Fishing for Wels Catfish - Europe’s Largest Freshwater Fish
Fishing for Europe’s largest freshwater fish, the Wels Catfish, on the Ebro River with guides Al Henderson and Martin Fawcett of Ebro-Catfishing. The Catfish is Europe’s largest freshwater fish, growing to sizes in excess of 200 lb. These supreme predators have rapidly populated the Ebro since their introduction just over 30 years ago. The lower reaches of the mighty Ebro River provides the perfect location to fish for catfish.
Catfish, Wels Catfish
Experienced, Professional Guides We are a professionally run partnership offering Fishing Holidays in Spain, providing Guided Catfishing Tours on the river Ebro, Europe’s Premier location for catching Wels Catfish. Pioneering specimen anglers Al Henderson and Martin Fawcett have been catfishing on the river Ebro since 1998 and have just completed their During this time the catches have been truly phenomenal: Over 4,500 Catfish captured to date Over 870 of these over 100 pounds.
Wels Catfish - Europe’s largest freshwater fish! The Catfish is Europe’s largest freshwater fish, growing to sizes in excess of 200 lb. These supreme predators have rapidly populated the Ebro since their introduction just over 30 years ago. The warm water and abundant source of bait fish allow the fish a nine month growing season, and fish can pile on up to 10 lb of weight in a single season. The catfish fight like nothing you have ever hooked in fresh water before. Initial runs can 100 yards
The Lower Ebro - A Prolific and Unspoilt Venue The lower reaches of this mighty river provide the perfect location to fish for catfish. Unlike some of the heavily pressurised upstream locations which are lined with anglers, we are regularly able to drift for a full day in catfish infested water without seeing another boat. This is proper predator fishing, working free roving live baits using a mobile approach. The excitement when the float disappears cannot be matched.
The Fishing
Early Season - March / April. The Catfishing; Early season fishing is truly unpredictable, and depends on the condition of the river. A high, cold river will lead to difficult fishing (2004 for example) whereas a low river following a mild winter can produce unbelievably good fishing (April 2003 was one of our best ever month). One thing that is guaranteed is the chance of a really big fish, due to females carrying masses of spawn at this time.
Peak Season - May / June. The Catfishing; May and June are the two most popular months of the season because traditionally they have produced the biggest catches, as an example May 2003 alone yielded over 200 catfish. The fish generally spawn early to mid May during which time fishing can be patchy. Once the spawning activity has ceased something of a feeding frenzy will occur and catches of 5 / 6 cats per boat per day are not uncommon.
Hot Season - July / August. The Catfishing; July and August provide consistent sport, even in the heat of the day. As the water temperature rises the cat’s metabolism increases and they subsequently need to feed more. Early mornings and late evenings can be electric in the summer and we will often adjust our fishing times to ensure we don’t miss out on these times of the day. Weed beds can now be clearly seen and these often harbour good populations of cats.
Late Season - September / October. The Catfishing; At this time of the year we can expect to have consistent action as the fish remain active in the warm water temperatures. The fishing can be awesome when conditions are favourable, particularly when low pressure weather systems are prevalent, with cool, cloudy and rainy weather. Fish will typically remain spread across the channel in the low water levels which makes our style of drift fishing particularly effective.
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