Man, trout and artificial flies. These are the three elements on which most of the history and literature of fly fishing has been written, first in Europe and then in the new American continent. Fly fishing certainly did not start with salmon, it was not pike, not even the fantastic grayling, not even marine fish and even less so carps that created that primordial broth thanks to which millions of words have been written and where most of the equipment and techniques have evolved into what we know today. Instead, it was this wonderful animal, the brown trout first and then the other American species, that became the most sought-after prey by fly fishermen all over the world. Even if dry fly fishing is not the oldest technique, I think we can all agree on the charm it still emanates. The sight of a fish rising to feed on an artificial fly on the surface, especially if it is a good-sized fish, is always a spectacle. Probably part of the attraction comes from the winged insect that often triggers behaviors in the fish, see selectivity, which make the fishing action more complicated and therefore even more interesting.
Rio Curueño
Today we know well that despite the abundant Anglo-Saxon literary production that makes one think of the United Kingdom as the cradle of trout fly fishing, men and women have fished for centuries with insect imitations in various parts of the world and southern Europe itself has a great tradition both in fishing and in the making of artificial flies. Italy, Spain and France have given birth, for example, to some of the most refined fly tiers from the last century to today.
Unfortunately, it is a fact that insect hatches and the possibility of fishing with dry flies have become increasingly rare and this has been a source of frustration for years especially for those like me who have always considered trout fishing as an essential combination of fish and insect. I am not alone in believing that there is no better experience walking a river than casting flies on good sized wild fish with floating insects and active trout. So where do you look for situations and waters that offer similar opportunities? There are distant destinations, the United States, Argentina, Chile, or New Zealand to name a few, and as long as you are willing to spend significant amounts and dedicate at least 2-3 weeks of travel they can offer great experiences. But if the time available is limited and if the resources do not allow that type of commitment what to do? In the last two years, driven by continuous requests from customers, our team at 54 Dean Street has begun to experiment with “simpler” destinations from a logistical, cost and time point of view and among these Spain certainly stands out.
Goats on the mountain slope.
Spain is a large and environmentally diverse country, with warmer and drier areas and cooler ones with mountains and cold waters. We have already experienced fishing some waters east of Barcelona and close to the Pyrenees and we will tell you about these in detail another time. Today we want to share with you an itinerary that we are sure will become one of the most interesting destinations of our travel offer. The region of Castilla y León, and in particular the province of León, which is located in north-western Spain and is mainly made up of an immense plateau with an average altitude between 800 and 1100 meters in the area of interest from a fishing point of view. The climate has rainier springs and autumns and hot and dry summers, with a degree of humidity that makes fishing bearable even at high temperatures. The area around Leon is blessed with over 3000 kilometers of waters with the most varied characteristics and many of these are perfect for fly fishing especially with the dry fly, considering the natural tendency of the trout present in these waters to look up probably thanks to the large quantity of insects that populate the rivers. This aspect makes the experience particularly interesting for those anglers who love to compete with wild trout hunting in the numerous streams or have fun casting small flies on beautiful tail waters with very cold and clear water. Most of the waters are free while other areas are managed as Cotos where fishing is allowed only upon purchase of a special permit, not easy to get if you do not know someone in the area.
Rio Torìo
Fishing in the waters of Leon is not easy as even small trout are wary and require careful presentation, well calibrated equipment and long and thin leaders. Here we do not fish in the classic chicken coop with fish released in quantity and each catch must be earned. On the other hand, the prize will be a fight with fish that will fight just like wild fish, giving us real emotions and not plastic ones as unfortunately happens in too many waters around us nowadays.
During our trip we used the Wild Trout lodge of our friend Yasmany Picorel (winner of the Spanish fly fishing championship in 2016) as a base camp and we were accompanied every day by our friend Miguel Blanco Blazquez, who in addition to being an excellent fly tier is also a fantastic guide with a knowledge of the area and a truly impressive fishing experience. Being on the river with Yasmany and Miguel can really teach you something. Only a portion of the Wild River Lodge has been completed but considering the standard of our accommodation we can only imagine the quality and beauty of the lodge that will be completed in the coming months. Exposed wood and stone, very well-kept plaster, comfortable beds and a super-equipped kitchen with a super-stocked refrigerator for a hearty breakfast.
