Well the weather so far this year has on the most part been absolutely dreadful. So bad in fact that I didn't venture out at all in January. Very frustrating so when I spotted some flights to Santander on the north coast of Spain for the bargain price of £45 return I treated my girlfriend Lillian and my light game travel rod to a short break there at the start of February. When we arrived the temperature was certainly an improvement on Edinburgh but there was no escape from the latest Atlantic storm system and its strong winds. After dropping our bags off at our hotel we went for a walk around the Peninsula de la Magdalena. Its coastline was being battered by the sea and all the spots I had picked out on Google Maps to wet a line were unfishable really.
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| Big waves breaking right up the rocks meant a rethink was in order. |
A bit disappointed we headed up the estuary into town so I could fish for an hour or so. I tried at a few spots as we rambled along but there didn't seem to be any fish around. My persistence finally paid off though when I was rewarded with a very aggressive take that completely took me by surprise. The fish that had attacked my Angleworm was soon landed.
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| Opening my Santander account was real struggle. |
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| A rather colourful little common comber. A nice first fish of 2016. |
The next day it was still very windy but the sun was shining again so we went for a nice walk along the coast to Faro de Cabo Mayor, a lighthouse that sits above the cliffs to the west of Santander. I took my gear but suspected that the swell would make fishing impossible again. I was proved right.
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| Not really light game conditions. A stunning stretch of coastline though and the power of the sea was impressive too. |
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| Eventually we reached the lighthouse. In calmer conditions I think there would be some nice fishing to be had where the sea could be accessed. |
Arriving back at the hotel Lillian wanted an afternoon siesta so I jumped on a bus and headed back to where I had caught the comber the previous day. Things were slow again so I walked further into town. Passing an unusual set of sculptures I started getting a few little taps on my Angleworm and caught a few little fish.
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| Normally I hate it when kids jump in next to where I'm fishing and spook all the fish. |
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| My hard work was finally rewarded with an Atlantic horse mackerel. |
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| I also managed to catch three of these little black seabream before heading back to the hotel. |
On days three it rained heavily so Lillian suggested we head to the Maritime Museum. From the outside it didn't look like it would be that good but we were pleasantly surprised by the whale skeletons on display inside and the aquariums in the basement. As well as the usual seabream, bass and shark species in the main tank there were some large Atlantic wreckfish.
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| Wish I could have caught some of these. They'd have put a real good bend in my rod! |
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| These were very curious and came right up to the glass to have a look at us. |
Our last day in Santander saw more heavy rain battering the city so we sought shelter and enjoyed some tasty tapas and drinks before heading to the airport to fly home. It had been a pleasant relaxing trip to a lovely place. The fishing wasn't great but I'm sure in the summer the estuary and the open sea would provide many excellent fishing opportunities so I may return sometime in the future to find out.
Tight lines, Scott.
