2 Carp rods out. The carp although plentyful were mainly mid doubles but we managed to bank three 20´s the biggest being 27 and a half pounds. but they kept us busy while waiting for the Cats! We had 5 cats on during the three days and nights we fished. Pete managed a PB of 149lb. Colin had the biggest fish of 165lb and Steve their guide banked a 138lb. We packed up Monday morning and headed for home smiling!

For the 2nd year running Andy Balchin and brother Nick were back to improve on last year´s results. Unfortunately their dad and oldest brother Matt could not make the trip this year,so they brought along Deano instead to sample catfishing for the 1st time! The trip started slowly. We set up in a swim on the Ebro at Mequinenza. It was tucked away so night fishing was not a problem. We fished the same spot for 3 days and nights but only had carp to just over 20lb, The Cat rods had just one half take the 1st night and that was it. We packed up and moved to(El Dique) the top lake. It didn´t take long for the rods to start bending! First up Andy had a 106lb Cat. Then Deano lost a big cat after playing it for 10 minutes. Nick then banked a 112lb. The following day another 3 were caught then on the last day there was CARNAGE! 11 Cats(5 over the 100lb mark) and 2 Carp. The biggest was banked by the new boy Deano 146lb. Nick´s best was a 142lb and Andy did not beat his record set last year at 132lb so had to settle for a 112lb. The total haul in just 3 days was 15 catfish (8 over 100lb) weighing a total of 1510lb

The fishing in Mequinenza during April and May this year,was the worst i can rememeber! Firstly the very unstable weather made things tough during April. Then when May arrived the Cats wanted to spawn but again unstable water temperatures dragged the spawning period out for over a month! Even when we left on the 28th May the fishing was far from back to normal on the Segre and Ebro in Mequinenza! The only good fishing was Carp fishing. We had loads of nice commons that all LOOKED big until we weighed them! When we thought they were a 30 ,they were a late 20. When we thought they were a 40 they were just a mid 30? Again recent spawning was to blame for this! However the top lake catfish HAD spawned and so every guide and their auntie headed for Caspe or Chiprana!!! I have never seen so many fishing the top lake and so few fishing in Mequinenza!

After phone calls from their guide warning them not to expect the same frantic fishing they experienced 7months earlier the 2 lads arrived resigned to the fact that this session was going to be more like they were accustomed to in the UK. They bought a large quantity of pellet to increase their chances but the Finca swim was only producing nice Carp. After 2 slow days We decided to give it a try on the top lake at Chiprana! Which turned out to be a great move! We had 16 runs in 8 hours of fishing producing 8 catfish (4 over the 100lb mark)!! At one point we had 4 runs on the trot which even led to their guide Steve catching one that just happened to be the biggest at 142lb! The day soon ended and the decision to pack up and go was a big mistake! We got to the swim early the next day to find it taken! We found another swim and piled in the bait but only got the one 50lb Cat on the bank that day. We finished the rest of the week at the Finca which only produced one more catfish of 87lb but the Carp kept us amused and Chez Chapman did land a PB of 35lb 8oz.

This 5 day trip was a chance for some old friends to catch up! Dave Marvel, John Hale,Steve Adcock who all live in the UK arranged this trip to catch up with the forth member of the group,an old friend Will Wicherley who immigrated to Canada several years back.The lads were also warned that the fishing was not going well and so were not expecting too much! However because of the lack of Catfish, the carp were giving us plenty of action. We were finding it hard to get hold of live baits so resorted to catching small carp,roach and rudd ourselves to put on a live bait rig! The first two days went without a bite on the cat rods so we put a small carp on a live bait rod which paid dividends and banked John Hale 92lb personal best! Steve Adcock lost what looked like a 40-50lb cat just as it was about to be landed! There were also 2 kittens caught around the 15lb-20lb mark. Sadly none of the lads broke the 100lb mark! But they did manage to drink at least 100 litres of beer and wine while they talked about the good old days! They will be back!!!

