A festival!!! 53 in half a day, that's really huge! The contract is already fulfilled at mid-day! And then a double on the first throw, you hadn't done that for us yet.
Tony : Actually, we hadn't done that yet! (Laughs). So, to be precise, we caught 53 pike-perch in 2 and a half hours of fishing; in fact, what you don't see in the episode is that we start later, because it's about a 3-hour drive to get to the area, and so we start fishing at around 9 am.
We really worked our asses off all the way to the finish, and even throughout the week (we found this spot 5 days before the round), as we were dependent on a number of parameters, particularly the flow rate, as there are a lot of dams in Spain. In these conditions, fishing can change completely from one day to the next.
During the prefishing, your fishing results were just as indecent?
Tony : No, because we didn't insist. We'd found them, and found them well, in the prefishing area, but when you know you've got a competition to follow, you obviously leave them alone. But clearly we knew they were there, and that's why we were willing to drive and hike many miles to get to the spot.
You're talking about a secret place. Does that mean no fishing?
Tony : It's a spot we discovered in prefishing thanks to our friend Pédro, because we worked a lot with him. We can't say it enough, but it's a team effort and there are not just two of us in the team, but three. So a big thank you to Pedro! He played a big part in our success.
It's a totally unspoilt area, accessible only by 4X4. It's a place totally untouched by fishing pressure, or even human activity.
Can you explain the configuration of the spot?
Tony : In fact, if you look at the shores, you can understand the configuration of the area. These are very steep, sharp rock peaks. We throw in around 8 to 9 m on a plateau and at the foot of the cliff where we're stationed there are around 6 metres. In the area, we find the small ones in the distance, then the medium ones closer and the biggest ones were really at our feet. It's not easy to fish, especially as the level had risen by 1m40 compared with our prefishing, but they were still there!
We can see that Relax is fishing a deep spot (9 to 10m) up the slope. Can you tell us how to go about fishing this type of spot?
Tony : When fishing up fairly steep slopes, the key is to find the right weight and density of lure to stay close to the bottom without snagging. We mainly use linear fishing with some contact on the bottom. But if you're too heavy, you tend to get hooked way too often, as these are spots with lots of rocks and obstacles.
Equipment is also important, and you need long rods to be able to control your banner and have amplitude.
By the way, Relax is in Spain too. Are they in an area you've fished before?
Tony : I don't think so, but really, I don't know because I can't identify which lake they're on. I don't recognize that bridge you see behind it. They say they're in Extramadura, so probably one of the big lakes. Besides, I can't say I've got a great sense of direction (laughs), and all the lakes look the same and are huge, so you can get to know a lake very well without having been to the same area.
Does access to the second spot look more complicated? Is the configuration different from the first, and the fish population as well?
Tony : It's a small bay with a concentration of fish, much less than the previous spot. But during the prefishing we had hit some bigger ones, hence our change of strategy.
Once again, access is complicated and you have to walk a lot, as this is an arid zone where there are only cows, vultures, ewes and wild boars, so there are no roads... You need a good 4X4 and to walk. It's a good thing we had Pedro's 4X4, because we had all our own equipment, as well as that of the cameraman!
On the boat, you mainly opted for an NFC blank 705HM, which option did you choose on board?
Tony : So here we went for Rodbuilders Républic's Statement 766 and NFC's 807 HM, because we needed longer rods to get around that rock on the bank. We also needed power to extract fish and be able to cast bigger lures to select.
We can't see it on the screen, but the rock in front of us is in the way and I even break on a nice fish that would have counted for the top 5, as my braid rubs on the rock.
Similarly, you told us that you fished mainly with BM 120 in 12 and 18 grams, and from the shore we can see that the lures have changed!
Tony : So, here we fish heavier and bigger, because we want to select and also fish fast being in a numbers objective. You have to realize that our lure sometimes didn't have time to hit the bottom because the small pike-perches are so numerous and fast. So we fished bigger to select them and faster to link them up.
We fish really fast to get in as much as we can, so we over-fish! I'm on Black Minnow 140 and 160 (in 20 and 30 gr) so that the smallest ones hit it, but don't get bitten. As for Stéphane, he uses Crazy Paddle Tail 150 and 180 with 20, 30 and 35 gram lead heads.
So, between the long rod and the heavy lures, we could really fish at the foot of the drop-off, flush with the rock, where the biggest fish were posted. A small lure would have been caught straight away and we wouldn't have been able to pick out the bigger ones.
Stéphane explains that the blue is ideal for imitating the numerous bleak in the area. Has this color really made a difference?
Tony : In truth, I don't think so, but it's always reassuring to think so, because the pike-perch are on bleak in this area. But I'm sure that despite the number of fish we're catching, we're dealing with posted fish and not hunting fish, they're just very numerous. As a result, they're opportunistic and attack lures passing by. So, I don't think the color is really a determining factor.
It's also important to understand that pike-perch in Spain, because of the warm water and strong competition for food, always need to feed a little and as soon as an opportunity presents itself, they seize it.
All the fish we catch are really concentrated and in a small area of about 300 m2. It's a small area, but if you cast outside it, you don't get a bite.
Can't wait for the next episode to see if you can get that Top 5 point?
Tony : We're looking forward to it too, but clearly we put a little pressure on them at the call and they all changed their strategy and dropped the numbers. We've achieved our objective, but we're hoping for a big score and a surprise in the top 5. On the first spot there were bound to be some 80cmers in the bunch, but we didn't take them. They're not the fastest and we didn't manage to catch them, so we're hoping to increase our top 5 on the second spot!
