Even though you might be an excellent angler, if you have never fished outside your familiar rivers in the UK , if you’ve never booked a flight on the internet, if you’ve never actually been abroad before, the thought of organising a carp fishing or cat fishing trip, to the River Ebro in Spain might be a daunting one.

Our step by step guide will help you plan the trip from door to door and back home again and ensure you have a stress free, enjoyable holiday. It covers everything from that very first inkling that you’d like to catch big European carp or catfish, right through to your homeward flight at the end of your trip.

FIRST THINGS FIRST

Decide what species of fish you’d like to fish for, what time of year you would like to make your trip, and what temperatures and weather suit you best.

Carp fishing in Spain on the River Ebro is excellent all year round, but especially in the winter months, between December and March. The weather is likely to be sunny but chilly, with bright blue skies and cold crisp days. Cat fishing in Spain on the River Ebro is at its best between April and October, with high temperatures likely in August and September. Days can be long and hot on the bank, so if you are not a sun lover, May and June are probably the best times for you. We offer a long weekend, or week long inclusive price, but your stay can be as long or short as you want it to be, and we will simply adjust the price accordingly.

ANYONE ELSE WANT TO JOIN YOU?

Have a chat with your family and friends, the guys at work and down the pub, and see if anyone else would like to join you on your proposed trip. Numbers do not have to be definite at this early stage.

CHECK AVAILABILITY WITH EBROCATNCARP

There are several ways to contact us. Either phone us via our broadband UK number, 01376 316108, which is the cost to you, of a call within the UK , or email us on ebrocatncarp@btopenworld.com or use our online enquiry form via this website. Tell us when you would like to come, and what you’d like to fish for, and we can tell you if we have availability. If we cannot answer your phone call, leave your contact details and we will call you back as soon as possible.

If your preferred dates are available, we will reserve them for you for 7 days while you book your flight. Once you have booked your flight, you can secure the dates by paying your deposit.

BOOKING YOUR FLIGHT

www.ryanair.com is overall the cheapest and most convenient airline to book with and you should aim to fly into Zaragoza , or Reus airport. You can get a direct flight to Zaragoza from Stansted only, but you can fly direct into Reus from Stansted, which is usually cheapest, as well as, Liverpool , Luton , Prestwich and Dublin . Usually, the saving on the flight cost from Stansted, against the other provincial airports, which are often more expensive, can offset the cost of your car, train or coach journey to Stansted. There are direct train and coach routes into Stansted airport from the Midlands and central London . There are also flights from Leeds Bradford to Reus with www.thompsonfly.com which start in early May.

Flights from Stansted start from as little as £1.00, but airport taxes and charges, baggage charges etc will increase the final total. Booking well in advance usually ensures the cheapest flight. You can pay for your flight using a debit or credit card, and a confirmation number will show once the payment has gone through, make a note of this number, although it will also be emailed to you by the airline.

Remember also to pay online for your checked in luggage at the same time as booking your flight, if you forget you will have to pay at the airport, at a different desk from the check in desk, and the queues at both can be very long. The Ryanair website is very easy to use, it has drop down options for flight destinations, and with a simple arrow system, you can see if the price is lower a day or two either side of your preferred dates. Although we cannot book the flight for you, we are happy to guide you through the flight booking process if you get stuck on anything. If you intend to fly into Reus airport in Spain, please be aware that this shows on the Ryanair website as (Barcelona) Reus. Due to distances and costs we do NOT pick up from Barcelona main airport.

AT THE AIRPORT

It is a good idea to arrive at the airport some 2 hours before your flight leaves. There are sometimes long queues at the check-in desk and security gates, and the time goes by very quickly. You will need your passport, and the confirmation number which was sent to you when you made your flight booking, although if you do forget this, its usually not a problem. Flying with Ryanair you are allowed 1 checked in bag to go in the main hold of the plane, weighing no more than 15kg, and one small hand luggage bag, which you keep with you inside the plane, weighing no more than 10kg. Carrier bags with books and magazines in counts as an additional luggage so make sure everything fits in one bag. If your hand luggage ends up weighing more than 10kg, then you will have to also check it into the hold of the plane. If either of your bags weighs more than is allowed, you will have to pay excess baggage at a rate of £5.50 per kg. They are unfortunately very strict and there is usually a queue at the excess baggage payment desk, depending on the time of year. Please refer to the Ryanair website for the latest guide to what liquids are permitted to be taken onboard and please refer to Thompsonfly for their luggage allowances and excess baggage fees.

