Mojacar Angling Club (Almeria,Spain) [Archive]

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

23-08-2005, 15:49

Mojacar Angling Club (MAC) News

Inshore fishing on Mikes boat this week has produced only small fish but they are fairly plentiful,Wrasse,Dorada,Weavers,Flatties,Red Bream and various (Perch look-a-likes ) Rockfish.Trigger fish have not shown themselves since Mike caught a dustbin lid sized one last week.There are lots of Flying Fish being seen now which must be a good sign (We hope)

Beach fishing is still poor although some members report catches of Sea Bass,Dorada and Pompano (Dart fish) and a large Stingray from the Indalo Hotel.

Very important notice for those anglers that have "Class 1 " fishing licences from the ministry in Almeria.
It appears that "Aguas Interiors" (Interior Waters) and "Pesca Desde Tierra" (Fishing from the Land) on the licence form doesnt mean course fishing,only sea fishing from the land ie beach,rocks marina arms.Shame the Spanish woman at the ministry didnt know this when asked.The actual licence states "Licencia de Pesca Maritima de Recreo de Class 1".(Sea Fishing from the land)
"Class 2" is for boat fishing only.
"Class 3" is only available to legal charter boats.
"Class 4" is for spear fishing by snorkling (Not Aqualung)

MAC's Girl Friday has spent a few exhaustive days visiting offices in Almeria and telephoning others in many parts of Spain.
Yesterday I received my temporary Andalucian course fishing licence which should have been validated today when the fee was paid at the bank.Yesterday the bank's computer was down or the site was not working.Today it appears I am the first non Spaniard to get as far through the new maze to actually apply for one,in Almeria anyway (And possibly Andalucia).The bank's head office did not know how to process a licence without a residencia and are today putting new rules or something in place to be able to do it. The Fishing Authority will send my original Andalucian fishing licence by post to the address I gave them in a few weeks time but I will be able fish with the documents and paid receipt.

To get a licence you must provide the original and a photo copy of your passport or residencia.(Girl Friday hopes that by next week the necessity for her to show the original passport/residencia will not be necessary.) You must provide the original copy of your British fishing licence (Available at a British Post office for £23 a year) and a photo copy of it.Girl Friday has already got herself out of having to provide an official Spanish translation of this licence as is being asked of others.You must also provide an original insurance certificate for "Responsabilidad Civil Del Cazador Y Pescador Limitada Este Ultima A La Pesca Deportive Con Cana Desde Tierra Firme" I bought my insurance from a company called "Vitalico125" in Almeria and a years insurance cost €23.19.
It may be the case that if you ask your Spanish household insurance company for a quote it may not cost as much.You may be able to add it to your personal liability even.

The licence fee is €30 for 5 years and includes fishing for trout and I believe anyone 65 years or over will get a lifetime licence for free.There are lesser fees for 1 or 3 years and without trout but !!!

Girl Friday will get your licence for you for only €30 plus the licence fee or you can search through the maze of Spanish fishing departments in different parts of Almeria and try to get one for yourself.Beach and boat fishing licences are a much simpler affair and I will be happy to provide and help fill in licence forms for this or again Girl Friday will get the licence for you.For further details speak to or see John at the Beachcomber Bar on Mojacar Playa 950 473 099.

MAC's September 2nd competition will not go ahead as few members have legal licences to fish.MAC fishes every Wednesday (Course) and Sunday.(Beach) and boat fishing trips on various days during the week.The next MAC competition is on Friday 7th October (Venue to be decided).

Tuesday 22nd August three 3 MAC members went to "Todo Pesca" fishing tackle shop in El Puntal, Ctra. Espinardo Tel 968 899 000,a small town North of Murcia where the owner organised Murcia course fishing licences for us.Only a photocopy of a passport or residencia is required (Photos not now needed) plus details of Spanish address including the post code which is important.A stamped and self addressed envelope would be a good way of not having to make the return trip to pick up the licences which are ready in 15 days.Cost €36 for 5 years.65 years olds that can produce a photocopy of a Spanish Pencionista Card get a lifetime licence at a reduced rate via the tackle shop.MAC is looking into how to fast track the Murcia licence without having to wait so long.

On the way back from Murcia we checked out a nice lake at Lorca and although there are only around 8 good swims, there are big Carp and Barble and the water is up to 65 feet deep.We are going back to fish it on Wednesday 7th September after picking up our licences in Murcia.For most of MAC's members it is quicker getting to some lakes in the Murcia region than for instance Baza and Guadix so Murcia licences being easy to aquire may be worthwhile especially as MAC intends having fishing days out there regularly.

John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

09-09-2005, 17:23

Mojacar Angling Club News

4 of MAC's members fishing Sunday last caught nothing from the rocks at Macenas and other than a 15 to 20lb Stingray being landed at the Indalo Hotel arm (The second big Stingray within a month) I've not heard of much else being caught in the area.

Mike on his boat out of Garrucha is still catching lots of small fish,Weavers,Flatties,Triggers,Wrasse,Dorada,Red Bream,Gurnards both Red and Brown and also a Red Snapper Scorpion Fish.He is also landing a fair few Octopus too.

Three of MAC's members fished the Lorca lake on Wednesday 7th September.The day of the storms which thankfully just about missed us.Although the lake is small with only about 8 good swims and is up to 65 feet deep,there are big fish including Carp,Barble,Pike and Zander.

Barrie from Santa Maria caught between 90 and 100 fish,Carp to 3lb and Barble to 1lb.Fishing a pole he wasn't able to play two very large fish that took off.Once his 14lb elastic was stretched to the limit his 6lb line had no chance and snapped.

I landed just 15 Carp to 1.5lb and Barble to 1lb.I fished for large fish all day using up to 2 x 20ml pellets on a hair rig and the small Carp and Barble still took them! I have learnt a lot from Barrie over the last couple of months but cant bring myself to use a pole and anyway poles are proving to be no good landing the woppers although the method hooks them well enough.I've ordered a 20 foot rod that will be used like a pole but with the added advantage of a reel attached to be able to play the big ones.(Well,you've got to be possitive havent you?)

Craig from Mojacar (Previously from Antas) caught 7 Carp to 1/2lb

We successfully picked up our Murcia fishing licences from the Murcia tackle shop and organised three other members licences for them.Due to there being few members that can legally coarse fish in Almeria or Murcia we may hold our October 7th fishing contest on the beach or more likely an arm or rocks.Please get in touch with me (John) on 950473099 for further information.

Wednesday 14th September MAC is fishing a new lake in Murcia that the tackle shop owner has recommended.

We now know for sure what is required to get both Andalucian and Murcia coarse fishing licences and I'll be happy to advise anyone that wants to be legal.Guardia in both the Granada (Including Baza and Guadix) and Murcia regions are fining people.One of MAC's members was caught without a licence and is waiting for his fine to turn up.We have also heard of not only tackle being confiscated but vehicles too and a woman was left with her two children in a car she couldn't drive when her husband was carted off to a police station.

Tight Lines,John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

16-09-2005, 14:26

Mike came in this afternoon to show me his catch which included a very unusual fish about 2 feet long and very thin.It would have weighed no more than half a pound and was similar to a Gar Fish but withouth the long snout.It was the colour of chrome and had a slim sardine type tail
Any ideas?
John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

29-09-2005, 17:26

Mojacar Angling Club News.

Mikes boat fishing trips were quite successfull last week with the usual array of small fish plus a few big Triggers and Gurnards.This week I'm pleased to report that at least one big Swordfish (Judged by Mike and his guests to weigh 100lbs) has moved in shore and was seen to jump three times and tail walk in front of his boat.Mike also caught small Tuna,again a good sign.

Sundays are as always a beach or rock fishing afternoon/early evening.Meet at the Beachcomber Bar on Mojacar Playa at 4.30pm and go from there at 5pm.4 MAC members fishing the Macenas rocks last Sunday caught nothing and I'm afraid it was another blank for me,Worm Farm Bob,Andy from Arboleas and Karaoke Craig from Mojacar.

The first Friday of every month MAC fishes a competition and the 7th October will be a beach,rock or arm fishing day depending on sea conditions.The Indalo arm seems to be offering up a few big fish and if the sea conditions permit and there arent too many people already there this could be the venue.If not then the Macenas Rocks will be the alternative as its the perfect mark for most conditions.Fishing from the beach is still proving poor as far as we know.Meet at the Beachcomber Bar at 12 noon and leave at 12.30pm.We will fish the competition from 1pm til 6pm.

4 MAC members fished a lake near Lorca on Wednesday 28th September.
Barry from Arboleas caught one small Barble and around 40 Mirror Carp to 3lb,the latter taking the days pot.
Beachcomber John (Me) also caught one small Barble and 39 Mirror Carp to 1.5lb.
Craig from Mojacar caught 4 small Mirror Carp.
Ninja Brian from Arboleas caught 12 Mirror Carp to about 1lb and 3 TURTLES and is now well in the lead for capturing MAC's "Turtle Bowl Soup Cup"

MAC coarse fishes every Wednesday and on 5th October is fishing the lake near Calasparra where we have had good days and have also lost very big Carp.Meet at the Overa Hotel before 8am at the Albox junction of the A7/E15 motorway.12th October venue is still to be decided.

MAC is organising a trip to the River Ebro for big Carp.A small Carp there is 20lb's and Catfish are to up to 212lb.We are planning to leave Mojacar Monday morning 17th October,stay for 3 or 4 nights in a hotel close to the river and local bars and restaurants.Rates €48 per night per room inc cooked breakfast.

The other costs are fuel and possibly permits if required and the dreaded licence fee which we are in the process of ordering in advance of the trip.A years licence is €9 plus €6 fee.

For further information on any of the above see John at the Beachcomber or tel 950 473 099.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

09-10-2005, 11:55

Mikes boat fishing trips were quite successfull last week with the usual array of small fish.A good sign is the 1000's of Mackeral in showls chasing small fry.Hopefully these showls are being followed by larger prey such as the Swordfish being regularly seen inshore now.

Sundays are as always a beach or rock fishing afternoon/early evening.Meet at the Beachcomber Bar on Mojacar Playa at the earlier time of 4pm and go from there at 4.30pm.5 MAC members fished Macenas Rocks on Sunday 2nd October where I landed a Black Goby and a Saddled Seabream.Junior member Tasha (8 years old) landed her first ever fish,a Black Goby.Blanking the day were Tasha's sister Sharna and dad Steve from Mojacar and Bill from Turre.

7 MAC members fished a lake near Calasparra on Wednesday 5th October.
Jim the Poacher from Antas made his day and took the pot with a 4lb Common Carp which was among 12 fish he landed on the day.
Barry from Arboleas caught one Barble and around 75 Carp,mostly Commons to 3.75lb which was just short of Jim's best.
Casa Verde Barry fished his pole expertly as usual to land around 200 fish for a total weight heavier than himself.Best fish a common Carp of 3lb.
Beachcomber John (Me) caught 60 Carp,mostly Commons to 3lb and saw nothing of the monster I lost there last week.
Kevin from Hastings landed 50 fish, mosty Common Carp to 1.5lb and a few Mirrors and a Karasan.
Bleeping Sean (Who gets his new nickname from his battery operated bite indicators) caught about 10 or 12 Common Carp to 1.5lb.
Ted from Arboleas bagged 10 or 12 Common Carp to about 1.5lb.
Ninja Brian from Arboleas didnt fish this week as he was visiting Terrapin friends around local pet shops and was probably accompanied by Worm Farm Bob who's wife is now letting him sell a few of his treasured worms.
All in all it was a good day out and we are returning to the same venue for next weeks Wednesday fish on 12th October.

For further information on any of the above see John at the Beachcomber or tel 950 473 099.

Paul Knight

28-11-2005, 16:18

Can you tell me how to obtain a sea beach only fishing licence. I completed a continental licence form and sent it to Arboles, they returned it with another form, the orginal was a photocopy and different, they are also asking for payment, but the information leaflet from Los Gallardos Town Hall, states that pensioners are free, can you clarify this for me please, the only other type of fishing I am intersted in is flyfishing as as far as I can found out is a German run fishery in Valencia.

Regards Paul

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

13-01-2006, 14:05

Martyns

15-04-2006, 12:40

PanamaJack

16-04-2006, 19:27

Paul Knight

15-11-2006, 10:31

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

02-01-2007, 01:24

John, I am getting my UK licence in a few weeks when my wife goes back for a few days, does your girl Friday still help with the Spanish offices, I will gladly pay for her time, I dont have a NIE Number I heard it was needed to get a Spanish Licence...is that true !
My main interest is fishing at BAZA as I dont have sea tackle out here.
I live in Cala Marques
Many thanks
Mart

Sorry for missing your post and I hope its not too late to answer.There is a loophole still even after Andalucia have made it nigh on impossible for non spanish speakers to get a coarse license.You will need an up to date British coarse license and €105 Euros and it can be done.I can be contacted on 0034 950 473 099,best wishes,John.
P.S.The €105 inc a 5 year license inc trout and a third party liabilty insurance.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

02-01-2007, 01:28

It was intriguing to look back at that September posting regarding the Swordfish. I know that (Broadbill) Swordfish - Xiphias gladius - will, on occasions, jump but it's quite unusual and I've never heard of them tailwalking.

Are you sure that it was a Swordfish and not perhaps a White Marlin, or even a Spearfish? The structure and length of the bill is the obvious 'give-away' even from a distance.

Hi Jack,as I wasnt the one who saw the fish I wouldnt know but on a trip from Ibiza to mallorca I once scared what I judged to be a swordfish but I dont think Ive ever seen a white marlin and if they are very similar then it could have been,best wishes,John.
P.S.Sorry about the delay in answering........

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

02-01-2007, 01:31

Hi John Don't know if you have been to the Seguro I recently stayed at the Hotel Cenajo, next to the Embalse Cenajo. Its only a five minute walk down to the river where there is a 8k length of fishing. The the normal range of course fish plus trout and a fish farm keeps stocks high. For fly fishers its very difficult (high Reeds) but worth a look

Hi Paul,yes its a great little stretch and I enjoy staying at the hotel,sorry for being late answering.If you email me I will pass on some apparently better local and free fishing............
beachcomberjohn@@@@@@gmail........com

PanamaJack

02-01-2007, 10:20

Hi Jack,as I wasnt the one who saw the fish I wouldnt know but on a trip from Ibiza to mallorca I once scared what I judged to be a swordfish but I dont think Ive ever seen a white marlin and if they are very similar then it could have been,best wishes,John.
P.S.Sorry about the delay in answering........

Thanks John.

Whilst they're not exactly common you can encounter both White Marlin and Spearfish in the Mediterranean. (And Blue Marlin might make their way in, but I've never heard of any being caught on rod and line.) Like Swordfish they've all got bills although, in proportion to their length, the Swordfish's one is much longer in proportion to its overall length.

Albeit not in the Med I've seen several Broadbill resting on the surface during the day. A lot of their feeding tends to be at night over deep water on things like Squid and they seem to 'sleep', and presumably digest food, on the surface during the day. You normally see them, a bit shark-like, with both dorsal and tail fin breaking the surface. But normally most won't react to either lures or baits until you get too close and spook them.

I guess, particularly if you're transiting over deep water, and not cruising too fast - 7/8 knots would be about optimum, it's always worth trolling with 7 to 9" straight running lures. You never know what might strike.

Best wishes for 2007.
Dave

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

05-01-2007, 11:32

Hi Dave,thanks for the info.Changing the subject,what I have noticed different to other years is the amount of Sunfish around.Just sunbathing I presume on the surface (sometimes in pairs) with there dorsel fins sticking out of the water looking like a shark, that has scared a few summer tourists I can tell you.

I'm told they are not to be eaten and as the Spanish don't I guess its probably true.I am also told they are related to the poisonous Puffer Fish,happy new year,John.

PanamaJack

05-01-2007, 21:42

Well this is really showing my age! Back in 1967, nearly 40 years ago, I saw my first (big) Sunfish being washed through the Straits of Gibraltar on what was my first overseas fishing trip. That dorsal really did look like that of a Mako’s at the time.

‘That was the week that was’ (with apologies to Millicent Martin). Obviously the EFSA tournament I was fishing corresponded with the first of many referendums about sovereignty. They decided to stick with the Brits. And the Generalissimo (Franco) in a fit of pique despatched a frigate out of Algecires in an attempt to swamp one of the fishing boats. It ran at high speed along the disputed ‘frontier’ but failed miserably.

Still it nearly created an international incident countered by a squadron of British coastal minesweepers that came out in line astern similarly to patrol the ‘frontier’. A helicopter then dropped us a flare gun – a deterrent for the frigate? Franco then closed the border.

Any rate back to Sunfish. Patently from your comment seeing in those numbers is obviously quite unusual. Yet another sign of global warning?

Interestingly, whilst we normally see Sunfish apparently helplessly drifting on the surface they are an active predator. A German friend has caught two on baits which deep drifting for Swordfish off Croatia.
Dave

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

06-01-2007, 14:26

Franco,they were the days!!!!!!!!!I came to live in spain just after he kicked the bait bucket.

The sunfish have been seen a lot this year and up to three weeks ago were still about in great numbers and a friend has caught three small ones to 50lbs on bait,tiny pieces of prawn.
John.

Suugy

20-02-2007, 03:17

I have just come back from Spain, I was fishing at La Zenia (Near Villa Martin about 10kms from Torrevieja) and was talking to my friend and he was telling me that he had not too long back caught a Tuna on livebait from some rocks up there. Any ideas what gear I would need to catch some? As I have never caught a Tuna and I've heard they fight like mad!

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

22-02-2007, 15:57

Hi,I use my 12 or 13 foot 3lb T/C Carp gear for my beach fishing and would definitely give it a try for livebaiting.
We dont get any big Tuna in shore and they are generally caught 20km out (Or more) We do get some small Bonito which do fight well and most are caught with the "Bread and many hooks method" the Spanish like to use.
Good luck,John.

jmalarms@hotmail.co.uk

02-03-2007, 15:06

Sorry I missed your post Paul.A beach licence is obtainable from the "Medio Ambiente" ministry office in Almeria.The cost is 5 Euros (3 Years) unless you are over 65 and then its a free licence for life.

If you want help filling in the form I am happy to you as it has to be done right and I have the forms to hand.I can also give you better directions for the ministry.You are not far from me so call just to make sure I am in 00343 950 473 099

John.

Hi JOHN

Just read the above on fishing licence for beach fishing.
I went to Arboleas Town Hall this morning 2 March 2007 and they photo copied my passport and clipped 50 euros to the copy and I was told to come back in one week.I challenged the cost but they assured me that was the cost and If I wanted to freshwater fish or fish from a boat I would need another license.
I asked if I had to fill a form in and was told no.I will add more next week when I pick up my license.JOHN Mc from Los Torres

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

03-03-2007, 18:04

Hi John,the license cost is just €5 for 3 years and so they are charging €45 to get it for you.

Too late for you I know but we have a girl down here,we call her Girl Friday and she gets the licenses for a fee of €30. The boat fishing license is €10
.
Coarse fishing licenses are a nightmare to get (For Andalucia) and its best to come and have a chat with me seeing you are not too far away.Remember your Beach fishing license will be for Andalucia only and so dont go further North than San Juan,all the best,John.

jmalarms@hotmail.co.uk

04-03-2007, 19:59

cupboardlad

04-03-2007, 20:47

:) hi , just popping into this thread to give you some info on sun fish,
they come up to the surface to allow the cleaner fish to remove the parasites on them , ( thats when they are upright ) then for the larger parasites they lie on their sides to allow the seagulls to land and pick the bigger ones off, turning over once they have cleaned one side , then they decend into the deeps at night to feed
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
cuberd

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

05-03-2007, 15:04

Hi john
Sorry I could not catch you in at The Beachcomber I called in 3times for a meal but thats how it goes.I will try and not get ---------by the mayor in future.
Thanks for info.
John Mc, Los Torres

Hi John,I was probably out fishing or walking and recce-ing new fishing holes! See you next time.
John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

05-03-2007, 15:06

lee easen

07-06-2007, 08:06

im off to playa flamanca on 2 july 2007 to stay with wifes sister wear can i fish on beach and wot do you catch !!!! ow and can i get boat trips and how much do thay cost ? thanks lee

lee easen

07-06-2007, 20:03

can anyone help me wot fish do you get off the beach

spanishcarper

09-06-2007, 11:57

John just a quick note here from fatanglingspain.com just to let you know we will now be offering a course for Andalucian fishing licences from July onwards and then the licence is given this is all official course. this will be live up on the site in the next week. Also we are placing a expat fat fishing club forum on the site so we from all over spain can talk about fishing. Also we are trying to get as many members as possible this is free too use in the longterm view of making the new released carp magazine carp mad into english too this can be found on our homepage already just click the image. And finaly you will also be able to buy Nash bait - Richworth bait - Rigmarole Terminal tackle - pellets for proper prices from our sponser direct through our site so hope this information can be of help too you club.

rgilb39461

06-08-2007, 13:03

deelcee

20-08-2007, 14:04

hi!
buying a house in san juan de los terreros which will be ready next march!

great to find your site!!

interested in all types of fishing - looking forward to sea fishing for 1st time!!

any info would be great

what are the chances,costs,formalities of moorings for a small fishing boat?

hope to meet you next year

cheers dave :boat:

ms1000

20-08-2007, 17:13

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

28-11-2007, 15:47

Hi, I'm sorry I havent answered the questions but for some reason the site didnt prompt me there were any new posts, Ill try to keep more up to date in future and as I've got a little more time now will try to get on the site more as a whole.

Might be best to email me via my profile in future asI do check that almost daily.

Re Andalucian coarse licenses, there is a loophole open at the moment and again email me. An English indate license would be required and the rest can be sorted, best wishes, John.

beachcomber???john@gmail.com (Take out the ???'s)

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

06-12-2007, 14:59

I wont bore you with our poor Mediterranean catches every week but thought I'd stick in the odd report.

“Captain Sunshine” hasn’t been well since a trip to England a few weeks ago and so hasn’t been out on his Garrucha based boat. I’ve talked him into going this coming Sunday. I hope to talk “Captain Mel” into joining us too on his Villaricus based boat.
Me and “Milky” (Ernie) are going on “Matt the Hat’s” boat out of Garrucha and It would be good to get a regular weekly, multi boat fishing meet organised because we certainly have enough Capitanos out there.

“Irish Rover Paul” and his dad “Dad” went out with Matt one day last week and they had quite a few Trigger Fish and others such as Red Snappers, Striped Bream, Dorada’s, Paella Fish (That’s what Matt calls fish he doesn’t know the name of) and Weavers.

See photo of Paul and “Dad” (Paul is the one of the left) with three of the beautiful eating Trigger Fish.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f309/Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar/IMG_0069PaulandPaulsdadeuro.jpg

A few fish have been caught off the beaches and “Catmanden” had plenty of Mullet and a few other small species one day last week. They all fell to the Spanish method of hanging 6 hooks on a hangman’s noose, with a chunk of bread roll as bait.

“Casa Verde Barry” and “Birds Nest Phil” fished the River Segura in Murcia town but green sludge floating off the bottom probably sent fish upstream looking for cleaner water. Barry blanked and Phil caught one fish only.

“Baza Barry” landed a few fish last week when he fished Baza Lake with a mate. Carp and Barbel to 3lbs but he said it was hard fishing. He also caught a Trout while spinning and lost a decent fish he thought was a Black Bass.

Some people have shown interest in the Moroccan and Ebro trips being arranged for next year so get in touch with me if you want to do some “proper” fishing!!!

After discussing the subject with a few fishing mates we think the new fishing park at Cuevas de Almanzora will be on the canal “looking” bit of water below the dam. It’s having a facelift and a liner is being put in. This is where they held the rowing races during the Mediterranean Games last year. It would have been nice if the lake itself was used as there are some monster Carp in there that have to date remained uncatchable because of snags. If anyone has any definite information on this it would be great to hear from you.

The last of eight Andalucian coarse fishing licenses have come back and so the next eight have been put in, fingers crossed our loophole stays open.

I still have many fishing magazines at the Beachcomber Bar on Mojacar Playa. If anyone is passing, please ask the staff to show you where they are, and help yourself to a few, there is no need to return them.

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out Fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

Tight lines and keep a bend in your rod.

Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

17-01-2008, 20:53

"Vista Andy" went out on his inflatable and caught a 10lb Octopus, some Bream and a 2lb Trigger Fish last week. He said the sea was flat as a pancake and he saw a Trigger Fish about 5lbs swimming on the surface.

"Captain Mel" took two of his mates out on his Villaricus based boat. Jason had 18 mixed fish of no great size but it was an enjoyable day he said. Alan, amongst other captures caught his first Octopus which was taken to a local bar for some expert cooking. Weather permitting I'm fishing on Mel's boat this week and looking forward to fishing somewhere different (Villaricus)

Me (Beachcomber John), "Catmanden" and "Milky" (Ernie) went on "Captain (Duncan's) Sunshine's" Garrucha based boat and caught quite a few fish. Combers, Horse Mackerel, Single and Twin Banded Bream, Pickarel and White Bream. Loads of the dreaded Weavers of course, even in depths of 120m and quite a few Pandoras or Red Bream.

I fished with the Grumpy old men of Los Gallardos on Tuesday on the Indalo Hotel arm. The "Grumps" field consisted of "Frank the Baker", "Shylock", "Ken the Cook" and "Victor Meldrew". It was nice to fish with an old mate too, "Legal Gordon". No he's not a barrister but is now fishing with a license!!!

See photo of Gordon looking for bites.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f309/Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar/P1010274canSmall.jpg

There was little or no wind early on and the conditions were perfect until the sun came up. The sea was as clear as tap water and what with the suns bright rays, fish dived for cover and our end tackle must have stood out like sore thumbs. I managed a baby Wide Eyed Flounder and apart from most of us getting tentative nibbles, that was it. Still it was another species to add to my 2008 list and bad day fishing is better than a good day at work.

I missed "London Bill" over Xmas but he text me to say it was his worst Mojacar beach fishing trip he can remember. He said he really struggled to catch fish. Nothing new there for most of us Bill!!

The Cuevas de Almanzora fishing park is coming along and the lower lake is full of water and small fish can be seen. These I guess are mostly Common Carp which would have come in while the lake was being filled. The Spanish authorities let fish to 15lb die when they emptied the lower lake last year which is a shame. The lake (Lower) will be stocked with fish sometime this year and I'm guessing small Mirror Carp. These are usually fully or near fully scaled fish. The Spanish do love stocking waters with Trout and Black Bass so let's keep our fingers crossed.

Now, I had a recce up on the top lake. No more need for a 4 x 4 as its obvious big works vehicles have been down the tracks and made them easily passable as long as your vehicle doesn't have a low skirt like mine. They are erecting concrete pillars along some of the dirt tracks but there is no plastic trunking within them so whether they are for lighting I'm not sure. It looks like we may have two locations to choose from ie: the lower and upper lake. The upper lake is still very snaggy and most fish over a couple of pounds can be expected to be lost.

I have it from some local anglers that Carp to 34lbs have been caught in the past and if this is true then it would be worth fishing the upper lake "Ebro style" ie: Fish using the pebble rig which causes the fish to rise to the surface after hooking. It means boating the bait out but a boat or small blow up dingy is also needed for landing the fish. When a fish has been hooked, just jump into the boat and reel in and this takes the boat to the fish where it can be landed with little chance of snagging. We will have to see if there really are fish in there worth the effort but I would also add that a boat would get you to otherwise unfishable swims.

4 out of 9 Andalucian coarse fishing licenses have come back successfully so I'm pleased to report our loop hole is still working. A new batch will be put through (probably 11 th Feb) shortly after my return from my Gambia fishing trip on the 5th February so get in touch quickly after that and remember you will need an ORIGINAL in date English rod license and passport copy, the rest we can sort for you.

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out Fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

Always keep your line tight and a bend in your rod.

Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

06-03-2008, 14:38

Last weekend was the start of a new moon and this one has been special for the last two years and probably since year dot. Good fishing has been had on our coastline at this time of year.

"London Bill" travelled to Mojacar to fish the week before and after the moon shows itself because of past catch information. I'm not going to make excuses yet but when I left for a week's holiday to the UK (I couldn't have picked a worse week to go, what with the expected good fishing) sea conditions were calm and the clarity was like tap water. Not the easiest conditions to catch fish and it's a must to lighten up the tackle.

Bill, last week caught a few fish, mainly Mullet and a few Dorada or Guilt Head Bream which is interesting as it was this fish that made up most of the previous big catches I heard about last year. Bait used for the Bream was Prawn or Razor Clams as the latter is the favoured bait of certain Spanish anglers I know that have bagged up in previous years. I will be back in Mojacar in time to let you know for next week what was caught in the week that matters most. Watch this space.

Me, my grandson "H" (Harrison) and "Nubbin Ian" went out on "Captain Mel's" Villaricus based boat for half a day. Conditions mentioned above and maybe the calm before the new moon was the reasons we struggled. Harrison was the only one to catch, a Pickerel. Mel's cats would have to share the morsel.

"Captain (Duncan) Sunshine" fished with four companions on his Garrucha boat and

laboured also but had a few small fish out including Bream, Mullet and Perch plus dreaded Weavers. They did witness 8 Dolphins playing around in the area and this is likely to have had an affect on their fishing.

"Baza Barry" has been Trout and Barbel fishing to one of his secret rivers North of Baza Lake (Embalse de Negratin) and caught Trout to 2lbs and Barbel to 6lbs. Last week he and friends caught some small Carp and Barbel from the lake, close to the Spa Baths. Barry says the water is still very clear and cold.

"Birds Nest Phil" and "Casa Verde Barry" fished with the Rods and Reels club at Calasparra. They had difficult finding enough swims for the 17 anglers and some had swims in areas they had no chance of catching. Gale force winds didn't help and Phil received only a few twitches. Barry didn't even get a twitch. The winner of the match managed just 5 small fish, 3 Carp and 2 Barbel.

Alfonso 13th Lake isn't fishing any better with anglers blanking. "Cuevas de Almanzora" is also not producing with 10 anglers there on one day last week and not a bite between them, roll on the summer.

When I was fishing in Extremadura last week Raul, a friend of Matt's, caught a 53lb Mirror not far from us on the same lake.

See photo.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f309/Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar/53mirrorraul.jpg

"Flobalob Pete" is in Thailand with a mate and in two days has already landed 25 Mekong Catfish from 30 to 50lbs.

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out Fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

Tight lines and keep a bend in your rod.

Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

20-03-2008, 17:07

I had a great day out on "Captain (Duncan) Sunshine's" Garrucha moored boat. Duncan also invited "Oasis Chris" from Palomares. They both caught well but I was exceptionally lucky and boated 7 different species of fish and plenty of them too. Senegal Seabream, Bogue, Comber, Pickarel, Horse Mackerel, Pandora and of course no boat session would be complete without the "Dreaded Weaver".

We found most fish in water up to 500 feet on the edge of deep holes in front of the Indalo Hotel.

A couple of days later I had the pleasure of a trip on "Captain (Brian) Cuba's" and "Admiral Phil's" boat. Again we went out from Garrucha Marina but we stayed close to the harbour. The depth finder was playing up so we had to use our instincts and caught most of our fish drifting across the deep channel in front of the harbour entrance. We fished from about 400 feet until bites stopped around 180 feet. Phil and Brian both caught a few fish including Brian's Silver Scabbardfish. Their mirror like appearance allows you to see your face on them. Some cheeky predator had the nerve to bite off the poor things tail on the way up.

See Photo.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f309/Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar/IMG_1466can.jpg

I again did well and caught Weavers, Pickarel, Pandora, many Blackbelly Rose Fish from very deep water. These added a new fish for my 2008 species hunt. I was chuffed to bits to also catch a Scaled-Rayed Wrasse which is a first for me having never caught one before and a rarity. It also appears I may have caught a possible European record for the species but as Brian and Phil ate it (It wasn't good to eat by the way) I can't claim it.

Beach fishing has been good but mainly for those anglers fishing early morning and late evening and with razor clam meat as bait. The full moon definitely made a big difference for some and big shoals of fish were obviously inshore. Small trawlers have been netting close to the beaches for the past two weeks.

London Bill managed to get some razor fish bait which seem to have been scarce. He caught a few different varieties of Bream from the beaches.

I fished with 8 of the "Grumpy old men of Los Gallardos" on Tuesday, opposite the Indalo Hotel. "40 watts" had the first and most fish including an Annula Sea Bream. He was catching on baby squid heads.

I managed a few tiddlers including two new ones for the species list, all caught on prawn. "Dave the Chippy" and "Matt the Hat" came down for a while and borrowed my spare rod, they both caught a tiddler or two each. Also on the Indalo arm was "Greengrass", "Victor Meldrew", "Uncle Albert", "Shylock" "Baldy Barry", "Fingers Malone" and "Frank the Pie".

My coarse fishing hit this week came from a two hour drive into deepest Murcia to a dammed part of the River Segura. The lake appears to be only 4.5 feet deep on average and is more of a lagoon than an embalse, there is a slight flow. "Casa Verde Barry", "Pulpi Dick" and "Birds Nest Phil" fished a match against other members of the "Rods and Reels" club while "Catmanden" and I did our own thing. All the rods to the left of a sewage drain caught nothing (except Phil with one fish) including me and Dennis while most of those to the right had a few fish. The match was won with about 22lbs with Barry coming 3rd with 20lbs. The lake should contain some nice Carp and Barbel as it has predators present such as Sun Perch, Trout and Black Bass.

My poor fishing result was made up for by watching hundreds of nesting water birds on islands only 75 yards in front of me.

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out Fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

Beachcomber John.

RG_Toad

22-03-2008, 02:06

captaincojones

22-03-2008, 07:59

Hi John.

I'll be in Mallorca for a couple of days in April and am wondering about the licence issue.

From reading several threads in here, it looks like it takes some time - and hassle - to get a shore licence.
Unfortunately I'm on tight schedule, so I was wondering if you - or anyone else reading this - happened to know of a quick way of getting a licence for sea shore fishing on Mallorca?
Can they be picked up from tourist info at the airport on the way in, done on the internet in advance, over the counter at the local tackle shop, etc?

Many thanks.

""maybe its 5 euros on the main land but not here in mallorca.Here thay cost 13.05 euros and last for 2 years to get 1 the same day you have to go early fill in forms go to the bank and pay the go back to office and get licence,free if you are over 65 or under 14.you can get them on line problem is it is all in catalan.good luck The pescador (ps remember you can not collected worms crabs or any sort of shell fish or use live fish have to buy it all) for this yes instant fine 100 euros per crab""

cut and pasted from the "palma nova thread" in this same section
perhaps it would be a good idea to contact the poster known as "the pescador" who originally posted this.cheers

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

22-03-2008, 11:36

Sorted I hope for you RG. You should only lose half a days fishing and angling without a license should not be considered, best of luck, John Beachcomber. (In Mojacar and not Majorca)

the pescador

22-03-2008, 15:32

H R.G were in mallorca are you going? you can get a licence in less than 1 hour in the fisheries office in Sa Pobla,but if ygo to the main office in Palma it takes about 15 days you can so try this site. http://dgpesca.caib.es Only problem is the page is in catalan and the English page is also in catalan.But this week i was talking to my local tackle shop and he says it should be no problem for a holiday maker if you are only here for 1 or 2 weeks as it takes 15 days from the main office and the police will not be bothered to do anithing about it.But that is up to you,if you do get a icence it is valid in whatever part of Spain you go untill it expiers.you could also tr this site www.a-alvarez.com but again it is in spanish thay do not do mallorca but you can get 1 for cataluña good look The Pescador (ps just to let you all now i have been in contact with the offce in mallorca about the web page and thay say will update it)

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

22-03-2008, 15:39

if you do get a icence it is valid in whatever part of Spain you go untill it expiers.

Not true I'm afraid, at least not in Andalucia, John Beachcomber.

captaincojones

22-03-2008, 15:51

Not true I'm afraid, at least not in Andalucia, John Beachcomber.

some autonomous regions accept other regions licences, others do not,
as john says.

the pescador

22-03-2008, 16:02

some autonomous regions accept other regions licences, others do not,
as john says.

I have been told that for a tourist it is valid including residents if not we would end up wi loads of licences

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

22-03-2008, 16:21

if not we would end up wi loads of licences

Yes I'm afraid thats how it is although as CaptainCojones says some police may let you get away with it but not here in Andalucia. I hold 6 different licenses, John Beachcomber.

captaincojones

22-03-2008, 16:26

I have been told that for a tourist it is valid including residents if not we would end up wi loads of licences

the laws apply to everybody equally, just because a person is a tourist doesnt mean they get to follow different laws.
when you say you can wait 15 days for a licence,dont forget that the reciept (la justificante) is valid from the moment of payment till reciept of the actual licence.
i too know people with more than one licence.

RG_Toad

24-03-2008, 02:00

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

03-04-2008, 16:36

Here's our latest from the almeria coast, John Beachcomber.

I was out with “Captain (Brian) Cuba” and “Marky Mark” and not far off 100 fish were caught between us. I had between 60 and 80 myself including three big Combers caught in 300 feet. Mark caught a Horse Mackerel, and just in time when our prawn bait ran out. Most fish landed were Pickerel or paella fish as “Matt the Hat” insists on still calling them. Matt’s boat by the way should be back in working order in the next couple of weeks.
I was due out again with Brian and “Vista Mar Andy” on Sunday but the seas was too rough and although it didn’t look to bad from the shore the telling factor was there was not one Spanish fishing boat in front of the Indalo Hotel on Mojacar Playa.

“Captain (Duncan) Sunshine” was out on his boat as I typed this piece and a phone call revealed him and his crew were catching. He told me he could see Brian out on his boat not too far away. Brian called in to see me during the afternoon and he and friends caught about 30 fish in a few hours. (And there I was writing to you!)

“Matt the Hat” and I didn’t get our 15 minutes of TV fame as I reported last week but I did manage to get into one of the UK’s fishing magazines with my Gambia fishing report. Sea Angling News http://www.seaanglingnews.co.uk
A free monthly edition which can be picked up at tackle shops near the UK coast. Some pages can also be read on the net on the link I have listed but not my write up I’m afraid.
The reports and updates are worth reading though and gives an up to date situation of UK fishing with some foreign reports including a report on Namibia where I will have just returned from when it comes out on 1st May.

Taking of the TV programme “A Cooks Tour of Spain” which has just finished on Channel 4, I can let you see photos from the programme which didn’t make it on to the telly.

See photo of me, and chef Tommi Myers on Matt’s boat with Mojacar in the background. I wonder if I was telling her how big the fish are we normally catch!!!

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f309/Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar/CH4017.jpg

The second photo is of the four of us (Including adventurer Guy Grieves) fishing from Matt’s boat.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f309/Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar/CH4005solt.jpg

The third is of me and our two presenters relaxing in Garrucha harbour after a hard day’s fishing.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f309/Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar/IMG_0083euro.jpg

I fished with three of the “Grumpy old men of Los Gallardos” on Tuesday but we chose a different than usual venue. The beach just before the Garrucha Repsol garage and tackle shop. I was the only one to catch, a miniature Lesser Weaverfish (Nevertheless a new species for me for 2008).
About 11am “Uncle Albert”, “Shylock” and “40 Watts” headed for the rocky arm 1/2km towards the town but as I had to leave by midday I stayed put. I caught one more fish and was chuffed to bits as it was, another new species for 2008, a “Cow Bream. It also came in on the Razor Clam meat I have been hearing so often about from my Spanish friends.
Species caught this year = 28. (I’m going for 50)

“Dutch Ton” visited us on the beach and I want to say ”Welcome back Ton”

Baza Barry fished Lake Negratin and had a few Barbel and Carp but nothing special, it’s still fishing hard apparently.

“Casa Verde Barry” and “Birds nest Phil” fished a match on the River Segura in Murcia. Barry came second with 38lbs and was beaten by only a few ounces. Barry was unhappy as he lost many good sized fish that broke his pole elastic after making determined runs. Phil only managed a few fish on this occasion and wasn’t blessed with such a prolific swim maybe.

Remember Sky’s channel 251, Discovery Real Time Extra, is now a dedicated fishing channel. (That will please our fishing widows!)

All the Andalucian coarse fishing licenses, put in January, should be back now so please collect yours from the Beachcomber.

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out Fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

Tight lines.

Beachcomber John.

MARCOS

06-04-2008, 14:50

John comeing out to Mojacar late Sep 08 can you help out with a few trips out Staying Pueblo Del Cantal Just up the road Thanks
MARCOS

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

06-04-2008, 16:31

Hi Marcos, yeah of course and as you will be close by call in and see me when you arrive, I'm usually sat in the bar on my laptop.

Just in case I'm away fishing on a trip try to remember to ask agin on here or by PM if I'm here while you are otherwise I'l try and do what I can by mail or here on this thread. You can also ring the bar on 0034 950 473 099 for me.

You really need a license to fish the beach and another on a boat. You can usually get away with not having one on a boat but not the beach. I can help arrange a license before you get here but it will be hassle for you and so you might consider just doing some sea fishing by boat. The local skippers dont charge much, €25 to €35 half a day inc bait and tackle.

Hope it helps, John.

P.S. There are no places to hire tackle for coarse or beach.

MARCOS

10-04-2008, 17:55

Thanks John. I no where the bar is its below Mojacar estates walked by many times with the wife.
Have own tackle etc. Will call when flights booked.
Have read your articles in local papers hope all is well
Thanks
MARCOS

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

21-08-2008, 14:01

Thought I'd update the thread as its been a while. Not that much is being caught on our coast and I havent been out myself since a 7 day trip the Gambia and 9 days fishing the River Ebro.

“London Bill” has again been catching a few from Mojacar’s beaches and from the Garrucha Marina area. Good Dorada has been his main target from the marina to the Repsol garage. Fish to 1lb plus and caught on Razor Clam meat fished on the bottom. Bill also caught Palometa and Sea Bass spinning from Macenas rocks.

“Captain (Graham) Gnome” has been out a lot recently and guests have been catching lots of Bogues which although not big are good eating. Baked in the oven the meat falls off easily and they are not too bony unlike bream. Graham’s teams have also been catching Red Snappers to 2.1/2lbs and Scads to 1.1/2lbs.

“Captain Mel” went out twice last week and is out now as I write. He says he and guests have not caught anything to write home about but it’s better to be out there fishing and catching not a lot than being at work, can’t argue with that!

“Captain (Duncan) Sunshine” didn’t get out this week but is itching to as soon as he can get a couple of friends together.

See photo at the bottom of the post of Duncan's mate John and a sunfish he caught.

“Casa Verde Barry” fished a match on a Murcia Lake that has sometimes produced the goods and it has been known to yield carp to 20lbs and barbel to 10lbs.
On this day in August things were different and Barry didn’t get a bite until gone 12noon. He did however finish in 2nd place overall with 22lbs (29lbs won it) and had carp to 5lbs and barbel to 2lbs. As the dam had been shut for some reason the water level rose about 4” and Barry had to move his match fishing station. A slip and a dip only to his knees was a result because for those that know Barry, I couldn’t see him swimming eh?

“Baza Barry” and mates have been bagging up as usual from around the spa bath area of Lake Negratin and although the fishing for small carp and barbel has been good he is worried about how little water is in the lake. Andalucia’s water reserves are said to be only 33% of capacity, worrying eh?

I’ve not been out fishing since my trip to the Gambia and have been helping my son out during a busy (ish) time at the Beachcomber. I’m looking forward to a fishing trip at the end of September when I will be “Ski-ing” (Spending kids inheritance) in Botswana and and South Africa. The first week I’ll be fishing for Tiger fish and the second on the beach for sharks.

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out Fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

Tight lines.

