Rainbow on the lakes will have to do for the moment...

Sweet anticipation as I look forward to the early days of spring and the return to the rivers. Spent a few hours on one of the local lakes today just to keep my hand in. Best day of the year so far with warm sunshine on my back and light winds. Loads of early bird song, Buzzards displaying overhead and Green Woodpecker checking out its territory. Managed to bank one nice Rainbow but missed several tentative plucks. All on a black thread body buzzer, flashbou rib and section of red electric cable sleeve as the head. Retrieve just sufficient to keep me in contact with the fly. The fish came on the feed for just 30 minutes then nothing. Loads of medium sized Carp cruising but more interested in spawning than feeding.

Surfing Tenerife

Surfed about handful of times over past couple of weeks. Surf small but perfectly formed little reef break waves over the mile strip at Las Americas. I tended to surf early mornings as the crowds do not appear until mid morning and the wind is either non existent or light offshore. Some days I would surf  Piscinas (El Conquistador) and when the swell was bigger I headed to the break just out from Spanish Left. Piscinas is nice relatively mellow peak, having both a right and left, which is less busy. I often found myself surfing this break alone. Outside of Spanish Left  is a less competitive left with the odd right section over flat sandy rock. It is a nice left wave when there is a bit more swell but gets busy with locals and visiting surfers. There are other better waves here like La Derecha , a right that breaks across to Piscinas, and Spanish Left but the take off spots are confined and the locals are unlikely to do you any favours!

Piscinas right

Left outside Spanish Left

Piscinas

Sea fishing Tenerife style

Just spent last couple of weeks in Tenerife. Fished most days from the jetties or rocky beaches in south. Used different tactics including float fishing with a mash of bread and tinned fish, fly fishing and bubble float. Caught mixed bag of small fish including a few schoolie Bass from Palm Mar beach, Gilthead Bream (Dorado) and a number of Damsel fish on the fly no less from the beach at Caleta. The Bass I think were escapees from the fish farms just offshore as everyone who was catching caught them the same size. The locals bring the Bass in with pellets similar to carp fishing. Mine where caught on my bouncy ball rig or bubble float with a Clouser trailed behind. Loads of Mackerel jumping and coming in on the tide at Las Americas but just out of casting range. When I did hook one I lost my tackle on the lava reef. Frustrating but fun in the warm sunny weather. I think the island needs a catch and release policy as every fish I saw hooked, regardless of size, ended up in a bucket. Crazy numbers of Portuguese Man of War jellyfish getting washed up made for wary wading - I was amazed I never got stung or saw anyone suffering a sting.

Damsel on the bread fly!