Wednesday 23 December 2015
Talaguira fishing
Just a quick little post of a practice session at talaguira in mid november. I fished for four hours and caught 35 kilos of mainly carp with a few crucians.Around 10 kilo of the fish were caught fishing the pole at 13 metres,with the rest of the fish caught in the margins at 6 metres, all of the fish were caught using corn and wheat fished over groundbait.Next season i will be posting monthly reviews and results of the competitions until then tight lines and good fishing.
Tuesday 27 October 2015
PORTUGAL FISHING
A brief glance at the match fishing over the last two seasons.
My first season was 2014. I just fished the one venue at a place called Retaxo with excellent results, very rarely finishing out of the top two, luckily it was a venue that suited my fishing style. The main species of fish are carp and crucians and in the early days lots of catfish but thankfully these have thinned out now.
In my second season 2015 I wanted to try some new venues and by joining a new angling club Albipesca, have been fishing their local venue at Talaguira, which I have to say has brought me mixed results. Many of the club members have been fishing here on a weekly competition basis for almost twenty years so i am up against it from the start, had a few top three finishes, but it is my first season back on natural waters rather than man made commercials, so i have had to go back to basics as the feeding patterns and tactics on the pole have had to be drastically altered. The carp here seem to average 1 to around 4 kilos but because they are wild fish and not farm reared they go absolutely insane when you hook them so all my elastics have now had to be changed to hollows with pulla kits as I was suffering way too many breakages in the early season. With that now sorted i am finally coming to grips with the fishing.
Usually anything up to 45 kilos is needed to win in four hours in the summer and up to about 25 kilos in the winter. Baits are very simple here mainly corn, worms, maggot and wheat. I have tried meat, bread and pellets but the carp are not that interested, but I do aim to keep trying alternative baits in my practice sessions through the week.
A few pics to whet your appetites.
My first season was 2014. I just fished the one venue at a place called Retaxo with excellent results, very rarely finishing out of the top two, luckily it was a venue that suited my fishing style. The main species of fish are carp and crucians and in the early days lots of catfish but thankfully these have thinned out now.
In my second season 2015 I wanted to try some new venues and by joining a new angling club Albipesca, have been fishing their local venue at Talaguira, which I have to say has brought me mixed results. Many of the club members have been fishing here on a weekly competition basis for almost twenty years so i am up against it from the start, had a few top three finishes, but it is my first season back on natural waters rather than man made commercials, so i have had to go back to basics as the feeding patterns and tactics on the pole have had to be drastically altered. The carp here seem to average 1 to around 4 kilos but because they are wild fish and not farm reared they go absolutely insane when you hook them so all my elastics have now had to be changed to hollows with pulla kits as I was suffering way too many breakages in the early season. With that now sorted i am finally coming to grips with the fishing.
Usually anything up to 45 kilos is needed to win in four hours in the summer and up to about 25 kilos in the winter. Baits are very simple here mainly corn, worms, maggot and wheat. I have tried meat, bread and pellets but the carp are not that interested, but I do aim to keep trying alternative baits in my practice sessions through the week.
A few pics to whet your appetites.
Monday 26 October 2015
Door fitted and steps built to rear entrance and curtains for summerhouse
It's been a while since our last post as we have been very busy enjoying the summer with family and friends visiting and holidays and so now the autumn days are with us it is now time to put our working hats firmly back on and get busy! Now that we have achieved our "major jobs" we can catch up on smaller jobs which need doing.
Our last project was the summerhouse and what a bonus that has been ..... a very nice little place to hide-away from the sun in an afternoon with a good book or the internet!!!! I made some curtains, not just for aesthetics but to keep out the flies when we are eating but still need to make some netted curtains for the sides. As soon as the BBQ is lit in the flies come buzzing about ...... so annoying ......we can't think for the life of me why we need flies on the planet!!!
Entrance to the loft renovation
Back in May this year we had some local builders round to take out the existing window and knock the wall out ready for a door to be fitted which would then become the external entrance to the loft renovation. The job was a little too difficult for us as we don't have powerful enough tools and scaffolding!
We then used a local window/door fitting company to have a door made and fit it for us.
We then looked into how we could make a staircase upto the door but to have a metal staircase structure made stretched out pockets a bit so Rob had to come up with another way to make the job cheaper. He decided the most cost effective way would be to build the steps himself out of blocks and cement, then render and tile and paint. A much longer drawn out procedure but it was something he could be do on and off when he felt a surge of motivation during the hot weather!!!
Unfortunately we forgot to take any pictures during the building of the steps but here are pics of the end result. Rob made the metal railings but we did have to get a local welder on site to weld on the hand rail.
Our last project was the summerhouse and what a bonus that has been ..... a very nice little place to hide-away from the sun in an afternoon with a good book or the internet!!!! I made some curtains, not just for aesthetics but to keep out the flies when we are eating but still need to make some netted curtains for the sides. As soon as the BBQ is lit in the flies come buzzing about ...... so annoying ......we can't think for the life of me why we need flies on the planet!!!
Entrance to the loft renovation
Back in May this year we had some local builders round to take out the existing window and knock the wall out ready for a door to be fitted which would then become the external entrance to the loft renovation. The job was a little too difficult for us as we don't have powerful enough tools and scaffolding!