Beachcomber John.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f309/Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar/Johnwithduncansolt.jpg

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

06-11-2008, 16:04

It was August when I last did an update and so will put in this weeks report to the local press. Theres Yellow Fin Tuna close to the shore.

"Squiddly Sid" was fishing from the beach and caught an Octopus, a Cuttlefish! And a Dorado, some catch eh? "London Bill" was also out on the beaches and rocks and was looking to catch the Blue Fin Tuna we thought were about. He failed in his mission but caught a couple of Dolphin Fish (Dorado) and a Sea Bass while lure fishing for the Tuna.

Me and "Beachcomber H" had a great morning on "Captain (Brian) Cuba's" Garrucha moored boat and were joined by Brian's first mate "Inflatable Andy" We caught a few but although the sea and weather looked perfect, there was such a current running and in the opposite direction to the wind, it was difficult to fish. We had a choice, drift with a 10oz lead that couldn't hold bottom or anchor in only 120 feet of water. Now that depth is ok at night or first thing in the morning but once the sun gets up you can mostly forget catching anything decent, its Weaver territory. The fish finder showed thousands of fish on the bottom but they weren't feeding, must get up earlier lads!
9 year old "H" normally shows the rest of us how to catch fish but the only thing we learnt from him this week was how to get into the biggest tangle of immeasurable proportions. We caught Rockfish, Pandoras, a Weaver, Pickerel and Mackerel.

Brandon and John from Mojacar/Dartford went out with Brian and Andy the next day and did well with a couple of Triggerfish.

See photo of Brandon with one of his catches.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f309/Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar/100_0401brandonsol.jpg

"Captain (Graham) Gnome" was out with friends and saw four Yellow Fin Tuna about 20 feet down in 120 feet of water, they were just circling? Graham says they weighed up to 80lbs in his opinion. Maybe the Tuna other anglers have been seeing were Yellow Fins then and not the Blues after all. Graham and friends caught some nice fish including a 4lb Red Snapper.
I fished yesterday with Graham and "Irish Rover Paul" we had a good day with about 60 fish between us and nine different species.

"Baza Barry" got fed up with catching Trout on the river! and went back to the big lake where he caught a few Barbel and Carp. With all the rain we are getting maybe Cuevas de Almanzora will get some water this year for our new "Fishing Park"?

"Casa Verde Barry" fished a "Rods and Reels" match on a Murcia lake and didn't get a bite! It was freezing cold and it put the fish down maybe.

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out Fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

Tight lines.

Beachcomber John.

jordanis3r

10-12-2008, 16:22

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

02-02-2009, 12:24

Hi John,
Could you possibly clarify if I need a licence to sea shore fish around Marbella? if so what is the easiest route of obtaining one?

On a different note - any decent Bass marks between Marbella and Tarifa that are worth fishing over xmas - any help would be great!

Hi and sorry I missed your message. Bit late maybe but you can buy a beach license at the Medio Ambiete offices in any big city, ie Malaga, you only need a passport copy.

As for marks to fish I cant help as Im based 4 hours plus away, best wishes, John.

AidanPartington

20-08-2009, 16:35

Great to see a fishing club in Majorca. Myself and another Kiwi are flying into Majorca tomorrow and would love to do some fishing. Is it possible to hire or buy some decent shore rods there?

Does your club cater to visitors?

Thanks

Aidan

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

21-08-2009, 10:57

Sorry Aidan but we are in Mojacar and not Majorca, hopefully one of WSF's members will answer you, have a good holiday, John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

20-10-2009, 16:52

Naughty me I've not done very well keeping this thread up to date, shame because we have been catching a few good fish lately. I'll up date it soon I promise.

For now though I caught a Almaco Jack today which was a surprise to me because I thought they were an Atlantic fish and we are well up the Med here in Almeria.

http://www.costaalmeria.com/components/com_agora/img/members/159/mini_euro-w-late-oct-2009-Medium.JPG (http://www.costaalmeria.com/components/com_agora/img/members/159/euro-w-late-oct-2009-Medium.JPG)

Beachcomber John.

stevecatfisher

22-10-2009, 07:48

looks a decent enough fish for the med John.

PaulH

22-10-2009, 21:36

I caught a Almaco Jack today which was a surprise to me because I thought they were an Atlantic fish and we are well up the Med here in Almeria.

Hi John,

Those fish are further into the med than you might think, I suspect all over. I got one up near Barcelona recently...

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b359/paulh30/amberjack.jpg

PaulH

ryan123

22-10-2009, 21:52

Hi John,

Those fish are further into the med than you might think, I suspect all over. I got one up near Barcelona recently...

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b359/paulh30/amberjack.jpg

PaulH

How are thhey being caught, on lures or bait

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

22-10-2009, 22:11

Mine was caught in 120 feet of water (Hooked midwater actually) with a 10 inch butterfly jig, John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

24-10-2009, 16:27

It seems a ban on fishing by Spanish trawlers in many parts of Spain has made a difference this year. In our area no trawlers went out of Garrucha in Almeria for the month of April this year. Our shores have fished better although fishing from a boat doesn't seem to have been affected one way or another.

We have however found new fishing methods such as jigging which is new to us expats in this area. Dentex are being caught to roughly a metre long and 30lbs in weight. Other predators too such as John Dory and Jacks like the Almaco I caught last week.

http://www.costaalmeria.com/components/com_agora/img/members/159/mini_euro-w-late-oct-2009-Medium.JPG (http://www.costaalmeria.com/components/com_agora/img/members/159/euro-w-late-oct-2009-Medium.JPG)

Local shore fishermen have been doing well with Palometes to 17.5lbs, Baracudas to 5lbs, Dentex to 15lbs, Bluefish to 5lbs and Sea Bass to 10lbs.

See photos of some recent catches although I'm not claiming these are the weights mentioned above.

http://www.costaalmeria.com/components/com_agora/img/members/159/mini_gary-bluefish-sol-t-late-sept-2009.JPG (http://www.costaalmeria.com/components/com_agora/img/members/159/gary-bluefish-sol-t-late-sept-2009.JPG)

http://www.costaalmeria.com/components/com_agora/img/members/159/mini_Young-Alex-palomete-can-early-oct-2009.JPG (http://www.costaalmeria.com/components/com_agora/img/members/159/Young-Alex-palomete-can-early-oct-2009.JPG)

http://www.costaalmeria.com/components/com_agora/img/members/159/mini_gary-L-euro-early-oct-2009.JPG (http://www.costaalmeria.com/components/com_agora/img/members/159/gary-L-euro-early-oct-2009.JPG)

Beachcomber John.

P.S. I heard Carboneras trawlers are being paid not to go out in November and December. I know its not the breeding season but every little helps...........

thecommander

20-02-2010, 21:42

Hi, John

Was just wondering if there was any boat trips around mojacar. I'm out on the 5th april til 15th april and sometime in late July and early august

Martyn

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

21-02-2010, 13:00

Hello Martyn, should be at least 3 boats going out of Garrucha in April, maybe more so give me a ring 659 641 983 or call in and see me at the bar 4 or 5 days before you want to go, we can check out the weather and I'll give you the numbers to ring , best wishes, John.

b_tomtom31

25-05-2010, 02:39

Hi John,
I will be visiting Mojacar in June. I would like to talk about the fishing and get some info on the BeachComber. Can I give you a call? My phone number is 404 597 3882.
Thanks, Brian

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

25-05-2010, 15:06

Hello Brian, you can ring me on the Beachcombers number where I can usually be found when not out fishing! 0034 950 473 099. If out ask for my mobile number, best wishes, John.

b_tomtom31

31-05-2010, 04:02

Thanks John, will call soon. Cheers
Brian

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

17-06-2010, 14:50

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About time I posted a little of what's going on in the area but to see my weekly report have a look here.

http://www.costaalmeria.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&Itemid=54&func=view&catid=6&id=41269
(Two pages at present)

“Pulpo Greg”, “Conger Chris” and mates Mick and Paul plus yours truly spent a morning out fishing with “Captain (Brian) Cuba”. It was windy with choppy seas from the start but we managed to anchor in 150 feet just off one of the big holes in front of Garrucha’s Marina. Because of the southerly wind it wasn’t possible to anchor and drift back over deeper water so we made do. We caught big weavers and plenty of pickerel of which about 50% were foul hooked as usual with these fish. Chris was first with a decent fish, a 7 to 8lb conger followed by Greg with an octopus. (Hence their new nick names)
After a couple of hours we moved and tried anchoring just off a deep hole opposite the Repsol garage but not a lot of fish were forthcoming. Greg caught a weaver and when we got it aboard it had a few big gashes across both sides. It must have been some predator that did that, barracuda probably, Greg felt the attack. Once the wind got up and the anchor slipped it was back to the harbour for an early finish and a couple of beers.

I joined Brian again the following day when he took out four friends, Pete, John, Ian and Dave from Sorbas. The day started slow fishing in 500 feet while there was no wind. As it came up we headed for cover of the Garrucha marina and anchored in 180 feet with an easterly wind that put us over the 250 to 300 feet hole we were looking for. A few fish were caught such as blue mouths, pandoras and combers but it was only when the wind changed to come from the south that we started to get some fish.
The boat had moved into only 100 to 150 feet and Dave caught two cracking meagre which are similar to sea bass and are sometimes known as rock bass, they weighed roughly 3 and 5lbs. I recognised the fish straight away as a cassava but was confused as I caught them before only in the Gambia and didn’t even know they came into the Med let alone lived and bred here, only going into deeper water for the winter.
Other good fish caught were striped and twin banded bream. Also landed on the boat were white bream, pouting and scabbard fish.
Trigger fish are very inquisitive and a big one was eyeing us up just beneath the surface. I quickly reeled in and while looking at the fish instead of my rod tip I got in a right mess with my rig wrapped around the top eye. This collision caused a prawn bait to drop into the water and the trigger duly snaffled it. A few seconds later I dropped my rig back in the water with only one baited hook left and it wasn’t long before Mr Trigger took the bait, strike “you are mine baby” I said. A good fish weighing about 5lbs and these are good eating but I just couldn’t after the fun he gave me, a quick photo and a kiss and he was on his way to Davy Jones’s locker, lucky fish because they eat exceptionally well.

On a recent fishing trip to Villaricos, Brian (Cuba) met a friend who had caught a most unusual fish and gave it to him. I haven’t mentioned it before because I didn’t know what it was. Eventually I found out its name, a “Royal or Mediterranean Flagfin”. Do yourself a favour and look this fish up, try searching in Google’s images. A wonderful looking fish and the one Brian ate was even more so because it was a male in breeding colours. For those of you that know what a rooster fish looks like, it’s similar.

Mick Evans from Arboleas (I’m not allowed to call him “Captain Pugwash” for some reason) took some family members out for a day’s fishing on his boat. Son-in-law Lee Hadley, grandson Ben Hadley and Chris Elespe who is courting Mick’s granddaughter Abbie Hadley. Chris caught an octopus that spanned 6 foot and is making dinner for the family. Mick’s boat goes out of Villaricos which is where the monster of the sea was caught.

“Captain Graham Gnome” hasn’t been out because he’s so busy in his new bar and “Squiddly Sid” will soon be taking mates out on Graham’s boat.

“Captain Duncan Sunshine” hasn’t been out because of vehicle problems but I know he’s recently got himself a set of outriggers so some trolling will be on the cards soon no doubt.

“Ham radio Kevin” caught 17 fish while fishing the Pueblo Indalo Arm” including palometes, cow bream and mullet. London Bill spent the week on Macenas beach and didn’t catch anything worth mentioning. Come on Bill your slacking mate.

There is a new pipeline being laid out to sea in front of the Rio Abajo and I presume it’s to get the big hotel's sewerage further out to sea than at the moment. (Often in the river) Spanish fishermen will soon find out where the outlet is but I'm not fishing over it, I get in enough poo as it is.

Nothing of interest from the coarse boys so it’s lucky Brian and friends are doing well.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.
www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam
For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.
Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

17-06-2010, 14:59

Here's a sunfish that just couldn't resist a bit of prawn stuck in front of his nose.

Oh and a piccie of the flagfin I mentioned just in case you didn't see it when I was asking for its id, John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

24-06-2010, 14:34

Re a previous report by me telling you about Almerimar marina overcharging boat owners on the rate of vat it might be worth Garrucha boat owners asking some questions as it looks like they are being overcharged too. (Villaricos next maybe?) Read about it here and many thanks to David Jackson for finding out for us.
http://www.davidjackson.info/2010/iva-on-port-moorings.htm

As reported wrongly by me last week “Squidly Sid” will not be taking friends out on “Captain Graham Gnome’s” boat but “Hissing Sid” will, silly me!

Sid “Squiddly” fished the Indalo Arm with a mate but caught not a lot although Sid got bust up by a couple of biggies. Remember that the Meagre we are now catching just offshore grows to 110lbs and spend the summer, after spawning, feeding only yards off the beach.

“Ham radio Kevin” and yours truly went out for a couple hours one morning with “Captain Brian Cuba”. As there was no wind we tried drifting in 180 feet, big weaver territory but nothing. Off we headed for one of our trusty marks in front of Garrucha Marina. We caught a few fish but nothing special except for Kevin got into a Meagre or rock bass. (Mentioned above) it weighed in at exactly 7lbs.

See photo of Dave who landed a nice meagre. Also “Conger Chris” and his conger, It wasn’t for the jellied eel pot and it also went back. Also a photo of” Sorbas Pete” with a small twin banded bream, they all went out with Brian last week.

I went out with Brian again for a few hours a day later and was joined by “Farmer Rory” and Kevin (HR). It was a slow start and for at least two hours we didn’t get a bite. I could have blamed Brian’s wife Dot, now renamed “Dotty” because she bought the wrong prawns that were cooked but Rory was using raw ones and he wasn’t catching.
In the end we did catch a few, that is except Kevin who had his first blank day. The wind got up and Brian called “One minute to go” so I quickly reeled in my 6.4 to 1 reel (That’s fast) re-baited just my bottom hook and dropped it down. As the weight hit the bottom I felt a knock so gave my rod a little jerk and I was in. A decent Red Snapper,” that’ll do” I said. They are good eating but I must admit I’m becoming even more of a “Kiss and return” angler lately so it went back.

Not a lot of info from the coarse or shore anglers again this week. “Baza Barry” says he’s fishing the rivers next week because he’s fed up with catching tiddler carp in the lakes, particularly Baza (Negratin).
“Cockney Ken” has been making recces up to Murcia but is only finding locked gates to embalses and when he has been able to fish, only tiddlers came out.

“London Bill” has caught nothing worth mentioning from the rocks and is going to target meagre close in next week. Kevin (HR) has been out on Brian’s boat a bit so hasn’t fished the beaches for a week.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

01-07-2010, 17:14

Listen I know we catch a load of crap down here in the Med but someone might want to read the truth lol and anyway it gives me something to do. Better still we might one day catch something decent!

No trawlers have been going out of Garrucha for over six weeks now and I’m sure us non commercial boat and shore fishermen will see the difference soon with them not catching fish during the spawning season. I just knew something good would one day come out of Spain joining the European community!

Update: I was expecting them to go out this morning (1st July) but it’s now 4pm and there are none returning on the horizon, how long is this ban then?

“Squidly Sid” went out on his boat “Happy Hooker 2”, and while fishing in only 50 feet above rocks he was bust up three times by big fish, It’s got to be meagres or dentex. Sid only landed small rock fish.

Myself, “Ham Radio Kevin” and Ken from near Villaricos joined “Admiral Phil” and his partner “Captain Brian Cuba” for a morning’s fishing on their Garrucha moored boat. It was a slow start as a northerly wind made it difficult to anchor in shallow water and fish over our favourite 250 foot hole. We were at first fishing in only 170 feet but with baits hanging on the side of an underwater cliff we weren’t expecting much except maybe a decent predator or two. We were waiting for the wind to change to an easterly which it did after a couple of hours and we drifted perfectly over the hole in 250 feet. It was only then fish started to come in numbers with me at one time having a full house with six fish on six hooks.

See photo of me with three of each pandoras and pickerels with Phil next to me unhooking another pandora.

Everyone else caught loads of fish including Ken who landed a hard fighting Atlantic scad.

See photo of Ken with his Atlantic scad.

Kevin lost two big fish, the first fell off only 6 foot from the surface and we saw the monster going back down. It was certainly bigger than Kevin’s 7lber he caught last week. The second loss came when he struck a little too hard (He’s a float fisherman and still getting used to braid!) and his line parted at a knot, it was another big fish, but really big.

I’m off out again tomorrow and have beefed up some tackle to sort out the ones that keep busting us up, fingers crossed for me and watch this space.

I’ve not heard from “Captain Roly” so don’t know what he’s been catching and neither Capitanos “Sunshine” or “Gnome” have been out. Duncan (Sunshine) has promised he will get his outriggers sorted so we can go out and try them, this last few days of flat seas is a missed opportunity.

Kevin (HR) tried bottom fishing off the Pueblo Indalo arm with a rig we discussed but with no takes at all. The idea was to use 6 baited feathers cast not too far out with a 13 foot rod, a bottom weight. The angle from the long rod would keep the baits/feathers off the bottom and on the move. The ultimate attraction for the meagre and other predators that have been busting up anglers along the shore and on boats. Back to the drawing board or maybe it just wasn’t Kevin’s day.
“Squidly Sid” had the same experience as Kevin on the Hotel Indalo arm just this morning only he used 12 feathers!, Not a bite.

“London Bill” however has been having better luck from Macenas beach and rocks with meagre to 3lbs, Atlantic scad to 2lbs, sea bass to 2lbs and palometes to 2lbs. From what Bill tells me about these latter fish they could in fact be leerfish or garrick and not palomete, very similar though. Get in there Bill.

“Baza Barry” reports big catches of carp and barbel from Negratin and little from the rivers feeding it. It seems not many trout are being introduced by the authorities in this financial climate. Doesn’t stop them taking license and day ticket money off us though!

Just heard from a Beachcomber customer whose husband I helped get his Andalucian coarse fishing license. He was approached while fishing at Negratin and asked for his license. I suspect the policeman was very surprised when he produced it. He was then asked for other documents such as residencia and passport I believe and also (This is the killer) his third party indemnity insurance. He didn’t have one and I’m not sure he ever did as years ago one was not required. Nowadays a one year one has to be produced to obtain a license in the first place and by law this one or similar has to be renewed. Mapfre offer one for about €9 a year so please go get one. This is the first time I‘ve heard of one being asked for and we now have one very worried angler who’s details were taken and there could be a fine in the post. I don’t know if not having insurance invalidates the license and by so doing, it being a criminal offence registered on ones passport and nie/residencia.

Talking of licenses “Girl Friday” is going for the next batch of beach and boat licenses early to mid July. Apart from the cash, only a passport and nie document copy for each license is required so see me soon.
Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

07-07-2010, 17:40

“Captain Brian Cuba” took a few mates out just before leaving Mojacar for a break in the old country (UK). I joined him with our Irish mate Cliff and his son Adam but unfortunately the young gun wasn’t well and we had to drop them off back in the marina before they had time to catch much, chemist for sea sickness tablets next time. The one by the Red Cross Centre in Mojacar sells a couple of good makes that work well.
We were also joined by “Brian and Maggie” An American honeymooning couple from Atlanta. We all caught a lot of fish but nothing of any size. As promised last week I targeted big fish with big hooks and big baits. Yes I caught some big weavers and the biggest comber I’ve ever caught but I wasn’t ready for a very big fish biting off part of my 50lb hook trace, dam that was a big fish, next time.

See photo of Brian and Maggie and a small pandora she caught.

Mick, Matt, Malcolm and Bill went out with Brian and his first mate for the day “Farmer Rory”. It was a really rough day even though they did catch a few fish including a decent Atlantic Scad.

“London Bill” carried on his successful bashing of Macenas Beach and rocks with good catches of sea bass, palomete and Atlantic scad.

“40 Watts” and “Cockney Ken” fished one of our favourite Murcia lakes and carp to 5lbs were caught. ” 40 W” lost a whopper that nearly pulled him in off rocks! They have been making recces to the area for a while and are looking for some other venues so if anyone has any advice please let me know. One lake they are interested in is called Algeciras and is between Lorca and Murcia town on the left of the motorway, only locked gates have been found up to now, has anyone any info please.

See photo of “40 W” and a common carp he caught.

“Casa Verde Barry” and “Birds nest Phil” fished the River Segura in Murcia Town and caught quite a few fish, all carp to 3lbs. Black ones, gold ones, pink ones and some blind ones, obviously a problem with the water, when in Murcia don’t drink it!

“Baza Barry” says the rivers are still running fast as dam gates have been open more than in previous years. I hear that one of Barry’s favourite spots above Negratin has lost its fishing stages and the river’s bank has been badly damaged by flood water. That’s obviously why I’ve not heard from Barry about fishing that particular venue.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

15-07-2010, 15:15

“Captain (Duncan) Sunshine” went out with some friends and motored all the way to the point on the edge of the Cabo de Gata national park. Within the park it’s against the law to fish and you would expect the fishing would be good. I’ve never found it so on the few occasion s I’ve made the trip. Duncan and his friends didn’t catch much either, you can’t beat the 500 yard area in front of Garrucha Marina, top mark.

The prolific “Captain (Brian) Cuba” is away in the UK for a month or so and neither Roly nor Graham has been out as far as I know so not much deep sea fishing news.

See a recent photo of me holding a small red snapper, that's "Ham Radio Kevin" next to me reeling in a fish.
One of Kevin himself with probably the biggest weaver I’ve seen. You wouldn’t want a jab by one that big.
Lastly one of Brian with a small pandora, have a look at the colour of him, he could get a job as a lookie lookie man selling fishing rods, Asda price!

“London Bill” has again been catching loads and has been concentrating his efforts mostly on Macenas’s beach and rocks. He caught quite a few fish spinning with silver spoons and rapalas, mainly Atlantic scad, sea bass and palometes and had a 7lb meagre from rocks under the 2nd tower while popping.
“Inflatable Andy” told me Spanish anglers are catching loads of mullet to 2lbs and palomete with their tried and tested, half a baguette, with 12 hooks wrapped around it. Not my cup of tea but each to their own and you have to remember most Spaniards are fishing for the table and not for the sport.
“Baza Barry” fished Negratin and bagged up with about 97lbs of carp to 5lbs and barbel to 2lbs in a six hour session. He was fishing a competitive mini match with two mates from the UK, both regular match fishermen there. The total weight caught was 250lbs.Barry travelled far to buy maggots for the match but he says it was worth it. Fishing poles it was a fish a chuck.

The last batch of Andalucian coarse fishing licenses have now come back and are ready for collection. The next batch can now go in and the end of this month is the target if “Girl Friday” can get one or two more applications to make the two long trips worthwhile. Documents required: In date and original English rod license, passport copy and preferably an NIE document copy, although the latter can be get round if needed. Licenses will take about 9 weeks to come back. Address in Spain, including postcode and tel number.

I can’t believe it; the Garrucha trawlers have not been out for two months now so fishing from the shore and inshore have got to get better in the future.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.
www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

22-07-2010, 14:39

“Captain (Duncan) Sunshine” and “Captain Rory” took out a party of six mates (Two boats) who were celebrating Tony’s 70th birthday I hear. They fished in front of the River Abajo and Garrucha Marina. The sea was flat early on but it wasn’t long before the inevitable happened, the wind came up and the anchors were needed. It wasn’t a prolific day by any means and they landed 40 to 50 fish between them but nothing worth mentioning.

See photo of Duncan holding a couple of channel mackerel.

Just heard from “Captain Brian Cuba” who is in the Uk, he’s pulling his hair out and has the shakes, says he can’t wait to get back and out fishing.

We are missing you too Brian and here’s a photo of three of your mates, me (L) “Admiral Phil” (C) catching a tiny pickerel and “Radio Ham Kevin (R). Another gorgeous day in paradise.

See also photo of “”Atalayones Greg” with a small octopus he caught when out on Brian’s boat.

“Kenolo” fished the beach at Pozo during the week and although he didn’t catch anything he thinks the mark near the La Frontera Restaurant has potential. Ken was able to walk out about 70 yards before being pushed over by waves. He says the bottom is good and he’ll try fishing there again soon. Ken spoke to a holiday maker that had been out on a boat from Garrucha and a lot of salmometes (red mullet) were caught. I’ve only ever seen one caught before and that was by my grandson “Beachcomber H” last year.

“London Bill” fished Macenas beach and rocks again this week with mixed results. One day not a bite or take and the next he bagged up. When the fish were behaving themselves he caught sea bass, palomete and Atlantic scad while spinning. Inshore bream such as dorada, cow and striped were caught bottom or float fishing. Meagre were had spinning but only small fish and nowhere near the weight they apparently grow to. Just imagine hooking the equivalent of a 110lb sea bass! Wow. Spinning also captured a couple of decent sea bass weighing about a kilo. (Well it’s good for here!) Popping produced nothing and I think the autumn months will provide better sport.

“Baza Barry” fished most of the week at Negratin and even camped out a couple of nights but didn’t fish during the hours of darkness. He and his mates caught shed loads of carp and barbel and at one point were catching the same fish twice in a matter of minutes. Although I’ve seen it happen before, two fish were caught on one hook. Competition for food was so intense; being caught wasn’t putting fish off feeding. The biggest fish caught was by Barry’s mate John; he landed a 12lb common carp in the early hours before the smaller fish got back into the swim. Barbel were landed to 4lbs and Barry had some small trout and black bass while spinning during quiet spells. Barry would have liked to take his friends to his favourite lake in Murcia but unlike Andalucia (using our loophole) it’s not possible to get Murcia licenses without an NIE document copy.

Talking about licenses, beach and boat licenses should be back now and Andalucian coarse licenses are hopefully going in soon.

“Flobalob Pete” has just returned from a few days on the Ebro and caught carp to just over 40lbs. Small cats were also caught but nothing big which was ok because like me he can’t stand the slimy monsters.

See photo of Pete with one of his 30s.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

29-07-2010, 16:16

I'm sorry if I sometimes state the obvious and write stuff that even idiots know but I write this weekly report for Spanish free rags and magazines and many of my regular readers are not actually anglers. Many women just read it to see who is going to get the next nickname lol.
Also we don't catch much here on our coast and I can only report what we do catch so please forgive me, John.

“Radio Ham Kevin” blanked on the only occasion he’s been out lately and neither fishing the top with bread or bottom with prawn could get a bite. While sat at the Truffy bar having a beer he watched a snorkeler with a spear gun, walk up the beach with a couple of two foot long fish. By the way there is a license needed for this activity and a doctor’s certificate is also required.

"London Bill" has been concentrating on Macenas rocks and beach as this is where he has consistently been catching fish. Meagre, sea bass and palometes as usual plus he was chuffed to bits to get a bonito weighing about five pounds. All were caught lure fishing with rapalas and spinners; nothing has been taking his poppers for a while now.

“Danny B” fished Garrucha rocks, the first night he caught nothing even though he fished until 7am. The second session was different and 9 doradas were caught with three of them weighing just over two pounds each. All were caught on, as Danny describes them, the cheap lugworm, whatever that is?

“Kenolo” fished the beach at Pozo again but had another blank so the mark is not looking so good after all. Saying that some Spanish lads have been pulling mullet in ok on the Spanish preferred method. Loaf of bread and a million hooks (OK so I’m exaggerating a little!)
A friend’s son went off Mojacar in an inflatable and saw two sperm whales, a cow and her calf. They disappeared before the video camera could be got ready. I have seen whales before when I lived up the Puerto Marina and it’s a special sight.
“Captain Duncan Sunshine” has gone out today with a party of friends as I write. Trying to find whales and dolphins, the latter he regularly sees and for some reason they are attracted to his boat.

Me and my grandson “Beachcomber Rhys” went out with Duncan on his Garrucha moored boat. The idea being to try out his brand new outriggers which are now in the bin, long story! Anyway we trolled for three and a half hours. Firstly straight out to sea and almost directly into the sun which is wrong but with waves measuring up to two metres it was necessary apparently. When five and a half miles out we turned for home and I could say we had no takes because of the sun. But we didn’t get any takes on the way back either even though we tried trolling just one hundred yards off the beach for a mile or so. We fished three rods, one with a surface popper, and another with a weighted squid which swims just below the surface. Lastly a small silver spinner with a trolling vein attached to the line a few feet from the lure, taking it down in the water.

See photo of me with a decent size comber, notice its swim bladder hanging out of i’ts mouth. A quick prick with a hook will usually allow it to swim away, seagull food otherwise.

“Spanish Peter” and his mate “Kote” have been fishing Ricobayo and La Almendra where they caught some nice barbel, small carp and black bass. The biggest barbel are being caught with rapalas.

See photo of Kote with a common carp and Peter with a barbel.

“Baza Barry” bagged up again at Negratin with carp to 5lbs and barbel to 3lbs. He also fished a couple of rivers north of the lake, free and day ticket. Not a lot was caught although he said he got a big hit while trying my weed-less frog method, shame it didn’t get the hook as Barry says it was a big fish. It could just have well been a big barbel to be fair and not the trout he was looking for. Well at least we now know the method works here and not only in Africa.

“Birds nest Phil” and “Casa Verde Barry” fished the shallow Murcia lake I’ve mentioned before. They don’t know what’s happened to the place as they only caught one 3lb carp between them. Spanish and EEs have been taking fish home so maybe thats why. The lake also contains (or did) a good head of trout and black bass.
The Calasparra lake is fishing it’s head off and so is the Lorca Lake where Barry had over 100 fish.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

04-08-2010, 16:10

Mick “Shylock” one of the Grumpy old men of Los Gallardos fished a shore mark north of Villaricos. He had 7 painted combers, 2 doradas, one weighing 1.5lb, and a white bream.

See photo of Mick and his dorada dinner.

“London Bill” fished the Garrucha rocks for a change and had some nice doradas. He says Macenas is still fishing well as can be seen by the amount of rods on the beach, word has got out how many fish he and some Spanish lads have been having there.

A massive meagre was caught from the shore in Portugal I believe. By the photo I estimate the fish weighed 50 or 60lbs and is proof of what we could be catching from our own shoreline. They grow to 110lbs and what I think are most likely to blame for smashing up our rigs and biting through 2.o hooks, from the shore and boat.

“Kenolo” and two mates Craig and George fished with “Captain Roly”. The day started calm but it wasn’t long before the sea became rough and Ken’s friends had to go back in because of sickness. They all caught and Ken says his theory of soaking his raw prawns in pilchard oil overnight worked as no sooner did his weight hit bottom he got bites.

Roly took four friends out today but again waves became uncomfortable and the two young guns decided they would rather go in a little early. They caught a few fish though, a scabbard fish, some scad, pickerel, combers and pandoras.

I spoke with “Captain Brian Cuba” and was pleased to hear he’s fed up with the UK’s rain, he might come back a bit earlier than expected now.

See photo of me on Brian’s boat with a twin banded bream and “Farmer Rory” behind me. A lot of good fish have come from that mark. I’ve had congers to 38lbs, black bream to 5lbs and red snappers to 7lbs. I’ve also been bust up by some monsters hooked in that 250 foot hole.

“Kote” and his father have been having more success on the Almendra lake where they caught 15 decent carp to about 7lbs on sweetcorn. Fish were gulping air from the surface of the lake so oxygen must be in short supply.

See photo of dad with a mirror carp.

Lack of oxygen brings me to the Cuevas canal where I suppose the authorities will soon allow big carp to die like they did last year. It wouldn’t be a big job to net the water and move the fish back into the lake from where they came. Has anyone heard any more about the boating and fishing lake that we are all waiting for with bated breath? (Should baited breath eh?)

The Lorca lake is still fishing well with big bags of mirror carp coming out. During spawning double figure mirrors were seen so those fish really have put on some weight after being introduced only a few years ago at 1lb. Maybe some bigger stock fish were also introduced as even though well fed fish could put on 5lbs a year I doubt there is that much natural food there. I know of a Moroccan mirror carp that put on 13lbs one year. (This weight gain may have included spawn)

The shallow Murcia lake is still not fishing well, a recent “Rods and reels” club match had the winner with only 9k of fish, a poor do. “Baza Barry” also fished the lake and wished he hadn’t made the long journey. He said he was fed up with fishing Negratin as it was too easy! And says the rivers are not producing much and certainly not worth paying for a day ticket. Barry is off to fish the Bolera lake near Pozo Alcon next, although not as prolific as Negratin there are bigger fish to be had.

Argos lake is also fishing well with big bags coming out.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

04-08-2010, 16:16

And heres the photo that was missing in the previous post, John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

12-08-2010, 14:54

Spanish anglers fishing in Mojacar and Macenas have been catching lots of palomete and small meagre to 2lbs. “Spanish Alex” caught a dorada weighing 4lbs, that’s got to be close to the local record I imagine.

See photo of Alex and a good palomete he caught previously from Macenas Beach.

“London Bill” has been fishing Mojacar’s beaches and catching mullet. Garrucha's rocks and arm for some good dorada to 2lbs. And Macenas beach for sea bass and palomete.

“Chippy Pete” and “Radio Ham Kevin” fished Mojacar beach (Mojacar/Garrucha border) a few hundred yards before the Repsol Garage. Pete had a blank but Kevin caught caught 4 palometes to about 1lb, all caught on raw prawn baited feathers. Kevin fishes his trace with a weight on the bottom and feathers moving around above the sea bottom. This attracts predator type fish and helps keep smaller rock fish and crabs away from his baits.

Kevin and I did a little recce one day and visited the smaller of the two marinas in Villaricos. I was surprised to see fishing was allowed or at least ignored within the marina itself, I bet there’s some big mullet in there. A small trawler had recently come in and was selling it’s catch of striped and dorada bream and also hake but the latter were thawing out from frozen so am not sure they were caught fresh from that boat.

Have you noticed that after two months of no big commercial trawlers going out of Garrucha that an average of only 5 now go out Monday to Friday. I wonder why the others are staying in the marina. Maybe the government subsidies are no longer worth going out for and when you consider they only ever bring back 6 or 7 boxes of fish each it certainly can’t be worth what must be a three hour trip to their fishing grounds. I would imagine they can’t make more than one or two trawls with the net in the time they have.

I was going to ask where this summer’s southerly sirocco wind was but I see the forecast is for westerlies and southerlies for the next week. We do seem to have had a lot of northerlies and easterlies this summer. Not good for boat fishing these new winds as they bring choppy seas but if our Capitanos were to get out of bed earlier lol, its usually flat until 11am.
Edit: Oh didn’t it come that Sirocco wind last Wednesday, we had a splash of red rain with it on the Playa and temperatures up to 50c.

“Captain Graham Gnome’s” boat is back in the water so he will be out fishing again with his mates. Now Graham’s got a new hobby (A bar) his mate “Hissing Sid” will be taking the boat out when Graham’s not available.

See photo of Sid with a really good triggerfish he caught while out with Graham.

Neither “Captain Roly” nor “Captain Duncan Sunshine” has been out this week so I have no boat fishing reports.

I’m told a second floating jetty is being prepared to be launched in Garrucha’s new marina, get back quickly Brian (Cuba) all the spaces will soon be gone.

“Baza Barry” has mates out again and is fishing the big lake where they have been bagging up. Maggots which they have found a supply of are catching best but once the fish are feeding they will take anything that looks or smells like food.

Calasparra and Lorca lakes are still fishing well with big bags coming from the former and better fish from the latter.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

finnmaccool

15-08-2010, 21:38

4lb dorada? A nice fish indeed on anyone's terms. There's a Spanish bloke called Raul Mario on Youtube that specialises in giant dorada, video here of a 6kg fish, that's over 13lb!! He's sponsored by Jap firm Awa-Shima and also works out of Cadiz as a fishing guide.
http://www.youtube.com/user/oblado1#p/u/0/Si1jRDZC3l4

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

16-08-2010, 12:09

Thanks for the link Finn, that's some dorada and I'd better change my statement to "Local record" although I dont get to hear that much of what the Spanish anglers actually catch, John.

P.S.Often makes me wish I lived in Spain on the Atlantic coast rather than the debilitated Mediterranean Sea...........

finnmaccool

18-08-2010, 18:50

I live on the north-west Atlantic coast and predator species wise
(from the shore), it's limited.You guys down there on the Med coast and west of Gib are spoilt for choice, with all those leerfish, bluefish, meagre, common bass, spotted bass, dolphin fish, assorted tuna species. I feel quite envious of you! When I'm plugging/spinning it's going to be bass, garfish or mackerel, and the latter only in spring and summer. I feel quite envious of you! :-)

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

18-08-2010, 19:01

The grass is always greener eh?

John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

20-08-2010, 19:45

New rules on boat and beach fishing licenses. (I have more news on Andalucian beach and boat rules just out today but want to confirm them first so watch this space.)

I thank WSF member Finnmaccool for some of the information below.

There are new rules that allow you to fish from any beach or boat in Spanish waters as long as you have one of the following.

A similar license from another European country member. i.e.; If you have a French beach or boat license you can fish from any beach or a boat in Spain.

Or a similar license from any Spanish region i.e.: with an Andalucian beach or boat license you can fish from any beach or a boat in Spain.

I am happy to give a copy of the law in Spanish and English to anyone as it is my opinion a percentage of local police and Guardia civil will not know about the rule. It’s best to be able to stick the rules under their noses rather than receive a fine have to fight against the decision.

This ruling does not affect Andalucian coarse fishing licenses and nothing has changed in that respect. I.e.; You have to do the 24 hour course or see me.

Things to take note of when coarse fishing in Murcia. Like Andalucia the police are getting stricter and now require your insurance and photographic evidence of your identity i.e.: a passport or driving license. Some anglers fishing on the Blanca lake were recently checked for the type of hook being used and a barbless hook is apparently required. I don’t know if this is at Blanca only or if the rule covers the whole of Murcia. I have made enquiries and will let you know when and if I find the answer.

As far as I know none of the Capitanos have been out in the recent choppy seas we’ve been getting.

“London Bill” has been targeting dorada this week and he’s had a few to 2lbs. Most have come from the Mojacar’s rocks just before Garrucha.

“Scott and brother Alex are here on a three week holiday from the uk and are hoping to get out and do some fishing.

See photo of Alex when he was here last time, he caught a few fish including these, pandora and comber (Top) and of Alex with a Pandora.

“Baza Barry” says the Negratin lake is still fishing well with carp to 5lbs and barbell to 2lbs.

“David P” has fished the Cortijo Grande lake a couple of times recently without being spotted by ”him with his council hat on” and caught quite a few small carp to 1lb. David says there are bigger beasts in there that must go at least 5lbs.

Lake Argos, near Calasparra is fishing well with bags over 120lbs coming out. Smaller bags are being caught at Lake Blanca also in Murcia but the sizes of the fish are bigger.

See photos of “Birds Nest Phil” and "Casa Verde Barry” with Blanca barbell.

The River Segura in Murcia town is fishing well with a recent club match angler winning with about 60lbs. Bread seems to be the winning bait with paste coming second. Some concrete pegs are becoming unfishable with reeds taking over.

I have details of a good spot on the River Segura in Murcia, close to Calasparra which holds some big fish. See me for more details.

Even with all the rain we’ve had this past year and many million litres of water imported from Negratin, the “Cuevas de Almanzora lake is still less than 5% full, where does all that water disappear to?

I’ve had a report from “Big Steve” about some 35lb carp coming out of a lake called Bandulara or Bandolero which is new and situated somewhere between Motril and Granada. Apparently the lake was filled and stocked from the dam at Lake Beznar which still has some 35lb carp in it. These were seen spawning only a few weeks ago by “Motril Barry”. Big carp are taking 20mm halibut pellets.

If you live anywhere near Mazarron a new sea and coarse fishing club has started in the area and I hear it’s not about match fishing but putting like minded people in touch with each other. Contact Alan at anglerstogether@gonuts4free.com or ‘phone 968 570 876. The next meetings will be held on Friday 10th September at 12.00 at Mary’s Bar in Campoverde (north of Pilar de la Horadada) and on Saturday 11th September at 12.00 at Los Galayos Bar, opposite the beach front at Puerto de Mazarron.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

finnmaccool

21-08-2010, 10:53

Nice one, John...

woodsy

23-08-2010, 14:34

thanks, would a british rod licence be good enough?

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

23-08-2010, 16:06

No good Woodsy because its a coarse license, not sea, sorry, John.

finnmaccool

23-08-2010, 22:53

If they hurry up with the british sea fishing licence, end of problem!!

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

28-08-2010, 16:38

As of August 20th 2010 there are some new sea fishing laws (Shore and boat) that will affect us all.

A maximum of 5kilos of fish a day of permitted species and minimum sizes can be kept per person. I don’t have a copy of the size list.

No catching bluefin tuna, albacore, big eye tuna, swordfish, marlin, sailfish or surprisingly hake.

No competitions (Without permission)

Trawls not allowed or long lines and nets. I haven’t been able to find out exactly what they mean by trawl and hope it doesn’t mean we cannot lure fish behind the boat, I don’t think so

I’m thinking about organising a three day/night trip to fish (Sea fishing) the Ebro Delta in a boat. Cost will be €145 a day including board plus fresh bait if we decide to use it. A maximum of three anglers I think unless we can organise more than one boat and one skipper. We could hire the boat and diy it but think having the local knowledge is a good idea, at least for the first trip. October would be the ideal time as there will be some big fish about, anyone interested see me.

“London Bill” has nothing exciting to report and he’s only had some small dorada from Mojacar beach.

“Kenolo” wrote to me with some fishing news. “I went fishing last Thursday with “Captain Sid” the other owner of “Gnome Graham’s” boat. We fished off Mojacar beach, plenty of fish on the fish finder but not much caught, I caught one small wrasse. Two holiday makers with us, Paul caught a nice trigger fish about 2-3lb and I took it home and it was delicious. “BBQ Sid” caught a weaver, also two octopus but they fell off before they could be landed.

We ended up opposite the spire outside Gurrucha harbour where we usual fish. Paul caught what we thought was the bottom, I then caught it and It felt like a submarine, the pull was so strong it broke my new rod that I bought with you and “Captain Brian Cuba” in March in the Villaricos tackle shop, it was the first time I had used it. The skipper was pretty certain it was a discarded fishing net from one of the trawlers. The net was going one way and we were drifting the other. I was in about 325 feet of water. I took the rod back to day and its being sent back to Barcelona.
Not so tight lines
Kenolo”

Oh dear Ken I bet you were on the 200m spire mark off the shore and not 300m as the former is where a huge snag lurks. Yes a net or something, lost a few rigs there (Me only one) and a couple of Capitanos have lost anchors too.

“Captain Brian Cuba” is due back in Mojacar around the 13th September and says he will be out fishing within two days, no surprise there. That will please a few Brian especially “Farmer Rory”, your first mate who has missed you as much as me I’m sure.

See photo of Rory with a couple of blue mouths.

I’ve just got a report from “Birds nest Phil” about his recent River Ebro trip.

“Hi John, just a small selection of photographs of the 130 fish we caught at “Mikes Bay in Caspe”. In strong winds blowing down the main part of the river I decided as we had a boat the best option was to fish the sheltered entrance to the bay that floods up to Mike’s old house. Putting us in reach of the main flow hopefully to get us a few cats, but this was not to be as it seemed from reports that a lot were being caught upstream at Chiprana, where I suspect they spawned.
I got there a day early and camped on the bank on the opposite side to Chacon. Once my son and his two mates from Wales arrived they parked on waste ground at the other side to me so the big task was to boat all the gear over which took about an hour.

Once set up we started a big baiting campaign to prepare for a good week’s fishing.
Fish soon started to be caught with halibut pellets glugged with liquid belachan. This proved to be a good attracter, lots of mid doubles and 20 s but the bigger ones hard to find. My best was 25lb but the lads all got PBs with 32lb, 30lb and 25lb so they were all happy but no big cats.

