Spinning for big catfish in Spain

During a catfish trip to the Spanish village of Mequinenza in 2006, I lost 2 huge catfish during spin fishing in the Segre river. To take revenge in 2007, I paid a lot of attention to my preparation for this trip.

As a rod I choose for the Triple XXX Heavy Spin 2,75m with a casting weight of 60-180g. An excellent combination with the Blue Arc 7550 reel filled with 0,46mm Power Pro Phantom Red.

On Sunday the first of April it was the time, after a day of fishing on the nearby barrage, we arrive around a quarter to seven in the evening at the Segre river for some hours of spin fishing. Two of hours friends had arrived about an hour earlier, but had not had a take yet. We decided to fish about 50m downstream. The water was fast flowing here close to the bank. From about 20 meters out, the flowing seemed to be more slowly. Because the water had a depth of only 1,5m here, we had to retrieve the spinner quickly.

The spinner landed about 25m from the bank at my first cast. Just when I start retrieving the spinner a big catfish comes to the surface and attacks it. I strike and the drag immediately starts screaming. The take instantly reminds me of the lost fish of last year, now I was determined to win this fight!

A hard shout to my fishing mates ensured that the quickly arrived at my spot to assist me. The hard drill betrayed that this fish definitely had to be a big one. After 10 minutes between bending and breaking the catfish took a good last run. The fish took line with such great power and speed, that I was struggling to get any control over it. 5 minutes later the fish seemed to be slightly less powerful. My companion Andreas had already waded into the water and waited patiently until this fish came closer. After some more minutes he finally got the chance to land the fish with his hands. I had caught it!

We had to help Andreas to come out of the water with the monster, even with three of us this was still difficult. After unhooking the fish, it was measured and weighed. The fish had an impressive length of 2,36m and weight of over 90kg. Because the dawn was falling, we quickly made some photos.

Eventually I had taken my revenge on the lost catfish of last year. I thanked this without any doubt to the PowerPro mainline. Without doubt I believe this is the best braided line, which is perfectly suitable for spin fishing.

Best regards,

Pascal Faber