This trip was only a 76 hr session arranged at short notice by 3 friends. John and Martin aleady live in Spain and the other Del, flew in from London (Ryanair 70 €uros return)! We put out four cat rods(at distance)and four carp rods. We chatted to other fisherman to discover that the carping (normally good this time of year) was really slow. This proved to be so as they only had 4 runs on the carp rods producing just 1 fish of 18lb throughout the session! However the catfishing was MUCH Better!! Once darkness fell it was just before midnight when we had our 1st run. This resulted in 1st up on the rods Martin Walters banking a Personal best 145lb Catfish. There was no more action until the following night. At around 8pm we had the 2nd cat run of the trip. Unfortunately this one was lost a a snag. Later the same night at around Midnight we had our 3rd run. This time Del Sinfield landed a PB 125lb! Just an hour later at around 2am John Brooks,after a long hard fight banked the biggest fish of the trip! This beast weighed in at 156lb! Now all the clients had a smile on their faces and were not put off by the fact that the carp were not biting.The last night was quiet as far as cats were concerned. Although they did eventually bank their 1st carp. Monday morning arrived too soon. The rods were packed away in time to get Del back to Zaragoza airport for mid day.

This trip was booked by two pairs of anglers Chez and Paul from Croydon along with Tony from Southern Spain and his friend Stuart who flew in from London. After introductions were made both pairs of anglers got to know each other as we drove the 3 and a half hours from Madrid to Mequinenza. The rods were in the water by 7pm. But a strong wind blew up just before midnight forcing us to reel in all the distance rods. Just a couple of carp rods were left in the margins. One of these took off at 4am and a large carp was lost. Fortunately by this time the wind had dropped enough for us to row out a few cat rods.This turned out to be a good move as within 4 hours of putting the rods out, Tony Mills banked a personal best Catfish of 97lb. Unfortunately this swim became unfishable due to the amount of weed that was floating down the river. So we moved around the corner onto the River Segre. Within a few hours Chez Chapman had landed a 145lb(PB) and an 84lb Cat that had both picked up a single hook baits on his carp rods! He did well to bank these using only a 31/2 lb Shimano Ultegra carp rod and18lb ESP mono line!!

In the early hours of the next morning.Paul Collins banked a 157lb PB (the biggest fish of the week)! We fought a battle against weed for the next 24 hours before deciding to give up and move to the top lake near Caspe. The 4 Anglers on advice from their guide Steve decided to bulk buy a large amount of bait to get a new swim on the feed. The decision paid dividends as the lads were soon into fish. In fact after a few hours it was non stop action! We had double takes,triple takes and the rods were even being taken as we were rowing them back to the pod!! The remaining 3 days produced another 42 fish. 5 of which were 100lb plus,the biggest being 128lb!


Lee with his PB catfish of 157lb	Olley´s PB Catfish of 97lb	---Another PB for Olley! This time a stunning 30 1/2lb Common from the top lake	Tony´s PB Common Carp of 27lb


Ken´s biggest fish and PB 114lb	Den Pitts biggest & PB 118lb	---A nice Segre common of 27lb	A stunning fully scaled Mirror


Martin Walters 131lb Albino mix	A nice winter fish	Steve took a run on the Carp rods to net this 32lb Common	Sunset at Mequinenza


Pete Johnson´s PB 149lb	Colin Hockenhull with the biggest of the trip. A PB 165lb	Steve was given a take on the rods and banked this138lb	1 of only three 20´s on the trip


Nick Balchin Playing a big Catfish	3 Big Cats sat on the mat! 146lb 120lb and 106lb	Nick Balchin,s 120lb!	Dean Mc Nally´s PB 146lb


Paul Collins into a cat posing for camera	3 takes at once resulted in one lost and these 2 banked	Steve´s take was the biggest of the day at 142lb	Chez still managed a PB Carp of 35lb 8oz


John Hale PB 92lb	Steve Adcock with a 29lb Common	Dave Marvel with one of many 20´s	Is it the beer or the fish that´s making them smile?


		John Brooks 156lb PB	Martin Walters 145lb PB	Derrick Sinfield125lb PB


Paul Collins 157lb PB	Chez Chapman 145lb PB	Stuart Gordon 108lb PB	Tony Mills 97lb PB