A good week but hard with not many anglers about and the ones that were there struggled, so we were happy, the cats will have to wait until another trip. Cheers Phil”.

See photo of Phil with a 25lb Ebro common.

“Baza Barry” says Negratin is boringly fishing well but nothing of any size coming out.

You’ve got to watch this, I want one to catch me some live bait.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNTw7GH325U&feature=related

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

04-09-2010, 14:07

“Captain Mike” called in to see me and says he has been out in his Villaricos based boat “Isabel” and found a shoal of Dorado (Mahi Mahi) he caught a few, six I think.
“Bruce the anchor” and I were only asking the other day when we would see them. They are all weighing around 1.5lbs and are this year’s babies. A good time to eat them if at all, they grow at a rate of about 5lbs a year. Mike said he caught some other fish in the top 30 feet of the 200 feet depth he was trolling at. Bream shaped with yellow bellies. I haven’t a clue what they could be (Anyone know?) I’m hoping Mike is going to send me a photo before they are skinned.

See photo of Mike on a previous trip out catching dorados among other fish.

“Captain Roly” took three friends out for a morning on the boat “Edmund” moored in Garrucha Marina. They only caught about fifteen fish but had a good time and the catch included a red snapper so dinner was no doubt sorted.

The first International fishing tournament took place on Sunday 29 August 2010.
Dozens of local anglers turned out for the Ist International Fishing Competition, Puerto de la Duquesa, Manilva on 29 August 2010. With shore fishing from the Dique (breakwater) and several boats taking part, the competition was a great success. Entrants were from Spain, Britain, Canada, Romania and Gibraltar.
Over 47 fish were caught on the Dique and of course the boats brought back some big catches. During the weigh in at the end of the tournament, crowds gathered at the port with great interest as they saw the catches of the day return.

1st prize Boat Tony Triay with a Grouper weighing in at 7.925 KG
1st Prize Dique (Jetty) Glen Walding Trigger Fish aggregate weight 2KG
Competition information from Gary at www.medsports.net

See photo of Tony with his grouper.
See photo of Glen with his trigger fish.

“Geoff Hagger” emailed me to say himself, “Terry the hook” and “Tony the shark” fished the Argos Lake near Calasparra where they caught good bags of carp and barbel.
They also fished rocks at Aguilas where I believe only Tony caught with a dorada.

“London Bill” fished Mojacar and Macenas beaches in big seas but still managed good catches of Atlantic Scad, all were caught on small spinners. Bill is excited at the thought of the doradas coming inshore and says he will fish for some next week.

Anglers and netters have been catching catfish from the River Segura in Murcia but I don’t know which species they are but if they are “Wels” fishing will one day be very interesting as these grow to 250lbs on the Ebro.

“Baza Barry” says water levels at Negratin are still high for the time of year and he is still catching lots of carp and barbel but nothing of any size. He did a recce of some rivers and says he didn’t see a trout. Worrying and we have to wonder if the authorities have done any stocking in the last two years.

“Girl Friday” is going on Friday 10th September for boat and beach licenses; see me by Thursday afternoon latest with Passport and NIE copies. It’s also your last chance to get an Andalucian coarse fishing license for a while because Bridie is making a trip to Granada in the next few days, again see me for details.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

09-09-2010, 12:44

“Captain Roly” went out from Garrucha Marina on “Edmund” with a few mates and they caught mostly pandoras and scad with a bonus scabbard fish. A Beautiful chrome plated fish you can see your face on. They also saw a stingray which came to the surface probably looking for the source of prawn heads being thrown overboard. Although I’ve seen hundreds of sunfish on the surface I’ve never seen a stingray but Roly assures me it was a regular occurrence when he fished around England’s coast.

By the time you read this “Captain Brian Cuba” is expected back in Mojacar and will no doubt be out fishing on his Garrucha moored boat.

“London Bill” fished for dorados, spinning from Mojacar and Macenas beaches but only had (Only!) a small bonito weighing just over 4lbs and plenty of small scad, sea bass and palomete. “Dutch Ton” confirmed there was good fishing to be had on Macenas Beach, he caught barracuda, sea bass and palomete and says lots of Spanish anglers, were like him, spinning and catching a few fish.

“Squidly Sid” and his mate “Dennis the menace” fished the Indalo Hotel Arm on Mojacar Playa and a few small palometes were caught. Dennis also hooked and landed dinner with a 3lb tub gurnard. The gurnard fell to raw prawn fished on the bottom.

See photo of Dennis and his tub gurnard.

A beach angler fishing without a license in Aguilas was fined €300 and his fishing tackle was confiscated.

I spent a lovely day in Almerimar with Chris from almerimarlife.com and his wife Sandy from Alstrays cat rescue. Chris was telling me about a new boating lake that is planned for the town. Often in Spain these leisure lakes include fishing facilities which is quite exciting as the town is only about an hour from Mojacar. Chris will keep me informed.
While walking along Almerimar beach we saw what appeared to be sea bass chasing fry on the surface. On my return to Mojacar that evening, there they were again outside the Beachcomber. I couldn’t believe how quick those fish followed me back to Mojacar!
While talking to “Mode Adam” the following day in the Beachcomber a big fish came clear out of the water about 1/2km out. I presume it was a marlin or swordfish.

Sources are telling me massive catches of carp and a few barbel are being caught from Argos near Calasparra in Murcia and “Baza Barry” says Negratin near Baza in Andalucia is fishing the same. These small fish are obviously feeding themselves up for a possible long cold winter so let’s hope they don’t know something we don’t! The water levels are dropping now in the Argos Lake and others and this could well be the reason. A recent “Rods and Reels” match held at Argos was won with 78lbs, 2nd with 60lbs and 3rd with 40lbs. All three bags were taken on the pole with sweetcorn.

See photos of “Tony the shark” and “Terry the hook” with a few fish from the Argos lake.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

18-09-2010, 17:05

Macenas beach is still producing good fish and lots of barracuda are being seen and caught with sea bass, palomete, Atlantic Scad and the odd small bonito. October is the best winter month in my opinion and I look forward to bashing Macenas beach in particular. One worry I have is that heavy rain last winter brought a lot of water down the river into the sea but it also brought Macenas’s building material with it. Builder’s sand and concrete dust will have done nothing to help the situation and many areas of natural rock etc will be covered in these unwanted materials, fish ain’t going to like it!

“Mojacar Roland” told me Spaniards were fishing in front of his beach house one evening and caught 15 red mullet and one very good dorada bream. I must admit not to have caught red mullet from the beach before but me and my grandson have from a boat.

Mojacar council are to ask permission to build a walkway between the Indalo Hotel and Macenas Castle. This was turned down once before but I think it’s a good idea to link the two areas. It will bring more tourists to the area including more visitors from Macenas to Mojacar Playa when Macenas eventually comes together. The best thing of course is that we will get lots more places to fish from.

“Captain Brian Cuba” and his partner “Admiral Phil” are back in town and after a day servicing their boat and another cleaning it we are ready for a half day out tomorrow so watch this space next week, Brian recons he’s going to have me out fishing at least 5 days a week so we’ll see what Maggie has to say about that!
See photo of John with a twin banded bream, Ian (Pete behind) with a blue mouth and “Vera Phil” with a pickerel. All out on Brian and Phil’s boat previously.

All beach and boat licenses put in before mid September should be back in my hands by the time you read this and all Andalucian coarse licenses have been applied for (The latter will take a month or two to come back) Remember you can now fish anywhere on Spain’s coast with a license from another region but do yourself a favour and get a copy of the law/rule in Spanish and English from me because it’s likely many Guardia and local police in all regions will not have heard the news yet, we are in a third world country remember, or so it seems sometimes.

A “Rods and reels” match on the River Segura (Eden canal stretch) was held last week and pegs were in poor condition with bamboo having taken over. Half hour work on each peg was needed to be able to fish. 1st 23lbs 2nd 18lbs and 3rd 14lbs all caught using poles with maggot and sweetcorn as bait.

“Baza Barry” has nothing exciting to report and he is still catching fish and says the water level is now dropping.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

22-09-2010, 19:25

The River Segura in Murcia, the Eden Canal stretch, fished well again last week. The water is low and slow moving. The “Rods and reels” club match was won by “Stan the man” with 22lbs. My new mate Dave with 18lbs and “Tony the flower man” also with 18lbs. 1st and 2nd anglers were using sweetcorn and 3rd was on bread flake. All anglers fished the pole method.

The next “Anglers Together” club meeting is to be held at the Los Galayos Bar opposite the beach front, at Puerto Mazzaron on 9th October at 12 noon. This is not a match fishing club but puts like minded fishermen together. Bit like our meetings here in the Beachcomber and we will have to organise one for the end October, watch this space.

“Captain Brian Cuba” and his partner “Admiral Phil” are back and a few of us went out last week the morning the heavens opened. We were joined by “Ham Radio Kevin” and “Medway Chris” and all caught a few fish although we were unable to fish the bottom of the 300 foot hole we were close to. The wind kept changing direction and we fished the side of the hole which is usually pretty useless. I fished with baited 2.0 feathered hooks to try for bigger fish but the other lads were using size 4’s and 6’s and were bringing up to four fish at a time measuring about 3 inches each!

See photo of Chris with a few tiddler pandoras.

Me and Chris got down to our underpants (To keep our other clothes dry) in torrential rain to drag in 300 feet of rope, chain and anchor. I tell you even though it was 30c with wind and being soaking wet I was freezing. Fish caught were pandoras, combers, pickerels and bogues.
My next trip out with Brian and Phil was with Chris again and “3 fish Richard” from Villaricos. (Used to be “No fish Richard” lol) We had a poor day and only caught a few fish and nothing decent.

The following day I was again out with Brian. We were joined this time by “Inflatable Andy”, “Mike the watch” and “Captain Paul Badger” who has a boat himself in Garrucha marina. Paul had been out the day before on his boat and caught a few very small blue fin tuna, dorados and an albacore. (The former and latter remember have to be returned now by law) All were caught trolling within 2.1/2 miles of the shore. This day we caught dreaded Weavers, (Brian got his fourth ever sting but luckily only in a bone in his thumb) pickerels, pandoras, combers and a black bream.

“Captain Squiddly Sid” went out of Villaricos on his new boat, “Suzy Jane 3”, with his mate “Dennis the menace”; they caught 15 trigger fish weighing between 2 and 4lbs. All were caught on the bottom in roughly 80 feet of water and bait was raw prawn. They also caught a few combers.

“Captain Hissing Sid” and “Captain Graham Gnome” took their boat out of Garrucha with some mates and caught pandoras, weavers, triggerfish, pickerel, bogues, horse mackerel, a lizard fish and a 6lb brown rockfish. Graham put the latter back, although after I told him how good they taste I’m not sure he would repeat the good deed.

See photos of Sid (Hissing) and his mate “Derby Andy” with a triggerfish each.

Fishing the sea bottom is difficult right now, I believe because of the explosion of small fish close to the shore and why our prawn baits are not being gobbled up by the predators. Massive shoals of tiny fish are boiling on the surface and even seagulls can’t be bothered because they are presumably full up. It’s trolling time right now, small lures on or just below the surface.

Yippee! at last I’ve booked a proper fishing trip with a couple of friends, my mate Steve from Bulgaria who fished with me on my last South African trip, and Steve’s mate, Tony. We are off to Guinea Bissau on the Atlantic coast of Africa. Stuck between Senegal and Guinea it’s a bit dodgy and there was a military coop only this year in April. The army squashed the protests that followed by saying if they didn’t stop they would kill the ex president, mmm nice.

Anyway the fishing is fantastic and I can’t wait. Some of you might remember it was somewhere I wanted to go, as one of the first Brits to fish there a few years ago. Since my internet enquiries the venue was picked up by a specialist fishing tour operator, Richard of worldsportfishing.com and he’s got it sorted now with flights to the country via a stop in Lisbon. (London or Malaga) That’s brilliant because we were going to hire two Gambian drivers and a vehicle and drive all the way and back from The Gambia. Richard has also organised boat fishing which is what we will be concentrating on. 10 days and 9 nights and I can’t wait, roll on March.

Oh and flipping Robson Green has gone and beaten me to it and fished there first. The program, Extreme Fishing, should be on Channel 5 soon. Hope he does a better job than he did with that tiddler River Ebro Catfish, the big woos. (Says me envious of him!)

No news from “Baza Barry” or “London Bill” this week and I have not received any other beach fishing reports.
Remember that I have copies of the law in Spanish and English which allows holders of any Spanish sea fishing license to be able to fish another region’s waters. Although I know that with a sea license from any EU member country you can fish Andalucian waters I have no proof that the opposite is true.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

30-09-2010, 14:02

“Casa Verde Barry” is in Huercal Overa hospital’s intensive care unit. Barry has come through a lot of illness during his life and I’m sure you will all wish him as I do, a fast recovery and our thoughts will be with him and his wife Mary, who I know will be at his side as much as she is permitted.

“Ham Radio Kevin” and “Chippy Pete” fished the beach in front of the Truffy Bar where Kevin has on more than one occasion seen snorkelers returning from their hunt with loads of big fish on a string. Not even a bite for our intrepid two though, must try harder boys!

“London Bill” has been concentrating on spinning lately, mostly on Macenas Beach and Rocks. Nothing big caught but quite a few fish including dorado, Atlantic Scad, sea bass and palomete. He also hooked a blue fish but lost it as he tried to get a net under it in difficult circumstances on rocks.

“Captain Cuba” and partner “Admiral Phil” went out with a couple of friends; Laurence and Phil, Phil (Admiral) caught a 3.1/2lb triggerfish. Other fish caught were weavers, pickerels and pandoras.

See photo of "Admiral Phil" and his triggerfish and the other Phil (R) with mate Laurence and a pickerel (Bottom) and another tiddler above.

A bit of news from the “Anglers Together” club in Murcia. They say all venues have been fishing well, although in the last week or so there has been quite a lot of flood water running through the Segura, making fishing there a little difficult.
The river from Benijofar downstream is very overgrown due to lack of use over the hot summer months. If visiting this stretch, we suggest that you take some tools to cut your swim out. The next meeting of the all round fishing club is on Saturday 9th October at 12 o’clock at Los Galayos Bar/Restaurant, Puerto de Mazarron. anglerstogether@gonuts4free.com

I’m pleased to report that Lake Bolera has been stocked with a lorry load (As it was described to me) of trout. The lake can be found between Pozo Alcon and Castril, the small river that exits the lake ends up in Negratin, and thanks go to Chris and Ali for the info.

“Baza Barry” was pleased to hear the above news; he’s been saying for two years he didn’t think there had been any stocking of trout there. Barry regularly fishes that river and has caught trout to 4lbs and seen them around the 8lb mark. He often catches small trout in both lakes. Barry hasn’t been fishing lately because he has hurt his back, get well soon mate.

Anglers fishing on the River Ebro with guide “Gary Sheridan” have been catching some good carp.

See photo of Jev (“The man with a plan”) and his 34lb mirror carp.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

08-10-2010, 19:18

“Radio ham Kevin” and “Chippy Pete” fished the Truffy Bar beach mark and had a few fish. Some sort of scorpion fish which they both chose not to handle! Plus a wrasse and a few painted combers and palometes.

“Captain Brian Cuba” and I went out on a recce looking for a trigger mark Brian had found on two previous trips. Could we find it? No, so I’ve sorted myself a hand held GPS for future trips. That day we took the opportunity of going slow to troll a lure but with no success. We couldn’t possible return to the marina fishless and so fished over a 500 foot hole near the marina entrance and caught a couple of fish, a comber and blue mouth.

I’m now away in the UK as I write this and have had little contact with anglers at home (Spain) and so don’t have much to tell you this week.

Brian fished out of Garrucha twice this week with friends. “Spanish Pete” and “Chippy Pete” both catching triggers over the new mark that Brian found again in the end. Also out during the week was “Mike the watch” who caught a nice red snapper and “Paul the rope” and “Bob the tent”. Everyone caught a few fish including the usual suspects like pandoras, combers and pickerels. A couple of the lesser regular fish to be caught were lizard fish and scabbard fish. Brian was pleased not to have any weavers on board this week after being stung for the fourth time last week. He thought he was immune to the poison but no it still hurts like hell.

See photo of Bob with a pandora, Pete with a triggerfish and Paul and his scabbard fish.

The “Rods and reels club” were due to fish the River Segura in Murcia town but fast water pushed them to the Eden Canal stretch instead. High water and weed caused problems there too and work had to be done to allow all anglers to get on pegs. Not a bad day and Pete “dancing shoes” Hoare had 31lbs using sweetcorn. Dave “Yours Truly” Hoare came 2nd with 29.1/4lbs using maggot and sweetcorn. 3rd was Stan “The man” Roberts also with 29.1/4lbs using maggot and paste. All three Anglers fished the pole method.

“Rods and reels” were out again later in the week and fished the Blanca Lake in Murcia. Fishing was tough and the match was won with only 16lbs and so we have to wonder what the colder weather will bring. This lake though is different from many in that it contains predators such as trout and black bass and there are some decent fish in there, carp to 20lbs and barbel to 10lbs have been caught to my knowledge.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

15-10-2010, 12:14

“Radio Ham Kevin” and “Chippy Pete” fished a spot on Mojacar beach but didn’t catch anything worth mentioning but “London Bill” had better luck with mullet, one weighing a massive (For Mojacar) 4lbs plus palometes and sea bass. Bill told me he hooked something big from Macenas Rocks and a fish took his popper from about 50 yards out. It must have been a whopper because it took about 30 to 40 yards of line before stopping and spitting the hook. At that point he saw a fish, he estimated weighing about 20lbs, jump in the area and turn as if it was trying to get rid of lice etc. He wasn’t sure by any means but thought it looked like a yellow fin tuna or albacore. It was blue/grey in colour and although a fair way out he thought he saw a flash of yellow in the fins. Bill hooked and landed a 40lb yellow fin off the same mark three years ago.

“Captain Brian Cuba” has been out a few times on his Garrucha moored boat, once with “Farmer Rory” and four other friends. They caught 8 different species including, combers, pickerels, lizard fish, pandora, saddled and annular bream and three red snappers. Also caught was a small weaver which wasn’t seen by Brian and the captor grabbed it with his hand. Interestingly he got stung twice but luckily only by the gill spine, we have always wondered if the sting was poisonous or not. Apart from a nettle sting pain the captor didn’t suffer much so we now have to presume the gill sting is different from the dorsal fin’s sting.

See photo of “Spanish Pete” with a decent trigger fish. “Chippy Pete” and a comber and another photo of the lucky angler and a mate with the weaver (pandora below) that did the limited damage.

There was an unusual happening that day, as one angler dropped his rig down it was hit and he had a good fish on for a short while. While coming up the big fish got off and the head of a small fish, cleanly cut off behind its head, was attached to the hook. Not unusual you might say but the fishes head was partly digested. The only explanation I can come up with is the big fish while being hooked regurgitated the contents of its stomach and somehow the hook transferred itself to the rotting head during the process of the biggie getting off the hook.

The “Rods and reels” club fished the River Segura in Murcia, although the water level was well down and another match was held there the day before it fished quite well with Doug Hornblow winning with 62.1/2lbs, Lenny Bolton 46.1/4lbs and Dave Hoare finishing 3rd with 40.1/4lbs.

“Casa Verde Barry” is out of hospital but is still very poorly, he has confounded the doctors (again) with his will to live and I’m sure all our thoughts have helped too, fingers and other body parts to still be kept firmly crossed please.

Another trip out was with “Farmer Rory” (again) and Phil and Brian from the Albox area. They caught a couple of triggers from Brian’s new mark. One was found to have an extra hook in its mouth from one of the other anglers when a fish was lost. Also caught was a few of the usuals such as what was caught on the other trip.

I’ve bought a new book on Mediterranean and Atlantic fish and that puts my collection of med fish books to five. If anyone is interested in buying a book they are most welcome to have a look through mine as I’ve already done the hard work of finding out what’s good and not. Ring first to make sure I’m not out fishing!

I know I like a bit of wild adventure fishing but this is going too far. www.somalicruises.com (Thanks to another forum member for this)

Don’t be caught short lol http://www.thebrowncorporation.com/

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

21-10-2010, 17:35

The Beachcomber will have a fishing meeting on Tuesday 30th November from 7pm until 9pm, just a get together because we haven’t had one during the summer. By all means bring tackle along if you want to sell some. “John the fly” has agreed to bring along his fly tying stuff again and show his skills. I expect if “Luxemburg Roland” is back from his travels he too will come along and show us his tying methods and again maybe bring his squid lures and tell us how to catch the critters. We hope all our Capitanos will attend and you can organise a boat fishing trip or ask their advice. As always I’ll be here to answer any questions including up to date fishing license news.

The Anglers Together Club I have mentioned before is having its next meeting on Saturday 13th November at 12 o’clock at Los Galayos Bar, opposite beach front at Puerto de Mazarron. The club is not about match fishing, and is for sea and coarse anglers and was formed to put like minded people together; I am hoping to make this meeting myself.

Two new fishing clubs have got under way, firstly Abbey Angling Club in the area of Playa Flamenca just south of Torrevieja and a bit far for most of us. The club however is joining the Murcia Federation and will be fishing some of their matches in Murcia. Contact Mick on 965327858 or Terry on 965328368.

The second is much closer and in Albox and it was launched last week, the club is a sea fishing club but I have no further details and will let you know when I find out more.

“Captain Brian Cuba” has been out three times this week on his Garrucha moored boat. The first and second of these trips with his first mate “Farmer Rory” and they were joined over the two trips by “Spanish Peter”, “Chippy Pete”, Yorkshire Phil”, “Yorkshire Mike”, “Essex Mike”, “Scottish Andrew” and his mate Ian. They all caught fish with some worth mentioning, Pete (Spanish) a big triggerfish, Pete (Chippy) a good comber and Phil a 10lb sunfish. Other fish caught included lots of scabbard fish, pandoras, combers, pickerels, weavers and blue mouths.

See photo of Phil and his sunfish.

Brian’s third trip out last week included yours truly and “Chippy Pete”, “Snapper John” and “Moray Jeremy”. What a great day we had, caught lots of different species including, an Amberjack, red snappers, scabbard fish, pandoras, Spanish Mackerel, combers, pickerels, banded bream and weavers (most of which were shook off the hooks instead of boating the dangerous little monsters) and a couple of others I can’t remember.

See photo of Jeremy and a snapper or common bream, no moray eels for him today.

Two of us had hooks bitten off including me. I was reeling in what I thought was two or three small fish when I was hit mid water by a bigger one and I played it very slowly on purpose. Suddenly my rod bent over and the fighting stopped and there was little bend in the rod. Something bigger had nicked my big fish off the bottom hook as it turned out and bitten the trace off from this point down, including my weight. That was a decent fish and I don’t expect it will have too much trouble getting rid of my 3oz lead hanging from its mouth. Oh and what eventually came up was three combers probably feeling scared as they had a lucky escape and all went back down after we pricked their swim bladders.

We fished in front of Garrucha Marina and drifted over areas from 130 feet to in excess of 600. When the wind was due to changed direction, and as so often happens, the wind stopped so at this time we moved over my favourite mark, two big holes ranging between 250 feet and 300. Normally drifting here at any speed is a bit dangerous due to tackle loss and we usually catch well from this mark.
Just before we moved I dropped my speed jigging lure to the bottom in about 350 feet and lifted it just off the bottom as the boat moved off. Over the next 500 metres I suspect the jig would have come up to about mid water. Just before we were in the right spot I felt what I thought was a hit but didn’t know for sure if it was a fish or one or both single hooks attached to its head had spun round and caught the line as sometimes happens when jigging. Anyway I reeled in an amberjack weighing about 3 or 4lbs.

See photo of me and my lesser or Atlantic amberjack and another of John with his red snapper or common bream.

I’ve not heard anything from the other Capitanos and the beach fishing lads had nothing exciting to report to me. “Baza Barry” is still suffering from a back problem and hasn’t been out. I have no more news about “Casa Verde Barry” so I’m hoping no news is good news.

The Rods and Reels club Last week fished a match on the Rio Segura at Murcia. There was concern the match might have to be moved due to heavy rain forecast, but luckily it held off with only the towpath being a quagmire. Results on the day were mixed as the river was still low. On saying that, some of the more noted pegs failed to produce like normal, and some of the other pegs not always included produced very well.

Top anglers on the day
1st Doug (“Welsh Goldminer”) Hornblow fishing the pole using corn with 34.02 kilo´s.
2nd Ian (“Irish Wizard”) Dalzell same method with 27.72 kilo´s
3rd Bill (“The Master”) Reade same method with 25.74 kilo´s.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber at www.beachcomber-restaurant.com

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

28-10-2010, 17:53

“London Bill” has been concentrating on fishing lures from Macenas rocks and has had bonitos, Atlantic scad and dorados but nothing of any size. He told me Spanish anglers have been doing well fishing from the beach there and one landed a stingray weighing about 15lbs.

I went out with “Captain Brian Cuba” on his boat twice this week; the first time with “Dangerous Brian” previously “Nightmare Brian” but his mum didn’t like the name! (I don’t know which is worse) We were joined by “Chippy Pete” and “Radio Ham Kevin”. There are a lot of big predator fish out there at the moment (read on) and I got bust up three times with Pete suffering the fate only once.
Pete caught what at first I thought was a ling but after some research it turned out to be a forkbeard. It weighed about 8lbs and Peter also had a nice twin banded bream. Kevin landed a yellow tail amberjack which was a nice touch. Other fish we don’t catch loads of was a few pouting and lots of scabbard fish. We also caught some of the usual suspects such as pandoras, combers, Spanish mackerel and blue mouths.

See photo of Pete and his unusual forkbeard.

Brian (CB) was out again a couple of days later with “Farmer Rory”, “Chippy Pete” and 14 year old “Octopus Ed” accompanied by his mum Linda. The two lads, mum and son caught a few fish, nothing notable though, only weavers, an abundance of pickerel, pandoras, combers, Spanish mackerel and scabbardfish.

See photo of Ed with mum Linda and a weaver she caught.

The second occasion I went out with Brian (CB) was rather eventful with me catching a red snapper weighing about 7lbs then going onto land a 2 metre conger eel weighing about 50lb. Both fish came out of my favourite 250 foot hole in front of Garrucha Marina which I have now renamed Conger Hole as I’ve now had three big ones from the same spot. I was joined on the trip by Kevin, Peter and young Ed with all three catching plenty of fish. I added a new species to my list, a poor cod.

See photo of me with my 2m conger eel.

Two matches have been fished at Lake Argos near Calasparra and in both the winning weights were in excess 50lbs. Maggot, sweetcorn, pellet and paste all catching with winning methods being feeder or pole. Another match was held on the Eden Canal but with a poor winning weight of about 15lbs.

“Casa Verde Barry’s” condition is still improving and he is attending the hospital regularly, best wishes pal.

The Beachcomber will have a fishing meeting on Tuesday 30th November from 7pm until 9pm.

The Anglers Together Club I have mentioned before is having its next meeting on Saturday 13th November at 12 o’clock at Los Galayos Bar, opposite beach front at Puerto de Mazarron. A group of 4 anglers from the club
recently visited the River Ebro and during the week caught 7 common carp (all over 20 lb, the largest 45lb) and 11 catfish over the magic 100lb; the best being 179lb.

See photo of the lads with the big catfish.

The new Albox fishing club (Sea and coarse) meetings will take place at Syedpur Restaurant, Albox, every two weeks at 4pm each Wednesday, starting November 3rd.
Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber at www.beachcomber-restaurant.com

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

04-11-2010, 16:24

‘Captain Brian Cuba’ and his partner ‘Admiral Phil’ went out of Garrucha twice during the week and I joined them on both occasions. The 2nd trip was the most memorable and we were joined by ‘Farmer Rory’ and ‘Chippy Pete’. We were all bust up by big fish that day and one particularly large one broke Rory’s rod in two. This monster wouldn’t come off the bottom for more than a few seconds before dropping back down to the sea bed and its actions spelt stingray or some other fish that likes to stay flat on the bottom when hooked. Rory’s rod was not up to the job and by the time Pete and I helped with the hand lining, the fish had gone.

Everybody had hooks and lines bitten through and stories of their own to tell. I caught a few twin banded bream and think it was probably one of those that bent my 20lb rod in half and stayed on for a few seconds before biting through yet another trace taking my lead with it. I say probably but it could have been nearly anything I suppose but it was bream-like in its fight.

Maybe even a bigger red snapper than the one I caught last week in the photo.

Other fish caught on the day were, forkbeards and scabbardfish, both these are now being caught regularly from the boat. Pandoras, combers, pouting and Spanish mackerel.

See photo of ‘Dangerous Brian’ and a pouting he caught while out with Brian last week and picture of ‘Radio Ham Kevin’ with a yellow tailed amberjack caught a few days ago. See also Brian’s boat in the background ‘Waverider’

‘London Bill’ fished the Garrucha wall and caught some small barracuda and sea bass, a small silver spoon was the successful lure.

‘Baza Barry’ says his back problem is improving and hopes to get down to Lake Negratin soon. ‘Casa Verde Barry’s health is also on the mend but very slowly.

The ‘Rods and Reels’ club fished the River Segura in Murcia and 1st was Dave ‘Yours Truly’ Hoare fishing the pole using bread with 38lbs and Stan ‘The Man’ Roberts 2nd fishing the pole using corn and bread with 35.1/2lbs. Mick ‘The Arsenal’ Hill was 3rd fishing the pole using paste with 19.1/2lbs. (This included a carp just shy of 10lbs.)
The Beachcomber will hold a fishing meeting on Tuesday 30th November from 7pm until 9pm.

The Anglers Together Club is having its next meeting this Saturday 13th November at 12 o’clock at Los Galayos Bar, opposite the beach front at Puerto de Mazarron. A few of us Mojacar anglers are going so hope to meet some of you there.

The next Albox fishing club (Sea and coarse) meeting will take place at Syedpur Restaurant, Albox, on Wednesday November 17th, then every two weeks.

To add to my new adventuring ideas I thought I might have a go at this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKgxGQL4DjM

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber at www.beachcomber-restaurant.com

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

11-11-2010, 18:58

‘Hissing Sid’ took his boat out of Villaricos with local ‘Jason’ and his mates from Wolverhampton, Lee and Warren. Sid had trouble with the boat’s fish finder (again) and only caught small red snappers, pandoras and Spanish mackerel.

See photo of Jason with a small red snapper.

‘Squiddly Sid’ and his grandson Andrew also went out of Villaricos but with “Tomahalk Steve”. (That’s some boat!) Fish caught were bonito, red snapper, rockfish and combers. I noted in a photo it was a ‘painted comber’ and so I presume they caught that in shallow water because that is normally where they live and are more likely to get caught from the shore.

See photo of Andrew (L) and Sid with a few fish they caught.

‘Captain Brian Cuba’ has only been out once this week and I joined him with his partner ‘Admiral Phil’, ‘Los Lobos Kenolo’ and ‘Chippy Pete’. We all a caught a few fish but nothing special and for a change no monsters were lost. The wind wasn’t right for fishing our holes and so we tried a triggerfish mark near the garage. Only fish caught were pandoras, combers, pickerel and weavers (Lots!) Rather than bring these dangerous piscatorial monsters aboard a quick shake usually releases them and back down to Davy Jones’s locker they go.

You may have read me mention pricking the swollen swim bladder of combers before releasing them to ensure they can swim down. Even doing that doesn’t always work and they become seagull fodder. I’ve found that an even bigger percentage go back if you rest the fish in a bucket of fresh seawater, just for a minute or two. When you see the fish try to swim to the bottom of the bucket, pour the bucket of water, with fish, back into the sea. The fish follows the water down and 100% up to now carries on swimming down.

I’ve no shore reports this week, sorry.

I hear Lake Negratin’s (Aka Baza lake) water level is still very high for the time of year but fishing is hard with lower water temperatures.

A little news from ‘Anglers Together’ club: Since the change in the weather the fishing has become harder. The Segura in Murcia is still fishing fairly well and this week in one of the matches an angler caught one 5lb and an 8lb carp. The Segura at Guardamar, Eden Canal and at Nancy’s is patchy. Mainly barbel are coming out of Argos on maggot and Blanca is fishing hard. Again this latter venue lived up to its name as a difficult one to fish. Of the 19 ‘Rods and reels’ anglers who fished, 9 had a dry net. Of the 10 that caught, only 3 anglers had more than 1 fish.

‘Abbey Angling Club’ fished the River Segura in Murcia town; the match was won by ‘Ian (Irish Wizard) Dalzell’ with just over 27lbs fishing the feeder using maggot.

Trout fishing farm Hondon Trucha in Hondón de las Nieves opens again on November 8th. As usual they start at 08.30 am. Prices are the same as last year. For more information please check the website www.hondontrucha.com

“Remember last year’s’ fuss when I revealed that Mojacar sewage farm was dumping excess sewage straight into the Rio Aguas, breaking the lagoon wall at night to allow the water (and, umm, other stuff) to escape out to sea? Well, that’s no longer a problem, according to the authorities and sewage is no longer being pumped into the Rio Aguas. Instead, according to La Voz, it’s being taken via a 3 km long pipe, and dumped straight out at sea, 1,500 meters offshore.
No, wait, there’s a reason this stuff is being pumped out to sea instead of being treated and recycled. It’s because Mojácar’s sewage station is tiny and obsolete and can’t cope, so it has to pump all the liquid stuff out at night, hoping it won’t splatter a tourist in the process. A €30 million plan is being implemented to upgrade the station, and improve connections, but the situation is expected to stay the same at least until 2015.”

The above I obtained from http://www.davidjackson.info/category/blog

Apparently the River Aguas and Abajo are sort of the same (says David) but change names and splits somewhere around Turre and then enters the sea near the La Mata roundabout and Kia garage.

The Beachcomber will hold a fishing meeting on Tuesday 30th November from 7pm until 9pm. Hopefully ‘John the fly’ will bring along his tie flying equipment and give us a demonstration of his skills.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber at www.beachcomber-restaurant.com

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

17-11-2010, 17:19

Me, ‘Chippy Pete’ and ‘Ham Radio Kevin’ made the journey up to Mazzaron to make the recent ‘Anglers together’ fishing meeting. I was asked to explain why we seem to catch more and better fish out from Garrucha than they catch in their seas. Because we have big holes to at least 1600 feet within a few hundred yards of our marina would seem to be the reason and their terrain is much less interesting. Some of their club members may arrange a trip out with one or more of our local Capitanos and a few are coming down to fish Macenas Beach and Rocks as I told them how well the mark is fishing. This fact was confirmed when I chatted to the owner of the local chiringuito, he said palometes to over 11lbs are coming out. These are being caught early morning and daytime spinning and night time bottom fishing.

Pete, Kevin and I are going to have a couple of sessions in front of the above restaurant. We will fish with six beach rods with three baits boated out 100 to 200 yards and three cast out from the beach. With one of us on the beach at all times the other two will have a go trolling a couple of lures close to the shore.

Macenas expert ‘London Bill’ thinks we should do well and he’s been trying to talk me into fishing the area again for over a year now. Bill has been catching dolphin fish and palometes to 2lbs while spinning and various bream and wrasse species on the bottom but nothing of any size, worm and squid cocktail works well. Bill confirms Spanish anglers, some who cast from waist deep, have been catching some big palometes, bait being mackerel and squid combo.

‘Captain Brian Cuba’ and ‘Admiral Phil’ took myself, Alec and George, who are part time residents of Mojacar and their friend ‘Bruno’ (Sorry can’t remember his real name) out from Garrucha. The wind direction and current was not favourable so anchoring in shallow enough water and drifting back into one of our favourite holes was not possible, I so hate fishing on the side of a cliff. Drifting was mostly what we had to do and we caught most of the usual suspects but nothing memorable. Pandoras, combers, weavers, pouting, blue mouths, pickerel and poor cod.

Brian and Phil went out again the following day with Dave, Dave and Teal. (The two Daves and a duck) Fish caught were roughly as above with a couple of others, a red snapper and Spanish mackerel. Wrong wind direction again meant they had to drift but I think Teal’s birthday trip was enjoyed by all.

Brian and Phil’s third trip out was with me and ‘Mike the watch’. We shouldn’t have gone out really as by the time we got out of the harbour the wind had gone to a 15 knot gale off the land so we trolled a couple of lures for two hours without a take. To save having a blank we tried anchoring just a few yards off the harbour wall for protection. It was too shallow and although we had some strong bites nothing would stay on the hook. The anchor broke loose in the strong wind and we drifted over one of our holes and Phil was lucky enough to pick up a couple of combers so at least the boat’s record of never having blanked still stands. As for my record it’s now gone but that’s life.

Their fourth trip out was with ‘Total Entertainments Gareth’, his father in law Bill and Phil’s mate Mark. Fish caught were weavers, scabbardfish, pouting, combers, pickerel, a blue mouth, pandoras and a red snapper. This day was memorable with sightings of dolphins and a swordfish coming clear out of the water on three occasions, Brian was lucky enough to get a photo of it. A lot of big fish were jumping today and what with the presence of the dolphins and swordfish there must of been a lot going on down there.

See photo of the swordfish coming out of the water in front of Vera Beach. Plus a photo of Mark with a pouting and Gareth and a scabbardfish with dad in law Bill also in the shot.

There was a ‘Rods and reels’ club match on the Eden Canal stretch of the River Segura in Murcia and the match was won with 26lbs. Tactics were pellet and maggot on the pole. It was hard fishing and 6 anglers had dry nets.

‘Abbey Angling’ club fished the River Segura in Murcia town and the winner used maggot with the feeder method to catch just over 26lbs. Cold air temperatures (6c) and cool water is good reason for the river fishing hard. Get used to it boys!

Abbey’s second match was held on the drain/canal off the N332 by Mercadona supermarket. This match was won with 14.1/2lbs fishing the pole and sweetcorn. Northerly winds and cool temperatures again to blame.

‘Casa Verde Barry’ is progressing quite well albeit slowly.

The Beachcomber will hold a fishing meeting on Tuesday 30th November from 7pm until 9pm. Hopefully ‘John the fly’ will bring along his tie flying equipment and give us a demonstration of his skills.

The next Albox fishing club (Sea and coarse) meeting will take place at Syedpur Restaurant, Albox, on Wednesday December 1st, then every two weeks.

How about this then, someone driving his car was stopped at the roundabout by the Red Cross centre on Mojacar Playa last week. A Guardia officer asked him for all the usual papers and then searched his car. In the boot was his fishing tackle, he was accused of carrying a dangerous weapon, his fishing knife! And then asked to produce his fishing license, he wasn’t fishing was he? Police actions are just getting stupid in Spain, where are their brains?

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber at www.beachcomber-restaurant.com

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

24-11-2010, 16:40

‘Captain Brian Cuba’ has been out a few times over the last 7 days. One trip with five members of the ‘Albox fishing club’ ‘Squiddly Sid’, ‘Dennis the menace’, Steve, Ken and Dave.
They all caught fish and Brian managed to anchor over one of our favourite holes although for once it didn’t produce the goods, well except for a decent red snapper. Other fish caught on the day were combers, pandoras and weavers.

See photo of Steve and his red snapper.

See photo of Dave and his younger brother Teal, they were out with Brian last week. That’s unusually striping on that pandora bream.

‘I also went out with Brian this week and was joined by ‘Paul the rope’, ‘Pueblo Neville’ and ‘Pulpo Basil’. Basil got the nickname pulpo (Spanish for octopus) because his first catch was just that, an 8lb-ish octopus. Other fish caught on the day were combers, a blue mouth, weavers and lots of pandoras.

See photo of Basil and his beheaded octopus.

Also one of Neville with the smallest fish (Blue mouth) of the day. (And no Paul at the back was not feeling sea sick!)

I think the good times have passed now and the 8 weeks from mid September to mid November are for sure the best for bottom fishing. Paul did however get bitten off by something big and I lost a whopper while jigging. It was only on for a few seconds and either threw the hook or it pulled out.
The following has happened to me before, while about 150 feet off the bottom jigging a small weaver took my lure. Two surprises there, weavers are bottom feeders and so it must have followed my jig up from the bottom and the weaver was only a few inches longer than the jig!

See photo of me and the weaver on my jig. (Yes it was unusually cold that day)

Captains ‘Graham Gnome’ and ‘Hissing Sid’ took Ex Capitano Mel (Villaricos Bobby Ball!) out on their Garrucha moored boat. They weren’t out long so caught just a few fish including a couple of red snappers.

See photo of Mel in a previous life with his boat moored in Villaricos.

‘London Bill’ says Macenas Beach is fishing really well and he’s had some good palometes and sea bass out, all his fish fell to a weighted silver spoon.

My mate ‘Ebro Dan’ has been knocking out a few 40lb carp from the River Ebro and the river is fishing exceptionally well. He and his mate Mikey had 3 x 40’s (To 46.12) between them and shed loads of 20’s and 30’s (To 38) and a bonus 106lb catfish on carp gear. Dan says the fishing is hard until you find the hungry shoals, 3 days of very few runs then 3 days of nonstop action and big fish. He like me loves using ‘Rigmarole’ tackle and is now doing so well catching big fish in Spain he’s being sponsored by them. Good luck Dan and Rigmarole, I love you both.

See photo of Dan with a 40 0dd pounder.

‘Abbey Angling’ club fished the River Segura in Murcia town and the winner used maggot with the feeder method to catch just over 26lbs. Cold air temperatures (6c) and cooler water is good reason for the river fishing hard. Get used to it boys!
Abbey’s second match was held on the drain/canal off the N332 by Mercadona supermarket. This match was won with 14.1/2lbs fishing the pole and sweetcorn. Northerly winds and cool temperatures again to blame.

There was a ‘Rods and reels’ club match on the Eden Canal stretch of the River Segura in Murcia and the match was won with 26lbs. Tactics were pellet and maggot on the pole, it was hard fishing and 6 anglers had dry nets.
A second match on the river, but in the town, was won with 43.2/3lbs fishing the pole using corn. During this match they had two, believed to be Soprona Representatives ( Environmental Police) turn up and from what they understood, complained about the cars along the bank. There was a Spanish angler fishing who immediately moved his car, so we all proceeded to do likewise. If in future you park your car on the bank, you may have to suffer a visit from the police.

The ‘Anglers together club’ held a Xmas friendly match on the River Segura in Murcia Town, 15 members fished and Doug Hornblow won with 28.1/2lbs.

I’ve been asked what species are being weighed in these Murcia bags and I’m told its carp and barbel with the odd goldfish thrown in.

It is interesting that on one occasion above officials checked for the licenses of British match fishermen and ignored other anglers fishing with up to 5 rods each and probably no license or insurance, oh well ‘Esa Vida.

Someone driving his car was stopped at the roundabout by the Red Cross Centre on Mojacar Playa. The Guardia officer asked him for all his papers and then searched his car. In the boot was his fishing tackle, he was firstly accused of carrying a dangerous weapon (No fine) and then asked to produce his fishing license, where are their brains? Anyway keep your licenses or at least a copy with your fishing gear at all times.

The Beachcomber will hold a fishing meeting on Tuesday 30th November from 7pm until 9pm. Hopefully ‘John the fly’ will bring along his tie flying equipment and give us a demonstration of his skills.

The next Albox fishing club (Sea and coarse) meeting will take place at 4pm at the Syedpur Restaurant, Albox, on Wednesday December 1st, then every two weeks.

