So after a long & bumpy seven hour drive from Santa Cruz we arrived at a small village where my girlfriend grew up.
After meeting her lovely mum & dad plus many other relatives we get some well deserved food & rest.
This place is halfway up the mountain at 1500m above sea level so the weather can go to either extremes, around 25 degrees in the sun with a nice cool breeze, much colder in the shade & down to 5 degrees at night.
With the air being thin up here everything becomes a struggle & no doubt it's quite a tough life these people lead.
The next day started with breakfast of cheese empanadas & strong coffees.
Her family have lots of land & livestock, with a few small watering holes for their cows.
One of these have some small carp grown for the table.
At last I can cast a line, if only for some small South American carp.
A short & bumpy car ride on a dirt track & we arrive at the stew pond, it's basically a hole in the ground but the amazing surrounding mountains & rough terrain more than make up for the uninspiring pool.
Stuffed full of fish
Bread is classic place to start to tempt a few & as the free offerings are gobbled down by a few good sized mouths my excitement builds.
The big problem here is that some unsavoury bloke from the town netted the lake & ate most of the good sized carp, up to 15lb or bigger, so now there are a few larger ones that escaped the net & hundreds of tiny carp.
My plan is to catch as much possible & release them in to a more hidden pond & hopefully have a chance to grow to decent size for the pot.
It's not something I agree with but who am I to question another way of life.
I set up a small float & 14 hook with bread paste mounted.....
No bites at all after 10 mins so freelined crust is the way to go I guess, as I can still see plenty of fish topping.
This soon proved me right & a pristine yet small mirror is hooked & my god did he fight for his size.
I honestly thought I had a 5lb-er.
These mini carp were turbo charged on my 7ft light spinning rod & when I landed it I saw why, for it's frame it had a huge tail & mouth, the warm sun must make them grow quickly & well proportioned.
Many more followed & the bucket filled up quickly, ready for re homing.
Beautifully proportioned fish
An enjoyiable hour or three later the bucket was crammed full of carp & it was time to stock the hidden pond.
It's a real shame the few bigger carp hadn't found my bait but that's life.
The fish were released in a more suitable home with some nice tree cover & plenty of weed to hide in.
I returned home with a smile on my face & the respect of the family as a half descent fisherman, I think anyway.
So that's the starter & I just can't wait for the main course in a few days, the Rio Grande....
Its about a two hour drive & over the next few days I'll try & get a family member to take me, I hope to get started on the real big'uns.
I'm told there is a bridge where many locals go with fish to be had including big Surubi, Dorado & Sabalo (the Sabalo is a smallish carp like fish, max size 6lb) no doubt a 8oz fish will be great live bait size for the lumps.
So the planning begins & I hope part 3 will be worth reading with a few good pics
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