The little all-purpose cane
Extremadura's large lakes are teeming with black bass, but are becoming increasingly populated with pike-perch, so you'll need a rod that can do both. For shore fishing, a spinning rod is essential to achieve sufficient casting distances. A 5-21 gram or 7-28 gram rod, between 2m10 and 2m40, with a fast action if possible, will enable you to cast soft lures for linear fishing, wacky worms and various rigs, notably the drop-shot, which is very effective when activity is low.
To equip this rod, a reel in size 2500 or 3000 with a low ratio, to be as precise as possible in linear animations. Add to this an 8-strand braid of 11 or 13 hundredths and you'll have an ideal outfit for pike-perch and black-bass fishing throughout your stay.
The ideal pike rod
Pike fishing in Extremadura's large lakes is not necessarily the same as in our French lakes. Pike feed mainly on small prey (under 15 cm), notably bleak, small pike-perch and small black-bass. There's no need to bring along a big bait rod, as these are not very effective. On the other hand, you will need a long casting rod, capable of casting long distances, for slow fishing in open water or fast fishing over weed beds.
The lures we use most are generally 12 or 15 cm shads, mounted on lead heads ranging from 7 to 28 grams depending on depth. This weight of lure and lead head requires a rod in 14-42 grams or 28-84 grams, at least 2m10 long, equipped with a size 200 casting reel and 20-centime braid.
Fly or ultra light
For your third set, you have a choice: fly or ultralight. In the large lakes of Extremadura, the comizo barbel is found in large numbers, a fantastic fish to sight-fish, as aggressive as it is combative. It is frequently fished with small 5-7 cm swimmers, but dry flies and small streamers are much more effective.
Of course, not all lure anglers are fly fishermen, so an ultra-light rod, 1-8 grams or 5-14 grams maximum, will be ideal for casting small lures at a good distance. For spinning rods, a reel in size 1500 or 2000 with 10-hundredths braid is ideal. For fly fishing, if you like sport, a 3-grain line is the minimum. Most anglers, however, use a 5 line, as fights can be very difficult to manage when you're just starting out.