I don’t know if Garrucha Marina is getting a new rescue boat, see photo, there was a nice new one parked up the other day, saying that the old one was still there too.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber at www.beachcomber-restaurant.com

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

24-11-2010, 16:43

And the last three photos from the previous post (Max 5 per post)

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

02-12-2010, 15:22

No Capitanos have been out in the recent poor weather and sea conditions that we’ve been experiencing and I’ve not heard from any of the shore fishing lads and presume they haven’t been out either. Again I’ve heard nothing from my contacts fishing Andalucian lakes and rivers, poor do this week, sorry. (At least we haven't got 2 feet of snow and the suns out as I write)

See photo of ‘Chippy Pete’ who went out with ‘Captain Brian Cuba’ recently and caught a forkbeard and one of ‘Mike the watch’ with a small twin banded bream.

The news from the ‘Rods and Reels’ club is that they fished Murcia’s River Segura, on the Eden Canal stretch.
“This week’s turnout was exceptional, with 27 anglers fishing. This does cause some scratching of heads for the people who peg the venue as they not only have to find the pegs but also try and keep it fair. A big thanks must go to the same 2 or 3 anglers that go there, and cut out extra pegs (The unsung heroes). In saying that this week the winner was on a flyer as can be seen from the results.

Top rods on the day
1st Stan ( The Man ) Roberts fishing the pole using pellet with 67lbs.
2nd Ian ( Irish Wizard ) Dalzell same method with 22lbs.
3rd Terry ( Swing E´m ) Screen same method with 19lbs.

The weather again this week was very changeable, with it being cold and raining at the start of the match. Then, as the day progressed it was a matter of taking off fleeces, sitting in shirt sleeves, fighting off the flies and mozzies. Anyway we will all be back next week to do it all again!”

The Beachcomber held a fishing meeting on Tuesday 30th November and there was a decent turn out. ‘John the fly’ enthralled us all with a demonstration of his fly and feather tying skills. ‘Captains Brian Cuba and Hissing Sid’ talked to people about boat fishing and Brian showed many thousands of photos on his computer slideshow. ‘Inflatable Andy’ brought for sale some British type sea leads which he makes himself including my favourite 6oz doughnut leads that I fill with Belachan paste for extra attraction. The next Beachcomber fishing meeting will be on Tuesday 25th January. Stick it in your diary!

Hondon Trucha in Hondón de las Nieves have begun trout fishing (Fly) competitions. Entry costs €20.00 and you can call Jan on 636314033 or send an email to hondontruchawanadoo.es

The next meeting of the Syedpur fishing club based in Albox (Sea and coarse) will take place at 4pm at the Syedpur Restaurant, Albox, on Wednesday December 15th, then every two weeks.

The next ‘Anglers Together’ meeting will be held on Saturday 11th December at 12 o’clock at Los Galayos Bar, opposite the beach front, at Puerto de Mazarron. For further details ring Alan Roscoe 968 570 876 or email: anglerstogether@gonuts4free.com Anglers Together was formed to introduce and encourage anglers of all abilities to meet up and get together to fish, either sea or freshwater.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber at www.beachcomber-restaurant.com

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

08-12-2010, 18:42

‘Radio Ham Kevin’ and ‘Chippy Pete’ spent a day beach and rock fishing. They started on Macenas Beach without any bites on the bottom or takes on the lure. I turned up to join them but they were just leaving for the Indalo Hotel Arm. I followed and tried throwing poppers and lures in perfect conditions for an hour but failed to hook anything. (Macenas is a better venue for this type of fishing) Kevin finished the day with mullet and palometes and Peter with cow bream and palometes.

See photo of Kevin with a pandora (L) and a blue mouth and a photo of Peter and a striped bream caught on recent trips out with ‘Brian Cuba’.

‘Brian Cuba’ went out in anything but ideal seas to take out four members of the Sydapore Angling Club of Albox, ‘Seasick Steve’, ‘Steve 2’, John and Mike. Brian wouldn’t normally go out in high seas like that especially with the very strong winds on this day but he had to cancel the lads the week before because of bad weather. Fishing was difficult to say the least and they had to try and hide behind the marina wall for protection but it wasn’t long before the wind would push them out into dodgy territory. Only three combers were caught in the two hours they were out. Let’s hope Brian’s regular Friday crew get out again in better seas this week although as I write the forecast is not good.

See photo of two of the Albox boys out on a rough sea but that was nothing to what it became.

Murcia’s ‘Rods and reels’ club fished the River Segura, at the Eden Canal stretch. The match was changed from the town due to the river rising and the path being exceptionally muddy. Also for any other anglers going there, the water under the bridge is making access very difficult if you want to fish further up river. The Eden Canal was pushing through, and slightly high but not carrying any debris or muddy water. Even with this the river fished well on most pegs.

Again this week Stan the Man led the way with another outstanding performance.
Top rods on the day
1st ‘Stan ( The Man ) Roberts’ fishing the pole using pellet/maggot with 56lbs.
2nd ‘Clive ( Golf no more ) Cleghorn’ fishing the pole using maggot with 18.1/2lbs.
3rd ‘Stuart (I´m married again) Taylor’ fishing the pole using corn with 16.3/4lbs.
Bill Reade weighed 15.3/4lbs which consisted of 2 fish one of which weighed 9lb 6 oz, caught on bread.

Abbey angling Club.
The Match on 30th November was the 5th round of the Winter League, and was transferred from the Rio Segura Murcia, to the Eden Stretch due to the heavy rains.
When they started fishing there was hardly any flow of water, but after about 30minutes or so the sluice gates were opened which, started the water flowing slowing down the catch rate for those Anglers with no slack water.
The results were
1st ‘Bill (The Master) Reade’ fishing the pole using bread with 33lbs.
2nd ‘Stan (The Man) Roberts’ fishing the pole using pellet with 22.1/2lbs.
3rd ‘Terry (Swing Em) Screen’ with 10.1/4lbs using the same method.

‘Baza Barry’ has been out doing recces, only because his back is still playing up and sitting fishing doesn’t help matters. (Obviously ok on car journeys) He tells me in general, lake and river waters are up on recent years. A friend of his has been catching fish from Negratin Lake but it’s slowing down with water temperature falling fast. On a visit to Puentes Lake near Lorca Barry saw decent size carp to 15lbs from the dam wall. The rivers he checked out above Negratin are holding a fair bit of water but Barry says he didn’t see any trout showing. Although we know some lakes have been stock with trout this year there is no evidence the rivers have directly been stocked.

WD40 is great as a fishing aid; you can spray your baits with it or soak bread in it. Another good thing its useful for is if you have a dodgy joints (I’m talking Human joints here not rod joints or lap dancing clubs) Spray it on and rub it in and I’ve a few friends that swear by it as a treatment.

If you own a boat in the area I understand there is a good deal to be had by joining the Santa Irene Sailing Club because for only €55 a year you also get free launching in Garrucha Marina and 3rd party insurance for your boat but check out all the benefits first with the club in case I’ve got it wrong. John on 0034 950 475 157.

My sources also tell me a public (presumably) launching ramp will be built this end of the marina close to the ‘Lady of the sea’ (I think she is called) statue.

The next Beachcomber fishing meeting will be on Tuesday 25th January. Stick it in your diary!

The next meeting of the Syedpur fishing club based in Albox (Sea and coarse) will take place at 4pm at the Syedpur Restaurant, Albox, on Wednesday December 15th, then every two weeks.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber at www.beachcomber-restaurant.com

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

15-12-2010, 14:05

I know its getting boring now but I can only report what I'm hearing. Brian the main man for going out on his boat is off back to the Uk til early January so I'll have even less salt water fishing news to tell but I'll try and get some of the other boat owners to take me out.

Being in the UK this past week I don’t know if all the Capitanos went out but ‘Brian Cuba’ did, four times actually. Over the four days he was joined by ‘Mike the watch’, ‘Pulpo Basil’, ‘Spanish Pete’, ‘Chippy Pete’ and ‘Pueblo Neville’. Three days were as flat as a pancake and although nobody caught any monsters or have tales of one’s lost they managed to land a few fish on board. Pandoras, combers, blue mouths, Spanish mackerel and a rare catch for Brian’s boat, a tub gurnard caught by ‘Chippy’.

See photo of Mike and a small common comber, one of the grouper family. Many of these fish don’t or can’t swim away and do make great fishcakes but a quick prick with a hook point to the bloated swim bladder hanging out of their mouths usually allows them to swim back down.

Also a photo of 'Chippy' and his tub gurnard.

And another photo of Basil with a couple of scabbard fish he caught. Note one was foul hooked, a regular occurrence with these ferocious predators.

On one of the better days they had the pleasure of being joined on the bow by some dolphins and while parked up a sunfish circled the boat eying up all the anglers, as they do.

‘London Bill’ fished a couple of Garrucha rocky marks this week and had some good striped sea bream to nearly a kilo. Other fish caught were white or annular bream and palometes. Mullet were quick to take bread floated well out with the assistance of an off shore wind.

The ‘Rods and Reels’ club fished the 8 foot drain this week but it’s a bit too far North for us this end. ‘Abbey Angling Club’ fished the Eden Canal which is also far but I’ll include the results to give you some idea of what’s going on ‘Up North’. Considering the rise in temperature and the water not flowing as it had been, the venue did not fish very well apparently.
1st ‘Bill (The Master) Reade’ fished the pole using paste managed to break into double figures with 28.1/2lbs.
2nd ‘Lenny (Ex Cultural Attaché) Bolton’ fished the pole using paste and corn with 14lbs. and also in joint second place was ‘Andy (The Hat) Stevenson’ fishing the pole using corn.
There are now many pegs fishable on the river, thanks to the effort put in by a few willing Anglers.

‘Baza Barry’ fished Puentes Lake near Lorca with a friend and they both caught well. Barry had five fish over 5lbs, three fully scaled mirror carp and two commons. Barry’s friend had two commons over 5lbs and they caught between them about 60lbs of fish.

News recently sent to me said the new Garrucha Marina is expected in the end to cost a total of €31.7 million. €5.5 million from regional government. I wonder who’s paying the other €26.2 million?
There will be 348 moorings available. That will be handy and it will bring business to Garrucha and maybe a bit to Mojacar as long as the rents are reasonable.
They are going to build apartments!, shops and a ship yard, there’s one there now so maybe they will extend it.
They are going to dredge the sea bed and add 37,000 sq mts of beach and a "107 mt breakwater along the coastline".
Whatever that means I don’t know and I don't quite know where they mean, N or S of the harbour?

Brian (Cuba) tells me they have cut a new road for the yeso lorries to get to the ships easier. He also says he will have to take his boat from its present mooring in February while the new marina is being worked on and hopes to get a temporary one in the old marina, that’ll please ‘Radio Ham Kevin’ (Private joke)

The next Beachcomber fishing meeting will be on Tuesday 25th January. Stick it in your diary!

The next meeting of the Syedpur fishing club based in Albox (Sea and coarse) will take place at 4pm at the Syedpur Restaurant, Albox, on Wednesday December 29th, then every two weeks.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber at www.beachcomber-restaurant.com

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

22-12-2010, 17:23

‘Captain Brian Cuba’ and his partner ‘Admiral Phil’ are in the UK for Xmas and New Year but Brian at least will be back (Weather permitting) 3rd January. No other Capitanos have been out this week and so I have no boat catch reports for you.

We may have a new Capitano taking friends out soon and I’m looking forward to a trip out with him.

See photo of ‘Captain Runway Ralph’ and his great looking fishing boat.

‘London Bill’ has been concentrating on Garrucha on dry days and has been catching mullet, the best about 2lbs. Some bream species as well such as striped and doradas but nothing of any size. Bill nearly caught a decent sea bass? when one went for a small mullet he was reeling in. Bill thought it could have been a corvina or meager but I doubt it as they only come inshore between June, when they spawn, and September/October when they head for deeper water or the Atlantic. It could also have been a ‘stray’ Bill so you might be right. What do they call a swallow that stays for the winter? Expat?

I reported last week that a new beach and breakwater was to be built in Garrucha, I now hear it’s by the big 4 star hotels i.e.: Marina Playa etc, isn’t that still Mojacar there? So maybe it’s a bit further North opposite the Repsol garage.

The ‘Rods and reels’ club fished the Eden Canal which is a long way for us southerners and the fishing was hard with very cold weather. Top weight was ‘Mick (The Arsenal) Hill’ fishing the pole using corn with 16lbs.

The Segura River in Murcia was the venue for the ‘Abbey Angling’ club and the water was cold with the possibility of snow water coming in from the mountains. It kept the weights down with the higher peg numbers fishing best.
1st on the day ‘Lennie (Ex Cultural Attaché) Bolton’ with 28lbs fishing the pole with paste and catching most of his fish in the last hour.
2nd from the adjacent peg was ‘Bill (The Master) Reade’ with just over 23lbs, fishing the same method, which proves the theory that fish will feed on paste in the cold weather.
3rd was ‘Pete (The Peg) Hampshire’ with just over 18lbs, fishing the pole with maggot and corn.

‘Baza Barry’ fished only once and again went to Puentes near Lorca where he caught a few carp with the best going 7lbs. Cold weather put the fish on the bottom and none were seen moving on the surface or would take a bait not presented on the lake bed.

The next meeting of the non match fishing ‘Anglers Together’ club is at a NEW VENUE for the Puerto de Mazarron meeting starting in January 2011.
On Saturday January 15th at 12 o’clock the meeting will be held at The New Royal Bar and Restaurant at El Alamillo, opposite the sea-front between Isla Plana and the Port.
For further details ring Alan Roscoe 968 570 876 or email: anglerstogether@gonuts4free.com

The next Beachcomber (Mojacar Playa) fishing meeting will be on Tuesday 25th January. Stick it in your diary!

The next meeting of the Syedpur fishing club based in Albox (Sea and coarse) will take place at 4pm at the Syedpur Restaurant, Albox, on Wednesday January 12th, then every two weeks.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber at www.beachcomber-restaurant.com

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

22-12-2010, 17:25

The photo!!!

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

29-12-2010, 16:51

‘Captain Mike’ and ‘Tub Terry’ were back in Villaricos for their Christmas holiday and after a few challenges with their boat and trailer, which required maintenance, they got ‘Isabel’ into the water to do some serious fishing. They trolled out to depths of 600 ft taking their usual Christmas course past the fish pens only to find no takes on the troll. They then tried different methods with spinners and lures but no surface fish were to be seen.

Whilst at sea in around 500 to 600 feet, they were surrounded by a school of dolphins, estimated number to be around 30 to 40 including their young. They performed acrobatics and came within 5 feet of the boat and stayed following them for a good 20 minutes. At this point they saw on the fish finder large shoals of bait fish which the dolphins may have been feeding on.

Desperate feathering resulted in no fish being caught which is a surprise as they caught a good many last year. They then went in close to the fish pen in 200 feet and thankfully had instant bites on the sea bed, ranging from combers and dorada to a Trigger Fish. As they still had a lot of Christmas dinner fare left, all fish caught were returned to the sea.

Going to press I’ve just heard that Mike and Terry went out again and lost a barracuda that took but threw their lure while trolling, the same happened the day before apparently.
Note from me: Try a single hook rather than a treble, might just work better with barracudas.

See two photos of Terry, one with a dorada and the other with a trigger fish he caught.

‘Chippy Pete’ took ‘Captain Paul T’s’ boat ‘Edmund’ out for a half days fishing and a bit of a trial run as he’s tempted to buy it. I think ‘Captain Pete Pugwash’ would be a new and appropriate name for Pete.
Myself and ‘Radio Ham Kevin’ joined Pete on the trip and went straight to our favourite 250 foot hole that we have manoeuvred into so many times we anchored up perfectly without the use of a depth finder.
We caught lots of pandoras to well over a pound, a few combers and a pouting and all three of us lost one big fish each. I think it’s time for me to go back to bigger and stronger hooks, maybe 2.0’s, a lot less bites and hooked fish but bigger and better fish.
For an hour before going back in we trolled around a big moored Yeso boat and up and down in front of the marina but without a take.

By the time you are reading this report we should have ‘Captain Brian Cuba’ back in Mojacar and will look forward to getting out regularly with him again.

‘London Bill’ like a lot of us fishermen in Mojacar noticed from Christmas Eve until now seabirds have been gorging themselves on bait fish close in to the shore. Bill thought he was in for a bumper catch but there were so many tiny fish for the predators to feed on they were not interested in his shiny bits of steel.

‘Baza Barry’ fished Lake Negratin but caught very little, he thinks fish have gone off the feed what with the cold weather and water temperature. Note from me: I’m sure you experienced the same last year Barry, fishing Murcia waters will be better I think.

The next meeting of the non match fishing ‘Anglers Together’ club is at a NEW VENUE for the Puerto de Mazarron meeting starting in January 2011.
On Saturday January 15th at 12 o’clock the meeting will be held at The New Royal Bar and Restaurant at El Alamillo, opposite the sea-front between Isla Plana and the Port.
For further details ring Alan Roscoe 968 570 876 or email: anglerstogether@gonuts4free.com

The next Beachcomber (Mojacar Playa) fishing meeting will be on Tuesday 25th January, 7pm til 9pm. Stick it in your diary!

The next meeting of the Syedpur fishing club based in Albox (Sea and coarse) will take place at 4pm at the Syedpur Restaurant, Albox, on Wednesday January 12th, then every two weeks.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber at www.beachcomber-restaurant.com

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

06-01-2011, 18:09

‘Captain Pete Pugwash’, sorry he’s still ‘Chippy Pete’ at the moment because he hasn’t yet bought ‘Edmund’ the boat. Anyway he took Edmund out for half a day’s fishing: myself and ‘Pueblo Neville’ joined him. After a quick troll we anchored in pretty much the right spot to drift over my second favourite hole, the 250 foot one just 200 yards out from Garrucha’s marina wall. I say second favourite but it’s actually the best mark for fishing but there is a net and possibly some other obstructions down there that love to capture anchors and rigs. Maybe this is why the best fish are caught there and why the Spanish trawler men usually keep well away. We would have chosen the other hole but for the first time ever a Spanish trawler had a big buoy stuck right on top of it.

Pete has now made some disposable anchors so we can anchor right in the holes without losing expensive anchors and any rigs lost will be well worth it for the chance to catch such good fish.
On the day I caught a 7lb meagre or corvina and a beautiful moray eel. Because Corvinas die by the time they reach the surface we were forced to eat the fish in the best possible way, deep fried in the Beachcomber’s beer batter. Morays are easy to return however and are bright yellow and brown with pacman like faces to help disguise them in amongst the rocks and weed where they live. Other fish caught on the day were pandoras, combers and pouting.

See photos of me with my moray eel and corvina/meagre.

All of us lost big fish with hooks and rigs bitten off and others just jumped off the hooks. The best fish was lost by Pete who while reeling in a fish when about 30 foot off the bottom got hit and the reel screamed as his line was dragged back down to the bottom. Although he managed to bully it off the bottom a couple of times it soon went back down again. A classic big conger bite and tactic and when Pete finally had to put the pressure on, the line broke and he brought up only one hook, a 5.0 with only the pandora dead bait’s lips hanging on it. I think the conger pulled the pandora off the big hook but got foul hooked by a smaller hook on the feathered trace below.

Pete and I went out again a few days later on ‘Edmund’ and were joined by ‘Ham Radio Kevin’. We went straight to the Garrucha Harbour holes and anchored in various spots but nothing much was caught shallower than 250 feet and deeper than 400.

Pete’s disposable anchor allowed us to drop it straight into holes and with not much extra rope being let out we could fish exactly where we wanted to. Obviously if we get a windy day the story will be different. We also have to watch the big trawlers who’s captains seem to find it funny missing us by only a few yards and making the boat rock like mad, this could be dangerous with not much anchor rope out, but we are very aware.

I caught at least 30 fish and Pete and Kevin would have matched it, no big fish were landed and the best one was a 2lb comber caught by me.
I lost a good fish when I had a take off the bottom; I previously hooked a 3 inch comber and left it on the 1.0 hook. After hooking what I thought was a good comber or pandora I started to reel up. A big fish, not a conger for sure, grabbed what I think was the small comber. Like Pete’s fish it dragged line from the reel but was head banging all the way down and continued whilst on the bottom until it bit through the line above where the comber was hooked and I lost the bottom half of my rig. I’m guessing a big bream like fish, meagre/corvina, dentex or red snapper between 20 and 30lbs. It certainly had teeth because of the state of the line it chewed up. I can’t wait to get back out there, bring it on!

Last minute update: ‘Chippy Pete’ landed a 30lb plus conger and lost a much bigger one, more next week...............

‘Captain Brian Cuba’ is back in Mojacar and keen to get out fishing and so he will look forward to some phone calls from his mates.

‘Sky diver John’, his son Ollie and mate Stu went out with ‘Hissing Sid’ on his Garrucha moored boat. They caught lots of small stuff but nothing worth talking about but of course enjoyed the day.

See photo of Ollie and a pickerel he caught.

‘Spanish Alex’ fished a beach mark some miles south of Mojacar and caught himself a personal record, a 12lbs sea bass, it’s some fish and I’ve seen the photo which I am awaiting a copy of. Alex has just about given up his usual Macenas haunt as he says concrete and builders dust etc blown into the sea by the winds has ruined the area’s seabed and fishing. ‘London Bill’ agrees but says he’s still catching a few fish there, mainly small sea bass to 2lbs.

I’m sorry to hear ‘Shylock’ also known as Mick and his wife Jan have returned to live in the UK, a great loss to the ‘Grumpy Old Men Of Los Gallardos’ fishing community, and the ‘Watering Hole’ no doubt!

The ‘Rods and Reels’ club fished two matches at the 8 foot drain over the holiday period and ‘Abbey Angling’ club fished at Sweetwater. Both these venues are too far north for most of us down Mojacar way but it’s interesting to note how low the catch rate was with the cold weather and water temperatures. Top weight in all three matches was 26.1/2lbs by ‘Dave the bike man Taylor’ fishing the pole with maggots on one of the ‘Rods and Reels’ matches.

The next meeting of the non match fishing ‘Anglers Together’ club is at a NEW VENUE for the Puerto de Mazarron meeting starting in January 2011.
On Saturday January 15th at 12 o’clock the meeting will be held at The New Royal Bar and Restaurant at El Alamillo, opposite the sea-front between Isla Plana and the Port.
For further details ring Alan Roscoe 968 570 876 or email: anglerstogether@gonuts4free.com

The next Beachcomber (Mojacar Playa) fishing meeting will be on Tuesday 25th January, 7pm til 9pm. Stick it in your diary!

The next meeting of the Syedpur fishing club based in Albox (Sea and coarse) will take place at 4pm at the Syedpur Restaurant, Albox, on Wednesday January 12th, then every two weeks.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber at www.beachcomber-restaurant.com

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

13-01-2011, 19:33

‘London Bill’ has been catching mullet from Garrucha rocks while the seas have been calm. He would love to fish in the marina after I told him about the 10lber we saw there earlier in the week.

Between Hissing Sid’s, ‘Captain Cuba’s’ and ‘Possibly Captain Chippy Pugwash Pete’s’ (He still hasn’t bought the boat!) many trips out I could write a small book about them.

Between us we caught 15 different species of fish including nice red snappers to 7lbs, six congers to 30lbs and some twin banded bream to 2lbs. A few less common ones such as a forkbeard, European eel, some pouting to 2lbs and 3 scabbard fish to 3 foot long, plus many of the usual suspects.

Pete and I landed and lost a few congers and one of Pete’s was a monster which wouldn’t come off the bottom much before taking him back down again. Pete was the angler who landed the 30lber.
Me, ‘Mike the Watch’ and Margaret all had good red snappers and ‘Inflatable Andy’ caught the forkbeard which, as it wouldn’t go back down, he ate and said it was fantastic eating. I had a good 3lb twin banded bream that fought like hell for such a small specimen. Many of us are now losing small hooked fish to predators. Trouble is our light tackle is not up to the job of stopping these fish chomping through our hooks or line. Fish purposely for them and we don’t get many takes. I am working on a plan and I’ll tell you how it goes next week.

See photo of Pete with one of his congers, Margaret and her red snapper and me with one of mine .

On four out of my last six trips I had the opportunity (No tide/current) to drop 20mm halibut pellets down and on all four occasions we caught congers, a moray and big red snappers. Maybe the latter fish were a coincidence but I believe the eels came because of the pellets.

‘Rods and Reels’ and Abbey Angling’ clubs have been fishing matches well north of us and cold weather had a big affect on the catches with a few anglers blanking. Top weight on all three matches was only about 16lbs.

‘Baza Barry’ has spent very little time fishing in the last two weeks as although the sun has been shining the water temperatures have been dropping and as Usual Negratin’s fish go to ground in the winter. Barry tells me he’s heading north to Murcia waters from next week.

One for all you Fishing & Boating guys in and around Mojacar. Almerimar based Alamar Centro Naitico now has an online store Nautica Directa http://www.nauticadirecta.com/
Many thanks to Chris from www.almerimarlife.com for the link.

The next Beachcomber (Mojacar Playa) fishing meeting will be on Tuesday 25th January, 7pm til 9pm. ‘Luxemburg Roland’ is back in town and he will come along and bring along his fly tying equipment for demonstrations and he and I hope ‘John The Fly’ will also come along with his equipment. Roland is also our ‘Expert squid catcher’ from the beach and so with luck he will bring along his squid lures for us to see and maybe pass on a few techniques.

The next meeting of the Syedpur fishing club based in Albox (Sea and coarse) will take place at 4pm at the Syedpur Restaurant, Albox, on Wednesday January 26th, then every two weeks.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber at www.beachcomber-restaurant.com

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

20-01-2011, 10:37

‘Captain Brian Cuba’ went out on Friday and took John, Bill, Mick and ‘Seasick Steve’
from the Albox based ‘Sydapur Fishing Club’ They caught some good fish including red snappers, a conger and a forkbeard and some of the usuals.

See photo of John and his forkbeard.

Three boats went out last Thursday, Brian's, 'Chippy Pete's' (now known as ‘ Captain Pete Pugwash’ as he’s bought ‘Edmund’ the boat. And ' Gnome Graham's/'Hissing Sid's'). Graham and Sid started the day fishing the Garrucha holes with the other two boats and caught a few small fish before heading off towards the river for some triggerfish. Graham lost one good one and that was it.

See photo of 'Edmund' with Pete stuck into a fish.

Pete's company was 'Radio Ham Kevin, Barry from Mojacar and his mate Keith who was here on holiday. Keith caught a couple of three to four foot congers and they all shared a mixture of the usual suspects including some decent scabbardfish.

See photo of Barry with a full house of pandoras with mate Keith (left) and Kevin.

I was on Brian's boat accompanied by 'Inflatable Andy', 'Mike the Watch' and 'Paul the Rope'. We did ok with seven different species landed including pouting, Spanish mackerel, Bogues, pandoras, combers, a scabbard fish and a small conger for Andy's dinner. Andy had hooked a small fish and the conger swallowed it head first until the hook embedded itself in its throat.

I put a live bait down on a small hook (Attached under the front of the dorsal fin) to light mono with two 10.0 hooks attached to a 200lb steel trace, hanging very close by the fish. This set up keeps the bait alive for as long as required and I find great pleasure in letting the fish go if I don't get a take. A good shark set up maybe but something nicked the fish without taking the bigger hooks. Next time I will have to attach the live bait directly to a bigger hook attached to the steel trace, lessening the chance of a predator taking it without getting hooked.

Pete’s next trip out was with George, Keith and another mate. George and Keith both caught congers and Pete lost two including a monster. They caught plenty of other fish too.

Pete and I went out on Saturday and had a good day, a couple of congers and I kept mine to give to a mate to ‘smoke’, we’ll see how ‘Smokey Mal’ from Oria gets on with it. I also had a nice red snapper and two twin banded bream and a moray eel. Pete had a good twin banded too.

See photo of me and my moray.

Other fish landed were, swallow tailed rock perch, pandoras, combers and Spanish mackerel. As is becoming the norm lately Pete lost a monster conger which wouldn’t let go of the bottom, he finished up snapping his 50lb breaking strain rod. That was two rods broken that day because I smashed a spinning rod, I don’t care, it was worth it.

I know I told you last week I was going to find a new way of fishing with a live bait (On a really strong rig and rod) but we didn’t catch a suitable fish. (Next time) I did however make up a light plastic coated steel rig with a 6.0 hook to fit between my mono trace and my bottom weight and that worked well with small live and dead baits. My conger took that and I lost a couple of others because I was lifting into bites rather than letting the fish sit there swallowing them. I don’t care because although congers are ok I would rather catch some decent bream species right now. I must try and remember to tell you next week about a little trick I learned for when reeling in a small fish or re-baiting, remind me if I forget.

Last minute update: I went out trolling with Brian on his boat yesterday and we were joined by 'Happy Harry' and 'Los Gallardos Tony'.
We trolled to and around the fish farms at Villaricos with only one take. A rod bender but nothing there and the lure had no teeth marks. Maybe a squid or something else it foul hooked. Probably coincidence but a dolphin surfaced once a few seconds later, roughly over the spot.

When back in front of Garrucha marina we dropped down into 150 feet on a mark between the two 250 foot holes. Harry immediately hooked and landed a decent conger. I had one or two small fish including an unusual swallow tailed rock perch. Very pretty and although I say unusual a few have been caught on Brian's boat this week. It is a shame they never go back, dead on arrival. A bit like Harry's conger, it also came up dead because the hook had been swallowed and did some damage. Another conger for Mal to smoke.

See photo of Harry and his conger.

Sorry I have no coarse or shore fishing news this week, handy as I’ve run out of space and time anyway.

The next Beachcomber (Mojacar Playa) fishing meeting will be on Tuesday 25th January, 7pm til 9pm. ‘Luxemburg Roland’ is back in town and he will come along and bring along his fly tying equipment for demonstrations and he and I hope ‘John The Fly’ will also come along with his equipment. Roland is also our ‘Expert squid catcher’ from the beach and so with luck he will bring along his squid lures for us to see and maybe pass on a few techniques.

The next meeting of the Syedpur fishing club based in Albox (Sea and coarse) will take place at 4pm at the Syedpur Restaurant, Albox, on Wednesday January 26th, then every two weeks.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber at www.beachcomber-restaurant.com

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

27-01-2011, 16:12

Brian (Captain Cuba) took the Mazzaron based ‘Anglers Together’ fishing club lads out last week and Peter, Tony, Lou and Derek caught about 35 fish between them. Mainly small ones but with a couple of edible sized hake, they were returned for us to catch another time when a little bit bigger.

See photos of two of the boys with a hake each.

‘Captain Peter Pugwash’, on his new boat Edmund, took George, ‘Mojacar Barry’, and his mate Steve out for a half day’s fishing from Garrucha Marina. Nothing big was caught just the usual small ones but they enjoyed the trip.

See photos of Steve and George with small congers.

Pete went out once more as the weather turned for the worse. ‘Radio Ham Kevin’ and George went with him (And probably wished they hadn’t). High winds forced them to shelter 40 foot in front of the harbour wall and in only 40 foot of water. They caught a few small fish and lost what they thought was a good bream (By its tell tale head banging). One of them also landed a small octopus which was returned.

‘London Bill’ has been concentrating on fishing for mullet during the recent rough weather but caught nothing decent from slack water marks.
Update: I’ve just heard from Bill who was at a mark I told him about just off Macenas Beach and he caught some sea bass to 2lbs on a silver spoon spinner. He says there are some much bigger fish in the surf but he didn’t hook any.

As I write there are fish in front of the Beachcomber showing their dorsal fins in the waves just before they break onto the beach. The recent storms have stirred up the bottom for sure and seagulls were this morning diving into the shallow water along much of Mojacar’s beaches, a good time for lure fishing right now.

In the latest ‘Rods and Reels’ match, which was fished well up north from us on the 8 foot drain, ‘Bill (The master) Read’ won it using a pole with maggot and corn and the winning weight was 30lbs

‘Abbey Angling’ club fished the River Segura in Murcia Town where the water was pushing through with good colour. The water temperature was 10c and the air temperature rose throughout the day to 14c and the fishing was patchy.

1st Lenny (Ex Cultural Attaché) Bolton with 26.3/4lbs fishing pole, maggot and bread
2nd Pete (The Peg) Hampshire with 12.1/3lbs fishing pole and maggot
3rd Terry (Swing em) Screen with nearly 12lbs fishing pole bread and maggot.

‘Baza Barry’ says nothing is doing on Negratin, it’s too cold. He fished the River Segura in Murcia Town and had a few tiddlers.

The fishing meeting at the Beachcomber went well even though only 20 people turned up in horrible weather. ‘Luxemburg Roland’ and ‘John the fly’ gave us some demonstrations on how to tie flies including ones for using at sea. They also gave some lessons to young Teal who is looking forward to the next one. So if there are any young budding anglers out there that want some advice come along to the next meeting, probably to be held at the end of March.

See some photos taken at the meeting, including one of Teal learning to tie flies.

Here’s an interesting link to Phil Pembroke’s fishing blog, Phil has written at least 9 books on fishing in Spain and Portugal. He has been fishing for trout and salmon in Spain recently and before that fishing in China. Scroll down the page and you will see a couple of photos of me when I joined him and others on a trip to Morocco.
http://spainfishing.com/blog/

For those that missed the CH4 series on fish abuse you might want to watch this. http://www.fishfight.net/

The next meeting of the Syedpur fishing club based in Albox (Sea and coarse) will take place at 4pm at the Syedpur Restaurant, Albox, on Wednesday February 2nd, then every two weeks.

The next ‘Anglers Together’ meeting is on Saturday February 12th at 12 o’clock and will be held at The New Royal Bar and Restaurant at El Alamillo, opposite the sea-front between Isla Plana and the Port in Mazzarron.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber at www.beachcomber-restaurant.com

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

27-01-2011, 16:28

Fishing meeting photos.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

27-01-2011, 16:30

And a couple more.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

02-02-2011, 19:41

'Brian Cuba' hasn't been out much because of the poor weather, too windy and anyway he doesn't like the cold! Bless him.
On the day he did go out with the Mazzaron boys they caught pandoras, pickerel, combers, and hake and hooked a big conger that wouldn’t come off the bottom, just shook its head before the hook straightened enough for him to get off.

Brian tells me all boats in the temporary Garrucha marina i.e. where Brian’s boat is moored have got to come out of the water or move to the old marina because work is about to start on the new pontoons immediately.
The work might take up to 12 months to complete he says, what are they building, a fifty story building?

'Captain Pete Pugwash' took his boat 'Edmund' out for a run from Garrucha marina to test his new fish finder. A bit of trolling produced nothing and so he dropped a line over while drifting in quite windy weather. On his first drop he caught an octopus so that keeps his record of not ever having a blank while out.
A couple of days later ete went out again and was joined by 'Last chance Dave' and 'Radio ham Kevin'. Kevin caught a few fish and Peter winkled out another octopus. Dave however didn't catch a fish on the day and is how he got his nickname. Pete gave him one last chance chance to catch one before packing up for the day, oh well Dave, there's always next time.

See photo of Pete with a European eel, good eating apparently but it went back anyway.

‘Hissing Sid’ went out with ‘Brummy Phil’ and mates Richard and Mick from Leeds. The weather was sunny but cold and the water temperature was only 52f (11c) and in my experience fishing this part of the Med that’s too cold for good fishing. Sid said on his way to the harbour at 8am snow had drifted up against the side of the road near the water park on Vera Playa so it’s no wonder the water temperature was so low.
Fishing was very slow and just a few small fish were caught. Then the wind got up so they drifted across the harbour entrance where there was a bit of shelter. Here they caught 5 octopi and the one Phil caught was a biggie and in fact the biggest Sid has ever seen landed on his boat.

See photo of Phil with a tub gurnard.

See a photo of ‘Tub Terry’ with a gurnard he caught a while ago when fishing off Villaricos. Weighed about 9.1/2lbs as I remember, some sort of record for around here I would guess.

‘London Bill’ reports small catches of mullet and palomete from the two Mojacar rocky arms with nothing much being caught from the beaches.

David Hoare of ‘Anglers Together’ tells me a nie document is not required for a Murcia beach and/or boat license and so a trip to the Town Hall in either Lorca or Aguilas should enable anyone down here in Andalucia to obtain that license. (You cannot obtain an Andalucian one without providing a copy.)
Armed with a copy of the Spanish and English copy of the law that states you can fish in any Spanish region with another region’s license you should be able to do this.
I would suggest a vast number of police officers will not know about the law and I wouldn’t attempt to fish without that copy. You can either see me or I am happy to email the copy to anyone that wants one.

Murcia’s ‘Rods and Reels’ and Abbey Angling’ clubs got together for a match on the 8 foot drain well north of us Almerians and here are the results.

1st John (AKA Johnny M) Marsh fishing the pole using maggot with 16.3/4lbs.
2nd Mick (The Arsenal) Hill fishing the pole using maggot with 13.3/4lbs.
3rd Jim (The Medic) Hovey fishing the pole using maggot with 12.1/2lbs.
Overall weight on the day, Rods and Reels 60.1/2lbs and Abbey Anglers 52lbs.
PLEASE NOTE. There are 2 vacancies within the R&R club if anyone is interested in joining please contact Sue Swann on 966729293
Abby’s results fishing the drain were as follows.
1st Bill (The Master) Reade with 12lbs.
2nd Ian (The dark side) Houghton with 7.1/4lbs.
3rd Terry (Swing Em) Screen with 5lbs.
All anglers fished the pole and maggot.

The banks on the River Segura local stretches have now all been cleared of reeds, making access to all the waters easier.

The next meeting of the Syedpur fishing club based in Albox (Sea and coarse) will take place at 4pm at the Syedpur Restaurant, Albox, on Wednesday February 16th, then every two weeks.

The next ‘Anglers Together’ meeting is on Saturday February 12th at 12 o’clock and will be held at The New Royal Bar and Restaurant at El Alamillo, opposite the sea-front between Isla Plana and the Port in Mazzarron.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber at www.beachcomber-restaurant.com

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

11-02-2011, 14:23

‘Captain Pugwash’ (Pete) took his boat Edmund out of Garrucha early in the week and rough seas made him stay close in to the wall. Him and mate George caught a few fish such as a forkbeard, some combers and pandoras and as is becoming the norm lately Pete lost a very big Conger. He momentarily got it off the bottom, about six feet up, but it went back down and that was it. He did get most of his metal trace back and one of the two hooks but the rig was chewed up badly.

Pete is devising a new set up where the bait is at least three foot off the bottom to give him more chance of getting the fish up in the water.

See photo of Pete with a decent conger.

Pete went out a couple of more times during the week, the first with ‘Last chance Dave’, ’Radio ham Kevin’ and George. Kevin lost a good conger and even though it swam up towards the boat leaving Kevin with a slack line for a few moments, once he caught up with the fish it dived back down to the bottom and that’s where it stayed until it chewed through the metal trace. Just how big are some of these congers we are hooking?
Pete’s third trip out was with his wife Sally and ‘GB Stores Andy and Sharon’. They caught just small stuff but were excited to witness a pod of 6 or 7 dolphins feeding on fish that were leaping out of the water to escape.

‘Captain Cuba’ (Brian) took his boat, Waverider, out of Garrucha early in the week and like Pete, before the good conditions arrived and he lost a big conger. Like Pete’s he managed to get it off the bottom briefly but it soon had its tail wrapped around something and other than a couple of head shakes the battle was soon over with a near straightened hook. He was joined on the boat by ‘Paul the rope’ ‘Pulpo Basil’ and a friend. They caught around 50 fish, assorted species but nothing big. Another trip with mates Keith, Basil and Ken resulted in about 100 assorted fish being landed; again nothing decent although Basil loves fish soup so a few combers in particular were kept for that.

See photo of Keith with a couple of combers.

Basil does love his fishing and was out again with Brian, they were joined by a mate of Basil’s and ‘Pueblo Neville’ and newbie on Waverider, Keith. Again a lot of small fish were caught just like Brian’s fourth trip out that week with ‘Inflatable Andy’, ‘Mike the watch’ and two lads from Albox.

See photo of Basil and a small pandora and one of Andy with a small conger.

It obviously needs me to get out there now I’m back from my UK trip. Not that I catch bigger fish than others but the belachan and halibut pellets I put down seems to maybe make a difference to catches for the boat as a whole.

Brian tells me all the boats in Garrucha’s temporary marina i.e. where Brian’s boat was moored have got to come out of the water or move to the old marina because work is about to start on the new pontoons. He says the work might take up to 12 months to complete, what are they building? A fifty story skyscraper?
Brian has now moved to the main marina, close the Capitanos office which is handy for those anglers who may have found access to his boat difficult, no problems anymore.

See photo of Brian’s new mooring.

‘Captain Duncan Sunshine’ took some mates out on his Garrucha cased boat. They caught only a few small pandoras and combers but had great pleasure watching a small pod of dolphins. They also saw a turtle sunbathing on the surface.

‘London Bill’ has been knocking out carrier bags of mullet and palomete from various shore marks in Garrucha and Mojacar. Bread presented on the bottom or floated have both been successful in ideal seas.

The venue for last week’s ‘Rods and Reels’ club match was Murcia’s River Segura. This is a venue full of fish but not on the matchday. The north easterly wind took its toll and they had 8 blanks. The day was absolutely freezing as the sun does not get to the south side of the river this time of year.

Top anglers on the day were.
1st Ian ( From the Darkside ) fishing the pole using bread with 16.2/3lbs
2nd Mick ( The Arsenal ) Hill fishing the feeder using corn with 15lbs.
3rd Dave ( The Bikeman ) fishing the feeder using corn with 12.1/4lbs.

‘Abbey Angling Club’ fished well north of us lot down here on the 8ft Drain, although they might change its name to the 13ft Drain as the water has been so high lately.
Fishing is still patchy with just the odd peg producing, the fish coming to maggot and corn. Hopefully as the weather gets warmer the catch rate should improve.

The results were as follows.
1st Mark (Kens Friend) Harrington with 14lbs.
2nd Bill (The Master) Reade with 12.5lbs.
3rd Ian (The Irish Wizard) Dalzell with 11.5lbs.

The next meeting of the Syedpur fishing club based in Albox (Sea and coarse) will take place at 4pm at the Syedpur Restaurant, Albox, on Wednesday February 16th, then every two weeks.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber at www.beachcomber-restaurant.com

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

11-02-2011, 14:31

I forgot the photos.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

18-02-2011, 13:47

‘London Bill’ had a few mullet out from local shore marks in Mojacar early in the week but he’s a good weather angler, bit like me.

I went out with ‘Cuba Brian’ early in the week, before the winds came and we anchored in a perfect flat sea over my favourite hole, the 250 footer 300 metres out off the mark. We weren’t catching much and so when a breeze came up that pushed us too far north we moved a few yards into deeper water, 300 feet. Again not much caught and I blame myself after last week claiming me and my ground baits would make the boat’s catch rate get better.
Brian went out again but the high winds we have been suffering cut the trip short. Some of the ‘Grumpy old men of Los Gallardos’ joined him. I think they all caught one or two fish each including one octopus.

See photo of 'Mike the Watch' and a red snapper he fancied.

‘Chippy Pete’ hasn’t been out on his boat because of the poor weather.

See a recent photo of Pete with a small twin banded bream.

‘Hissing Sid’ went out on Sunday with ‘Deep sea Dave’, Leo and Scot from Reading. The sea was like a mill pond but water temp was still low at 52f. Fishing was slow even though the fish finder showed plenty of fish but they were not on the feed. The sea was dead flat until 1.45pm but within10 minutes we had 4 feet waves, shows how fast the sea conditions can change. We also had a big shoal of fish, about 50 of them leaping out of the water like dolphins. They were about 1.5 to 2 feet long and looked like tuna, within 2 minutes they were gone in the distance.

See photo of Dave and a small red snapper.