Wild Trout Lodge
A heated room to dry waders and boots and very well-kept bathrooms complete the whole thing. Yasmany leaves nothing to chance and the attention to detail can also be perceived in the quality level of his guides. Serious, prepared and very experienced professionals. The Wild Trout Lodge is located right on the banks of the Torio River, in a green area with picturesque scenery, not far from grocery stores and some bars and restaurants that are convenient when returning from a day of fishing. Especially because in classic Spanish tradition dinner here does not start before 9:30 pm and thanks to the very long days of light you can stay fishing on the river until late.
Speaking of the Torio (the accent is on the i for correct pronunciation), this stream has characteristics similar to an Italian Apennine stream, not too turbulent, with alternating flats, deep pools, small currents and large flats. Along its path there are different situations also from a landscape point of view, with wilder stretches in the middle of suggestive gorges and equally characteristic stretches with Romanesque bridges and small settlements. These small villages scattered throughout the territory make the area very attractive and you never have the impression of chaos or traffic. Indeed, car traffic is very low, almost non-existent, as is the presence of people and even though we are not in total wilderness you always have the impression of a low degree of anthropization. Something that when fishing, personally, I appreciate a lot.
In any case, car trips are limited to distances ranging from 15 minutes to 30-40 minutes depending on the rivers we intend to visit, and this also makes the day less tiring by leaving the fisherman the possibility of casting flies on different rivers even during the same day.
Some of the waters with lower flow that we fished, such as the Curueno, Torio or Omana rivers have a good population of medium-sized brown trout with some nice surprises, and regardless of size they have a level of rusticity that requires precise casting, often lapping the shore and drag free drifts. These waters were perhaps more frequented by man in the past and in ancient times than they are today.
The Curueno, for example, was crossed by the ancient Romans who moved towards the territories further north in the direction of the Atlantic and remains of the old paved road are still present on one bank, even if now almost completely swallowed up by nature. We fished for Curueno on two stretches of a coto that our friends at Wild River and Miguel had organized for us, both with spectacular scenery enriched by very suggestive stone bridges.
Rio Curueño
That same day our friend Miguel was working on two small (actually big) surprises for us to fill the day after fishing the first stretch of the “coto” and waiting to go into the water in the afternoon on the second stretch. The first surprise was a visit to a “criador” of Gallo de Leon, a breeder of the famous roosters from where the traditional feathers so appreciated by the most serious fly tiers in every part of the world come from. We really couldn’t miss the chance seeing these beautiful animals with our own eyes and the one who allowed us access to his farm was Javier Escanciano in the Bonar area right near the Rio Porma, another beautiful tail water that unfortunately we found a bit high due to the summer releases from the basin that regulates the flow upstream.
Javier Escanciano with one of his dogs.
Javier’s farm is protected by 5 Spanish mastiffs with weights that approach 90 kilos and with mouths and teeth that were very reminiscent of the Cerberus from Greek mythology. Don’t touch, don’t pet, don’t look them in the eyes, these were the first instructions we received upon entry. I don’t think any of our friends wanted to pet them but good Javier rightly informed us that these dogs are used to defending the roosters from all kinds of danger, from the ground and from the sky. Foxes, wolves, weasels, hawks, eagles, are the most common predators in the area, as well as some ill-intentioned bipeds. The reverential fear for the dogs soon gave way to admiration for the 500 animals kept in an open green area with access to covered areas for the night where the roosters are free to move around as they please, except for some that are kept in cages only for the time strictly necessary to treat any wounds or illnesses.
They are splendid animals and thinking about how many centuries of history they carry attached to their shiny feathers, you understand even more the value that the famous bunches of 12 feathers have. We will tell you more about this visit in a future article but we would like to remind everyone that the real cock de Leon feathers come from these areas, they are plucked one by one from the cock without killing it and have nothing to do with necks or portions of scalp that are offered on the market and passed off as real Leon feathers.
Spain has such an ancient tradition in breeding these roosters that the dating is lost in time. What is certain is that the oldest trace is found in the pages of the Astorga manuscript written by a cleric from the city of Astorga named Juan de Bergara in 1624. In this precious manuscript, varieties are described that are still known today and obviously it is assumed that well before that date the use of Leon roosters feathers was common practice among fishermen in the area.
