Following his family’s successful Fishing Holiday in Portugal at the Quinta, Christophe sent me this lovely film he made while here fishing with Paulo Jorge Ramos, the World Wide-mouthed Bass Champion. I think they enjoyed themselves! So, notwithstanding the Quinta’s reputation as a birding and nature hotspot, it’s not all about those past-times, not by a long cast!!
Wide-mouthed Bass World Champion, Paulo Jorge Ramos, makes the Quinta’s “Fishing Holidays in Portugal” a success!
IMG_1049, originally uploaded by Paradise in Portugal.
The Wide-mouthed Bass World Champion, Paulo Jorge Ramos, lives in Santa Clara and is regularly taking the Quinta’s guests fishing for this marvelous sports species this year.
This picture shows him picking up Christophe and Alexandre Normand from France at the Quinta’s dock for a day’s outing.
Christophe later said that the day had been “Splendide! Excellent! Mieux que je ne le pensais!” And of Paulo Jorge? “Il connait très bien le lac et ses poissons, n’est-ce pas? Magnifique!”
Are there fish in the lake?
I’m often asked whether there are any fish in the lake; this little clip should provide the answer. I took it this morning while waiting for the Kingfisher to show up, but I think it’s too fat to fly at the moment!
Achigan
Achigan-20090314, originally uploaded by Paradise in Portugal.
…. and this morning this chap caught these Wide mouthed Bass off the pontoon. They’re very good eating and a prized game fish in the States, though little known this side of the Atlantic. In Portugal they’re known as Achigan; the origin of the word apparently is “Michigan” as the first imported fish to Portugal came from the lake of that name.
(Unfortunately for me the poor chap has the sailing boat’s mast coming out of the top of his head – which I should really have got rid of in Photoshop before posting this entry, but there you go.)
In the meantime, Pesca, the Quinta’s German Long haired Pointer, looks on in hope that he’ll drop a fish before he can get them back in the keep net ….
Carp – fishing in the lake
Carp-20090313, originally uploaded by Paradise in Portugal.
We get many enquiries regarding fishing at the Quinta, so the above piccie is just to show you what’s available. This local lad popped in half an hour ago just for a quick cast or two before the weekend and pulled this one out within half an hour – he caught others as well, mainly Wide-mouthed Bass. He said the trick was not to waste time casting all over the place but wait until one sees them …. which says something about the water clarity hereabouts!