It was nice to hear from ‘Baza Barry’ who hasn’t been well for a while suffering a bad back. He got out on the River Segura in Murcia Town where he and a mate caught about 15lbs of small carp each.

This week’s Rods and Reels match was on the 8 foot drain well up north. Again this week, even though there is some depth of water, 8 anglers blanked. The cold weather is certainly putting the fish off feeding. Now we have sections on the drain called cyanide alley, because at present there are no fish there as if they have been poisoned.
Top anglers on the day
1st Ian ( Irish Wizard ) Dalzell fishing the pole using maggot with 10.1lbs.
2nd Dave ( The Sweetie Man ) Hutchinson fishing the pole using maggot with 7.4lbs.
3rd Jim ( The Medic ) Hovey fishing the pole using maggot with 7.3lbs.

Abbey Angling also fished well up north of us and only two anglers caught fish. The joint winners were ‘Mike (The Arsenal) Hill’ and ‘Mark (Kens Friend) Harrington’, they caught one fish each weighing just over half a pound on the pole and maggot and both anglers were in the same section.

The next Saturday competition at Hondon Trout Fishery will be on March 5th. If you want to participate in one of these competitions please contact Jan on 636314033.

Anglers Together meetings are held in two locations on the second Friday and Saturday of each month. Anyone with an interest in fishing (sea or freshwater) is welcome to come along to a meeting to see what we’re about.
There is a NEW VENUE for the Puerto de Mazarron meeting starting in January 2011.
On Saturday 12th March at 12 o’clock the meeting will be held at The New Royal Bar and Restaurant at El Alamillo, opposite the sea-front between Isla Plana and the Port.

Bridie is due to get the next batch of boat and beach fishing licenses sometime early March so if anyone is interested please see me, you will need a copy of your passport and NIE document.

The next meeting of the Syedpur fishing club based in Albox (Sea and coarse) will take place at 4pm at the Syedpur Restaurant, Albox, on Wednesday February 30th then every two weeks.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber at www.beachcomber-restaurant.com

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

25-02-2011, 10:02

Anglers fishing in the bay just south of Villaricos small marina have been catching some good fish from the beach. Two sea bass weighing 3 to 4lbs each and some nice bream too. Villaricos shoreline is a good spot (North of the town) for dentex bream to 30lbs but they are easier to land from a boat as otherwise they dive into the rocks. Literally a decent quality rubber dingy or kayak will do on calm days.

‘London Bill’ fished a rocky mark at the north end of Macenas Beach and caught some sea bass to 2lbs and palometes a bit smaller. All fish came to spinning a small silver spoon.

‘Captain Brian Cuba’ took his Garrucha moored boat out with ‘Scaffolder Clive’ who is on holiday from the Channel Isles. ‘Pueblo Neville’ and ‘Kenolo’ joined them for the trip. They only caught the usual suspects, pandoras and combers etc. Same story on the next trip out with the ‘Mazzaron Boys’ except Brian caught a decent octopus.

I managed a morning out with ‘Captain Chippy Pete’ on his boat Edmund, also out of Garrucha. We were joined by his son ‘Landing Net Jo’ and his girlfriend ‘Marriage material Chloe’. She didn’t fish much, caught nothing and felt sea sick for most of the 4 four hours. She didn’t moan once, hence her nickname and why I advised Jo to marry her ASAP.
I caught a small conger and a decent enough red snapper and a few pandora bream. Both Pete and Jo caught pandoras and also a good blue mouthed rose bellied rockfish each.
See photo of Jo and his blue mouth and me and my red snapper..

Pete went out again later in the week with his son Jo and mate Josh, they caught lots of small stuff and Pete managed one decent fish, a forkbeard weighing about 7lbs.
See photo of Pete and his forkbeard.

‘Baza Barry’ fished with a mate on the Puentes Lake near Lorca and they caught mirror carp to 7lbs and barbel to 3lbs. Barry and his pal also fished lake Argos the same week without much success, the catch was small with nothing bigger than 1lb.

RODS and REELS
There are some matches that are memorable and some like this week that just need to be forgotten! The match this week was the third in the Coastrider Challenge Cup, and the venue was Blanca. For those who have fished it, you will know that it is not prolific even in the summer and far, far worse in the winter. Of the 13 anglers that fished 10 blanked.
Top anglers on the day
1st John ( A.K.A. Johnny M. ) Marsh fishing the feeder using corn & pellet with 5.3/4lbs.
2nd Ian ( Irish Wizard ) Dalzell fishing the feeder using maggot with 3.3/4lbs.
3rd Terry ( Swing E´m ) Screen fishing the whip using maggot with 3.1/3lbs kilo´s.
There are 2 vacancies within the club if anyone is interested in joining please contact Sue Swann on 966729293

This week was the 4th round of the Abbey Angling Cup fished on the River Segura in Murcia.
The water levels were down, very cold and had a funny green greyish colour to it which did not look natural. It was cold and dry first thing but an hour into the match it started to rain heavy and lasted all day, most of the anglers opted to go onto the feeder.
Ian Dalzell fishing the bridge peg showed his expertise and won the match with an excellent bag of fish.
1st Ian (The Irish Wizard) Dalzell with 35lbs on the pole with maggot and corn
2nd Alan (The Quiet Man) Reid with nearly 19lbs.
3rd Stuart (I’m Married Again) Taylor with 18.1/2lbs, both fishing the feeder with maggot and corn.

The next Anglers Together meeting at Mary’s Bar, Campoverde (near Pilar de la Horadada) will be held on Friday 11th March at 12 o’clock.
On Saturday 12th March at 12 o’clock the meeting will be held at The New Royal Bar and Restaurant at El Alamillo, opposite the sea-front between Isla Plana and the Port.
For further details ring Alan Roscoe 968 570 876 or email: anglerstogether@gonuts4free.com

Bridie is due to get the next batch of Andalucian boat and beach fishing licenses mid March so if anyone is interested please see me, you will need a copy of your passport and NIE document.

The next meeting of the Syedpur fishing club based in Albox (Sea and coarse) will take place at 4pm at the Syedpur Restaurant, Albox, on Wednesday March 2nd then every two weeks.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber at www.beachcomber-restaurant.com

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

04-03-2011, 14:09

‘Captain Chippy Pete’ is away on holiday in the UK and we await his return for more sport.

See photo of Pete on the last day out before his departure.

I went out on ‘Captain Brian Cuba’s’ Garrucha moored boat and was joined by ‘United Dave’ and ‘Pueblo Neville’. Even though the conditions seemed good and the positioning over our selected mark was dead on we didn’t catch anything of note. Well not size wise although I did add two new species to my 2011 list (now 17), a European eel and a bogue, actually the biggest bogue I’ve ever seen. We caught lots of the usual pandoras and combers and a few of the bigger ones made it into Neville’s soup bag.

See photo of Dave with a comber and one of (L to R) Dave, me, Neville and ‘Radio Ham Kevin’ who popped down to see what we had caught.

Brian went out earlier in the week with the ‘Mazzaron Boys’ and ‘Farmer Rory’ (Welcome back to paradise Rory, we missed you). They caught about 15 fish between them but the only thing of note was an octopus weighing about 7lbs.

See photo of Clive with a comber.

‘Hissing Sid’ took friends out on his Garrucha moored boat, Luise and Tony formally from Germany now living in Canada and spending their winters in Mojacar, they were joined by Mick from Villaricos.
The weather was not great but they all caught fish, small red snappers, pandoras and combers and an octopus. The weather got progressively worse until a storm came through and they had to make hast back to port, just getting ashore before the heavens opened.

See photo of (R to L) Mick, Luise and Tony with a couple of pandoras and a striped bream.

‘London Bill’ has again been concentrating on Macenas Beach and the rocks at the northern end where he has continued to catch sea bass to 2lbs.

‘Baza Barry’ targeted Blanca Lake in Murcia and had a few carp out to 6lbs and small barbel. He said there was a lot of black bass showing themselves close in and what he guessed were trout further out in the lake. Baza Lake is very cold and the water is already very high.

This week’s Rods and Reels match was the second in the Roundtown News Challenge Cup a team match of 4 matches.
The weather on match day was probably the best they have had this year. However, the fishing again did not live up to the climate. Several anglers had fished the venue on Sunday and Monday with little to no success, so aspirations on match day were not high. This turned out to be right as there were 7 dry nets. The venue was the Rio Segura, Eden canal stretch. The venue has had all its bank side vegetation cut down, very strange looking now as you can see anglers right up the bank.

See photo of the river as it was on the day.

Top anglers on the day
1st Stan ( The man ) Roberts fishing the pole using pellet with just under 21lbs.
2nd Dave ( The Sweetie man ) Hutchinson fishing the pole using bread with 8lbs plus.
3rd Dave ( Yours Truly ) Hoare fishing the pole using bread with 7lbs plus.

The Abbey Angling Cup 5th Round Match was fished on the 8ft Drain.
When they arrived at 7.30am to peg the match the water was running off hard, this continued for 1.5 hours and then started to fill up and the level began to rise to its normal level until 1pm when they started pumping again, making most pegs impossible to fish.
There were no dry nets and everyone managed to catch a few fish, Bob Rafferty landed a carp of 7lbs plus his only fish of the day.

The winners on the day were.

1st John (Silverback) Marsh with nearly 19lbs on the pole and lead
2nd Ian (The dark side) Houghton with 11lbs plus.
3rd Stan (The Man) Roberts with nearly 8lbs, both fishing maggot and corn

There are reports this week of large fish dead in Zoco Lake and can only presume this has been caused by pollution entering the Lake.

The next Anglers Together meeting at Mary’s Bar, Campoverde (near Pilar de la Horadada) will be held on Friday 11th March at 12 o’clock.
On Saturday 12th March at 12 o’clock the meeting will be held at The New Royal Bar and Restaurant at El Alamillo, opposite the sea-front between Isla Plana and the Port.
For further details ring Alan Roscoe 968 570 876 or email: anglerstogether@gonuts4free.com

‘Girl Friday’ is due to go and get the next batch of Andalucian boat and beach fishing licenses mid March so if anyone is interested please see me, you will need a copy of your passport and NIE document.

The next meeting of the Syedpur fishing club based in Albox (Sea and coarse) will take place at 4pm at the Syedpur Restaurant, Albox, on Wednesday April 6th then the first Wednesday of each month.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber at www.beachcomber-restaurant.com

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

04-03-2011, 14:25

And the last photo (Max 5 per post)

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

10-03-2011, 13:09

Due to the bad weather with most boats and fishermen staying at home and me being away in the UK as I write I have not got much news to tell, sorry.

It was my birthday while I was away and I’ve got a very clever daughter, nice cake eh?

‘Captain Pete Pugwash’ is due back from the UK any day now so let’s hope the weather improves and we can all get out catching some of those monster congers that lurk just off the Garrucha harbour wall.

See photo of me with a small conger and Pete on his boat with a forkbeard.

‘Captain Brian Cuba’ took ‘Pueblo Neville’, ‘United Dave’, ‘Farmer Rory’, ‘Moray Jeremy’ and ‘Spanish Pete’ out on what could best be described as a choppy windy morning. A few fish were caught including pandoras, combers and a swallow tailed rock perch which unusually swam back down.
The biggest catch of the day was a commercial trawler or at least its net which the skipper brought to the surface and held up in the air to show Brian he had it, you’ve got to laugh eh?

I was told this week by Chris Marshall of www.almerimarlife.com that the Almerimar marina has relaxed its rules on not being able to work on your boat in the water and now it isn't mandatory that you have to take it into the dry yard. This is how it used to be and was one of the reasons a lot of boat people loved this marina. He also heard that they are cutting the mooring rates by 50%.

Rods and Reels venue this week was the River Segura in Murcia. Although the day wasn´t too bad, sitting in the shade with a north easterly wind blowing, made it feel exceptionally cold. The river is starting to fish a bit better with a lot of lost big fish. As can be seen from the results the weights are moving up. However, there were still 5 dry nets!
Top anglers on the day
1st Pete ( The Peg ) Hampshire fishing the feeder using corn and maggot with nearly 40lbs.
2nd Ian ( Irish Wizard ) Dalzell fishing the feeder using maggot with 27.1/2lbs.
3rd Stan ( The Man ) Roberts fishing the feeder using maggot with 23.2/5lbs.

PLEASE NOTE
There is a vacancy within the club if anyone is interested in joining please contact Sue Swann on 966729293

Abbey Angling’s match was fished on the River Segura´s Eden Stretch. Yet another cold day with temperatures down to minus and when they arrived at their pegs, there was a slight ground frost, the water was low and clear with algae breaking away from the bottom.
There were a lot of reeds etc left in the water by the mechanical bank clearer and rain is needed for a good flow of water to flush the rubbish out.
Fish were again hard to find with only four anglers managing to catch anything. The same peg as last week produced the winner.
1st on the day Terry (Swing Em) Screen with 15lbs fishing the pole and using pellet.
2nd Stan (The Man) Roberts with 6.1/4lbs fishing the pole and using pellet.
3rd John (Silverback) Marsh with just over 4.1/2lbs fishing the pole and using maggot.
All details are available from the Match Secretary Terry Screen on 965328368.

Take a look at the following link, La Mariposa Hotel is in Murcia and very close to a lake holding some good fish. A quick look at their website will show they can cater for most activities and sports although for some reason they don’t mention fishing!
‘Captain Runway Ralph’ tells me the hotel offers some very good room rates if you ask and the venue would be ideal for a weekend away or fishing trip. www.espuna-adventure.com

‘ Girl Friday’ is due to get the next batch of Andalucian boat and beach fishing licenses around the 17th March so if anyone is interested please see me before, you will need a copy of your passport and NIE document.

Anglers Together was formed to introduce and encourage anglers of all abilities to meet up and get together to fish, either sea or freshwater. Firm friendships have been formed during the time the group has been active and information on fishing venues and licenses required are available at the meetings or by regular emailed newsletters.
Meetings are held in two locations on the second Friday and Saturday of each month. Anyone with an interest in fishing (sea or freshwater) is welcome to come along to a meeting to see what we’re about.
The next meeting at Mary’s Bar, Campoverde (near Pilar de la Horadada) will be held in April and at The New Royal Bar and Restaurant at El Alamillo, opposite the sea-front between Isla Plana and the Port. Both dates TBC.
Come along to a meeting nearest to you.
For further details ring Alan Roscoe 968 570 876 or email: anglerstogether@gonuts4free.com

The next meeting of the Syedpur fishing club based in Albox (Sea and coarse) will take place at 4pm at the Syedpur Restaurant, Albox, on Wednesday April 6th then the first Wednesday of each month.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber at www.beachcomber-restaurant.com

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

19-03-2011, 15:59

None of the Capitanos have been out as far as I know because of poor weather and sea conditions. I’m pleased to report the safe arrival back to Mojacar of ‘Captain Pete Pugwash’ and he will no doubt get out again soon on his Garrucha moored boat.

See photo of Pete a couple of weeks ago with a blue mouth rose bellied rockfish, also one of ‘Inflatable Andy’ with a twin banded bream he caught while out with ‘Captain Brian Cuba’

There’s a 2006 Angler fishing boat for sale if anyone’s interested 2 x 140 HP Johnson’s. See me for more details.

‘London Bill’ managed to catch a few mullet and dorada bream from Garrucha rocks and he told me some Spanish lads have been catching a few doradas and striped bream from Mojacar’s beach just south of the Beachcomber.

See photo of anglers on Mojacar’s beach just a few hundred yards south of the Beachcomber.

My mate ‘Motril Steve’ tells me Lake Vinuela is producing a few 50s (Carp) and he had a 62lber last October. There is a guiding company organising trips from further down south and that is probably why these bigger fish are being caught and reported. Vinuela is I’m afraid about a 3 hour drive south for us living in or near Mojacar but the journey should be a little quicker once the new motorway is finished.

‘Baza Barry’ says water levels on Lake Negratin are very high but there are next to no signs of fish moving and thinks they will stay hidden now until late this month at the earliest.

The ‘Rods and reels’ club match this week was the final round of the winter championship. The venue being the Rio Segura in Murcia. The river is starting to fish a little better with the majority of anglers catching, albeit some only caught a few fish. Let´s hope in the next few days, the northerly winds will move to a southerly direction, and the fishing should start to improve.
Top anglers on the day
1st Stan ( The Man ) Roberts fishing the feeder using maggot with 33lbs.
2nd Dave ( The Sweetie Man ) Hutchinson fishing the pole using corn with 30lbs.
3rd Bill ( The Master ) Reade fishing the feeder using maggot with 19lbs.

‘Abbey angling Club’s’ match this week was on the River at Murcia. The month of March certainly came in like a lion, making it virtually impossible to fish the pole in the high winds. The river was carrying extra water so most anglers opted for fishing the feeder, smaller hooks and lighter bottoms with single or double maggots producing the bites, with very little on the corn.
With only three dry nets the fishing does seem to be improving
1st Terry (Swing Em) Screen with a much improved weight of late of 45.1/2lbs on the feeder and maggot
2nd Bill (The Master) Reade with 34lbs on feeder and maggot
3rd Stan (The Man) Roberts with 22.1/3lbs on feeder pole and maggot

The winner of the Honda Trucha fly competition on Saturday March 6th was Jim Boardman.
A strong wind from the north started to blow just before the start of the competition, complicating the casting .This was the first time that almost all trout were caught with a floating line, just under the surface. The most successful fly of his afternoon was the yellow dancer which was used by the Scottish fly fisherman Jim. He became the winner, with a catch of 8 trout.
The next fly completion will be on Wednesday March 13th from 14.00 – 17.30 hours. For participation call Jan 636314033 or sign in over www.hondontrucha.com.
Hondon Trucha is open every morning from 08.30 – 13.00 hours for spinning and fly fishing.

The next ‘Anglers Together’ meeting is at Mary’s Bar, Campoverde (near Pilar de la Horadada) will be held on Friday 8th April at 12 o’clock.
On Saturday 9th April at 12 o’clock another meeting will be held at The New Royal Bar and Restaurant at El Alamillo, opposite the sea-front between Isla Plana and the Port.
Come along to a meeting nearest to you.
For further details ring Alan Roscoe 968 570 876 or email: anglerstogether@gonuts4free.com

The next meeting of the Syedpur fishing club based in Albox (Sea and coarse) will take place at 4pm at the Syedpur Restaurant, Albox, on Wednesday April 6th then the first Wednesday of each month.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber at www.beachcomber-restaurant.com

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

25-03-2011, 13:24

I sighted a whale on Saturday of some description about a km in front of the Beachcomber and it was heading south. After posting the sighting on facebook live it was confirmed by a few other people. Hopefully we will have a different scenario because the last time I saw one it or another turned up on a Cabo De Gata beach dead. Is it just coincidence or could it be because of Spain’s submarine is off shore probably heading for Libya, collateral damage I suppose? I also received reports of big numbers of dolphins (From three sources) off the coast in front of the big 4 star hotels, Oasis Tropical etc, not that unusual but worrying.

The Spring Equinox was last week and so a lot of fish and sea mammal activity can be expected. In fact it wasn’t far off this time last year when there were so many dorada bream in Garrucha marina they were jumping out on the dock (OK so I’m exaggerating a bit!). Locals were lined up two abreast casting their lines and fish were being caught on bare hooks. (No exaggeration this time)

This may not be the case this year as security and Guardia have stopped any fishing within the marina but there are still spots that can be reached which will no doubt provide some good catches.

Received a report some Spanish lads were catching a lot of squid (40 to 50 two nights running) on Mackerel feathers last week.

‘London Bill’ tells me the dorada are in the area with quite a few striped bream. (Shore fishing)

Opposite where ‘Captain Brian Cuba’s’ boat used to be moored in the new part of the Garrucha marina is a fishing tackle shop. Apparently it will have to close by October and the owner hasn’t been offered an alternative location. With the road closed outside his premises it might be a waste of time him opening anyway.

Brian took five mates out on his Garrucha moored fishing boat and they caught well with about 50 fish between them. They boated some very big combers and pandoras, weighing up to 2lbs. On this occasion most of the bigger fish were kept and given to the marina mafia! (Brownie points)

See photos of one of Brian’s mates with a comber and another with a pandora. See also photo of Kevin, Steve and lastly Barry with a full house of pandoras.

‘Captain Pete Pugwash’ was out with ‘Radio Ham Kevin’ and anchored only 50 yards away from where Brian was fishing and they caught next to nothing, three fish I think but that’s fishing eh?

The weather took a turn for the worse and neither Capitano got out again in the week.

‘Baza Barry’ fished with mates on the River Segura in Murcia Town and three of them bagged 100lb of fish between them with carp to 6lbs.

Maz, Syedpur’s owner is not well and so the venue is having to be changed just for this one meeting it is hoped. The next meeting of the Syedpur fishing club based in Albox (Sea and coarse) will take place at 4pm at the The Azafran (Formally Kat's Kitchen),Albox, on Wednesday April 6th then the first Wednesday of each month.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber at www.beachcomber-restaurant.com

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

01-04-2011, 17:40

‘London Bill’ confirms there is lots of activity on Mojacar’s shoreline and he has been catching a lot of dorada and striped bream.

‘Captain Brian Cuba’s’ boat has been out of the water for repairs but I can confirm it is back in the water now and he has been chomping at the bit to get out fishing. He did go out once with his boat cleaning/repairing crew, ‘United Dave’, ‘Kenolo’ and Brian’s partner ‘Admiral Phil’. The catch included pandoras, combers and a swallow tailed sea perch. Ken caught an octopus from 60 feet of water.

See photo of Gary on Brian’s boat last week with a squid he caught. Also another photo of one of Brian’s mates with an octopus. Lastly me with a couple of twin banded bream.

‘Captain Pete Pugwash’ only got out once this week and was joined by three mates, Ray, Pete and Steve. They caught a few pandoras, combers and blue mouths from shallow-ish water, 100 feet which is shallow for us fishing the Garrucha holes. One blue mouth had a belly full of very small fry and what with news from the Cabo de Gata (No fishing area) dorada bream and other species were making the water boil chasing fry one day.
Pete while dead baiting for conger caught a 1.1/2lb pouting which took a small pandora and a 10.0 hook!

From Remaxparaiso.com
Works have begun on tripling the number of moorings at Garrucha port. The director general of the Andalucía Ports Public Agency, Sergio Moreno, and the Almería delegate of the Junta de Andalucía’s Public Works and Housing Department, José Manuel Ortiz, laid the first stone of the facilities, which will create 346 new moorings for leisure craft.
The 5.5 million euros worth of works are due for completion in one year, and will give Garrucha port 600 leisure craft moorings altogether, making it the second biggest marina in Almería province after Almerimar. The works are part of the Public Works and Housing Department project to improve and extend the port started three years ago, with a total investment of 31.5 million euros, which also includes the development of the transport of merchandise and auxiliary industries, and the integration of the port with the town.
The works on the new nautical zone will consist of the installation of jetties for the 346 new moorings for leisure craft of between eight and 20 metres, including a central pier with a jetty for waiting and for refuelling. They will also include an esplanade connecting with the town, internal roads and parking areas, without affecting the existing promenade. In addition, the project includes space for the construction of commercial and administrative premises, workshops and boatyards. As general port services, there will be facilities for drinking water, collection of sewage, low tension electricity supply, parking, street lighting and garden areas. There will also be services specifically for the recreational craft, with a drinking water and electricity supply point every two moorings, three points of sewage and collection and refuelling points. Further plans include a dry dock, which will be one of the biggest in Andalucía, for boat maintenance and repairs.

‘Baza Barry’ fished the Blanca Lake in Murcia and although he didn’t catch many fish the net did contain a carp weighing 12lbs and a barbel of 5lbs.

This week saw the Rods and Reels club at Lake Blanca in Murcia for another exciting match. After the last few weeks of missing the rain it got them this week. That was in the morning, come the afternoon they were subjected to a near gale force wind. That was the kind bit, the fishing was poor with 11 anglers braving the elements, they still had 4 dry nets. If only the fishing matched up to the scenic beauty of the place it would be a joy to fish.
Top anglers on the day
1st Terry ( Swing E´m ) Screen fishing the feeder using corn with 14lbs.
2nd Ian ( Irish Wizard ) Dalzell fishing the feeder using maggot with 9lbs.
3rd Marlene ( The Sweetie Lady ) Hutchinson fishing the feeder using maggot with 5.1/2lbs.

This week’s Abbey Angling Club match was held on the Segura River at Olivarejos near Calasparra and was their first visit there this year and probably the last!
There is an access problem with the farmer even though these matches have all been booked with the Murcian Federation. He will not let the anglers use the road which runs through his land to the river which means taking another road which is very narrow and means reversing the vehicles out and also entails a long walk with all the tackle.
After saying all that, the river looked in perfect condition with a gentle flow, but did not respond and only 4 anglers caught fish.
1st Alan (Quiet Man) Reid with one nice Barbel of 6.1/2lbs.
2nd Bob (The Gent) Elms with 4.1/3lbs
3rd Mike (The Arsenal) Hill with 2.3/4lbs
All fishing the feeder and corn.

Hondon Trucha trout lake. This week’s winner was Malcolm from Denia. Because of the strong wind all anglers were fishing from one side of the lake. Most of them started with an intermediate line, but soon changed over to a floating line. Also dry flies were used, but at the end the ¨Fat ass booby¨ of Malcolm was most successful. He was the winner with a catch of 23 trout. He received a voucher for one morning free fishing, 2 litres of Oporto from the local bodega and a travel blanket.
Next competition is on Saturday April 2nd. If you want to participate please call Jan on 636314033 or have a look on www.hondontrucha.com

The next ‘Anglers Together’ meeting is at Mary’s Bar, Campoverde (near Pilar de la Horadada) will be held on Friday 8th April at 12 o’clock.
On Saturday 9th April at 12 o’clock another meeting will be held at The New Royal Bar and Restaurant at El Alamillo, opposite the sea-front between Isla Plana and the Port.
Come along to a meeting nearest to you.
For further details ring Alan Roscoe 968 570 876 or email: anglerstogether@gonuts4free.com

Maz the owner of the Syedapur Indian restaurant in Albox is unwell and I was initially told he was shutting his restaurant for a month only. I am now reliably informed the restaurant has been shut for good and much of the furniture has been sold.
The next Syedapur fishing club meeting, if the club retains the name, will be held at 4pm on 6th April at the Azafran Bar which was formally Kats Kitchen, also in Albox. I’m sure you will all join me in wishing Maz a quick recovery.

The Beachcomber’s webcam has been playing up recently but is working again now. Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam. You must have downloaded the latest version from www.java.com
www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber at www.beachcomber-restaurant.com

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

08-04-2011, 11:03

‘Captain Runway Ralph, took ‘Bruce the Anchor’ and ‘Little David’ out for a full days fishing but the results were poor. David, this being his first time fishing from a boat in the Med caught the only fish. An Octopus, black scorpion fish and a blue mouth.

See photo of David and his blue mouthed rose bellied rockfish.

See also photo of the black scorpion (Ralph called it) but I wonder if it is actually another species, anyone know?

‘Captain Brian Cuba’ was also out in the week with ‘Seasick Steve’ and his mates Steve, Steve and Steve! You couldn’t make it up could you? The result was quite a few fish including an Octopus, some big weavers, combers, pandoras and pickerel. One of them (Steve!) lost a big pouting which fell off at the side of the boat. A few pods of dolphins were about all morning.

See photo of one of Steve! and a couple of pickerel he caught.

‘Captain Pete Pugwash’, took ‘Fishmonger George’ out fishing for a morning. They tried various depths such as 50, 150 and 350 feet with nothing special being caught. A couple of twin banded bream, combers, pandoras and a weaver.

‘London Bill’ says he’s been catching lots of dorada bream from shore marks close to Garrucha marina and for some lucky anglers who get away with fishing within the marina the catches of dorada is very good. Still lots of squid being caught at night from the shore at Garrucha.
Spanish lads have been catching some decent fish from Macenas and further south but daytime hours are not producing much at all. Got to get up early or stay out late.

‘Baza Barry’ fished Lake Argos and says the fishing has improved after fish went to ground for the winter. He caught carp to 3lbs but says there are some big brutes hunting around and getting ready for the coming spawning season.

This week´s Rods and Reels match was the 2nd round of the Summer Championship. The venue having to be changed from Olivarejos (Near Calasparra) due to access problems, to the river Segura in Murcia. The river was still in full flow and around a foot higher than normal. At least this week there was no rain only sunshine. The fish were still feeding in the flow, but also for those with reeds within pole distance, they managed to catch steadily through the day and this proved to be the winning method.
Top rods on the day
1st Ian ( Irish Wizard ) Dalzell fishing the pole using corn with nearly 44lbs.
2nd Stuart ( I´m married again ) Taylor fishing the feeder using maggot with 36lbs.
3rd Bill ( The Master ) Reade fishing the feeder using bread and worms with 27.1/2lbs.

The 10th and penultimate round of the Abbey Angling Cup was fished at Murcia’s River Segura.
The bamboos are now growing at a fast rate and will be back to normal in no time at all; also the river was flowing fast with a lot of dead bamboo canes in the water both sides, with this causing tackle and fish to get snagged. Almost all the anglers were losing fish on the day and most opted to fish the feeder with corn and maggot.
1st Stan (The Man) Roberts with 24lbs.
2nd Bill (The Master) Reade with 23lbs.
3rd Lennie (Ex Cultural Attache) Bolton with 14.1/2lbs.
The Beachcomber’s webcam has been playing up recently but is working again now (mostly). Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam. You must have downloaded the latest version from www.java.com
www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber at www.beachcomber-restaurant.com

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

16-04-2011, 11:49

‘London Bill’ has continued his success catching bream from various shore marks in Garrucha and Mojacar, main species caught were doradas and striped bream.

‘Captain Cuba’ (Brian) went out three times in the week, the first with his partner ‘Admiral Phil’, ‘Kenolo’ and a mate of his. Ken hooked a decent octopus which decided to let go of the bait when it reached the surface. Other fish caught were blue mouths, pandoras, combers, pickerel, pouting, weavers and striped bream. The latter were caught close inshore in 100 feet of water and where you would expect to find this species in the Med. They rarely go far from the shore in my experience.

Brian’s next trip out was with Phil and ‘Geoff the hat’. They spent the morning anchored in various holes and finished off drifting over shallower water with a muddy bottom. Mainly pandoras were caught, 29 of them and 1 each blue mouth and pouting. Apart from fishing they spent a fair bit of time following pods of dolphins, great fun in itself.

See photo of Geoff with a pandora.

Brian went out once more and was joined by ‘Mike the watch’, ‘Paul the Rope’ and ‘Inflatable Andy’. They caught the usual suspects with nothing special being landed.

‘Captain Pete Pugwash’ took ‘Seasick Steve’ out and two of his mates, ‘Snapper Steve’ and Steve. (The forth Steve couldn’t make it) They fished various depths in front of Garrucha Marina, 150’, 200’ and 350’. The vast majority of fish coming out of the 200’ mark where they caught red snappers, combers, pandoras, pouting, blue mouths and weavers.
Pete hooked a very big fish that took him from the back of the boat to the front before straightening a swivel clip and swimming away with Pete’s metal trace. Pete thought it was a conger but I’ve never known them to dart like that and are more likely to sit fast on the bottom. Sounds more like a big dentex bream or meagre to me. All four anglers lost decent fish that day.

See photo of ‘Seasick Steve’ and an octopus he landed and ‘Snapper Steve’ with a couple of small red snappers.

‘Baza Barry’ fished both the River Segura in Murcia Town and Lake Argos near Calasparra. Carp to 6lbs were caught at the former and a good bag of small fish to 2lbs at the latter venue.

This week’s Rods and Reels match was on the River Segura at Murcia. Although the river was still carrying extra water, it fished well. Whether you are fishing the feeder in the flow or the pole in the slack water by the reeds, there are plenty of fish to catch, as can be seen by the results. Also, a variety of baits will produce. Although the weather has now changed for the better, be prepared if fishing Murcia, come midday the wind will get up and your gear needs to be anchored down. It is also better not to park your car on the pathway as we have been told that the police have booked some anglers. Even the Spanish park their cars at the top of the alley, if that is not a clue what is.
Top rods on the day
1st Doug ( Welsh Goldminer ) Hornblow fishing the pole using maggot with 69lbs.
2nd Dave ( Yours Truly ) Hoare fishing the pole using corn with 50lbs.
3rd Dave ( The Sweetie Man ) Hutchinson fishing the pole using pellet with nearly 46lbs.

This week’s Abbey Angling match was fished at Beniarres Reservoir which is 142 kilometres away on the other side of the city of Alcoy. (Too far for us Southerners.)
On arrival at the lake the temperature was down to only 7 degrees, it was 15 degrees when we left home. To our surprise the water level was down a good 10 to 12 feet from our last visit which allowed us to fish on the original match stretch. The wind as usual got up around midday as it always does there, making it hard work fishing with the pole.
The winner on the day was Stan (The Man) Roberts with 79.1/2lbs fishing the pole and corn.
2nd Paul (The Fryer) Baxter with 76lbs on pole and paste.
3rd Bill (The Master) Reade with 42lbs on the feeder and corn.

Anglers Together was formed to introduce and encourage anglers of all abilities to meet up and get together to fish, either sea or freshwater. The next meeting will be held at The New Royal Bar and Restaurant at El Alamillo, opposite the sea-front between Isla Plana and the Port. For further details ring Alan Roscoe 968 570 876 or email: anglerstogether@gonuts4free.com.

There will be a fishing meeting in the Beachcomber on 10th May, 7pm til 9pm.

Albox Fishing Club met at The Azafran last Wednesday 6 April. An idea put forward was to have a competition off the beach as soon as can be arranged. We'd like to thank Mike and Adam for the nibbles they put on for us.
Next Meeting Wednesday 27 April 4pm at The Azafran. New members welcome to pop along for a chat.

The Beachcomber’s webcam has been playing up recently but is working most days. Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam. You must have downloaded the latest version from www.java.com
www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber at www.beachcomber-restaurant.com

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

superkittie

18-04-2011, 13:03

Hi,

Can you tell me if there are any fishing trips in Mojocar in May?

We will be over from 19th to 26th any info and prices would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Elaine

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

18-04-2011, 13:53

Hello Elaine, if you email me on beachcomberjohn@???gmail.com (Take out the 3 x ?) Ill send you all the tel numbers of the guys going out. Basically they go out any day when the weather is right but its worth booking a week ahead to get yourself pencilled in. If you are in or near Mojacar call in to see me and Ill look up the weather forecast for you.

Best wishes, John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

21-04-2011, 15:02

‘London Bill’ was fishing alongside Spanish fishermen down on the Macenas southern rocks where he says they were all catching lots of small sea bass and palometes.

‘Spanish Pete’ went out with his son in law ‘Kote’ and they suffered the big waves to catch just a few fish. A 1lb red snapper, small weavers, combers, pandoras and pickerel.

The British Capitanos haven’t been out this week but I heard some Spanish boats have been catching loads of little cleaver wrasse which for me is one of the best eating fish in the sea. If fresh I don’t even bother to gut them and fry them in a beer batter. As you pick off the batter the skin comes with it leaving a beautiful white fleshed fish with a similar bone structure to a Dover sole except for the wrasse has two good eating sides to it.

See photo of ‘Mike the watch’ last week on Brian’s (Cuba) boat catching a small pandora with ‘Paul the rope’ looking on as he had just lost €1 for the first fish caught!

And another one of ‘Kenolo’ and an octopus he recently caught.

‘Baza Barry’ fished the River Segura in Murcia Town, where he caught some good carp to 12lbs. He tells me that although he hasn’t fished his local lake much (Baza’s Lake Negratin) there are some big fish showing and he will start to concentrate more of his time there later this month. Water levels are perfect he says and he expects a successful spawning season from the lake’s fish.

Last week’s Rods and Reels match venue was changed from Blanca to the River Segura, Eden canal stretch. Although the river was at it´s full level and flowing slightly faster than normal, it fished well. Nearly every angler on the day lost several big fish, and some a lot more than a couple. That is the joys of fishing, even more so when you fish this stretch of river which has a lot of new reed growth close to the banks. Also, considering that there was a match on this stretch the day before, the river did produce, in comparison to several weeks ago when anglers were struggling for a bite.

1st Dave ( Yours Truly ) Hoare fishing the pole using corn with 24.1/2lbs.
2nd Doug ( Welsh Goldminer ) Hornblow fishing the pole using pellet with 18.1/2lbs.
3rd Mick ( The Arsenal ) Hill fishing the pole using pellet and corn with 15lbs.

The Abbey Angling match this week was at the Eden Stretch of the River Segura. The river has now coloured up with the sun causing the algae growth, and the fish starting to feed on the bottom.

1st Stan (The Man) Roberts with 41lbs on the pole with corn and pellet
2nd Lenny (Ex Cultural Attache) Bolton with 19lbs on the pole with corn and paste
3rd Paul (The Fryer) Baxter with 17.1/2lbs on the pole with paste and pellet.

The fishing is starting to improve with the warmer weather, and this week there was no dry nets.

Anglers Together was formed to introduce and encourage anglers of all abilities to meet up and get together to fish, either sea or freshwater. The next meeting will be held at The New Royal Bar and Restaurant at El Alamillo, on Saturday 14th of May at 12 o’clock, opposite the sea-front between Isla Plana and the Port. For further details ring Alan Roscoe 968 570 876 or email: anglerstogether@gonuts4free.com.

There will be a fishing meeting in the Beachcomber on 10th May, 7pm til 9pm where like minded people meet for a chat about guess what? Yep fishing! I wonder if the fly tying boys will turn up to give us some tips and demonstrations.

The next Albox Fishing Club is on Meeting Wednesday 27 April 4pm at The Azafran. New members welcome to pop along for a chat.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam. You must have downloaded the latest version from www.java.com to see it.
www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber at www.beachcomber-restaurant.com

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

28-04-2011, 16:19

‘Spanish Pete’ went out with his son in law ‘Kote’ and they caught lots of Spanish mackerel that were jigged for with feathers. It is worth noting that when they baited the same hooks while jigging they caught nothing! Caught while bottom fishing was pickerel, weavers, pandoras, Atlantic scad and combers.

‘Pugwash Pete’ went out with ‘Seasick Steve’ and two of his mates, ‘Snapper Steve’ and Steve! Pete had a 5 foot conger which was kept and some of it will no doubt come in handy for me for my eel stew liquor to go with my meat pie and mash. Well I am from London!
Anyway they also caught lots of the usual suspects, twin banded bream, Spanish mackerel, pandoras, pickerel, red snappers, combers and weavers.

See photo of Pete and his conger. That’s S.S.Steve looking on with ‘Snapper Steve’ showing no interest lol.

I still haven’t been out, when I’ve had a day off the seas have been massive, oh well one day soon.

‘Captain Brian Cuba’ also got out in the week and was joined by Trevor and his sons Scott and Alex. They caught well but nothing of note and finished the day with the boys getting joy rides on Brian’s doughnut, great fun.

See photo of Alex and a comber he caught and another of scared Scott with a dangerous weaver he caught being expertly handled by Brian.

Trevor and the boys did a little shore fishing and caught a few small fish while spinning a small lure. They caught combers and I was a little surprised to see a black swallow tail also took a lure.

‘London Bill’ fished with his new found Spanish mates down on and near Macenas Beach where they caught a few fish, mainly small sea bass, Atlantic scad and palometes and one of them had a bonito or melva.

If any of you course anglers, fishing the Argos lake in Murcia, see a fishing rod going past you, don't despair, you are not hallucinating. The story I heard was that ‘Little Ken’ was fishing there with ‘40 Watts’, when a "large fish" hit him so hard that it tore the rod out of his grip. Rod and reel were last seen travelling in a northerly direction.

This week’s Rods and Reels match was at Lake Blanca in Murcia, and it didn´t fail to test all anglers. 16 brave souls turned up and 8 had dry nets. Oh! the joys of match fishing on hard venues. It is a good job that bleak are present otherwise the dry net count would have been higher!
The water level at the start of the match was some 15 inches down and slowly rose during the match, whether this has anything to do with the fish feeding patterns we will never know. Again, we had a good day weather wise, with just a bit of wind in the afternoon.

Top rods on the day
1st Clive ( Golf No More ) Cleghorn fishing the feeder using corn with 23lbs.
2nd Bill ( The Master ) Reade fishing the feeder using pellet with 14.1/2lbs.
3rd Stan ( The Man ) Roberts fishing the pole using paste with 10lbs.

Last week’s Abbey Angling match was moved from the 8ft drain to the River Segura in Murcia. The temperature had dropped again and it rained for most of the match but fortunately it stopped in time for the weigh in. There is still a lot of flow on the river, but it still fished quite well.
1st Stan (The Man) Roberts with 34.1/2lbs on the pole and maggot.
2nd Don (Mr Bowls) Whitney with 24lbs on the feeder and maggot.
3rd Terry (Swing Em) Screen with 22.1/2lbs on the pole and paste.

Although Rods and Reels results were not good at Blanca, maybe because of there being a lot more anglers, ‘Baza Barry’ fished the lake with a mate and they had another good day with carp to 8lbs and barbel to 6lbs. He hooked and lost a trout when one took a maggot while he was reeling in. The bleak there must be a real bonus to the trout and black bass that live in the lake.

Anglers Together was formed to introduce and encourage anglers of all abilities to meet up and get together to fish, either sea or freshwater. The next meeting will be held at The New Royal Bar and Restaurant at El Alamillo, on Saturday 14th of May at 12 o’clock, opposite the sea-front between Isla Plana and the Port. For further details ring Alan Roscoe 968 570 876 or email: anglerstogether@gonuts4free.com.

There will be a fishing meeting in the Beachcomber on 10th May; 7pm til 9pm where like minded people meet for a chat about guess what? Yep fishing! I wonder if the fly tying boys will turn up to give us some tips and demonstrations on trout and sea flies and lures.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam. You must have downloaded the latest version from www.java.com to see it.
www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber at www.beachcomber-restaurant.com

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

MikeTheBass

04-05-2011, 19:28

Interesting reading as always
Mike

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

05-05-2011, 14:43

‘Pugwash Pete’ got out once only this week on his boat with his son Joe who was out on holiday. A poor day was had with one comber being the catch of the day; at least it was a big one.

‘Cuba Brian’, like Pete managed only one day out, him and mates caught a few different varieties but only one fish of note, a 4lb red snapper.

See photo of Brian’s partner ‘Admiral Phil’ with a pandora he caught and another of one of Brian’s mates with a pryle of pandoras.

Spanish friends of Andreas, a tackle shop owner in Garrucha Marina, caught a 70 kilo blue fin tuna 10km out and they have also been catching sail fish over the past couple of weeks. I didn’t know there were many sail fish if any in the Med.

‘Quote’ “The season for an ancient and spectacular tuna-fishing technique has begun off Spain's southwest coast, and fishermen fear it could soon disappear if fleets of factory ships elsewhere keep overfishing prized Atlantic bluefin tuna.
In the method the Spanish called "almadraba," fishermen stretch maze-like nets from sandy beaches to catch the bluefin, a practice that dates from when Phoenician traders sailed to these shores 1,000 years before the birth of Christ.
This laborious harvest, which includes lifting nets heaving with fish onto ships, is timed to coincide with annual migrations by tuna from the Atlantic to lay eggs in warm Mediterranean waters”. ‘Unquote’
Someone wasn’t in the queue when brains were dished out otherwise they might have worked out if they waited until after the fish had spawned and were on their way back out of the Med it would be a better idea, DURRR.