Once you have gone through the security checks, it’s a good idea to make your way to the gate your plane is due to leave from, it’s a bit of a trek, and at Stansted usually its gates 40-50 There are places to eat and drink, shops, telephones and internet connections in the departure lounges as well as Bureau de Change where you can change your pounds into Euros for a flat rate fee of £3.00

ON THE PLANE

You can sit anywhere on a Ryanair flight. On landing the rear doors are often opened first, so for a quick exit, you might want to sit right at the back of the plane. In high season the flights can be very full, and often it’s a good idea to purchase a ‘priority boarding’ card when you book your flight. You will find it offered on the drop down option at the point where you book your bag in online. It means that you can get on the plane before other people and secure your preferred seat, this costs an extra £3, but it is worth every penny when you and 100 other people are all trying to find a seat and stow their hand luggage at the same time. Drinks and snacks are served on the plane but are often at inflated prices; duty free perfume and small gifts are also offered. Please note at Zaragoza airport there is no duty free shop, and there is also only a limited choice at Reus airport.

ONCE YOU LAND

A representative from Ebrocatncarp, who will hold an Ebrocatncarp banner so that you can identify them easily, will meet you at the airport. The drive from Reus to Caspe takes approximately 2 hours and from Zaragoza to Caspe the drive is approximately 90 minutes. Once you arrive at your Hotel in Caspe you can relax and take a look round the town, and our guides will make arrangements with you for fishing, either later that afternoon, or the next day, depending on the duration of your stay.

HOTEL MAGALLON AND THE TOWN OF CASPE

The Hotel Magallon is a medium sized Hotel situated 5 minutes walk from the centre of town and we receive good feedback about it from our customers. There is a bar attached to the Hotel, and another directly across the road. The main town square is a short walk away, with a good Chinese restaurant which is very popular and inexpensive, and the waitress speak English. There is also a good steak bar, with a menu in English, and also a Pizza and Pasta bar. A pint of beer is approximately £2.00 and the bars stay open till late, and you can smoke in all the bars in the town, and lots of bars serve food outside in the town square. Even if you come on your own, usually there are plenty of other English anglers staying in the Hotel, and out and about in the bars and restaurants, so there will be someone to chat to in the evenings about the catch of the day.

FISHING

We will collect you every morning from the Hotel and take you to the riverbank. We provide packed lunches and cold drinks every day for 7e, which is about the price of a pie and a pint in the UK. All our food is home made and fresh every day, and we make tea and coffee on the bank. As a guide, 8-8.30am is the usual collection time, and we fish until dark, or until you are ready to return to the Hotel. There are plenty of shops in Caspe if you wish to purchase sweets or other snacks, they are open from 9-1.30pm and from 5-9pm. We will take pictures of all your main catches, with our own, and your camera, and every customer gets featured on our website after their visit.

THE WEATHER

In the winter months, Caspe has clear blue skies and often a chilly wind, but the days are usually sunny. We hardly ever experience the grey damp days that the UK endures. However, all things are possible, so until early April, be prepared for anything. The weather begins to warm rapidly in mid April, and May and June are very comfortable sunny months. The sun gets very hot in mid summer especially August and early September, so these are not the months for you if you don’t like the heat. October cools down, with gusty light winds, but warm sunshine, heading towards the cooler temperatures of November and December.

Carp fishing in Spain on the River Ebro is great all year round, and the optimum time for cat fishing in Spain on the Ebro is between mid April to October. The catfish prefer warm water and when the temperature gets cold in the river, they are less likely to be feeding and prefer to hide away in the murky depths.

GOING HOME

As with most Hotels, your room has to be vacated by 10am, so please consider this when booking your homeward flight. It is perfectly acceptable to arrive and depart from different airports, Zaragoza or Reus, if the timings are better for you. If you do have time to kill and would like an extra half day fishing then depending on other customers, you can arrange and pay for this with our guides at the time. We will take you back to your departure airport to arrive 2 hours before your flight leaves, and again, from Spain the same luggage allowances will be applicable.

STILL NOT SURE?

Read some of our catch reports and news items. Our customers have a great time with Ebrocatncarp, and most of them return year on year to fish with us. Book a long weekend break to start with, you can always come back for more!