The River Ebro, Spain

The river Ebro is Spain’s longest river rising approximately 50 miles from the Atlantic to the south of Santander in the Cantabrian mountains. It flows approximately 400 miles along the southern foothills of the Pyranees in Northern Spain before emerging at a large delta some 100 miles south of Barcelona, into the Mediterranean sea.

Catfish country on the river Ebro begins at the ‘sea of Aragon’, a large lake found above the Hydro - electric facility at Mequinensa. This is where the catfish were originally introduced just over 30 years ago by a German scientist. The Ebro is joined at Mequinensa by two major tributaries, the Cinca and the Segre, and this is a renowned, heavily fished area of the river.

The catfish population quickly worked it’s way downstream to the extent that they now thrive all the way down to the delta.

The Lower Ebro

If you choose to book your cat fishing holiday with www.ebro-catfishing.com you will be fishing the prolific and far less pressurised lower reaches of this mighty river. We concentrate our efforts in the final 50 miles where there is a tremendous diversity of water, from surging, fast flowing areas with tremendous depth fluctuations at places like Mora and Tortosa, to locations such as Amposta and Deltebre where the river is wider and more sedate with predictable depth and character.

At this stage the catfish of the Lower Ebro are slightly smaller than at Mequinensa, since these fish are of a younger generation. The biggest recorded specimens so far have topped the 170 lb mark, which means that a 200 lb fish is a definite possibility within the next few seasons. 100 lb fish are now commonplace, our records indicate that approximately 1 in every 5 fish caught is in the 3 figure category. The extremely rare albino catfish is also present with typically 3 or 4 specimens landed each season. The growth potential for the catfish in the lower river is phenomenal due to the vast shoals of mullet which migrate up stream from the Mediterranean.

The scenery  down here is simply magnificent, with orange groves and rice paddies adjacent to the river and nearby mountains creating breath taking vistas. The attendant wildlife is spectacular with raptors such as Osprey, Red Kite and Marsh Harrier regularly seen, along with a vast array of Herons and Egrets and brightly coloured Bee-eaters.

Our 3 Major Fishing Centres; Tortosa, Amposta and Deltebre

Tortosa; Magical is the best way to describe the fishing from this historic town. Fishing here is concentrated in a number of delightful pools and eddy’s created by the fast flowing water, along with some gorgeous slacks and slow margin drifts. Some prolific catches have been taken including many specimens over 140lb. When combined with dramatic mountain scenery on a rarely fished stretch of the river this is many of our customers favourite place to fish. The experience of hooking a massive cat and then playing it whilst quickly drifting down a fast, surging river is truly unforgettable.

Amposta; A prolific location with the potential of a real monster. The Ebro changes in character around Amposta, becoming deeper, sluggish and more coloured - perfect catfish habitat. The deep reed lined margins here provide the perfect ambush point for these big predators. Fishing at Amposta is generally long, slow margin drifts with panicked live baits working in amongst the danger zone. Of all our locations Amposta has produced the biggest fish, into the 160 lb + category. Despite increased fishing pressure the amount of water available to cover here means that excellent results can still be achieved.

Deltebre; A vast area of the river, deep, wide, slow and almost entirely untapped. The character of the river is similar to Amposta with most of the fish concentrated around reed lines, weed beds, and dead trees. Fishing is almost entirely drift orientated with potential to cover miles of perfect margins in the course of a day. When the catfish switch on to feed down here spectacular results have been achieved with up to 10 fish per boat per day. The scale of the river here, combined with the sheer quantity of bait fish, means that real monsters lurk.