We then looked into how we could make a staircase upto the door but to have a metal staircase structure made stretched out pockets a bit so Rob had to come up with another way to make the job cheaper. He decided the most cost effective way would be to build the steps himself out of blocks and cement, then render and tile and paint. A much longer drawn out procedure but it was something he could be do on and off when he felt a surge of motivation during the hot weather!!!
Wednesday 8 July 2015
Summerhouse finished in time .........
We struggled to complete the summerhouse in time for our first visitors in May but was determined to do so. And a good job it was finished because we have had quite a few heatwaves this year, making this year the hottest we have experienced while being in Portugal. With very little rain during the winter it's most likely the river beaches will suffer as a consequence, not to mention the lack of water generally which is normally collected from the winter rains by the farmers to irrigate their land, we have also have a shortage in our well and are having to use mains water to do our daily garden watering and refilling the fish pond.
Looking back on our blog in April as to the stage of build on the summerhouse we still had a lot to do. Cladding the pillars in stone, finish rendering the walls internally and externally, stipling and painting them and the last job was to tile the floor.
Rob (being the artistic one) wanted to create a backdrop on the back wall. He designed a piece of art depicting the cherries which are symbolic of our village. I was slightly unsure it would work but, we think it looks rather nice and the locals loved the idea!
For some reason we didn't take photos of the next stages of work so the pictures below show the summerhouse as it looks now. Perfect for relaxing in the shade during the day and eating in straight from the BBQ. I am in the process of making a pair of curtains for the front open spaces (picked up some lovely fabric from the market) and netting for the sides to keep out the annoying flies who think they have a God given right to help themselves to our food and bodies!!!!
Looking back on our blog in April as to the stage of build on the summerhouse we still had a lot to do. Cladding the pillars in stone, finish rendering the walls internally and externally, stipling and painting them and the last job was to tile the floor.
Rob (being the artistic one) wanted to create a backdrop on the back wall. He designed a piece of art depicting the cherries which are symbolic of our village. I was slightly unsure it would work but, we think it looks rather nice and the locals loved the idea!
For some reason we didn't take photos of the next stages of work so the pictures below show the summerhouse as it looks now. Perfect for relaxing in the shade during the day and eating in straight from the BBQ. I am in the process of making a pair of curtains for the front open spaces (picked up some lovely fabric from the market) and netting for the sides to keep out the annoying flies who think they have a God given right to help themselves to our food and bodies!!!!
Tuesday 7 July 2015
Exploring the Silver Coast - Starting with Nazare November 2014
Last November a little birthday celebration was in need so we decided to start our exploration down the Silver Coast by spending a few days in Nazare. This picturesque seaside fishing village is famous for it's world recording breaking largest wave surfed at a 111 feet high by Garrett McNamara in January 2013. It is a beautiful bustling little resort full of history and still on a daily basis you can see the local fishermen's wives dressed in their numerous petticoat skirts waiting on the beach for their fishermen to come onshore with their catch for them to clean and dry out the fish in preparation for selling on to restaurants and shops.
Nazare beach - the rockhead where the highest wave was surfed. Anyone who wishes to see the highest wave being surfed look on youtube where you will see several surfers riding the waves at Nazare.
Overlooking Nazare is the little village of Sitio which is a tourist spot which has historical legends and has a beautiful church called the Nossa Senhora da Nazare.
Overlooking Nazare from Sitio
Sao Martinho do Porto
We went on to this nearby resort and was smitten with it's laid-back touristy style, it's huge bay of a beach and it's prettiness. I can imagine in the summer months that this is a thriving bustling resort, even with a few more international cuisines, still remains very portuguese.
Nazare beach - the rockhead where the highest wave was surfed. Anyone who wishes to see the highest wave being surfed look on youtube where you will see several surfers riding the waves at Nazare.
Overlooking Nazare is the little village of Sitio which is a tourist spot which has historical legends and has a beautiful church called the Nossa Senhora da Nazare.
Sao Martinho do Porto
We went on to this nearby resort and was smitten with it's laid-back touristy style, it's huge bay of a beach and it's prettiness. I can imagine in the summer months that this is a thriving bustling resort, even with a few more international cuisines, still remains very portuguese.
Camping in Porto Covo in May 2015
We decided to have another stab at a camping holiday in early May to the Silver Coast and discovered the beautiful resort of Porto Covo. The coastline is naturally beautiful and somehow it feels more serene and relaxing than the Algarve, maybe because it is more "Portuguese" and less spoilt by too much commercialism!!! With the Atlantic ocean crashing in on the coastline it gives lots of potential for surfers and sea sports lovers a chance to enjoy their sport! The Silver Coast attracts a lot of touring visitors in mobile homes, and there are many places where campers and mobile homes can set up easily, and almost on some of these beaches with amazing scenic views.
This holiday was mainly for a relaxing break so we mostly found a nice beach in the daytime and took advantage of having a rest. Now we have seen more of what this coast has to offer and how much we like it, we have made plans to go later in the year.
This holiday was mainly for a relaxing break so we mostly found a nice beach in the daytime and took advantage of having a rest. Now we have seen more of what this coast has to offer and how much we like it, we have made plans to go later in the year.
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