The Albox fishing club held a beach match between six members opposite the Repsol garage at the Mojacar side of Garrucha. Willy ‘Jonah’ Jones won the weights. 6 anglers and 12 rods caught a 1lb 2oz dorada bream, 2 dreaded weavers, 3 small sea bass and a rockfish of some kind, a comber maybe. (The painted variety being the norm off the beach)

‘London Bill’ last week continued spinning off the rocks at the north end of Macenas Beach and caught a few small sea bass. Mojacar’s ‘Markie Mark’ tell’s me he’s been catching the odd one from the same spot.

See below re: a 7lb mullet that was caught from the river in Murcia. There are 12lbers in Garrucha marina. Not only are you not allowed to fish for them, for they wouldn’t be hard to catch, but you wouldn’t want to eat one eh?
Yet so many people are still eating PANGA! Not so many now it appears because Mercadona have cut their stocks down by about 75% which tells me there’s not such a demand for it nowadays. Google the following ‘Is panga dangerous to eat’ Then eat it at your peril! And if I’m scaremongering and it doesn’t kill you, do you really want to eat something whose mother has been injected with pregnant women’s urine? Let alone been bred in farms that get their water from one of the most polluted rivers in the world. Rant over!

‘Baza Barry’ fished Lake Negratin where he says the water is high and still very cold. Not a lot was caught other than a few sluggish carp, not quite awake yet.

Last week’s rods and Reels match had to be cancelled from the River Segura in Murcia Town and moved to the Eden Canal stretch as it was very difficult to get under the bridge at Murcia because the river is still in flood. The Eden canal was higher than normal and pushing through, but not as bad as Murcia. All anglers caught fish, albeit some only had the odd one.

Top rods on the day

1st Stan (The Man ) Roberts fishing the pole using maggot with 27lbs.
2nd Lenny (Ex Cultural Attache) Bolton fishing the pole and feeder using maggot with 16lbs.
3rd Jim (The Chairman ) Rouse fishing the pole using maggot with 12.1/2lbs. This included a mullet of 7lb, nice size for the Barbie!

It was Abbey Angling’s first visit of the year to Argos Lake near Calasparra (Murcia) and it is surprising the difference in temperature when you travel up in to higher ground; it had dropped from 16 degrees down to 8 degrees on our arrival at the lake.
There had been heavy thunderstorms and rain over the weekend and this had made the water levels much higher and the water cooler than normal for the time of the year resulting in low weights. In previous years at the end of April weights averaging around 30 to 40 kilos were being caught.

1st Stan (the Man) Roberts with 36lbs on the feeder and corn.
2nd Bill (The Master) Reade with 29lbs on the Pole and paste.
3rd Ian (The Irish Wizard) Dalzell with 27lbs on the pole feeder and pellet.

Anglers Together was formed to introduce and encourage anglers of all abilities to meet up and get together to fish, either sea or freshwater. Firm friendships have been formed during the time the group has been active and information on fishing venues and licenses required are available at the meetings or by regular emailed newsletters.
Meetings are held in two locations on the second Friday and Saturday of each month. Anyone with an interest in fishing (sea or freshwater) is welcome to come along to a meeting to see what we’re about.
The next meeting at the Puerto de Mazarron is on Saturday 14th of May at 12 o’clock the meeting will be held at The New Royal Bar and Restaurant at El Alamillo, opposite the sea-front between Isla Plana and the Port.
The subs are now due at these meetings €5 for renewal and €10 for new members.
Refreshments and lunch are available at each location.

‘Girl Friday’ is going to get the next batch of Andalucian beach and boat fishing licenses in about a week so see me soon if you want one. Bring NIE and passport copies with you, one copy for each license required and I’ll help fill in the forms.

Next Meeting of the Albox Fishing Club is Wednesday 25th May at The Azafran Bar at 4pm.

There will be a fishing meeting in the Beachcomber on 10th May; 7pm til 9pm where like minded people meet for a chat about guess what? Yep fishing! I wonder if the fly tying boys will turn up to give us some tips and demonstrations on trout and sea flies and lures.

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam. You must have downloaded the latest version from www.java.com to see it.
www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber at www.beachcomber-restaurant.com

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

12-05-2011, 11:58

‘Captain Pete Pugwash’ had a morning out with mate ‘Sea Sick Steve’ and how many more Steve’s I don’t know! and although they didn’t catch much they did see a shark of some sort that was circling the boat with its fin well and truly out of the water, that is until another boat came too close and it disappeared.

Captain Cuba took a few mates out late last week. ‘Farmer Rory’,’ Mac the Hat’ and Happy Harry. Caught was pandoras, channel mackerel, combers Inc some big babies! 1 x small red snapper and a silver fish with yellow stripes and a spot near its eye. Brian didn’t have his camera and didn’t recognise the fish, nor did one of the port’s Capitanos who regularly fishes himself and sees more fish being landed than most people. I did however find it in my collection of Med fishy books and it was a Guelly Jack and was Mac’s first ever Jack of any type.
Brian would like to publicly thank Harry for catching him when he nodded and fell off his chair heading dangerously for the fish well! Ha ha, you are a legend Brian.

Brian was out again with ‘Paul the Rope’, ‘Inflatable Andy’ and ‘Mike the Watch’. They caught a few of the usual suspects such as combers, pandoras, pouting, pickerel and blue mouths. A 2lb Atlantic scad was caught by Paul and Brian knocked it on the head before putting it in the fish well. A while later they realised a photo had not been taken of Paul and his nice fish. Paul picked it up and held it high for the photo when the fish came back to life and made a jump for open water where it quickly disappeared to tell its mates how it got banged over the head and imprisoned for 20 minutes before being ceremoniously released.

See photo of me with a pandora and an ingredient for one of my favourite treats, jellied eels, a European Eel.

There was another happening which has got me really excited, while Paul was reeling up what he thought was a small fish, and about 60 to 80 feet from the surface he got hit by something big. Unlikely to be a conger that far up and also rather than being just a heavy lump it actually fought and moved round under the boat. Paul’s 35lb test curve rod was bent in half and although he played the fish for 5 minutes he could make no ground. Then the worst happened and the fish was lost but the boat’s occupants couldn’t believe their eyes when his rig came up less only the lead which had pulled out of the wire staple. The fish had grabbed only the weight and hung on until it pulled out it is presumed. Whatever it was it was a big critter. Paul says if anyone catches it can he have his lead back!

See photo of Trevor (With a couple of pandoras) and mate Basil on a recent trip out with Brian.

‘London Bill’ hasn’t been well and so has not been out fishing the beaches etc, get well soon mate.

I notice the Garrucha boats are still going out fishing five times a week this spring. Last year they stopped for about 6 weeks to let the fish spawn in peace!

Again this week, the Rods and Reels match was held on the River Segura on the Eden canal stretch. The river was still in full flow, and up about a foot. Although the river was still pushing through, it fished well, with nearly every angler catching fish. Some were more unlucky than others though, as one of the members lost some 19 fish, enough to have easily won the day.
Almost all anglers who fished the pole got caught up in the reeds, either the old broken stalks or new growth; this is because you cannot see where these are on the river bed. Until the river drops to its normal level this is going to be an ongoing problem.
Top rods on the day
1st Stan ( The Man ) Roberts fishing the feeder using maggot with 17.1/4lbs.
2nd Lenny ( Ex Cultural Attache) Bolton fishing the pole and using maggot with 14.1/2lbs.
3rd Clive ( Golf no more ) Cleghorn fishing the pole using maggot with 13.1/4lbs.

The Abbey angling match was fished at Murcia’s Blanca Embalsa. It was a lovely day for a change with the sun shining and the water calm, but the wind arrived as usual around 1 pm. The water is regulated through the Dam, which I think could be operating a small Hydro-Electric generator as the water level fluctuates about 2 feet a day.
The fish seemed to be in patches with only 4 people catching on the day
1st Mike (The Arsenal) Hill with 32.1/4lbs on feeder and corn (Well Done)
2nd Ian (The Irish Wizard) Dalzell with 26.3/4lbs on feeder and pellet
3rd Bill (The Master) Reade with 9lbs on pole and pellet
Club details available from the Match Secretary Terry Screen on 965328368

No news from ‘Baza Barry’ this week.

‘Girl Friday’ is due to get Andalucian Beach and boat licenses in the next few days so see me soon with your nie and passport copies. She is also thinking about a date for the trips to Granada to organise the next batch of Andalucian coarse fishing licenses (Without you having to do the 24 hour course in Spanish) Apart from the document copies mentioned above you will also need an in date original English rod license.

The Beachcomber’s fishing meeting was not well attended and only 15 or so anglers turned up. This poor turnout puts future meetings in jeopardy as wonderful people like ‘John the Fly’ and friends who turn out to do demonstrations of fly tying etc ought to be appreciated. John did however teach 10 or so anglers to cast a fly on the beach in front of the Beachcomber and I think everyone enjoyed it so thank you John. Thanks also to ‘Cuba’ and ‘Pugwash’ who turned up to talk about boat fishing and to tell their tales of lost monsters and Jaws the shark.
Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam. You must have downloaded the latest version from www.java.com to see it.
www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber at www.beachcomber-restaurant.com

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

22-05-2011, 14:04

Garrucha commercial fishing boat owners have until 30th July to take a grant and take their boats out of service. Boats over 10 years old can apply for a 40% grant for fuel saving measures which can save up to 30% of fuel used.

A big turtle was washed up dead a little way down from the Beachcomber, must have weighed over 50lbs, shame.

See photo of the poor turtle.

‘Sea Sick Steve’ has bought a great new fishing boat and I suppose I had better call him ‘Captain Sea Sick Steve’ from now on. I bet his three mates, Steve, Steve and Steve think Xmas has arrived early, good luck lads and keep me informed of fish caught.

‘Brian Cuba’ took ‘Seasick Ken’ and three of his mates out on his Garrucha moored fishing boat. Poor Ken was sick before leaving the dock! and stayed that way for 4 hours. Brian gave him high praise for sticking it out. They caught weavers, combers, pandoras, blue mouths, Atlantic scad and Spanish mackerel.

See two photos of Seasick Ken and mates with a few tiddlers, Spanish mackerel, blue mouths and a pandora.

Do you know I haven’t been out for a month! Weather and hospital appointments conspiring against me!

‘London Bill’ has been fishing in and around Garrucha for protection against the bad seas. He says he caught nothing worth mentioning, small mullet and dorada bream.

‘Girl Friday’ is going for Andalucian beach and boat fishing licenses on 2nd June so see me before if you are interested. Bring copies of your NIE and passport documents. She is also thinking about a date for the trips to Granada to organise the next batch of Andalucian coarse fishing licenses (Without you having to do the 24 hour course in Spanish) Apart from the document copies mentioned above you will also need an in date original English rod license.

‘Baza Barry’ fished Lake Negratin and caught a small bag of carp but nothing over 3lbs. Water levels are still good and the spawning frenzy is not far off.

The Rods and reels match was held at the Embalse de Argos in Murcia. The match there several weeks ago, only produced low weights, so there was some trepidation how it was going to fish. The water was high and it rose several inches during the match. For those who have been there you know that is an awful lot of water. Some of the swims on the left hand side of the point could not be used due to the high water level. The day proved to be good as seen by the weights.
Top rods on the day
1st Doug ( Welsh Goldminer ) Hornblow fishing the pole using corn with 88.1/2lbs.
2nd Dave ( The Sweetie Man ) Hutchinson fishing the pole using paste with 66lbs.
3rd Alan ( The Quiet Man ) Reid fishing the feeder using bread with 59lbs.

These weeks just fly by and Tuesday saw the Abbey Angling match fished on the Eden Canal stretch.
You would never believe now that the reeds were ever cut back, as they are once again almost fully grown. The flow of the river had slowed right down from the week before and the colour was good but the fish must be in spawning mode as not a lot of them about and the weights were poor on average
1st Lenny (Ex Cultural Attache) Bolton with 14.1/2lbs fishing the pole using pellet and corn.
2nd Pete (The Peg) Hampshire with 12.1/4lbs fishing the pole using pellet.
3rd Stan (The Man) Roberts with 12lbs fishing the pole and using pellet.

The next Anglers Together meeting is on Saturday 11th of June at 12 o’clock, the meeting will be held at The New Royal Bar and Restaurant at El Alamillo, opposite the sea-front between Isla Plana and the Port.
The subs are now due at these meetings €5 for renewal and €10 for new members.
Refreshments and lunch are available at each location.
Come along to a meeting nearest to you.
For further details ring Alan Roscoe 968 570 876 or email: anglerstogether@gonuts4free.com

We are 99% confident the webcam freezing problem is gone and it should work perfectly! from now on.
Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam. You must have downloaded the latest version from www.java.com to see it.
www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber at www.beachcomber-restaurant.com

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

26-05-2011, 12:08

‘London Bill’ says a few bonito are being caught from the shore and so are dentex bream being landed from the Villaricos area. This was confirmed by ‘Brian Cuba’ who photographed a small Villaricos boat landing both these species and others in good numbers.

See photo of a couple of freshly landed bonito being sold in Villaricos. That’s the way to buy fish fresh, forget the panga, aghhh don’t mention the panga John.
See another photo of a few more fish landed there.

‘Captain Pugwash Pete’ is away in the UK so no news from him.

‘Cuba Brian’ took mates, ‘Farmer Rory’ and ‘Paul the Pirate’ out on his Garrucha moored fishing boat. It was a poor day’s fishing with only combers and pandoras being caught.

See photo of Paul and a comber and one of Brian with a couple of pouting.

Brian was out again the next day with Craig and his girlfriend and friend Ian, all from Aguillas. ‘Farmer Rory’ was Brian’s first mate on the trip. Craig caught a nice triggerfish which although wonderful to eat was put back for another day. Lots of small pandoras were caught, many as small as 2 inches long. And lots of combers, most were full of eggs and it’s a shame the majority wouldn’t go back, even when their swim bladders were pricked. Rory caught a hake for his lunch, or did the cat get it?

‘Girl Friday’ is thinking about a date for the trips to Granada to organise the next batch of Andalucian coarse fishing licenses (Without you having to do the 24 hour course in Spanish) Documents required are a copy each of your passport and NIE document and an in date original English rod license.

‘Baza Barry’ fished Lake Negratin and caught a lot of small carp but none weighed more than a couple of pounds. Water levels are still very high and spawning is under way. He has been doing some recces of the trout rivers and is pleased to report stocks have been added but water is too fast at the moment to fish comfortably.

This week’s Rods and Reels competition was held on Murcia’s Eden Canal at Guadamar. After last week’s weights from Argos, it was a bit of a change for this week. The river did not have much pace, and with an upstream wind, kept the float virtually stationary. Big fish are not showing and whether they are still breeding or just getting over this period, only time will tell.
Top rods on the day
1st Jim ( The Chairman ) Rouse fishing the pole using maggot and corn with 20lbs.
2nd Lenny ( Ex Cultural Attaché) fishing the pole using bread and maggot with 16.3/4lbs.
3rd Terry ( Swing E´m ) Screen fishing the pole using maggot with 15lbs.

This week Abbey Angling match saw was held at Murcia’s Lake Argos and considering we are now in the middle to end of May the weather continues to be quite cool with this blustery wind all the time.
Along with the excess rain that we have been having the water levels on Argos is higher now than in the nine years I have lived in Spain. The water has also coloured up which should induce the fish to feed but weights are still poor.
On the 18th May 2007 which is 4 years ago I caught 176lbs of fish on Argos, which I believe is still the best match weight caught there. A few of the fisherman in those days would regularly produce 65lbs, and one or two managing 100lbs and now we are lucky to break 65lbs in a match.
This week’s results are
1st Pete (The Peg) Hampshire with 36.1/2lbs on the feeder using corn.
2nd Lenny (Ex Cultural Attache) Bolton with 36lbs on feeder using corn.
3rd Alan (The Emperor) Roscoe with 35.3/4lbs on feeder using corn.

The next Anglers Together meeting (sea and coarse) is on Saturday 11th June at 12 o’clock, the meeting will be held at The New Royal Bar and Restaurant at El Alamillo, opposite the sea-front between Isla Plana and the Port.
The subs are now due at these meetings €5 for renewal and €10 for new members.
Refreshments and lunch are available.
Come along to a meeting nearest to you.
For further details ring Alan Roscoe 968 570 876 or email: anglerstogether@gonuts4free.com

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam. www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam You must first download the latest version from www.java.com to see it.

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber at www.beachcomber-restaurant.com

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

04-06-2011, 14:12

‘London Bill’ caught sea bass and bonito from Macenas rocks and says the Spanish lads have been catching well from there.

Villaricos continues to produce good catches of dorada, dentex and striped bream and also bonitos.

We may have the answer to last week’s monster fish caught and lost by ‘Paul the Rope’ as this week ‘Captain Brian Cuba’ took out ‘Sea Sick Steve’ and his, now infamous three mates, Steve, Steve and Steve.

S.S.S. hooked a monster and the fight lasted 20 minutes before about 25 yards from the boat a large fish came out of the water like a marlin but they didn’t at the time know what it was. It wasn’t long before a huge sunfish came alongside the boat. The landing net collapsed and it took two of them to lift it aboard for photos before returning it.
Brian estimates the weight as being over 100lbs. The Spanish lads in the port, said the photo showed probably the biggest sunfish ever caught in the area.

See photo of Steve and his monster sunfish.

See photo of Steve, Steve or Steve with a mackerel and a comber.

On a following trip out one of Brian’s mates experienced the same big fish fight but as it came out of the water this time the anglers clutch was too tight and bang it was gone. Knowing these fish hang around the same area for long periods I have good reason to believe it was the same fish.

Message for Paul: They had a quick look down its throat and I’m sorry to say they couldn’t see your lead it ate last week!

‘Baza Barry’ fished Lake Negratin but says the water is still too cold for big catches of small or large fish. He said he saw a trout he estimates weighed 8lbs and although it hung around long enough for him to set up his spinning rod it wasn’t tempted.

This week’s Rods and reels competition venue was the Embalse de Argos. The water level is still as high as the previous fortnight, however the fishing was not as good, as can be seen by the weights. Again this week the deeper water swims produced the majority of the better weights.
The fish size is bigger this year (especially the barbel) so let’s hope they keep growing and the big weights return.

Top rods on the day

1st Ian ( Irish Wizard ) Dalzell fishing the feeder using pellet with 62.1/4lbs.
2nd Terry ( Swing E´m ) Screen fishing the pole using paste with 53lbs.
3rd Ian ( From the Darkside ) Haughton fishing the pole using paste with 41.1/4lbs.

This week’s Abbey Angling match took us back to Beniarres Reservoir. It looks as if there is every possibility that the new tunnel on the Alcoy by-pass will be opened in the next month or two, which will make the journey time even quicker.
On our arrival we were surprised to see the water back up in the trees once again, the last time we were there we had been able to drive along the shingle bank, but now it is completely under water which is a rise of between 6 to 8 feet.
There was plenty of fish showing in the margins either spawning or cleaning off, Stan (The Man) making the best of an excellent draw on a weed bed and winning the match with a brilliant catch.

1st Stan (The Man) Roberts with 83.1/2lbs on Pole using sweet corn.
2nd Terry (Swing Em) Screen with 28.1/2lbs on Pole using paste.
3rd Bob (The Gent) Elms with nearly 28lbs on Feeder using corn.

The next Anglers Together meeting (sea and coarse) is on Saturday 11th June at 12 o’clock, the meeting will be held at The New Royal Bar and Restaurant at El Alamillo, opposite the sea-front between Isla Plana and the Port.
The subs are now due at these meetings €5 for renewal and €10 for new members.
Refreshments and lunch are available.
For further details ring Alan Roscoe 968 570 876 or email: anglerstogether@gonuts4free.com

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam. www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam You must first download the latest version from www.java.com to see it.

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber at www.beachcomber-restaurant.com

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

12-06-2011, 15:05

After 6 weeks on dry land I managed a morning out with ‘Pugwash Pete’ and we were joined by ‘Jonah Dave’. The sea wasn’t kind to us and although it looked flat there were some big rollers. That shouldn’t have been a problem but the direction of the wind meant we were taking them sideways.
The fishing was poor to say the least, Dave didn’t get a bite and Pete managed only one 4 inch pandora.
I did better and landed a hake, a moray eel and lucky for me a European eel which is now jellied and one lump a day is my treat.
We saw two sunfish, one was a biggie big but not ‘Sea Sick Steve’s’ Nessie, it wasn’t that big.

See photos of me and my moray and a European eel and a hake..

Pete got out the following day too and took out ‘Chris the hat’ and his son Gareth. Again not loads of fish caught but Chris did land a 2lb.8 oz red snapper and Gareth caught a 1lb.4oz Spanish mackerel.

‘Cuba Brian’ hasn’t been out for a while so hopefully I’ll get out with him in a few days.

‘Duncan Sunshine’s fishing boat is for sale, a nice boat see me for more details.

‘London Bill’ fished with some Spanish mates and was taken to a Villaricos rocky mark he was assured held massive dentex bream. They didn’t catch any but one of the lads did catch a 7lb meagre or corvina and it’s nice to know they are back. They look like a sea bass but can grow to 110lbs.

‘Baza Barry’ again fished Baza’s Negratin and caught barbel to 3lbs and carp to 5lbs. Black bass are mooching around the shoreline looking for easy pickings.

This week’s Rods and Reels competition was held at Murcia’s Embalse de Ojos at Blanca. This is the venue to test your love of fishing to the hilt! Again, just when you think you have a method that might produce, so the venue brings you back to earth, or start again? With 6 anglers failing to catch it is the most infuriating venue.
1st Mick ( The Arsenal ) Hill fishing the feeder using corn with 20lbs.
2nd Stan ( The Man ) Roberts fishing the pole and feeder using paste and corn with 14.5lbs kilo´s.
3rd Dave ( The Sweetie Man ) Hutchinson fishing the pole using pellet with 11.25lbs.
Dave had a bit of a disastrous day with not only losing 6 fish but one of them managed to break his pole. Not to be deterred he went straight up to the wife and explained she could not fish her pole that day and subsequently used hers for the rest of his catch? It must have cost him big time!
In saying that Marlene ( The Sweetie Lady ) only needed her feeder rod to thrash the angler next to her. Name withheld under a super injunction.

Abbey Angling’s match was fished on the River Segura at Murcia and the water was still pushing through with the horrible colour still there.
The pegs nearest the bridge still produced the top weights with 4 of the top 6 weights coming from these pegs.
1st Lenny (Ex Cultural Attaché) Bolton with 48lbs on the pole and corn
2nd Stan (The Man) Roberts with 35lbs on the Feeder and pole corn and pellet
3rd Bill (The Master) Reade with 33.5lbs on pole and corn

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam. www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam You must first download the latest version from www.java.com to see it.

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber at www.beachcomber-restaurant.com

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

19-06-2011, 12:24

‘London Bill’ fished with spinners off some Villaricos rocks and caught bonito and meagre to 7lbs.

Six members of the ‘Albox Fishing Club’ fished the Indalo Hotel arm, between them they fished 12 rods and caught 18 fish, including a wrasse, a horse mackerel, two weavers and 12 or so combers, all fish were caught on raw prawn.

‘Captain Pete Pugwash’ went out with his wife Sally and they had a few fish including a scabbard fish and a forkbeard. There were lots of big fishing jumping weighing up to 30 to 40lbs, Pete says they looked liked tuna. Pete and sally also saw a big sunfish but it wasn’t Nessie.

I joined Pete on his Garrucha moored boat a couple of days later and it was a poor day for results although it was nice to see three sunfish, the big one did look like Nessie size wise.
We also saw a lot more fish jumping and I agreed with Pete the majority looked like tuna but one must have been close to 100lbs as I clearly saw it 300 yards away. We trolled in and out of Garrucha marina using three different lures but with no takes. I also saw what I believed to be a Atlantic amberjack come clear of the water landing on its side, no doubt getting rid of lice.
We only caught a few fish, pandoras and combers but I did lose a big conger (I believe it was) when three quarters of the way to the top it tied a knot in my wire trace I haven’t seen since my navy days, a lanyard it looked like, couldn’t have tied it better myself!

‘Cuba Brian’ took the Mazzaron (Anglers Together Club) boys out for a morning and it proved to be another tough morning with only a few fish being caught but at least one angler broke his duck and has caught a fish!

See photos of ‘Yorkshire Mike’ and a scabbard fish and one of ‘Farmer Rory’ (Right) and ‘Yorkshire Phil’ (Left) with a couple of pandoras.

‘Baza Barry’ is staying close to home and fished Lake Negratin where he caught carp and barbel. His best carp was a 12lber taken off the top with floating bread crust, good summer bait for sure.

The venue for this week’s Rods and Reels match was the Embalse de Argos at Calasparra. The water level was still very high, not allowing the use of all the old pegs. The fishing again last week was poor, in terms of the weights that normally win matches here. Still, at this time of the year, the pegs that are producing are the deep water pegs. Although the day before the match there had been some heavy rainfall, they were lucky with the day’s weather as they had no rain, but as said before, they paid for that with the fishing.
1st Clive ( Golf no more ) Cleghorn fishing the pole using tares with 43.5lbs.
2nd Bill ( The Master ) Reade fishing the pole using paste with 39.5lbs.
3rd Dave ( Yours Truly ) Hoare fishing the pole using paste with 33.5lbs.

For last week’s Abbey Angling match they travelled to Argos Embalsa. Once again they have had a lot of heavy rain by the look of it, the water levels were higher than seen them in nine years in Spain. This in turn is keeping the water temperatures low and also the water is clear with little algae bloom.
On this water fish always seem to feed better when the water is coloured, at the moment with the high water out of the nine pegs on the match stretch only four are fishable.
Best baits on the day were paste and corn.
1st Lenny ( Ex Cultural Attaché) Bolton with 65.5lbs on pole with paste.
2nd Stan (The Man) Roberts with 60.5lbs with the pole up in the water for Barbel using hemp.
3rd Terry (Swing Em) Screen with 33lbs on the pole with paste.

Anglers Together was formed to introduce and encourage anglers of all abilities to meet up and get together to fish, either sea or freshwater. Firm friendships have been formed during the time the group has been active and information on fishing venues and licenses required are available at the meetings or by regular emailed newsletters.
Meetings are held in two locations on the second Friday and Saturday of each month. Anyone with an interest in fishing (sea or freshwater) is welcome to come along to a meeting to see what we’re about.
The next meeting is on Saturday 9th of July at 12 o’clock the meeting will be held at The New Royal Bar and Restaurant at El Alamillo, opposite the sea-front between Isla Plana and the Port. (Mazzaron)

The Albox Fishing Club meet every two weeks on a Wednesday, the next one being the 22nd June at the Azafran Bar.
Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam. www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam You must first download the latest version from www.java.com to see it.

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber at www.beachcomber-restaurant.com

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

28-06-2011, 16:26

‘40 watts’, ‘Little Ken’ and ‘Queeg’ (I think his nickname is spelt!) of the ‘Grumpy Old Men Of Los Gallardos’ fished a lake north of Lake Negratin near Baza. They caught a lot of fish just below the Sierras and had carp to 4lbs.

‘Baza Barry’ continues to fish Lake Negratin and says as the water warms he is catching more and bigger fish, this week he caught carp to 6lbs.

The Rods and reels venue again, for this week’s match was the Embalse de Argos at Calasparra. The water level is still very high, and could still be rising, not allowing us to use all the old pegs. The fishing again as last week, was poor, in terms of the amount of anglers catching decent weights. Still, at this time of the year, the pegs that are producing are the deep water pegs at the far end, close to the point. Also the water is very clear with no algae colouring the water. The weather had vastly improved with the sun out most of the day.

1st Ian ( Irish Wizard ) Dalzell fishing the pole using tares with 52lbs.
2nd Lenny (Ex Cultural Attaché) Bolton fishing the pole using paste with 51.5lbs.
3rd Mick (The Arsenal) Hill fishing the pole using paste with 49.5lbs.

This week’s Abbey Angling match was fished on the River Segura.
The water still was still a grey clay colour and was pushing through very fast with all types of debris, reeds, bottles etc.
I am not sure where all the extra water is coming from at present, it is a possibility they are running excess water off the reservoirs to get the levels down before the coming winter’s rain as at present all the Reservoirs are brim full.
Fishing was again patchy with the top three anglers as follows.

1st Stan (The Man) Roberts with 25.5lbs on the pole, pellet and maggot
2nd Lenny (Ex Cultural Attaché) Bolton with 23lbs on the pole and maggot
3rd Mike (The Arsenal) Hill with 18.5lbs on pole, feeder and corn, Mike at the moment has found his form and is making the best of it.
All details are available from the Match Secretary Terry Screen on 965328368

‘Pugwash Pete’ tried to get out one day but as usual at the moment he was soon beaten back into the marina by strong winds. (Got to get up earlier boys)

‘Capitano Brian Cuba’ and his partner ‘Admiral Phil’ had a really good day out with well over 50 fish being caught. One of the guys got into a VERY large 'something', it fought like mad and really bent a 30lb rod then it took the hook and trace, sad it was interesting. (My monies on a conger)
‘Farmer Rory’, ‘Granddad Alan’ and ‘Grandson Daniel’ caught pouting, pandoras and combers, hake, bogues and a nice red snapper.

See photo of Alan and three pandoras with Daniel looking on and another of Alan and a hake.
See also a photo of Phil with from top to bottom a pouting, comber, pouting.
Another photo is of me with a decent comber.
And lastly a photo of a motley coloured and marked pandora.

‘London Bill’ fished Macenas rocks and had a few small sea bass using a small silver spoon. He says his Spanish mates are still catching some good fish from marks in Villaricos. I heard from a Villaricos angler an 8lb Palomete was caught spinning at the river mouth south of Villaricos.

Anglers Together was formed to introduce and encourage anglers of all abilities to meet up and get together to fish, either sea or freshwater. Firm friendships have been formed during the time the group has been active and information on fishing venues and licenses required are available at the meetings or by regular emailed newsletters.
Anyone with an interest in fishing (sea or freshwater) is welcome to come along to a meeting to see what we’re about.
The next meeting is on Saturday 9th of July at 12 o’clock the meeting will be held at The New Royal Bar and Restaurant at El Alamillo, opposite the sea-front between Isla Plana and the Port. (Mazzaron)

The Albox Fishing Club meets every two weeks on a Wednesday, check out when the next meeting is at the Azafran Bar.
Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam. www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam You must first download the latest version from www.java.com to see it.

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber at www.beachcomber-restaurant.com

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

07-07-2011, 23:54

‘Brian Cuba’ went out with me, ‘Kenolo’, Basil and Morry. Morry had a good red snapper weighing about 3lbs and other than that it was a poor day with only a few pandoras and pouting being caught. We were treated to 15 or so aerial displays by one or more sword fish and a sunfish came over to check us out.

See photo of Morry and his red snapper.

Back in the marina we had a coffee with Mick and ‘Captain Steve’ who I have nicknamed ‘Orca Steve’ because he’s not sea sick any more when he goes out, bless him. Now his great fishing boat is all rigged up and ready to go he will be happy to take his mates out and maybe I could tempt him to do a 20km trip out to find those big pelagics, his 20’+ Orca is made for the job.

Brian went out a second time in the week and I joined him again with ‘Inflatable Andy’ who should be renamed ‘Deflateable Andy’ after being sea sick for the last hour. ‘Paul the Rope’ didn’t feel sorry for him and was digging the poor soul out continuously. ‘Mike the Watch’ made up the rest of the crew. I lost a big conger which took a small piece of prawn on a size 1.0 hook instead of the whole prawn I set for him on a conger rig, he bit the hook off.
We caught Spanish mackerel, bogues, pandoras, blue mouths, lots of pouting and a swallow tailed sea perch. Paul had great success baiting hooks with his lunch, chorizo sausage!

Brain’s final trip of the week was out with ‘Brian the Griff’ and his better half Marianne and friend George. Marianne caught loads of combers with 8 of them weighing well over a pound each. Also boated were a 2lb Spanish mackerel, pandoras, pouting and a blue mouth.

‘London Bill’ fished Macenas rocks for a couple of small sea bass and also had a nice bonito which weighed about 3lbs.

‘Squidly Sid’ and some mates from the Albox fishing club fished San Juan island on Steve’s boat ‘Tomahawk’ and caught about 45 fish, including doradas and painted combers. They tried trolling for bonito and dorados but without any success. Apparently I’m still on a promise for a day 20 km out for some big stuff, stop talking about it lets do it!

‘Baza Barry’ says the big lake is now fishing well and large bags of carp and barbel are being caught. He has been concentrating on fishing the rivers north of there for trout. No big ones but a few around the 1lb mark.

My mate ‘Ebro Dan’ took some mates fishing on the River Ebro and they had a great time. Paul and Dean had 1150lbs of carp Inc 3 x 40’s and an albino catfish weighing 150lbs.

See photo of Dan (Far right) and two mates with their 150lb Albino Catfish.

See another photo of Dan with a 44.1/4lb carp.

This week’s Rods and Reels competition was at the Embalse de Beniarres. This is the first time the club have fished this venue and it is near Alcoy. This venue again, has had a lot of water in it but it is now receding. However, for any anglers going there be very careful near the water ´s edge. As one of our anglers found this to his cost, and bottomed his car. It took all the anglers an hour and half to dig it out and move it. So beware on your own you might be walking home!
Top rods on the day
1st Lenny (Ex Cultural Attaché) Bolton fishing the pole using paste with 87.1/2lbs.
2nd Dave ( The Sweetie Man ) Hutchinson the pole using paste with 78lbs.
3rd Bill ( The Master ) Reade fishing the pole using paste with 47.1/4lbs.
Abbey Angling’s match was fished on the Segura River at Murcia. This water is in urgent need of work by the Murcian Federation or the river authorities to clear the pegs on the upper reaches of the match length, as the reeds are closing in and making them unfishable.
There was more flow on the water this week than previous but it is still producing reasonable weights.
1st Alan (The Chairman) Reid with 35.1/2lbs fishing feeder using bread.
2nd Lenny (Ex Cultural Attache) Bolton with 31.3/4lbs on pole using paste.
3rd Terry (Swing Em) Screen with 24.3/4lbs also on pole using paste.
All details are available from the Match Secretary Terry Screen on 965328368

The next Albox fishing club meeting is on 20th July then fortnightly at the Azafran restaurant. Tel 677 655 049

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

NEW NEW NEW. See more about the Beachcomber and past fishing reports and photos. at www.beachcombermojacar.com

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam. www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam You must first download the latest version from www.java.com to see it.

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

13-07-2011, 14:19

‘Captain Cuba’ is back in the UK for a sabbatical and we look forward to his return (ASAP).

See photo of Dec (Right) with a hake he gave to helpful harbour master Domingo (Left) caught while out with Brian recently.

By the time you read this I’ll be back in Mojacar but have been partying in Ibiza! and haven’t been able to speak to all my usual contacts. But I hear ‘Chippy Pete’ was out with some mates and they caught among other fish a couple of red snappers and small eels, European’s I believe.

‘Orca Steve’ went out a few times in the week, the first with Nick, Paul, Steve and Mike. With high-ish winds making anchoring difficult they drifted in depths up to 500 feet and had success when their lines dropped into holes. Various species were caught including three red snappers to 3lb and a red gurnard weighing about 2lbs. I’ve caught and heard of a lot of tubs but not many reds.

Steve was soon back out again with Lee and Brad from Vera and Dave from Alfoquia. They caught mackerel to 2lbs and a couple more red snappers around 2lbs plus the usual suspects, combers, pickerels and pandoras.

The River Ebro is still producing some good carp. See photo of guide ‘Ebro Dan’s’ mate Dean with a 40lber.

This week’s Rods and Reels competition match venue was the River Segura at Murcia. The river is still high and the flow pushing through. During the match the river rose some 6-9 inches making it nearly impossible to walk under the road bridge. Whether it is the flow or the increased depth the big fish are not showing at present, so it is hard work to keep the smaller fish continually feeding. The river has been flowing at this rate for the last 4 + months and it appears all the water is being run into the sea, it seems such a waste of this precious resource.
Top rods on the day
1st Doug ( The Welsh Goldminer ) fishing the pole using corn with 48lbs.
2nd Bill ( The Master ) Reade fishing the pole using paste with 44.3/4lbs.
3rd Dave ( Yours Truly ) Hoare fishing the pole using pellet with 34.1/3lbs.

Abbey Angling’s match was fished at the Beniarres Reservoir.
They still await the grand opening of the new tunnel on the motorway which will cut the travelling time down by 10 to 15 minutes.
Now that the hot weather has arrived the reservoir levels have begun to recede, making it now possible to fish off the shingle. The match weights are also beginning to improve with the wind changing from the East to the South, making fishing easier using the pole with the wind on your back.
1st Stan (The Man) Roberts with 88lbs on the pole and corn
2nd Lenny (Ex Cultural Attaché) Bolton with 85lbs on pole and paste
3rd Bill (The Master) Reade with 58.1/3lbs on pole paste and feeder
I have been informed that the notification of forthcoming matches at Argos which is required by the Murcian Federation to be posted a week before a match is due, are being torn down at the venue and being discarded by whoever?
All details etc are available from the Match Secretary Terry Screen on 965328368

Members recently had a fishing trip to Murcia on the River Segura which was enjoyed by all: Winner; David Hoare, Second; Alan Roscoe, Third: John Theaker.
Another friendly match is planned for the autumn.
Anglers Together was formed to introduce and encourage anglers of all abilities to meet up and get together to fish, either sea or freshwater. Firm friendships have been formed during the time the group has been active and information on fishing venues and licenses required are available at the meetings or by regular emailed newsletters.
The next meeting at will be held on Saturday 10th September at 12 o’clock the meeting will be held at The New Royal Bar and Restaurant at El Alamillo, opposite the sea-front between Isla Plana and the Port.
No meetings are held in August
For further details ring Alan Roscoe 968 570 876or email: anglerstogetherHotmail.co.uk (NEW EMAIL ADDRESS).

The next Albox fishing club meeting is on 20th July then fortnightly at the Azafran restaurant. Tel 677 655 049

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

NEW NEW NEW. See more about the Beachcomber and past fishing reports and photos. At www.beachcombermojacar.com

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam. www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

lemmemakeusmile

18-07-2011, 15:24

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

18-07-2011, 23:01

Hi, yes if you are in Almeria City then go to the Medio Ambiente offices. Somewhere near El Abol Supermarket just Off Ave Frederique I think its called.
In some other towns the 'Pesca' offices are located in the 'Junta de Andalucia offices' so watch out for that, I haven't been there for some years now.

Lastly you will need to supply some documents.

As of today, when I went to the Albox office, they are asking people to turn up in person with their passport and NIE document, and wait for it, both documents to be originals. I'm guessing half of Spain's non Spanish don't have their original NIE documents and use photocopies, so that's another nail in the expat's coffin for getting licenses.

Our Girl Friday can still get round the 'original document' issue but still requires photocopies and the person doesn't have to go with her. (YET!)

I'll post more of what I can find out in the 'Spanish shore and boat fishing licenses thread.

John Beachcomber. www.beachcombermojacar.com

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

22-07-2011, 12:31

‘Tomahawk Steve’ has invited me, Squiddly Sid and a couple of other mates out on his Sunseeker. We will be heading 20 miles out to find those 400lb tuna that are out there. (Catch and release of course) All being well I will have a report of the trip the week after next and photos too with a bit of luck. If this trip is successful it may become a regular one.

As I was writing this article I phoned ‘Orca Steve’ and found him at sea, close inshore, opposite the Repsol garage at Garrucha. Close by was ‘Gnome Graham’ but I don’t know how he got on, he’s the triggerfish king so I expect he had a few.
While talking to Steve for just a few minutes one of his mates lost a sunfish close to the boat and Steve got into a very big fish and had to drop his phone. I phoned him back a bit later and he had a very big fish on until just a few feet from the surface, it bit through the trace. It could have been a meagre (Or corvina) as they come in June to spawn then feed mostly inshore until the autumn when they disappear to deep water or into the Atlantic. These fish look like a sea bass but grow to 110lbs, wow!

Both ‘Captain Brian Cuba’ and ‘Captain Pugwash Pete’ are out of action at the moment.

See photos of some of Brian’s mates out on his Garrucha moored boat.

‘Moray Jeremy’ and the fish is a scabbard or cutlass fish.

‘Mike the watch’ with a couple of pandoras and Basil looking on.

Basil on another trip, the fish is red snapper and definitely plate size, I seem to remember Basil and wife Brenda enjoying the meal.

‘London Bill’ fished in and out of Garrucha Marina and had some mullet and small bream varieties, all were caught using bread as bait.

‘Squiddly Sid’ fished the Indalo Hotel rocky arm and caught a couple of plate size saddled bream and an especially good catch from the shore a 3.1/2lb tub gurnard. All fish were caught using raw prawn.

The River Ebro is still producing good fish and again one of Ebro guide Danny’s mates (Paul) caught a 41.3/4lb common carp.

See photo of Paul and his carp.

‘Baza Barry’ has been concentrating on fishing rivers above Lake Negratin and catching a few small trout. He says the big lake is losing water fast but there’s still plenty there.

As of a few days ago, when I went to the Albox licensing office, they are now asking applicants to turn up in person with their passport and NIE document, and wait for it, both documents to be originals. I'm guessing half of Spain's non Spanish don't have their original NIE documents and use photocopies, so that's another nail in the expat's coffin for getting licenses.
Our Girl Friday can get round the 'original document' issue but still requires photocopies of the two documents and the person doesn't have to go with her. (YET!

Anglers Together was formed to introduce and encourage anglers of all abilities to meet up and get together to fish, either sea or freshwater. Firm friendships have been formed during the time the group has been active and information on fishing venues and licenses required are available at the meetings or by regular emailed newsletters.
The next meeting at will be held on Saturday 10th September at 12 o’clock the meeting will be held at The New Royal Bar and Restaurant at El Alamillo, opposite the sea-front between Isla Plana and the Port.
For further details ring Alan Roscoe 968 570 876 or email: anglerstogetherHotmail.co.uk (NEW EMAIL ADDRESS).

The Albox fishing club meet every two weeks at the Azafran restaurant. Next meeting 3rd September. Tel 677 655 049

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

NEW NEW NEW. See more about the Beachcomber and past fishing reports and photos. At www.beachcombermojacar.com

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam. www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

27-07-2011, 15:53

‘Orca Steve’ took 5 members of the ‘Rotherham crew’ fishing consisting of ‘Liam the Pill’ (so named after taking a pregnancy sickness pill for seasickness which made him queasy before he started), ‘Danny the Quiche’, ‘Seasick Steve 2’, ‘Seasick Steve 3’ and ‘Elegant Ella’. They fished in several places but found the best mark was opposite the Garrucha Repsol garage in 50 ft of water. Ella whipped the lads by catching Spanish mackerel (3 at a time), pickerel and a fish Steve knows as a gold line (And I call a cow bream). These are a shoaling fish and they were catching bags full. I’ve never seen them any bigger than about 6 inches long and they are usually caught by shore anglers.

Ella also had a large fish which she battled with for 10 minutes before it swam off with her tackle! Danny got a small sunfish which had been hanging around the boat chasing the baits as they were dropped over the side and hooked it on his 3rd attempt but it snapped his tackle as it dived down towards the bottom. Message from Steve “that clutch needs to be used”! The lads suffered a little from the sea but Ella shrugged it all off and caught good fish including 2 nice sized mackerel which she took home for the BBQ. Girls 1, Lads 0.

Steve also took out Lee, Brad (Lee's son) & ‘Brummy Dave’. Lee owns an aquatics outlet in Kent and was keen to see what varieties of fish he could catch! (Busman’s holiday?) The sea was rough but they stayed out to catch the usual pickerel, combers, Spanish mackerel, some nice red gurnard one of which Steve had for his tea on the BBQ. They all had good fish on throughout the day but lost tackle to the bigger ones. Steve said he needs to increase trace size whilst keeping the smaller No 5 hook, maybe a wire trace?

