Flipper
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2020
- Messages
- 263
- Reaction score
- 1,166
- Points
- 93
- Location
- Devon
- Favourite Fishing
- Shore
We have just returned from a short stay just south of Valencia and in terms of catches it was a bit of a non event. I picked up a nasty D&V bug from somewhere and so my fishing was limited to a grand total of about 1 1/2 hrs
Still wasn’t a blank as I landed 2 Palometa and a yellow finned jack type fish which I have yet to identify. Two were caught on a 20g jig and one on the tried and tested HTO Glide surface lure. So not a great return. However, research did suggest that the area was renowned for Gilts and there were lots of anglers trying the beaches, sadly my lack of Spanish meant I could not confirm that Gilts were there primary target. As with all angling the range of dedication and ability was fully on display. One guy I watched for 3 days running fishing a rocky pier did a fantastic job of groundbaiting and fishing one rod on float and one on the bottom, it was a masterclass that a freshwater matchman would thoroughly approve of and he bagged up on small bream. Great to see that unlike a lot of his fellow anglers he respected the size limits and was a joy to watch.
There were some top class anglers fishing the beach too, mainly at dawn, but, also late afternoon into dusk. Some of the casting distance achieved was fantastic, they were using continental rods, fixed spools and one hook pats, with long free flowing snoods, no clips. As said I could not discuss tactics, but, given the incredibly clear bottom, I can only assume they dropped the line diameter to help buy extra distance.
Highlight of the trip was my wife seeing one of the dedicated locals land a cracking Gilt weighing between 4-5lb, apparently it gave him the right run around. Yet again this decent sized fish was landed at long range, like almost all of the few sizeable fish landed that we saw.
As usual loads of mullet in the harbours, although not many fish over 2lb, probably due to the pressure they were under from the local anglers.
One crazy event happened on our penultimate day, the usual 6 or 7 anglers fishing a total of about 10-14 rods were quite happy trying their luck on the rocky pier protecting the harbour, next thing two morons in wetsuits and spear gear jumped in halfway along the pier and spent the next two hours working the rest of the length of the pier and up to 50 yards out, trying to clear the place of any fish left. I was genuinely speechless at their selfish actions and grateful for the cool waters we have back at home!
So next time I would probably take the LRF gear instead of the bigger lure gear, but, if you are a bait angler I would definitely look at taking some gear and trying for the gilts.
Final tip is for driving in Valencia, its a free for all in rush hour so be brave and pay for the excess insurance
Still wasn’t a blank as I landed 2 Palometa and a yellow finned jack type fish which I have yet to identify. Two were caught on a 20g jig and one on the tried and tested HTO Glide surface lure. So not a great return. However, research did suggest that the area was renowned for Gilts and there were lots of anglers trying the beaches, sadly my lack of Spanish meant I could not confirm that Gilts were there primary target. As with all angling the range of dedication and ability was fully on display. One guy I watched for 3 days running fishing a rocky pier did a fantastic job of groundbaiting and fishing one rod on float and one on the bottom, it was a masterclass that a freshwater matchman would thoroughly approve of and he bagged up on small bream. Great to see that unlike a lot of his fellow anglers he respected the size limits and was a joy to watch.
There were some top class anglers fishing the beach too, mainly at dawn, but, also late afternoon into dusk. Some of the casting distance achieved was fantastic, they were using continental rods, fixed spools and one hook pats, with long free flowing snoods, no clips. As said I could not discuss tactics, but, given the incredibly clear bottom, I can only assume they dropped the line diameter to help buy extra distance.
Highlight of the trip was my wife seeing one of the dedicated locals land a cracking Gilt weighing between 4-5lb, apparently it gave him the right run around. Yet again this decent sized fish was landed at long range, like almost all of the few sizeable fish landed that we saw.
As usual loads of mullet in the harbours, although not many fish over 2lb, probably due to the pressure they were under from the local anglers.
One crazy event happened on our penultimate day, the usual 6 or 7 anglers fishing a total of about 10-14 rods were quite happy trying their luck on the rocky pier protecting the harbour, next thing two morons in wetsuits and spear gear jumped in halfway along the pier and spent the next two hours working the rest of the length of the pier and up to 50 yards out, trying to clear the place of any fish left. I was genuinely speechless at their selfish actions and grateful for the cool waters we have back at home!
So next time I would probably take the LRF gear instead of the bigger lure gear, but, if you are a bait angler I would definitely look at taking some gear and trying for the gilts.
Final tip is for driving in Valencia, its a free for all in rush hour so be brave and pay for the excess insurance
