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Ebro Hints and Tips

Ian Wakeford

I don't claim to have completely worked the Ebro out.  I don' think anyone will.  But each trip I learn a little more and I thought it would be useful to document a few pointers to help first time Ebro trippers find fish.  

Catfish are basically eating and sleeping machines.  You have to think like them, where can they hang out for most of the day curled up with their colleagues within striking distance of a good meal.  Ebro Cats tend to feed on Carp and Mullet, the latter of which are found only in the lower 30 miles.  Running a sounder over the Ebro you will notice that vast stretches are devoid of fish and then suddenly you will hit huge shoals of fodder fish.  These shoals are so vast and tightly packed that the sounder will falsely report 2 foot of water when in fact it is 20 feet deep.  These shoals are attracted by common features, inlet streams, sewer outfalls and eddies and slacks.  These will be target areas for catfish.  Below is a picture taken of an inlet stream, it shoals the water is black with 1lb mullet most of whom are swimming in a few inches of water.

Catfish will attack the fish in these areas on a hit and run raid, this can happen in the day but if you sit around at dusk catfish attacks will be quite relentless on these areas.  The mullet will eventually scatter and head for deeper water, usually the carnage is all over by midnight.

Sewers are the greatest catfish hotspots of all.  Many of the Ebro village sewers have gradually been closed, this has caused problems for many of the Ebro guides.  They were reliant on anchoring up on these marks and the catfish would always be there, attracted by the smell and the fodder fish.  Sewage is not the only item pumped into the Ebro, outlets from abattoirs and animal processing is also pumped straight out into the river.  To us in the UK this sounds abhorrent, but the fish life seems to thrive on this kind of pollution.  So find an outlet and fish downstream of it, cats will be sure to be around.  The picture below shows a greasy slick along the right bank, this is an outlet from a chicken processing factory and is a known hotspot on the Ebro with many cats to over 100lb being produced from this mark.  Note the two white floats trotting down in the flow.

If you are failing to identify fish shoals or outlets then look to cover as much water as possible, catfish will be everywhere it is just that they are more active in fodder fish areas.  They may be hiding up in a deep hole, slack water or behind a fallen tree.  These cats are best tempted by drifting over them in a boat with a shallow fished livebait.  Clonking may also help to raise their interest levels as they may not have food on there mind.  Although not a hard and fast rule I usually find that fodder fish tend to keep to the margins of 12 - 8 feet depth.  Catfish seem to occupy deeper water than this but will not usually be found right out in the middle of the river, the current is very strong and the water is very cold.  Why make life difficult.  For a drift try and find a line where the fast water and the margin slacks meet.  This is called the crease and usually marks the boundary between 8 feet and the 20 plus feet navigation channel.

Drifting the crease - hard work in the Spanish spring sun!

And finally there is the night.  Catfish are nocturnal feeders.  They are caught in the day and the majority of fishing for them is in the day.  But this is more due to the restrictions on bank fishing and night camping and the proliferation of river guides, who can only operate during daylight hours.  If you can find a spot which can be legally fished and offers some of the above pointers then great catches can be had. 

An average fish form the Lower Ebro, 82lb caught at night

And now a warning......

Treat Spain as you would your local syndicate lake 

• do not leave any litter
• don't light fires 
• don't get drunk in local bars and cause trouble
• make sure you get a license to fish
• obey and fishing restrictions, if it's no fishing because it's a nature reserve, it means it is no fishing!

As a result much of the Ebro is being tightly patrolled by the Police and resentment exists by locals who find that village swims are occupied by drunken English louts who are there for the sun and cheap booze first and catfish second.