Steve was out again with the Alfoquia lads ‘Ernie the Pool’, Ernie’s son ‘Pickerel Paul’ who is soon off to live in the Dominican Republic, let us know what the fishing is like out there Paul?
Steve was soon out again and with ‘Mike the Dinghy’ & ‘Geordie Boy Steve’ for a taster fishing session. Again the seas weren't kind and they rock n rolled a little. They all caught fish of the usual type, pickerel, gurnard, combers, striped bream & pandoras. Geordie Steve caught a couple of nice red snappers which he and his wife Pauline ate for tea.
Steve’s last trip of the week was with ‘Snapper Steve’ and ‘Pickerel Steve’ (How many more Steves do you know Steve?) who he is indebted to for helping with some boat repairs. Also joining them was Steve's (?) son Matt & his mate ‘Rough Sea Russ’. They all caught fish and again included the usual suspects, pickerel, pandoras, combers, Spanish mackerel and some nice red gurnard from deeper water. They also got bothered by a conger but couldn't get it to come up, more lost tackle!

At the moment the fish seem to be in the shallow waters about 40ft to 80ft which makes dropping in & winding out easy, it's also where the bigger predators are hanging about!
Toby and George drove, towing their boat, from the UK and have been doing some fishing out of Garrucha. They caught a good barracuda while trolling and did well keeping it on the hook because barras throw treble hooks real easy. The lure used was a Texas wedge. Another interesting fish caught trolling on the surface was a lizard fish which look scarily like a weaver. Other fish caught were combers and pandoras.

See photo of Toby with his barracuda.

‘Hissing Sid’ said he and ‘Gnome Graham’ have been going out fairly regularly over the past two months but fishing has been poor. It has though picked up over the last three weeks.
Sid and Graham are definitely ‘king of the triggerfish’ and find them regularly. So much so that one angler, Dave, caught seven himself and had a couple of the unusual lizard fish.
Sid took out ‘Concrete Rob’ and ‘Sea Sick Lee’. They caught mackerel, triggers, weavers and some small flatties (probably wide eyed flounders) and a small bright red fish that you would expect to see on the corals of the red sea Steve said. I bet they were swallow tailed sea perch, the poor things are usually gonners by the time they hit the surface and don’t go back.
See photo of Finn and a couple of triggers he caught while out with Sid recently.
See photo of Mark and Dave with some triggers they caught while out with Sid also. (Nice curtains)

By the time you read my report and all being well, ‘Tomahawk Steve’, me, ‘Squiddly Sid’ and two other mates will have been out on a 20 mile trip to the tuna fishing grounds. (catch and release) and so fingers crossed I’ve got some exciting news for you next week.

Neither ‘London Bill’ nor ‘Baza Barry’ had anything exciting to report.

This week’s Rods and Reels competition was held at the River Segura at Murcia. The river was still well up and pushing through, it seems never ending. Goodness knows how many millions of gallons of water have been flushed through the Segura system and out to the sea. It has been running like this for almost 6 months. One day, it will return to normal! For those who know the venue, the best weights came from up near the Crystal Bridge, with only 20lbs being the best weight up to the road bridge.
Top rods on the day
1st Ian ( Irish Wizard ) Dalzell fishing the feeder using pellet with 51.1/2lbs.
2nd Stan ( The Man ) Roberts fishing the pole using paste with 40lbs.
3rdBill ( The Master ) Reade fishing the pole using paste with 38lbs.

Abbey Angling’s match was fished at Argos Lake near Calasparra.
The water is now receding and down about 4 feet, making the pegs in the trees fishable. It is also very clear with little sign of any fry, although it is possible that the fish maybe spawning a second time, as the males were leaking milt in the nets when being landed.

On the whole it was a good day with a cool breeze, and Ian Dalzell fished Pole and hemp up in the water for barbel to win the match. He has mastered this technique which others must learn if anyone is going to compete with him, as the barbel seem to be taking over in the summer months.

1st Ian (The Irish Wizard) Dalzell with 75lbs fishing pole and hemp up in the water
2nd Stan (The Man) Roberts with 68.1/2lbs fishing feeder and hemp up in the water
3rd Terry (Swing Em) Screen with 53.1/2lbs fishing pole paste and hemp up in the water
All details available from the Match Secretary Terry Screen on 965328368

The Albox fishing club meet every two weeks at the Azafran restaurant. Next meeting 3rd September. Tel 677 655 049

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

NEW NEW NEW. See more about the Beachcomber and past fishing reports and photos. At www.beachcombermojacar.com

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam. www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

04-08-2011, 15:31

‘London Bill’ has been concentrating on catching bream and mullet from Garrucha, says he’s had some good guilt heads.

I went out with ‘Tomahawk Steve’ on his 37 foot Sunseeker and was joined by ‘Squiddly Sid’ and two of his mates, Vic and Dick. They should be nicknamed ‘Tom and Dick’ because poor Vic hurt his back early in the day fishing and had to stop and then felt a bit sea sick at times. Fair play to him he didn’t moan once, just fell asleep.

Anyway we met at Aguilas marina at 7am and even Sid was on time! By 8am we were 27km out fishing, that’s one fast boat. Sid and I tried everything we know, trolling deep and shallow diving rapalas, 3 to 14 feet, surface poppers and muppets too. I even tried jigging in up to 1600 feet and also dropped lures 1600 feet down then pulled the boat forward bringing the lures through all the water levels. NOTHING. So if anyone can advise me what else we could try next time, I’m all ears.

Making the trip worthwhile alone was sightings of pods of dolphins, two of which came charging at us in and out of the water, diving deep at the last second going underneath Tomahawk’s bow. A big treat was watching babies weighing from only 20lbs or so.

Back in shore we tried bottom fishing around the fish pens with no luck and so headed for San Juan Island where Steve has caught fish before. Bites were fast and furious but I wasn’t after catching anything too small and so was using 1.0 baited mackerel feathers with a wire trace and 10.0 hook on it. Nothing big was had but I did add another three species to my 2011 list of fish caught. A plate size guilt head bream took a whole prawn on the 10.0 hook! And I also had a painted comber and a saddled bream. Sid added a new species to his all time list with a cleaver wrasse. I forgot to warn him they turn and bite, too late, ouch said Sid, or words to that effect.

Steve usually uses his boat for pleasure trips but was happy with this first trip out a long way and will be taking mates out there more often now.

Two days later I was out with ‘Orca Steve’ out of Garrucha. We were joined by ‘Captain Pugwash Pete’ whose boat is grounded at the moment. For most of the day the sea was perfect with hardly a ripple but this didn’t mean the fishing would be good. Again I was using the same rig as before as I didn’t want to be pulling up tiddlers all morning. Bites again were numerous and we were troubled by what I think were crabs. (Not them sort!)
We fished from 40 feet to 100 feet in front of the Repsol garage and a few bits and pieces were caught including a really good triggerfish by me. We moved to various marks in front of the marina and Vera Playa beach with not a lot caught and so we went back to the trigger grounds opposite the garage. There I had another trigger and a decent size weaver which was left at the Capitano’s door as thank you for looking after all our skippers.

Steve (Orca) was out again a couple of days later with Pete, Eddie and James. They caught some good triggers and red snappers plus the usuals. Most of the fish caught were in 40 to 80 feet.

See photos of Lee with a pandora and tail hooked blue mouth, ‘Geordie Boy’ with a red snapper, and Lee and his son with a pandora, all who were out with Steve last week.

‘Hissing Sid’ went out with Charlie and his dad Terry, over here on holiday from Brighton, they caught a few including a good trigger. Fishing was hard work and the man in the know in the tackle shop says the sea is too warm. (There’s always some reason why we don’t catch much!) September is the time apparently so roll on then. Actually I am surprised we’ve not been catching many meagre, they’ve just finished spawning and should be on the munch?

See photo of Terry with a triggerfish and Charlie with a saddled bream..

‘Baza Barry’ is still fishing the rivers north of Lake Negratin but doesn’t have anything exciting to report. Water is disappearing fast from the lakes but he thinks the levels are much higher than in years past.

This week’s Rods and Reels competition was held at the Embalse de Argos near Calasparra. The water level has dropped and there are now more swims to fish. The fishing is still patchy, with barbel now being the predominate species.

Top rods on the day
1st Dave ( Yours Truly ) Hoare fishing the feeder using pellet with 57lbs.
2nd John (Silverback) Marsh fishing the feeder using pellet with 49lbs.
3rd Clive ( Golf no more ) Cleghorn fishing the feeder using pellet with 46.1/2lbs.

Again, during the match another top 4 sections of pole got dragged in, but lucky for this angler it didn´t sink and he managed to catch it with his feeder rod and got it all back, minus the fish!

Abbey Anglings match was held at Embalse de Blanca, this is a notorious hard water to fish and a lot of fishermen cry off from fishing this venue. It was created by damning the River Segura to form the Embalse de Ojos for a small Hydro Electric generator. The water seems to be run off at night and it fills up during the match, it is possible for the level to rise up to 2 feet according to the flow of the river. This is ideal match water with an average depth of 6 feet with good access to the pegs, and holds good carp, barbel and bleak but catching these fish can be difficult.

1st Terry (Swing Em) Screen fishing the feeder using pellet with 19.3/4lbs.
2nd John (Silverback) Marsh fishing the feeder using pellet with 8lbs.
3rd Mike (The Arsenal) Hill fishing the feeder using corn with 7.3/4lbs.

All details are available from the Match Secretary Terry Screen on 965328368

Anglers Together members recently had a fishing trip to Murcia on the River Segura which was enjoyed by all. Winner; David Hoare, Second; Alan Roscoe, Third: John Theaker.
Another friendly match is planned for the autumn.
Anglers Together was formed to introduce and encourage anglers of all abilities to meet up and get together to fish, either sea or freshwater. Firm friendships have been formed during the time the group has been active and information on fishing venues and licenses required are available at the meetings or by regular emailed newsletters.
Meetings are held in two locations on the second Friday and Saturday of each month. Anyone with an interest in fishing (sea or freshwater) is welcome to come along to a meeting to see what we’re about.
The next meeting on Saturday 10th September at 12 o’clock the meeting will be held at The New Royal Bar and Restaurant at El Alamillo, opposite the sea-front between Isla Plana and the Port.

For further details ring Alan Roscoe 968 570 876or email: anglerstogetherHotmail.co.uk

The Albox fishing club meets every two weeks at the Azafran restaurant. For the next meeting tel 677 655 049

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber and past fishing reports and photos. www.beachcombermojacar.com

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam. www.almeriafreeads.com/webcam

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

12-08-2011, 14:51

‘Hissing Sid’ went out with a party of three, (Four more on ‘Orca Steve’s’ boat) the three didn’t too well even though the sea was as flat as a pancake and the trip (On Sid’s boat) was cut short. The Mojacar (Near Red Cross) chemist does two brilliant brands of sea sickness tablets. All three anglers caught fish; one was the biggest weaver Sid had ever seen.

See photo of Steve’s boat taken by Sid.

I had a morning out with Steve and was joined by ‘Paul the Rope’, ‘Chef Jeremy’ and his son ‘Three at a time Nick’. What a great morning we had, 9 different species with Nick and Paul were bringing up good size Atlantic or channel mackerel three at a time. Other fish caught were blue mouths, pandoras, pickerel, combers, bogues and hake. I had an unusual lizard fish which can be caught, both trolling and 300 feet down like mine was. I also had my first boat caught stingray, I guess it weighed 7lbs and was put back for another day. To the surprise of my comrades I might add who were all looking at it thinking ‘skate wings and chips’.

See photos of me with my stingray and lizard fish.

See photo of Paul and a decent mackerel.

A sunfish came to look at us and disappeared at one point when Jeremy was dropping bait down. I said “get ready for a lift bite” but nothing happened and the fish resurfaced a bit further away.
Steve was out three more times in the week and had mixed results although they had a good selection of fish. He went out with the ‘Alfoquia lads & lassies’ on his Garrucha moored boat Vagabundo consisting of ‘Jonno’, ‘The birdman of Alfoquia’, ‘Andy the Caveman’, ‘Phil the Dart’, ‘Captain Margaret’ & ‘Sweep’s’ mum Lynn!

They had a bit of a swell to contend with although it wasn't too choppy and they fished 500m out from the Repsol garage trying for the triggers which hang about there and where they have previously caught. The fishing was slow with only a few of the usual pickeral, combers and small bream. The swell soon got to the ladies and Steve had to return to port to drop them off before heading back out with the lads for more fishing. Unfortunately the swell increased and it was soon the lads turn to go a shade of green & feed the fish. They continued for a while longer catching a few small fish but decided to call it a day and headed back to port.

See photo of Jonno with a pandora.

On another occasion Steve took ‘Tony the bag’ (the biggest thing he caught all day was his canvas bag, AND WHAT A TANGLE!). Tony's sister "Lick em Lillian" (No I didn’t ask!) who caught nearly all the fish, "Kirsty the cap" and "Jamie with Vision". Also joining the party was Darren, Kieran & Rhiannon who joined Sid on his boat. (See above) Lillian soon got the hang of fishing and caught 3 nice size fish quickly including a decent striped bream, a very big weaver and a nice sized Pickerel. Lillian also had a big fish on but Tony got tangled again! This time with Lillian’s tackle and by the time they sorted the mess the fish had gone. It was probably a Trigger fish or Red Snapper as they were fishing in that area. Kirsty caught a nice pandora which made her day! Jamie enjoyed the outing and was happy to sit and watch the world go by! They had a good sea which made the day enjoyable and saw flying fish, one almost hitting the boat. A large Tuna or Barracuda type fish jumped out of the water several times not far from the rocky outlet off the Mojacar road.

See photo of Kirsty and her pandora. (Look at her face, doesn’t look to me like it made her day!)

Steve’s last trip out was with "Snapper Bruno", "Razor Ray", Gerhard from Stuttgart and his grandson Maxim! The sea was good with hardly a swell and calm conditions. They again fished near the Repsol petrol station in about 120ft of water and drifted over several different holes ranging in depth from 250ft to 450 ft. The range of fish was good and they were soon catching pickerel, pandoras, combers, red gurnard, large weavers, Atlantic mackerel and believe it or not, some whiting. (I’ve never seen one caught in the Med!) All anglers had and lost good fish but it was Bruno who won the day with a magnificent Red Snapper. This took a squid bait and was caught in 120ft water and gave a fierce fight before being landed with the net. They caught many good fish including mackerel 2 and 3 a time on 3 hook traces. Steve saw many shoals swim under the boat on the fish finder and presumes these were mackerel.

See photo of Bruno and his red snapper.

See photo of Ray with a comber (Middle) Swallow tailed sea perch (Bottom) and a ‘dont know’ fish up top.

‘London Bill’ says it’s been too hot for him to fish long hours so has just been doing a bit of spinning on Macenas rocks early morning or late evening. He says he caught nothing worth mentioning.

‘Baza Barry’ fished the River Segura in Murcia and had a good bag of fish. Carp to 8lbs, barbel to 4lbs and a goldfish weighing 2lbs.

The ‘Rods and reels’ club have a self imposed closed season in August.

‘Abbey Angling’ however fished the River Segura. Top rods were.
1st Stan (The Man) Roberts with 23lbs fishing pole pellet and corn.
2nd Bob (The Major) Rafferty with 19.3/4lbs fishing the feeder and corn.
3rd Richard (The Lionheart) King with 15.1/3lbs fishing pole and corn.
All details are available on our website www.abbeyangling.com or from the Match Secretary Terry Screen on 965328368

Anglers Together was formed to introduce and encourage anglers of all abilities to meet up and get together to fish, either sea or freshwater. Firm friendships have been formed during the time the group has been active and information on fishing venues and licenses required are available at the meetings or by regular emailed newsletters.
Meetings are held in two locations on the second Friday and Saturday of each month. Anyone with an interest in fishing (sea or freshwater) is welcome to come along to a meeting to see what we’re about.
The next meeting on Saturday 10th September at 12 o’clock the meeting will be held at The New Royal Bar and Restaurant at El Alamillo, opposite the sea-front between Isla Plana and the Port.
For further details ring Alan Roscoe 968 570 876or email: anglerstogetherHotmail.co.uk

The Albox fishing club meets every two weeks at the Azafran restaurant. For the next meeting tel 677 655 049

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber, past fishing reports and photos.

www.beachcombermojacar.com

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam.

www.beachcombermojacar.com/beachcomber-webcam/

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

12-08-2011, 14:53

And the last three photos.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

18-08-2011, 12:45

I fished with my grandson ‘Beachcomber H’ and brother-in-law Keith. We went out with ‘Orca Steve’ on his Garrucha moored boat. The morning was near windless but previous rough weather had left its mark with rollers four feet high. After catching the first two fish of the day ‘H’ felt a bit woozy and spent the next three hours in the cabin in the land of nod.

The three of us left fished my favourite 250 foot hole in front of the marina but didn’t anchor up (I think the best approach on that mark) and drifted south from there up to 450 feet. We didn’t catch anything much so headed for the Repsol petrol station where we expected some triggers and snappers. A good triggerfish obliged and gave me a good fight before Steve netted it. (Tasted good too) I also had a good sized hake and we all had a few of the usual suspects.

One memorable happening I remember was while dropping my baits down in about 350 feet. About half way down I received a take and I lifted into it to find nothing and suspected a lift bite. I quickly put line back on my reel but only felt the weight so dropped it down to the bottom. My companions took the Mickey somewhat ‘Oh yeah really’ and the like. But the doubting Thomases didn’t say any more when I brought my end tackle up and found a hook and line bitten off.

Steve went out two more times in the week, the first with "Sevenoaks Simon" and his son Rory along with "Martin from the Grid" and his 8 yr old son Josh. The day was perfect with a slight swell and light winds and they fished in mill pond conditions opposite the Repsol garage for a good 3 to 4 hours. First to catch was young Josh who struck straight into a beautiful red snapper. Not long afterwards Rory hooked a red snapper also which gave him a good fight. Fishing was good with several Atlantic mackerel, combers, pickerels, pandoras, weavers being caught and also a fish Steve had not seen before called a Bogue (Nick named Boop Boop) which is a member of the bream family. The fish stopped feeding around mid day so they moved into shallow water to see what they could get. Martin was rewarded with a nice Trigger fish from a depth of only 48ft. Overall they caught well over 70 fish and the guys enjoyed the day immensely.

See photo of proud dad Martin holding Josh’s red snapper.

See photo of Rory and his red snapper.

A few days later Steve took 4 members of the Albox fishing club out for a day’s fishing which included ‘Squiddly Sid’, ‘Diver Ken’, ‘Dennis The Menace’ & ‘Tidderwinks John’. Conditions started reasonable but deteriorated as the morning went on and they fished opposite the 4 star Marina Hotel initially where Ken caught an octopus, only a smallish one so this was put back to catch another day. They continued with no luck so it was back up to the area Steve knows to be fishing well opposite the Repsol Garage. The usuals started biting including pickerels, pandoras, weavers and combers and Sid got a nice Atlantic mackerel. John was catching loads of pickerels until he struck into a small red snapper and then a twin banded bream. Conditions deteriorated further so they anchored up for the last hour only to catch the usuals although John was living up to his nickname (Tiddlerwinks John) and pulling out even smaller pickerels. Steve told me he didn’t know how they got their mouths around John’s hook they were that small.

See photo of Sid and a mackerel.
See photo of John and his twin banded bream.

Many of you might remember ‘Pueblo Neville’ who fished with us often before heading off around the world and looking for a nice boat to live on, lucky devil. Anyway he’s in New Zealand at the moment and sent me some photos of his catches.

See photo of Neville and his first ever blue cod.

‘London Bill’ spinner fished Macenas Rocks for two small sea bass, a bonito, three Atlantic scad and a lizard fish. (Total from four sessions)

I wasn’t too worried when I first looked at this photo of this shark until I took a closer look at the fish it was swimming with or eating. They are Spanish mackerel!!!

See photo.

Baza Barry fished Lake Negratin and says the lake is losing water fast. He had big bags of carp and barbel.

This week’s Abbey Angling club match saw them back at Argos near Calasparra in Murcia. The water is still receding and the pegs are now available out of the trees, this is making some of the pegs difficult to place your fishing box in a safe position as the banks are becoming shear. Barbel ,still seem to be producing the top weights, with once again, Ian Dalzell and Bill Reade taking top places using “The Dink Dink” method.
This method is where you fish the pole with a short length of line about 1 or 2 metres and with a small float (if you want to fish a float), a single grain of hemp is fished on a 16 or 18 hook and no shot. Hemp is then sprayed with a catapult or by hand in regular intervals, without a float the bite will be indicated on the tip of the pole being pulled sharply down into the water.

1st Ian (The Irish Wizard) Dalzell with 60lbs. Fishing hemp up in the water.
2nd Bill (The Master) Reade with 35.1/2lbs. Fishing hemp up in the water.
3rd Alan (The Chairman) Reid with 34.1/3lbs. Fishing the feeder using paste.

It has been reported there has been a large fish kill on the River Segura in Guadamar. The report said that roughly one ton of fish were found dead in the water, this is equivalent to 2000 1lb fish but would be a lot more if they were smaller fish.
The cause of death was given as possible lack of oxygen due to the excessive hot weather or toxic pollution by agricultural use. I personally feel that lack of oxygen is not the problem as the amount of water flowing through the Segura at the moment is faster than I have seen it, in past years.
Therefore, it remains a mystery to the exact cause of this dreadful loss of fish, and this is also the second incident of this type as earlier this year the reservoir at Zocco also seems now to be devoid of fish.

All details are available on our website www.abbeyangling.com or from the match secretary Terry Screen on 965328368

Angler’s Together members recently had a fishing trip to Murcia on the River Segura which was enjoyed by all. Another friendly match is planned for the autumn. The date will be given at the monthly meeting.
Anglers Together was formed to introduce and encourage anglers of all abilities to meet up and get together to fish, either sea or freshwater. Firm friendships have been formed during the time the group has been active and information on fishing venues and licenses required are available at the meetings or by regular emailed newsletters.
Meetings are held on the second Saturday of each month. Anyone with an interest in fishing (sea or freshwater) is welcome to come along to a meeting to see what we’re about.

The next is on Saturday 10th September at 12 o’clock the meeting will be held at The New Royal Bar and Restaurant at El Alamillo, opposite the sea-front between Isla Plana and the Port.

For further details ring Alan Roscoe 968 570 876or email: anglerstogetherHotmail.co.uk (NEW EMAIL ADDRESS).

The Albox fishing club meets every two weeks at the Azafran restaurant. For the next meeting tel 677 655 049

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber, past fishing reports and photos. www.beachcombermojacar.com

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam. www.beachcombermojacar.com/beachcomber-webcam/

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

18-08-2011, 12:47

And the last of the photos.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

25-08-2011, 16:08

I fished only once this week and was out with ‘Orca Steve’ on his Garrucha moored boat. I was joined by my ‘Brother-in-law Keith’, ‘Paul the Rope’, ‘Chef Jeremy’ and his son Nick. We headed first for the Repsol garage on the Mojacar road where we drifted from 120 feet to 350 feet with the help of a mild off shore wind. Jeremy was soon into a good fish and a 4 to 5lb snapper went into Steve’s net.

Both Keith and I lost good fish with what I’m guessing was a conger bit the bottom hook and lead from Keith’s trace. I lost a good snapper and what I believe was a very good trigger. It took line and kited using the shape of its body whereas snappers generally don’t do the latter. I’m starting to get paranoid about them now and have lost five in two trips. How they get off the hook I don’t know, it’s hard enough to unhook them on the boat as they have very tough mouths. Maybe too tough and the hooks are not getting a good enough hold.

When it all went quiet we moved opposite the harbour and drifted in 150 to 300 feet. Nothing doing and so moved closer in and anchored just off my favourite 250 foot hole in only 150 feet and closer to the shore. I thought here we would ambush some inshore palagics or maybe some meagre which should be well on the feed now after their spawning. I also put on a conger rig as we were near the harbour rocks.

Basically nothing much was doing and I put it down to this was the first good sea day for four days and the same happened to me last week when lads following us out did much better. We finished the day with 6 species and the ones not previously mentioned were Spanish mackerel, weavers, pandoras, combers and bogues.

See photo of Jeremy and a red snapper.

See photo of Nick and a couple of mackerel.

Steve was out again the following day with 3 members of the Albox fishing club (Two members booked didn’t turn up!) ‘Squiddly Sid’, ‘Dennis the Menace’ and the newly named "Snigger Grahame".
Conditions were initially good with a slight NE wind which turned SW and a slight swell so they fished in front of the Repsol garage about 3/4 mile out drifting back with the onshore wind. Fishing was initially slow with a few of the usual pandoras, combers & pickerels until Sid landed a medium size Atlantic mackerel. They went through a bit of a dead spell with only a few nibbles until Grahame struck into a nice red snapper. He also got snapped by something much bigger which lay solidly on the bottom until deciding to run. Grahame had a brief fight but it snapped him half way up the trace. As they drifted into the coral bed Grahame struck into a good sized trigger of about 2 kg which fought well but got landed onto the boat swiftly. (This may have been where Grahame got his new nickname?)

They continued in the same area but only catching more of the usuals. A couple of highlights were watching a massive shoal of sprats swirl under the boat in a ring of frenzy and being picked off by a group of Arctic terns diving into the shoal. A few flying fish were spotted and a large military type plane circling low several times over the Mojacar Pueblo and around the Cabrera mountain.

See photo of Grahame and his triggerfish.

See photo of Lillian and a striped bream she caught while out with Steve recently.

See photo of ‘Diver Ken’ with an octopus he caught while out with Steve a couple of weeks ago.

Just got this from WSF member Mac.

“I spoke to the Generalitat (local govt) this morning and they confirmed that in the Comunidad Valenciana, NO licence is required to fish from the shore. However those that wish to fish from a boat, kayak etc have to obtain the necessary 'licencia de pesca maritima de recreo de embarcación. Same goes for spear fishermen who have to obtain the 'licencia de pesca maritima de recreo de pesca submarina'. If you're on a charter out of a Valencian port, these rules do not apply to you.
Another thing he said was that you have to maintain a 'security distance' of 200mts from swimmers and irrigation canals. Fishing inside port facilities is prohibited too. Good news for people holidaying/living in places like Benidorm, Calpe, Gandia, Alicante etc...”
Sounds to me like the authorities in Valencia have got their brains in order unlike their cousins in Andalucia!

This week’s Abbey Angling’s match was fished at Nancy’s on the dead arm of the River Segura, it was on this stretch of water where the fish kill occurred the other week. Dave fished between the two irrigation channels at the top of the tee junction. Before the beginning of the match a young lady from the Environment Agency came along and was checking these two outlets for dead fish.

The chain across the left hand channel had collected bottles, carrier bags, along with other debris including four dead fish. Ten minutes later someone up stream must have opened the sluice gate and all hell let loose when the rubbish including the four dead fish and a cat was washed down the river.
Although a lot of fish have been killed recently, good weights were recorded above and below the pollution point.

1st Dave (Yours Truly) Hoare with 32lbs fishing the pole and pellet.
2nd Ian (The Irish Wizard) Dalzell with 27.1/4lbs fishing pole and paste.
3rd Stan (The Man) Roberts with 27lbs fishing the pole pellet and paste.

All details are available on our website www.abbeyangling.com or from the match secretary Terry Screen on 965328368

Anglers together meetings are held each month. Anyone with an interest in fishing (sea or freshwater) is welcome to come along to a meeting to see what we’re about.

The next meeting is:
Saturday 10th September at 12 o’clock at The New Royal Bar and Restaurant at El Alamillo, opposite the sea-front between Isla Plana and Puerto de Mazarron.

There will be some second-hand tackle and magazines available.
For further details ring Alan Roscoe 968 570 876
email: anglerstogetherHotmail.co.uk

The Albox fishing club meets every two weeks at the Azafran restaurant. For the next meeting tel 677 655 049

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber, past fishing reports and photos. www.beachcombermojacar.com

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam. www.beachcombermojacar.com/beachcomber-webcam/

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

01-09-2011, 16:35

I’m sorry to report ‘Bruce The anchor’ died recently and I would like to take this opportunity to tell his family I will miss him greatly. A great man, fisherman and boatman. I am thinking of you at this very sad time.

See photo of Bruce with a blue fish and barracuda he caught a while ago.

‘London Bill’ spinning rocks with his Spanish mates north of Villaricos caught bonito, Atlantic scad, sea bass and a dentex bream. Young dentex look like red snappers (common bream) but get a lot bigger and uglier! Villaricos boat fishermen fish for these in shallow water by speed jigging. I’ve seen a boat come back into harbour with 30 of these up to 30lbs.

‘Hissing Sid’ went out twice last week, the first time with ‘Ice cool Paul’ (The worldwide refrigeration man) who was over from County Down, Ireland and ‘Surveyor Tony’. They had a good day out with the sea as flat as a pancake and caught weavers, pandoras, Spanish mackerel, stripped bream and triggers.

Sid went out again with Darren and his three boys Michael, Adam. and the youngest ‘Bombproof Ryan’. The sea had a fairly big swell, but flat but it wasn't long before the two oldest boys were feeling a bit under the weather. Ryan though loved every minute of it and he was first to catch with a mackerel. They also caught a few flatties and the high light of Ryan's day was when he caught a fairly big octopus.

See photo of Adam and a mackerel.
See photo Ryan and an Atlantic mackerel with his dad Darren.

‘Orca Steve’ has been out four times this week and took John & Anne and their 3 girls Jody, Lauren and Abby out on holiday in Mojacar from the UK. Sea conditions were perfect with no swell and beautiful calm conditions; the only wind coming from the S.W. from 11.30am and excellent for a day’s fishing.

They fished in front of the Repsol Station (Makes a change for Steve as if!) about 1/2mile out in 180ft of water and Anne was the first to catch on her first drop with a medium size pickerel. The rest of the crew soon followed Anne's catch with their own of pickerels, combers, pandoras and the odd weaver. Jody broke the trend by striking into a nice Atlantic mackerel, this being her first fish of the day.

The Mackerel were obviously in the area and soon it was John and Anne landing Spanish and Atlantic mackerel at the same time! (The Atlantic and Spanish mackerel often shoal together despite their type). Anne then landed the biggest weaver that Steve has ever seen followed shortly after by a small red snapper.

Abby caught a fish that Steve hadn’t seen before which had large secondary pectoral fins with bright blue colours along the front and underside of the fin, it looked to him to be one of the gurnard family. (I saw the photo and it was a tub gurnard) The fishing dropped off around midday so John, Jody and Abby decided to dive off of the boat for a nice cool refreshing swim, quite safely in the perfect conditions. They fished for another hour but with little success so it was back to port for a refreshing beer and tapas. A great day out with nice people.

See photo of Lauren and a couple of decent (For them) pickerels.
See photo of Ann and a weaver (Top) and comber.
See photo of Abby and a pickerel.
See photo of Jody and her Atlantic mackerel.
See photo, some of the family cooling off.

Steve went out three more times and had mixed bags of fish. The first of these trips was with' Brummy Ian' and his son Matt along with 'Bolton Roofer Jon', 'Dan the Hat', and 'Green Top Gaz'. The weather was good with a slight swell and light NE wind turning to SW later in the morning. They fished 500m out from the Repsol garage on the Mojacar road drifting with the wind. They caught the usual pandoras, pickerels, combers and weavers until Ian struck into a small red snapper. They continued to catch the same species until Dan landed a nice Atlantic mackerel. Fishing dropped off in the area so they moved in front of the harbour wall about 250m out dropping into some holes without much luck and so travelled out into shallower water where they got some decent pandoras. Jon had a good fish on but got snapped half way up the trace and the way the fish was fighting Steve thought it was a red snapper.

See photo of Dan and a comber.

See photo of Ian with his son Matt and a small Red Snapper.

The next time out was with Mark & his son George and ‘Pugwash Pete’. The weather was sort of ok with NE winds turning to the SE but with a nasty swell which was uncomfortable. They again fished in front of the garage where they caught pandoras, pickerels, combers, cleaver wrasse and cow bream. The swell got worse and some guests were feeling a little unwell so they retired early for solid ground and lunch.

See photo of Mark with a small Red Snapper.

The last trip out was with members of the Albox Fishing club consisting of 'Squiddly Sid', 'Tiddlerwinks John' and 'Dangler Derek', again a couple of members failed to show which was a pity as a good day was in store. The conditions were good with a light swell and light NW winds turning to the SW as usual at mid day. They initially fished in front of the garage with only a few of the usual critters but managed to catch three turbot which is a first on the boat this year. (A rare catch for sure)
The fishing dropped off so they decided to go further out about a mile offshore and drift back over holes that Steve previously had located on the fishfinder. The fishing didn't improve so Steve decided to try an area that 'Hissing Sid' had mentioned the previous day where he had caught a couple of Triggers. This area being towards Vera playa opposite the blue beach huts. They dropped into 50 ft of water drifting shallower with the wind when John hooked a nice size trigger which he got to the surface where Steve was waiting with the net only to find he was tangled up with Sid's tackle. (Painful was it Sid?) Needless to say by the time they had sorted the mess the fish had snapped the trace and swam to freedom. Minutes later Sid struck into a nice trigger, this time it was landed on deck smartly with no problem. Steve himself struck and lost a decent fish soon after and then John struck into another good trigger which this time he got to the surface and safely into the net. These fish were caught in less than 40ft of water. Sid also caught a decent horse mackerel and they all caught plenty of the usuals until the wind forced them to retire at 2pm. It looks like the triggers have shifted to new ground or maybe they have been there all the time but worth another try in the future.

See photo of John with a trigger.

Abbey Angling’s match saw them fishing on the Embalsa at Beniarres in Murcia, this will be their last visit up there this year as they have no further matches booked, it is a pity as the water has now receded considerably and access is available to all pegs along the shingle beach.
It was a very warm and calm morning, but as usual the wind returned on cue at mid-day making it difficult to fish the pole.

1st Stan (The Man) Roberts with 92lbs fishing the bagging waggler, pole paste and sweetcorn
2nd Terry (Swing Em) Screen with 81lbs fishing feeder and banded pellet
3rd Stuart (I’m married again) Taylor with 51lbs on pole and feeder with paste and sweetcorn

Terry also went pleasure fishing this week with a friend to the Embalsa de Pedrera; the water is now going down leaving dead bushes exposed in the water. They spent half an hour clearing the dead wood from the pegs with a pair of long handled secateurs making 3 or 4 pegs accessible for when the water does rise again, just think of how many pegs would be fishable if all the fishermen spent a little time doing the same. They both caught carp and barbel for approx 33lbs in weight each, the best barbel was weighed at 4lbs and a carp of 3.1/4lbs caught on a feeder with sweet corn and pellet, so a very enjoyable morning.

The rubbish of bottles, sweetcorn tins, broken chairs and general garbage left by pleasure fisherman and picnickers is just unbelievable, in 5 minutes Terry had filled a black refuse sack of waste and brought it home to the local basura bin, so please do take your rubbish home from all the fishing venues.

Anyone with broken poles or rods in need of repair, terry now obtained a substantial amount of broken pole and rod pieces and if you need any repairs please contact me at the telephone number below.

All details are available on our website www.abbeyangling.com or from the match secretary Terry Screen on 965328368

ANGLERS TOGETHER

We have been having a lot of enquiries about licenses from anglers who are passing the ‘magic age of 65’ and therefore pensioners!
Course fishing licenses are still required and are free providing you have a Spanish pensionista card; otherwise you will have to pay the normal fees. Licenses are available from either Town Halls or the Caja Rural Bank if in Valencia region. In Murcia you will also require insurance. Make sure you take photocopies of all relevant documents to obtain your license. I.e. passport photo-page, NIE and insurance.

Anglers Together was formed to introduce and encourage anglers of all abilities to meet up and get together to fish, either sea or freshwater. Firm friendships have been formed during the time the group has been active and information on fishing venues and licenses required are available at the meetings or by regular emailed newsletters.

The next meeting is at:

Saturday 10th September at 12 o’clock at The New Royal Bar and Restaurant at El Alamillo, opposite the sea-front between Isla Plana and Puerto de Mazarron.

There will be some second-hand tackle and magazines available.

For further details ring Alan Roscoe 968 570 876

Email: anglerstogetherHotmail.co.uk

The Albox fishing club meets every two weeks at the Azafran restaurant. For the next meeting tel 677 655 049

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber, past fishing reports and photos. www.beachcombermojacar.com

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam. www.beachcombermojacar.com/beachcomber-webcam/

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

01-09-2011, 16:38

The next 5 pics.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

01-09-2011, 16:39

And the last 2.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

15-09-2011, 19:21

‘London Bill’ fished rocks near Villaricos for Atlantic scad and palometes. A couple of fishermen angling in front of the Beachcomber were catching mullet over 1lb with a 20 odd foot roach pole. Two of them had to land each fish with the guy at the back taking the pole apart!

‘Hissing Sid’ managed to get his partner ‘Gnome Graham’ out with some of his relatives over from Brighton. They had a good assortment of fish with striped bream, pandoras, pickerels, weavers, mackerel and the mother of all triggers that bit through the hook a foot from the landing net. (Don’t you hate the way they always do that?) Graham also caught a European eel and Dave had what looks to me like a tompot blenny, although the dorsal fin is a bit different it must be a related species.

See photo of Dave with his tompot blenny (PLIERS!)
See photo of Graham and his European eel
See photo of Brendon with his snapper
See photo of Adam and a striped bream

‘Orca Steve’ went out with Ian, his wife Sue and children, Elliot and Francesca from Shrewsbury who are on holiday and staying on the Cabrera Mountains. Ian was keen to test the fishing in this part of Spain as he has fished many places around the world and has his own boat moored up in Wales. A Merry Fisher 6m which he uses to fish the Welsh coastline.
The first comments Steve received was as to the clarity of the sea water here, as good as they had seen anywhere. Anyway, Steve was under pressure now to offer some good fishing and took them swiftly out to the area where they recently caught good fish which is opposite the Vera beach blue beach huts and Moorish stone chimney/tower.

The conditions were near perfect with little swell and a very light NE winds which turned around lightly to the SW at midday. They fished in 35 to 50ft of water and were rewarded with a bagful of 7 triggers of various weights and sizes. Elliot was first to catch followed shortly by Ian and then Elliot with his second. Ian caught another soon after which was in the net and as he was talking to me on the phone Sue hooked her first Trigger which fought hard. A busy time for Steve landing and helping to land double Triggers!
They then had a spell of catching the usual pandoras, pickerels, combers and some big weavers which were quickly beheaded getting rid of their nasty stinging spines and ready for the pot. (Urgh they taste like mud to me)

The conditions were so good that the family decided to have some fun and dive from the boat for a swim and cool down. This was all going on in 39ft of water while Steve sat on the side of the boat dangling a rod over the side and struck into a good trigger whilst they were swimming over the area. This was a good fish which fought well and which he landed after a 15 minute battle. After the fun session they continued fishing the same area with Ian and Elliot getting snapped twice and losing fish.

All the triggers were kept for the BBQ and Steve had his stuffed with herbs and lemon and baked in foil with Olive oil, Yummy he said!

See photo of Ian, Elliot and Francesca and part of their bucket load of triggers.

I went out from Garrucha with Steve a few days later and if I said we had an interesting day I would be under exaggerating something rotten. We were joined by ‘Splash Gordon’, ‘Chef Jeremy’ and his boss ‘Teddo’ oh and not forgetting ‘Paul the Rope’.
I did my usual and dropped a lure over the back on the way out and as I’ve not been too lucky lately trolling I was a bit shocked to get a take by the harbour entrance. After a relatively short fight I landed a very nice bluefish, not sure what it weighed but about 3lbs. Off we went trolling again towards our destination Vera Playa marks from around 50 to 80 feet deep in search of red snappers and triggerfish. While moving around I always dropped the lure over and had a quick take but no hook up but the fish did bite off the rubber tail from my lure.
We weren’t having much luck on these marks so decided to head for the Repsol Garage on the Mojacar road. As we all reeled up a dolphin fish followed one of the rigs up and was hanging around the boat. It didn’t take us long to get our baits back in the water but it was Gordon who eventually had the idea to take a piece of silver foil from his sandwiches and wrap some round a single hook, that worked and he soon had the fish in the net.
As this was happening the commotion brought a nosy sunfish weighing maybe 15lbs and he wasn’t interested in baits so I quickly put on a small jig but with a 10.0 hook, flicked it over him, gave a little tug and bang I was in. “Fowl hooked” came the cry from my mates, “no matter!” I said “they all count”. Paul asked for the net from Steve and Gordon who had the dolphin fish in it. On taking it out of the net it did a double somersault and went back in the water taking the hook with him. I was alright though lol. Oh and by the way that’s how Gordon got his nickname ‘Splash’.
With my trusty lure back in the water we headed south but I made the mistake of only hooking a sand eel lure onto one of the rear treble’s hooks and squeezed the eye down with pair of pliers. This was to replace the bitten off tail.
As we went past the harbour entrance I was in again, a bigger and stronger fish than earlier and on his 5th or 6th jump he swam away with my sand eel in his mouth, you idiot John, flipping laziness that’s what it was.
We fished around various marks opposite the garage but with not much luck, lots of weavers, pandoras, pickerels and combers.
We decided on a troll around before going back and again not far from the harbour entrance I was in but for only a minute or so and it was gone. At least I secured the sand eel lure this time. An interesting day for sure.
See photos of me and my bluefish and sunfish.

The sunfish of course was kissed and returned but the bluefish was shared with Jeremy. My half was skinned, sliced and marinated with white wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic, onion, salt, pepper and a little sugar. Three hours later and it was beautiful, sweet and sour bluefish sushi!

See photo of Brad who was out with Steve recently and caught a pandora among many other species.

‘Baza Barry’ night fished (naughty Barry!) the big lake with a couple of mates and over 36 hours had 200lbs of fish each. Mostly carp and barbel with an odd chub-like species. Both he and I have caught them before. They also caught a few black bass and very small trout while spinning for a while. Barry says the lake is losing water fast but levels are still ok.

ANGLERS TOGETHER.
Reed cutting has taken place on the Murcia stretch of River Segura so there are more swims available.

See photo of the river with its haircut.

Next meeting: Saturday 8th October at 12 o’clock at The New Royal Pub and Restaurant, Avda Cabo Cope, local No 7, El Alamillo (Just outside Puerta de Mazarron towards Isla Plana).

Abbey Angling was once again back up at the Embalsa de Argos for their latest match and they are noticing a difference as autumn looms, as daylight does not arrive until almost 7a.m. The temperature when they left home was 24 degrees but had dropped down 6 degrees on arrival at the lake.
It was still a hot day with very little breeze and by the look of it there had been a thunderstorm over night. As all the ground was heavily pock marked from heavy rain which in turn affected the fishing as the weights on average were poor compared with recent visits.
Ian Dalzell is not only a great angler but has the luck of the Irish, once again drawing his favourite peg and as always making the most of it.
1st Ian (The Irish Wizard) Dalzell with 65lbs fishing feeder and pellet
2nd Lenny (The Cultural Attache) Bolton with 52.1/3lbs fishing pole and paste
3rd Doug (The Welsh Goldminer) Hornblower with 36lbs fishing pole and feeder on pellet and paste

All details are available on our website www.abbeyangling.com or from the Match Secretary Terry Screen on 965328368

The Albox fishing club meets every two weeks at the Azafran restaurant. For the next meeting tel 677 655 049

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber, past fishing reports and photos. www.beachcombermojacar.com

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam. www.beachcombermojacar.com/beachcomber-webcam/

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

15-09-2011, 19:25

More pics.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

22-09-2011, 10:54

‘Hissing Sid’ was out with ‘Tattoo Danny’ and ‘Carbody Clive’ and his son Spencer, over from Chadwell Heath. They had a good day with a mirror-like sea. Fish caught were striped, twin banded and pandora bream, picarels, weavers, mackerel, rock fish and gurnard. The sea changed at about 12.30pm to 2 feet waves and the fish stopped biting. It was as if someone had turned a switch off. The fish finder went from a screen packed with fish to blank. It didn't matter where they tried it was the same. (Where do they go?)

