I have now been living in Spain for over a year so I thought it was time to fill you in on what has been happening. Where to begin...

I live in a region called Extremadura which is a rural part of Spain. In this beautiful region are many Embalsa’s or damned lakes. On my doorstep is the impressive water called Sierra Brava and this lake has become my local venue – how lucky am I!

I decided at the end of 2010 to venture forth and set up my own guiding business for carp anglers. In my eyes Sierra Brava is the ideal venture for anglers as the fishing is fantastic. At just over 5000 hectares and brimming with hard fighting carp, Sierra Brava really is the place of dreams. Mountain ranges are set to one side of the lake and combined with the amazing wildlife; you are guaranteed incredible views throughout the year.

Sierra Brava Dreams was launched in March of 2011. My first two clients were Dutch and they had a very good holiday catching 28 carp to mid-thirties. Marcellus walked away with two personal bests and he is returning next year to try to beat them! I equip my clients with a range of high quality tackle, giving them the best chance to hook and land their carp. Being a Sonik consultant I was very keen to use Sonik’s range of rods, and after fishing at Sierra Brava myself for several sessions, I was beginning to get a feel for the place, and more importantly, learning which rod works best.

Close range fishing is the best technique as the carp simply love the margins. Boats are banned on this lake which is really good news – you don’t need them! The carp are incredibly strong, and when hooked, they run with tremendous speed and power. In my armoury of Sonik tools I own a set of the SK3 12ft 2.5lb t/c. These are my rod of choice on this water as I find you can still cast a good distance if needed, but most importantly, they are very forgiving with fish at close range. By applying side strain when using mono I can stop any fish in its tracks if I need to. The choice of rod is so important – I cannot emphasise that enough. If you suffer from hook-pulls frequently, it is usually down to the choice of rod, and the fact you are bullying the fish too much. You have to feel what is happening on the hook and down the line, and with a softer action rod this is much easier to gauge.

For my clients I decided to choose the SK3 2.75lb t/c models. The reason for this is many anglers have 12ft 3.5lb t/c rods because they follow trends and buy what everyone else is buying. Most anglers in all honesty do not need such a tool! The great thing with the SK3 2.75lb version is it’s actually more like a 3lb t/c rod, but still has the playing characteristics of a soft action rod. A competent angler could cast well over 100 yards but still be able to hold a strong carp under the rod tip on a short line, allowing the tip to absorb the carp’s power. How you play a carp is very important and the rod and you should be like one smooth machine – in tune with each other.

Occasionally I will carry different rods for my clients. In the daytime the carp often move slightly further out into the deeper water and I then like to cast long range with a small bright pop-up and a tiny pva stick, containing crushed boilie and some tuna fish. I have caught many carp for my clients using this technique and I use my SK4 3.5lb t/c rods with a large baitrunner, loaded with Gold Label 12lb Pro line. Combined with a shock leader I can really get the lead to fly and hit long distances.

Spodding is a great technique and at Brava it is the best technique going. I soon developed my style using a Spomb and a spod mix; containing maize, tigers, maize flour, tuna fish, chopped, crushed and whole boilies and some liquid attractors. The carp love it! I therefore got the SK3 spod and marker rods; one for myself and additional sets for my clients. Many clients haven’t spodded before but with my expert tuition and the ability of the rods, the clients are soon hitting the marker each time, creating a good bed of bait to fish to. Combined with a Diawa Emblem Spod reel and a Spomb; you can really hit big distances

Sierra Brava is one of the rare lakes that fishes all year round. It never freezes over and I am actually fishing now as we approach the end of November. It is a gloriously sunny day (not the ideal weather for fishing), but I am topping up my tan as I write these words! The carp in Sierra Brava grow to large sizes. There are plenty of smaller ones to keep you busy and the larger original stocks are something to behold. This is wild fishing at its best, and when you consider the fact that some of the fish are virgin carp, and have never seen a hook before; you have to be ready when the line starts stripping off your reel! In my last session I caught 13 carp topped by a 40lb common and a 38lb mirror. Both fish took about 30 yards of line before I could slow them down – that’s what you go fishing for! My 2.5lb t/c rods easily coped with their raw power and once that fish is in front of you – you know it is ending up in your landing net!

I will now be writing regular blogs again, as things are more settled, my guiding venture is on the rise, and 2011 is really ending on a high. I have a sneaky feeling that 2012 is going to be a really good year and I hope it is for you too.

Till the next time – hasta la próxima vez!

Jake Langley-Hobbs