See photo of Danny and a twin banded bream.

See photo of Spencer and an Atlantic mackerel.

Sid went out again, this time with ‘Weaver Dennis’ who lives in Mojacar for 7 months of the year, ‘Recruitment Tim’ and estate agent Alex (aka ‘Monty’). All are from the Milton Keynes area back in the UK.
They had a good day with every one catching regularly but nothing big. except the weavers Dennis kept catching. He caught a couple that were about 14/15” long and about as round as the fat end of a baseball bat, real stonkers. (They go to over 4lbs!) Other fish caught were picarels, pandoras, rock fish, striped bream and a couple of other fish Sid couldn’t identify.

See photos of Dennis and Monty, both holding striped bream.

I went out with ‘Orca Steve’ and his two mates Steve and Steve! Two of my friends also came, ‘Splash Gordon’ and ‘Medway Chris’. Because a big trawler had been fishing close in to the shore and Garrucha Marina for the week before and ruining the fishing. Probably damaging the sea bed for many years to come, we decided to find new fishing grounds and headed (trolled) for the Villaricos dry river bed. Noisy work going on there (pipe laying it looked like) will have killed the shore fishing there which has been known for producing palometes to 17lbs and other good fish.
We fished about a mile out in only 50 feet with nothing, as I suspected, and so we drifted with an offshore wind out to the tuna fish farms in 180 feet. Again nothing much apart from Gordon having a lone ranger red snapper.

We trolled all the way back to Garrucha harbour wall with no takes and fished various holes in the area and again nothing much. Thinking the trawler had not been seen in front of the Repsol garage on the Mojacar road we decided to have a go there and fished from 40 to 350 feet. Not a lot basically apart from the usuals, pandoras, combers, weavers and I had a couple of annular bream which I haven’t seen for a while and at least it was a new species to add to my 2011 list.

We trolled back into the harbour and while I brought in one of my lures Gordon was reeling in the other and got a take which hung on for a couple of seconds only. I think it was a barracuda because they spit out treble hooks for fun.

See photo of Gordon and his red snapper.

I joined Steve once again in the week and was accompanied by ‘Paul the Rope’, ‘Martin the Butcher’ and ‘Chef Jeremy’. It was a tough day and other than one pork chop, sorry I mean red snapper for Martin and a few really big Atlantic mackerel for the rest of us not a lot was caught other than the usual culprits. Everyone but me did lose big fish though and one especially, Martin who couldn’t get something off the bottom until it swam up a few feet before throwing the hook a few seconds later. Congers are rarely caught on sand where we were fishing and also don’t usually swim upwards. An educated guess would be a sunfish or much more likely a ray. It must have been a big one though because that bend in the rod with no give was telling me ‘Excess of 30lbs’. The only bit of excitement I had was pulling octopus’s to within a few feet of the surface before they let go of my shrimp paste filled lead.

Steve was out again with 2 local guys, Joff and Graham from Los Higuirlas and a couple of keen fisherman from Mazarron namely Derek and Lou. The marine forecast was for a good day and they were rewarded with pleasant conditions of a slight swell and light NE winds turning east at 11am. They fished in an area Steve had been studying on the area's nautical depth and contour between the Repsol garage and Garrucha port entrance approximately 1/4 mile from shore. This area has a flat coral and sandy shelf which sits between the shallow shelf close to the shore and the deeper shelf which drops sharply to over 900 ft. This middle shelf varies between 120ft and 260ft and seems to be a passage the fish take between the other two shelves when passing through the area. They fished the bottom and were rewarded with Spanish and Atlantic mackerel, banded bream, blue mouths, a lizard fish, combers, pickerels, weavers and a nice size Tub Gurnard which Steve initially thought was some type of flying fish due to its large wing like pectoral fins. Joff also caught an octopus which slithered around the boat before being stunned and made ready for the BBQ. Raw prawn was the main bait but fish were also caught using squid and the mackerel seemed to like the chorizo sausage baited on the same hook as prawn and called "Surf and Turf" by the lads on the boat. Plenty of fish were caught and they all had a very enjoyable day.

See photo of Graham and his flying fish and a couple of other pics of it too.

‘London Bill’ has been fishing Villaricos rocks and has had a dolphin fish (mahi mahi) and a bonito while spinning.

‘Baza Barry’ fished the Negratin Lake and caught a bag full of carp to 3lbs and barbel to 2lbs.

The first of September’s Rods and reels match was held on the Eden canal stretch of the River Segura. The river was moving at pace and was up by about 18ins. The fish were very finicky as reflected in the weights. The match itself was not without its drama with Doug Hornblow not only breaking his no 4 section before the match started, but with an hour to go got snagged on the far bank. After pulling for a break found his top 5 sections floating across the river. Undeterred he stripped off and with a rope around him, swam out and retrieved his parted sections in amongst the snakes and terrapins and all the other horrid things that reside there. This is his second week of going in, and there could be some coincidence that his shower has packed up at home. Coupled with this Alan Reid fishing a short margin pole let his guard down for only a nano second watched as his pole went down river at about a 100 mph. (Fast anyway) Never to be seen again!
Top rods on the day
1st Bill ( The Master ) Reade fishing the pole using paste with 20lbs.
2nd Ian ( Irish Wizard ) Dalzell fishing the pole and feeder using pellet with 19.3/4lbs.
3rd Lenny ( Ex Cultural Attache ) Bolton fishing the pole using maggot and paste with 17.1/2lbs.
PLEASE NOTE
The clubs AGM and prize giving presentation will be held on the 25th September at Cagney & Lacy´s bar at La Marina, commencing at 10.00am. This will be followed by a buffet supplied by the club.
THIS IS IMPORTANT.
Numbers are needed, so anyone interested in coming, must contact Sue Swann on 966729293 by Sunday 18th September. Catering will be ordered against the members that have notified Sue.
Subscriptions are also due from 1st August and to be paid prior to commencement of the AGM. Subs to be paid to Derek Swann and they are 25 Euros.

Abbey angling’s match was fished on the Eden Stretch, this was the first match to be fished on this stretch of water for quite some time letting nature take over with some of the pegs overgrown and they had to be cleared before fishing could commence. The river has settled since the thunder storms of the other week and is now flowing at a steady pace.

1st Lenny (Ex Cultural Attache) Bolton with 34.1/4lbs fishing the pole and maggot.
2nd Ian (The Irish Wizard) Dalzell with 18.1/2lbs also on pole and maggot.
3rd Bill (The Master) Reade with 14lbs fishing pole maggot and floating bread.

All details are available on our web site www.abbeyangling.com or from the match secretary Terry Screen on 965328368.

The next Anglers Together meeting is:
Saturday 8th October at 12 o’clock at The New Royal Bar and Restaurant at El Alamillo, opposite the sea-front between Isla Plana and Puerto de Mazarron.
For further details ring Alan Roscoe 968 570 876
email: anglerstogetherHotmail.co.uk

‘Fishinthenet Brian’, Son ‘Golee’ and ‘Birdsnest Phil’ fished the River Ebro and it just went from BAD to WORSE!

Here’s their story.
It’s 6 am the car is packed up and we set off on the long haul to the Ebro. Our fishing destination was Mequinensa for the big cats but we first had to go to Caspe to pick up licences and bait.
You can imagine our first disappointment on arrival at Caspe to see the water level lower that we have ever seen before. It had dropped 9mtrs in two months and swims would be hard to find, was Mequinensa a good decision after all?

See photo of the low water.

Late Sunday and we reached our fishing destination and a chance to speak with other anglers on the prospects. We do not like what they say, little in terms of catches and no cats of any decent size. Water does not look good and loads of weed floating down. We decide to take the ‘lay by’ swim and prepare for fishing early next morning. Rods and bait ready we bed down only to be infested with mosquitoes. Never seen so many and they were big! Morning arrives and our first chance to inspect the swim and conditions, water is very green and weed is everywhere. Over the next two days we spent more time removing the weed off our lines, not a catch in sight. Reports from other anglers was still poor with one group stating they had fourteen rods and only one small cat during a week’s fishing. Now the three of us are not defeatists but we could not see any way we could be different to everyone else and start catching or enjoy the constant removal of weed from the swim and lines. The crunch came when workers from the town hall decided that the trees in the ‘lay by’ needed water. With no consideration they set up a generator and for five hours pumped water out of our swim. If we did not catch today we decided that moving on would be our only choice. Mequinensa may be famous for its big cats but they were not feeding and we did not like the condition of the water so were not surprised.

A German angler told us Caspe is producing but swims are hard to find, he told us where to go but we were still concerned in view of what we saw and the level of the water. We had nothing to lose so got back to the areas we know from previous trips. We headed back and looked at the recommended swim. Oh my god! What are they doing to the water, it looks like chemicals have been released into it, pollution beyond belief and layers of foam of multi coloured green? You would be concerned landing a fish and subjecting it to that mess. Have to say there were no quantity of dead fish in the water but the oxygen levels could not be good which might be a reason they are not feeding.
We find some other anglers nearby and the fishing is not good. With an hour of daylight left we looked at the ‘orchard swim’ as one last chance. On arrival our spirits lifted, we find a swim which looks more like the Ebro we are used too! Decision made we quickly unpack and prepare for the morning. Pitch black and head touches on we open a few cans and reflect on what might be a change of fortune. As the lights hit the ground you cannot believe the number of ear-wigs that surrounded us, billions would be no exaggeration. We had been told in Mequinensa that they have an infestation of a small shell fish like a razor clam and these were getting into the turbines within the dams. Well with the water down the swim was covered in their shells and this was food for the creepy ear-wigs. Never before have I experienced the sound of thousands of them walking across the bivvy roof. Not for the squeamish!
Day four and we are getting excited at what lays ahead. Water does have green algae at the banks but further out it looks good. We were to find that these algae stained the rod tips and needed more than water to clean off. An alarm sounds and Phil is into the first carp. Later that night he was to catch the biggest of the week weighting in at just over 28lbs. In total over the six days we banked over twenty carp and one small cat that was not even worth a trip to the scales. At least we were catching with most carp coming in below the 20 lbs mark. Phil found the hot spot if you can call it that with so few catches and it become a bit of a standing joke that whenever an alarm went off it was going to be his, even on line bites. As far as cats were concerned they were in hiding and we did not even get one take.
Further up the river a group with twelve rods were also failing to get much success and they were dead baiting deep into the river. On the last full day we had to abandon the cats as our ‘bait boat’ skippered by Lee sprung a leak so it was cast only. The weather was kind apart from one day when heavy showers and thunder storms hit the swim. It was so bad we retired to the car for protection only for the wind to blow a gale sending nets/mats and buckets flying into the river.

Brian and Lee sheltering.

Last day and the worst was to come – guess where all those earwigs sheltered in the day, yes in any dark spot they could find. Lift up anything on the ground and hundreds appeared. Every piece of equipment had to be checked before putting back into the car, they got into every pocket or crevasse, what a nightmare!
Apart from Phil's alarms going off again and again to our frustration, the other most repetitive thing was Phil asking if we had seen his reel bag, he lost it so many times that we lost count, except for the last time – because we hid it! Yes bad in many ways but a great trip in terms of being a team and seeing the fun side of any adversities.
Had we not moved on from Mequinensa I am convinced we would have blanked or one of us would come away empty handed. I am not sure that the Spanish understand the economy that the Ebro brings in as they do not appear to be looking after the eco aspects and seem more concerned about the farming industry by the river. Something is seeping in to have the pollution we saw and more importantly, something is flowing out rapidly for the water to be so far down when only a few months ago they said that the Ebro had more water than ever before.
If anyone is planning to go to the Ebro soon you would be advised to check the water levels and even ask if the catches are improving. It’s a long trip for so few fish in the current conditions.
‘Fishinthenet’

See a few more photos of the lads and their fish and cook Brian

Many thanks lads, better luck next time and hopefully I can join you on that trip. John.

The Albox fishing club meets every two weeks at the Azafran restaurant. For the next meeting tel 677 655 049

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber, past fishing reports and photos. www.beachcombermojacar.com

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam. www.beachcombermojacar.com/beachcomber-webcam/

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

22-09-2011, 11:02

A few more pics.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

22-09-2011, 11:06

And the last five.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

22-09-2011, 13:43

‘Fuentemar Paul’ landed a 9.1/2lb sea bass (or meagre) fishing with squid on a 10.0 hook! and a 15 foot rod, bait cast a long way out and Vera Beach was the mark. Paul originally thought it was a sea bass and it was only me putting doubt in his mind that made him question his sanity.

‘Tubby Jimmy’ caught a 6lb tub gurnard from the Indalo Hotel arm, plus lots of small meagre spinning in the early mornings over the last few days. Jimmy says he will keep us informed in future what he’s catching here on Mojacar beach.

‘London Bill’ has been fishing around Garrucha harbour and catching mainly mullet to 4lbs. (10 to 12lbers in the marina Bill!!!)

I’ve been out with ‘Orca Steve’ twice this week, first time just the two of us thought we would try out some new methods of trolling. Didn’t see any shoals of fish on the fish finder but managed a couple of small tuna, a melva for me and blue fin for Steve. Because these fish were juveniles they were not only returned but identification was difficult and we are still guessing really.

See photo of me and my melva, the lure it took was longer than itself! And one of Steve with a tuna we can’t identify.

Second time we were joined by ‘Paul the Rope’, ‘Chef Jeremy’ and ‘Last Chance Dave’. We tried a couple of hours of trolling when nothing could produce a bite on the bottom and again we didn’t see any shoals of fish. Paul had one hit and lost his fish but I managed to keep my only take on and another little melva was the result.

The ‘Xmas trawler’ as we call it because it still has its Xmas lights on deck was out again and trawling within we guessed a kilometre of Garrucha harbour. About six weeks now he’s been in this area and so there’s no wonder there are not many fish about for us to catch. Tuna should be in big shoals not odd ones left scattered about by a trawler. This size fish are illegal to land anyway and they will/should be throwing them all back dead, great for the crabs, octopuses and sea gulls.
We tried an hour or so drift fishing the bottom and other than one lost tiddler by me and a landed cleaver wrasse for Paul that was our day.

See photo of Grahame and a red snapper he caught recently while out with Steve.

Steve went out last week with ‘Chippy Stuart’ and ‘Can Can Katie’ along with Mojacar resident ‘Tunny Danny’. The weather was reasonable with a slight swell and NNE winds at 6-7 knots. They fished off the Repsol garage mark without much luck so moved about to try and locate fish without much luck. After a couple of hours with no fish Steve decided to try close to the harbour entrance where he had spotted fish on the fish finder on the way out, this paid dividends with Stuart striking into a bream.

That was the only fish so with time ticking by Steve decided to try trolling. This was using a sinking trolling lead connected to 10m of nylon, a jigging trace with blue feathers and a yellow Devon minnow 1/2m behind the trace, chasing the feathers. They dropped the lures in and trolled steadily out from the harbour wall and Stuart was hit straight away by a small tunny tuna or melva. This was followed shortly by several more and then Danny struck into his first Tuna followed by 3 at a time shortly after. They trolled down by the harbour wall where Stuart struck into a small Barracuda. In total they caught (and returned to the sea as required by Andalucian law) a total of about 30 fish which were caught in 1.1/2 hours of trolling.

See photo of Danny and a melva tuna and Stuart and his tiddler barracuda.

MAGGOTS END

This week’s match was the first of the team matches a series of 4 matches between Rods and Reels and Abbey Anglers. The venue for the match was the now infamous Embalse de Ojos, Blanca in Murcia. There was an exceptionally good turnout with 22 anglers all filled with dread as this place can be a nightmare. For once the fishing by this lake’s standard was good, with big fish coming within the first hour (That never normally happens). In saying that they still had 5 dry nets, the venue never fails to let some anglers down. Doug Hornblow, although winning this week, never went in for a dip, but did manage to break his pole again! He has since returned to Wales to dry off, and repair the damage of the last few weeks.

Top rods on the day

1st Doug (Welsh Goldminer) Hornblow fishing the pole using hemp with 29lbs.
2nd Ian (Irish Wizard) Dalzell fishing the pole and feeder using pellet with 20.1/2lbs
3rd Lenny (Ex Cultural Attache) Bolton fishing the pole using pellet with 20lbs.

TEAM RESULTS
Abbey Anglers with 87.1/3lbs.
Rods and Reels with 61.1/2lbs.

PLEASE NOTE

The clubs AGM and prize giving presentation will be held on the 25th September at Cagney & Lacy´s bar at La Marina, commencing at 10.00am. This will be followed by a buffet supplied by the club.
THIS IS IMPORTANT.

Subscriptions are also due from 1st August and to be paid prior to commencement of the AGM. Subs to be paid to Derek Swann and they are €25.

ABBEY ANGLING RESULTS supplied by TERRY SCREEN

This was the first match of our Winter League on 13th September, fished at the River Segura at “Nancy’s” also known as “Sweet Water” which is a play on words as the water smells just the opposite.
The water itself must be in good condition as the fish seem really healthy, although there are still some dead fish coming down the irrigation channel.
This is a very popular venue for pleasure anglers, probably because of the easy access and is home to some large Carp and lots of Mullet, one Mullet was caught at the match weighing in at 3kgs.

First place this week was a tie with both
Stan (The Man) Roberts and Lennie (The Cultural Attache) Bolton both with 24lbs on pellet and paste
3rd Dave (Yours Truly) Hoare with nearly 22lbs on pole and pellet

We also need to remind all Members that the renewal of their Murcian Federation permit and the fee of €35 is due by the end of October, along with copies of your appropriate fishing licences and either NIE number or Passport also your Murcian Federation Insurance card or private pesca insurance policy.

There are still a number of vacancies available in the club and anyone interested in joining this match fishing club requires a Murcian and Valencian fishing licences and also a Murcian Federation permit and insurance.

Murcian licences can be obtained from San Pedro Town Hall and they require copies of your insurance, NIE number or passport and a Valencian licence can be obtained with the same paperwork from the Ayuntamiento in Torrievieja, which is situated from facing the church in the square, it is the street to the right and approx 20yards upon the right up from a Tobacco shop on the corner.

All details are available on our web site www.abbeyangling.com or from the Match Secretary Terry Screen on 965328368.

ANGLERS TOGETHER

We have been having a lot of enquiries about licenses from anglers who are passing the ‘magic age of 65’ and therefore pensioners!
Licenses are still required and are free providing you have a Spanish Pensionista card; otherwise you will have to pay the normal fees. Licenses are available from either Town Halls or the Caja Rural Bank if in Valencia region. In Murcia you will also require insurance. Make sure you take photocopies of all relevant documents to obtain your license. I.e. passport photo-page, NIE and insurance.

Anglers Together was formed to introduce and encourage anglers of all abilities to meet up and get together to fish, either sea or freshwater. Firm friendships have been formed during the time the group has been active and information on fishing venues and licenses required are available at the meetings or by regular emailed newsletters.
Meetings are held in two locations each month. Anyone with an interest in fishing (sea or freshwater) is welcome to come along to a meeting to see what we’re about.

The next meetings are:
Friday 7th October at 12 o’clock at Mary’s Bar, Campoverde (near Pilar de la Horadada).
Saturday 8th October at 12 o’clock at The New Royal Bar and Restaurant at El Alamillo, opposite the sea-front between Isla Plana and Puerto de Mazarron.

For further details ring Alan Roscoe 968 570 876
Email: anglerstogetherHotmail.co.uk

The Albox fishing club meets every two weeks at the Azafran restaurant. For the next meeting tel 677 655 049

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber, past fishing reports and photos. www.beachcombermojacar.com

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam. www.beachcombermojacar.com/beachcomber-webcam/

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

29-09-2011, 15:09

‘‘Hissing Sid’ was out three times in the week. Firstly with ‘Los Gallardos Tony’, ‘Sea Sick Alan’ and Robert who is over from the UK on his honeymoon and staying in Turre.
The sea had a big swell on it which made fishing pretty difficult and it gradually got worse with white tops forming and a bit of spray. Tony caught mackerel on his first drop and Sid thought they were in for a good day but alas that was it for a couple of hours other than catching the odd pickerel.
Allen managed to get a nice looking rockfish in between throwing up. Sid told me Allen did really well hanging in there because he did go a very weird colour, well done that man.
Robert didn’t get a sniff and must have wondered why he had left his new bride at home to go out and suffer a rough day with no fish.

See photo of Allen and his rockfish.

Sid was soon out again with Stephanie and ‘Fossil Hunter Jeremy’ who were over on holiday and from Brighton. The sea was again lumpy and only a few fish were caught, pickerel, striped bream, weavers and a rockfish caught by Jeremy. Jeremy makes his living finding and selling fossils and if anyone is interested see Sid for his contact details.

See photo of Jeremy with a black bream. (I know its a funny name for a silver striped fish)

Sid’s third day out was with ‘Coffee Man Coen’ who was on holiday with his mate Koenraad who now lives in Mojacar. Both are from Friezland in Holland. Fishing was again slow with only a few weavers and pickerels caught. The excitement of the day came from seeing sunfish sunbathing, flying fish escaping the big monster chasing them (Sid's boat) and a pod of up to 50 dolphins and their babies. Sid followed and stayed with the pod for about 30 minutes.

See photos of Coen and Koenraad both with combers.

See photos of some of the dolphins.

‘Orca Steve’ was out three times also this week. Firstly with me on Saturday when we thought we would try and get the big fish that has been snapping and biting off Steve’s friends rigs recently. Steve and I forgot to bring prawns which are what the fish has been taking and the squid we had didn’t do the trick. Trolling didn’t catch anything so apart from the usuals and a most beautiful swallow tailed sea perch that became my dead bait (They never manage to swim back down) it was a poor morning out.

Steve went out with the Alfoquia crew consisting of’ Ernie the Pool’, ‘Mike the Dinghy’, ‘Aurora Pete’ and his mate Dave. The conditions were perfect to say the least with hardly a swell and light NE wind turning to the SW at lunchtime. They fished three depths opposite the Garrucha lighthouse to try and find fish. Firstly the shallows to 120 ft then the mid depth shelf 120 ft to 500 ft. They had a few fish from the mid depth but nothing big. They moved over the deep water ridge which drops to well over 900ft in places drifting from 460ft where they caught some nice pandoras, combers and blue mouths.

See photos of Pete and a pandora and Dave with a blue mouth.

Mike struck into something big which he fought with for at least 30 minutes until it eventually snapped his tackle. Steve was not sure what it was as it took the bait like a conger but was knocking and running like a big snapper. One of the highlights of the day was when they were suddenly surrounded by pods of dolphins from young small ones to large males and possibly 50 in total which they followed along the coast towards Mojacar and had the privilege of dolphins riding the bow wake and swimming alongside the boat for a good 30 minutes. (This was the same pod Sid saw)

See photo of Mike battling with his fish.

On the second occasion Steve went out with the ‘Dublin Lads’ ‘3 a time Tom’ (Fish that is!), ‘Pulpo Paddy’, ‘Richie the Rookie’, and ‘Butter Brian’ (Who made the lads fresh ham & cheese butties whilst out on the water) They fished the same area as previously mentioned opposite the Garrucha lighthouse where Paddy caught an Octopus. All the lads caught fish including Tom who was pulling them up 3 at a time using squid as bait. At mid day the fishing dropped off so they tried trolling. They had a couple of takes but nothing hooked so called it a day a returned to port for a Guinness (When in Spain do as the Irish do) Overall an enjoyable day and it was good to have the craic with the lads.

See photo of Paddy with his octopus and 3-a-time Tom with his trace of fish.

‘Brian V’ fished the Balero Lake north of Negratin and was surprised to find bleak. I think the authorities may have added them to feed the trout and black bass populations. Brian caught some nice barbel and carp. He also fished Negratin and caught carp and barbel there too.

MAGGOTS END

RODS and REELS

This week’s match was held on the Embalse de Ojos at Blanca. As reported last week the venue fished above itself, however this week it was back to normal, another grim day. Of the 14 brave souls fishing there were 4 dry nets! If nothing else the venue never fails to let you down. The only bonus of the day was that this was the last match here this year, and next match is not until April next year.

Top rods on the day

1st Bill (The Master) Reade fishing the pole using paste with 18.1/2lbs.
2nd Dave (Yours Truly) fishing the pole using pellet with 12.1/2lbs.
3rd Alan (The Emperor) Roscoe fishing the feeder using pellet with 11.1/4lbs.

PLEASE NOTE
The club at present does have some vacancies and if you are interested in joining please contact Derek Swann on 966729293 or 667407026.

ABBEY ANGLING RESULTS supplied by TERRY SCREEN

The 2nd match of the Winter League was fished at the Embalse de Argos. Autumn is now on its way and the early mornings are getting darker it was 7.15am before daylight finally broke through. The temperature is also dropping through the night as it was only 10 degrees on arrival at the Lake. The water in the lake itself is now down the bank about 15metres from its winter level and the cooler nights seem to have put the barbel off the feed as they were not feeding off the top and only about half a dozen were caught on the day. Also carp did not respond to the paste, the method of the day was the method feeder and pellet.
Dave Hoare certainly had the method cracked as he caught steadily all day, also the larger carp seem to have moved the smaller ones out as most of the fish being caught were 2lbs plus

1st Dave (Yours Truly) Hoare with 75.1/4lbs on the method feeder and pellet.
2nd Terry (Swing Em) Screen with 54.1/4lbs on the method feeder and pellet.
3rd Mike (The Arsenal) Hill with 41.3/4lbs on the method feeder and corn.

All details are available from our web site www.abbeyangling.com or from the Match Secretary Terry Screen on 965328368

ANGLERS TOGETHER

We have been having a lot of enquiries about licenses from anglers who are passing the ‘magic age of 65’ and therefore pensioners!
Licenses are still required and are free providing you have a Spanish Pensionista card; otherwise you will have to pay the normal fees. Licenses are available from either Town Halls or the Caja Rural Bank if in Valencia region. In Murcia you will also require insurance. Make sure you take photocopies of all relevant documents to obtain your license. I.e. passport photo-page, NIE and insurance.

Anglers Together was formed to introduce and encourage anglers of all abilities to meet up and get together to fish, either sea or freshwater. Firm friendships have been formed during the time the group has been active and information on fishing venues and licenses required are available at the meetings or by regular emailed newsletters.
Meetings are held in two locations each month. Anyone with an interest in fishing (sea or freshwater) is welcome to come along to a meeting to see what we’re about.

The next meetings are:

Friday 7th October at 12 o’clock at Mary’s Bar, Campoverde (near Pilar de la Horadada).

Saturday 8th October at 12 o’clock at The New Royal Bar and Restaurant at El Alamillo, opposite the sea-front between Isla Plana and Puerto de Mazarron.

For further details ring Alan Roscoe 968 570 876

Email: anglerstogetherHotmail.co.uk

The Albox fishing club meets every two weeks at the Azafran restaurant. For the next meeting tel 677 655 049

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber, past fishing reports and photos. www.beachcombermojacar.com

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam. www.beachcombermojacar.com/beachcomber-webcam/

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

29-09-2011, 15:11

And more pics.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

09-10-2011, 12:33

‘Captain Pugwash Pete’ has his boat back in the water and will no doubt be out regularly again now. On Pete’s latest trip he caught a small sunfish along with a few of the usual suspects.

‘Orca Steve’s’ boat is back in the water after anti fouling, cleaning and painting and is running great with much more speed and power. One of the main problems was barnacles on the prop causing cavitations and venting. (Sounds like a problem I once had with my body too)

Steve went out with five members of the Albox fishing club consisting of ‘Squiddly Sid’, ‘Tiddlerwinks John’, ‘Dennis the Menace’, ‘Bodo’ and a nice guy called Gary. They fished the area in front of the Garrucha lighthouse in depths of 100ft to 500ft plus in great flat sea conditions with light ENE winds. The shallow waters produced nothing with the best fishing being in 300ft plus and especially in the 500ft hole. Plenty of fish were caught including Atlantic and Spanish mackerel. blue mouths of a good size, pandoras, comber's, swallow tailed sea perch, banded and twin banded bream. Gary struck into something big which was possibly a conger eel but got snapped after a 10 minute battle to get it off the bottom. Steve said him and his mates are getting snapped above the traces in this area which he now thinks is due to the congers running deep into an underwater cave or crevice and the braid and nylon rubbing on sharp rock edges above the ridge, time for bigger tackle!

See photo of Bodo with a swallowtail and a pandora.

See photo of John and a striped bream.

They fished well into the afternoon in the perfect conditions with plenty of fish to make them all contented. Highlights of the trip were being visited by a decent size dolphin fish (Called Lampuki in Spanish) which hung around the boat taking bait remnants but not taking their rigs even with the famous silver paper additions to their hooks.

Steve was out again the following day with ‘Paul the Rope’, ‘Chef Jeremy’ and ‘Martin the Butcher’ of Turre (He is harmless, honest!). They set off promptly in near perfect conditions with a flat sea and a light NE wind turning SW during the afternoon. Steve thought they should continue on the previous day’s success and fish the area in front of the Garrucha lighthouse from 150ft to 500ft but it was soon evident the fish were again in the deeper water. Several good fish were caught including nice size blue mouths, a red scorpion fish, Atlantic and Spanish mackerel, combers and good size pandoras, hake, whiting and a nice red gurnard. (Don’t forget a photo of the next whiting please Steve because I’ve never seen one caught in the Med)

See photo of Martin and a red snapper.

Paul lost several good fish until he changed his trace for bigger hooks and was rewarded with a nice Red Snapper. Martin struck into something big which again was a typical conger take only to get his tackle broke in the same way, above the trace. This was followed shortly by Jeremy striking into a big fish which turned out to be a 4 to 5 ft conger and was this time it was landed on the boat with Jeremy grinning like a Cheshire cat planning the best way to prepare and cook it!

See photo of Jeremy with a red scorpion fish and another with his conger (Sorry about the photos)

Steve set up some heavy tackle with wire traces, large stainless steel hook with a live baited pandora and 50lb nylon on a 70 lb Fjord rod. After a couple of hours he got a take and felt the suspected conger dive deep and anchor itself into some hole or crevice. There it stayed finally breaking Steve’s tackle in the same place, above the trace on the main line. Steve is beginning to think there are some enormous congers down in that hole which makes the challenge even more exciting! (I have landed many congers to 65lbs in the Garrucha area and have had much bigger ones on and so agree Steve)

The gang stayed out into the afternoon enjoying the beautiful ideal Mediterranean conditions. Highlights of the day was watching flying fish a visit by a curious sunfish (Pez Luna as called by the Spanish) which was happy to entertain them with its jumping and swimming tricks.

‘London Bill’ fished Macenas Rocks during the week’s rough seas and had some good catches of small sea bass and meagre, also small tuna including blue fins and frigates.

Maggot’s End

‘Baza Barry’ fished a couple of rivers north of Negratin and caught barbel to 5lbs and small trout. Maggot was the winner every time and my advice to free line a worm downriver failed miserably, oh well next time Barry.

This week’s Rods and Reels match was held on the Rio Segura at Murcia. The water was still high and pushing through, and although there had been a match on the venue the day before, it still fished quite well. The reeds that had been cut down several weeks ago to water level are now some 3 feet plus tall and growing like Topsy. It won´t be long before they are back where they were 4 weeks ago.

Top rods on the day.

1st Ian (Irish Wizard) Dalzell fishing the pole using pellet with 33.1/2lbs.
2nd Dave (Yours Truly) fishing the pole using pellet with 26.1/2lbs.
3rd Lenny (Ex Cultural Attache) Bolton fishing the pole using maggot with 11.1/4lbs.

This week’s Abbey Angling’s match was fished on the River Segura at Murcia. They are not sure what is about to happen, while they were fishing there was half a dozen men, some in working clothes on the far bank, pointing and waving their arms at the area as if some development was being discussed. It has been rumoured the fishing stretch was going to be moved to the far side, we will have to await any development in due course.

1st Dave (Yours Truly) Hoare with 44.1/4lbs fishing the pole and pellet
2nd Lennie (Ex Cultural Attache) Bolton with 43.1/2lbs fishing pole pellet and paste
3rd Richard (The Lion Heart) King with 38.3/4lbs fishing pole and sweetcorn

All details are available from our web site www.abbeyangling.com or from the match secretary Terry Screen on 965328368

Angler’s Together meetings are held in two locations each month. Anyone with an interest in fishing (sea or freshwater) is welcome to come along to a meeting to see what we’re about.
The next meetings are:

Friday 7th October at 12 o’clock at Mary’s Bar, Campoverde (near Pilar de la Horadada).

Saturday 8th October at 12 o’clock at The New Royal Bar and Restaurant at El Alamillo, opposite the sea-front between Isla Plana and Puerto de Mazarron.

For further details ring Alan Roscoe 968 570 876

Email: anglerstogetherHotmail.co.uk

The Albox fishing club meets every two weeks at the Azafran restaurant. For the next meeting tel 677 655 049

For further information on any of the above or to find out about beach, boat or coarse fishing licenses, see John at the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or tel 950 473 099. In case of difficulty reaching me (Probably out fishing) ask staff for my mobile number.

See more about the Beachcomber, past fishing reports and photos. www.beachcombermojacar.com

Checkout Mojacar’s weather and sea conditions here on the Beachcomber’s webcam. www.beachcombermojacar.com/beachcomber-webcam/

Tight Lines, Beachcomber John.

MikeTheBass

09-10-2011, 21:02

Nice report, as ever.
Can't believe Jeremy holding a Scorpion fish! However careful you are, it's not something I'd ever do. I know some are not much worse than a bee sting but I wouldn't want to take the chance.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

10-10-2011, 09:32

MikeTheBass

10-10-2011, 21:51

Hi Mike, I must admit to also holding rockfish without protection and did once get a sting which to me was like a nettle sting. Blue mouths and combers can also give a very mild sting. The only fish I am really careful with is the weaver which has put many a mate in intensive care. John.

Yes I do understand what you're saying but I know there are some around that look quite like the mild stingers and yet can give a very poisonous sting, so I prefer safer than sorry. I had one three years ago in Lanzarote, where I didn't feel a thing and yet two hours later, my hand and wrist was like a balloon and hurting like hell, and I used a thick cloth! Not again!
There's one variety that I have caught in Gibraltar that sent the locals into panic mode. Having said that, they still wanted it for the pot.
Agree with the Weavers, it's always a case of a cloth and shoe holding it gently down while I unhook. Always want to get them back unharmed. Sometimes very difficult throwing a fish back while you're carefully holding it in a cloth.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

10-10-2011, 22:09

I didn't realise any of the rockfish gave a bad sting and will warn the local lads and lassies. Cheers, John.

Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar

13-10-2011, 13:39

‘Kenolo tells me he’s been beach fishing at Pozo (Just south of San Juan) a few times lately and although he’s caught fish every time, says not big but edible such as striped bream and combers.

‘Hissing Sid’ went out with ‘Los Gallardos Tony’ and ‘Sea Sick Alan’. Alan has now got his sea legs so in future will be known as ‘Rock fish Alan’.
Fishing was slow; they fished in water from 40 feet to 500 with just a few fish being caught. There was not much showing on the fish finder either and it makes Sid wonder where all the fish have gone. (They are in trawlers nets being fished inshore Steve)

See photo of Tony with a pandora.
See photo of Alan and a blue mouthed rose bellied rockfish.

Tony made a big splash when they got back into port as he tried to jump ashore but changed his mind mid way and decided to check the depth of water in the marina. (Oops and Sid said he wouldn't say anything HA-HA)

I notice two trawlers are in Garrucha harbour and presume they are in for refitting or braking up. One is the green Xmas tree trawler that fishes inshore so let’s pray it’s the latter!

‘Orca Steve’s first trip out in the week was with "Los Lobos Mike", "Danny the Pike" and "Extreme Snapper Ray". They set off and fished in idyllic conditions with a slight swell and light ENE winds in Steve’s current favourite spot opposite the Garrucha lighthouse.
They drifted over several depths from 120ft to over 500ft with most of the fish being taken in water 300ft and deeper. They initially caught pandoras, combers, blue mouths, Atlantic and Spanish mackerel, pouting, swallow tailed sea perch and red rockfish. The latter which were of good size and coming thick and fast from the 500ft hole.

Mike struck into what Steve described as a typical conger take which he fought hard only to get snapped (yet again)! They drifted slowly towards the shore where Ray got a great lift bite and ended up landing a nice sun fish. They settled in 300ft water during a wind free period where Ray again struck into a good fish which turned out to be the biggest red snapper that Steve has seen all year. After a period of catching no fish they returned to the 500ft hole where they again started catching the usual suspects and where Steve struck into what he could only describe as a conger and which he fought for 10 minutes until getting snapped yet again. They had a great day in perfect sea conditions, it's off to the tackle shop for Steve now for some 70lb nylon and heavier rigs for them congers, and they are not going to beat him he says!
(I would normally comment about loosening the clutch but I can’t talk and have my own sob story to tell later)

See Photo of Ray with his red snapper and sunfish.
See photo of Danny and a pandora.
See photo of Mike and a couple of blue mouths.

Steve’s second trip was out with "Pickerel Steve" and "Surfer Dave" and again they were met with beautiful settled conditions of a slight swell and light NW wind turning SW at 1pm. They followed on from the previous days success and fished the area in front of the Garrucha lighthouse and going straight out to the 500ft hole. Fishing was brisk with plenty of the usual suspects with the addition of a European eel which tried to take Steve’s finger end off!
Dave was catching well and at one stage landed a whole family of 5 Blue mouths on one trace whilst Steve was living up to his nickname and landing good size pickerels and pandoras. At one stage Steve dropped his bait into the hole and got a take as soon as it hit the bottom but on winding up what he described as a "Little un" he got hit by something big which stopped his wind up dead and proceeded to take line. He fought it for a couple of minutes but his lighter tackle (25lb braid and trace) was no match for the monster that was on the other end and was snapped on the short hook trace and he brought up a lonely comber which looked like it had seen a ghost (Or a monster Conger)
During a nice dead spot they tried again in the 250 ft area where Steve got a lift bite followed shortly after by a big fish jumping out of the water a few times 30 yds from the boat. His line soon followed to the same place which is when he realised he had hooked the fish, a beautiful sunfish which he quickly landed on to the boat. This was Steve’s second sunfish this year and the take was identical to the bigun that he landed back in May now famously now known as "Nessie"!

Dave caught a European eel which decided to twist his tackle into the mother of all tangles which needed the scissors (and the eels head removing) before they could sort it out!
They finished off the day with a trolling session covering several areas including in front of the harbour wall but with little success and no takes.

See photo of Steve with his sunfish.
See photo of Steve and his European eel.
See photo of Dave with his 5 blue mouths.
See photo of Steve (Pickerel Steve) with a pandora and blue mouth.

I went out of with Steve and was joined by ‘Chef Jeremy’ and ‘Paul the Rope’. It was a good day but a bit more wind than we had expected. We started with 4 knot off shore wind which slowly turned 180 degrees and strengthened. We drift fished between the Repsol garage on the Mojacar road and the Garrucha harbour at various depths between 120 and 600 feet plus with most fish coming from deeper waters.
Paul and Jeremy quickly lost congers by one of the two usual methods, one bit off half the mackerel feather trace and weight and the other the line broke against a sharp rock I imagine.
In future it may be worth starting the boats engine and getting directly over the fish then being more likely to pull the conger’s head up off the bottom.

We caught a good variety of fish including a nice red rock fish for me, Steve had an unusual fork beard and Paul landed a good blue mouth. Other fish caught were combers, swallow tails, pandoras and pouting.

See photo of me and my pouting.
See photo of me and my rockfish. (Note that after Mike's warning last week I'm holding it a bit more carefully)
See photo of Paul and his best blue mouth.
See photo of Steve and his fork beard.

Because of the presence of congers in the area we were fishing, I put out a conger rig with a pandora dead bait and whole prawn combination. This rig was drifted well away from the boat and other angler’s baits. Drifting from deep water to shallow was always going to be trouble and I was not surprised to get my lead stuck on or in something on the bottom. At the same time on the other rod I was bringing up a decent fish and also got in a tangle with Jeremy.
I had plenty of line on the conger rig and loosened the clutch to let it take line until we had our two fish landed and the tangle sorted. It was then my plan to get Steve to move the boat above the snagged rig for a better chance of getting it back. Anyway as I picked up the rod and tightened down the rig was no longer snagged and was attached to a conger! After a two minute battle I lost it and was gutted to find my swivel link had come apart and it wasn’t because I was putting too much pressure on the fish and rig, I was gutted after ridiculing everyone else for losing congers lately.

Another thing that happened was when I brought up a big pandora to find it had gashes on each side of its body and remembered feeling something on the way up but had put it down to the hooked fish making a last ditch attempt to get off, in my book it was a barracuda.

See photo of a tiddler that came from the mouth of a comber, lots of them were dead on the sea surface. If anyone knows what species it is I would appreciate knowing. (Sorry about the out of focus photo)

‘Captain Cuba’, his partner, ‘Admiral Phil’ and a mate came out and fished for a couple of hours but caught nothing worth mentioning. They fished the big holes right in front of Garrucha Harbour. They didn’t anchor up which is probably the answer to fishing these very prolific holes. (That is if last year’s results are anything to go by)

See photo of Brian and Phil’s boat being put through its paces.

‘Kenolo’ fished Lake Negratin and saw two nice trout being pulled out, he says he didn’t know he could fish there and will take his tackle next time. It’s a different license Ken so check out what you have.

‘Baza Barry’ has been concentrating on fishing rivers again north of Negratin and says he is only catching small trout and barbel.

Maggot’s End

The Rods and reels match this week was held on the Rio Segura, Eden canal stretch. Again this week, where the bamboo has grown, most anglers had to cut some vegetation away just to enable a reasonable day’s fishing.
This week was the calamity week for Dave Hoare. Just into the last hour of the match, float goes under, he strikes and pulled back the pole to see his top 2 sections going in a different direction to that of the pole. He watched as they started to go through the undergrowth on the far bank then stopped with just 3-4 inches showing above the surface. Then the record from the Clash came to mind “Should I stay or should I go “. Kit off down to his under pants and dived into the river. It´s probably easier to say what you won’t catch than what might be in there. Anyway, Dave grabbed his pole section “no fish on the end” and swam back desperately trying not to touch anything. Dave’s mate next door came and helped him out, giving him a low score for the entry, but top marks for the recovery. Kids don´t try this at home.

It reminds me of when I swam 150 yards for my sinking £1200 bait boat when fishing with my grandson Rhys and ‘Birds Nest Phil. To help me swim back Phil cast a 3 oz lead over my shoulder (Good cast Phil) and pulled me back the last few yards to shore. What a stupid thing I did, a bait boat is not worth your life eh?

Top rods on the day
1st Ian (Irish Wizard) Dalzell fishing the pole using pellet with 39lbs.
2nd Stan (The Man) Roberts fishing the pole using pellet with 31.1/3rd.
3rd Dave (Yours Truly) Hoare fishing the pole using corn with 31.1/5thlbs.

Abbeys Angling’s match was again fished on the river Segura in Murcia town centre. The water level has now dropped about a foot with little flow, and it is now drying up nicely under the bridge.
All the top anglers seemed to be drawn together on the first six pegs, this made for an interesting fishing match.

1st Stan