When in Spain we talk about “gallo de Leon” and especially about the Astorga manuscript we cannot help but mention a person who dedicated years of study and research to this text, Jose Luis Garcia Gonzales. You can read his interesting article on the Astorga Manuscript here.
For many years I had been corresponding with Josè Luis but I had never had the pleasure of meeting him in person. You can imagine the happiness that made us discover that after the visit to Javier's rooster farm we would finally meet Jose Luis. A heartfelt thanks goes to our friend Miguel Blanco for the pleasant surprise. And what better place to meet the greatest expert on the history of Spanish fly fishing and in particular on the Astorga Manuscript than an inn on the banks of the Rio Porma famous for its Tortillas? In this inn have passed multitudes of fishermen, famous and not, local and not. As is obvious to think we did not limit ourselves to the Tortillas but we tasted bean and chorizo soup, morcillas, meat and fish, a wonderful local dessert, the Natilla and vino tinto, the local red wine, to complicate things.
54 Dean Street Team with Jose Luis, Javier Escanciano and Miguel Blanco.
On a cultural level, this meeting with Jose Luis was incredible and after a classic exchange of photos and the very welcome gift from Jose Luis of three copies of his book “Pluma, Seda y Acero” we continued the afternoon in the second section of the coto on the Rio Curueno talking with him about classic flies and the manuscript and admiring him in action with the Leonesa fishing technique, a technique still allowed in Spain that involves the use of long rods with a bulb and a cast of flies. A sort of Italian-style fly fishing. Jose Luis also fishes with the most classic and ancient system very similar to the Valsesiana, with a hazel rod, braided horsehair line and classic flies made with Leon rooster feathers.
The many affinities between the techniques of northern Italy, starting from the Valsesiana one, remind us of the contact that the two countries have had over the centuries, considering that Leon is located right on the Camino de Santiago, the route traveled since the Middle Age by millions of pilgrims on the way to Santiago de Compostela. It is easy to imagine that a 15th century pilgrim would decide to travel through those lands carrying with him a few flies and a horsehair fishing line to supplement his poor diet with a few trout caught here and there along the way.
The streams in this area, such as the Torio or the Omana that we fished in various stretches, are often characterized by a dark bottom and you almost have the impression of fishing in peaty waters, while instead they are very clear and cold. Don't be fooled by the fact that outside temperatures can reach high levels in July; it is always better to equip yourself with a good technical and breathable garment to wear under the waders to protect yourself from the icy water of these rivers, especially when we are immersed for a long time in one of the various tail-waters in the area. As in any classic tail-water, the water comes out from the lower part of the dam upstream and maintains low and constant temperatures for most of the months. This guarantees an abundance of insects and greater fish activity.
Marco and Miguel fishing the Rio Curueño.
Rio Orbigo
As we mentioned a few paragraphs above, fishing on the rivers in this area requires good technique and equally good equipment, regardless of whether we are fishing on the small stream or on large tail-waters. Take for example the Esla River, one of the most important rivers in north-western Spain, a very long tail water that we have fished in various stretches. It alternates points with shallow water with buttercups and herbs with areas with faster currents, lateral branches and sections of good depth.
Esla River
The population of both good-sized brown trout and insects is notable. Long rods of 9 to 10 feet are a must for light lines and very long leaders of at least 5-6 meters with tips of even 2 meters and thin points. These leaders allow you to group the terminal part avoiding drags especially in those areas of water with myriads of microcurrents.
Rio Omana
On the same day you can witness mixed hatches of mayflies, of the inevitable chironomids, of caddisflies towards the late afternoon, even if better you are not left without beetles for the underbanks and the inevitable ants, black or red, winged or not, especially on windy days. In those moments where the activity on the surface is slow, you can dedicate yourself fishing with droppers and micro nymphs, or the more classic sight nymphing on some clearly visible fish, or try with the more modern Euro Nymph. Or, why not, relax with some good wet flies cast down and across the old fashioned way. Attention to details such as knots and perfect conditions of the tippet will prove fundamental if you come across one of the large trout that populate some of these waters, brown trout of the Atlantic variety, that reach truly important dimensions, wonderfully finned and wild.
Wooden bridge over the river Luna
A trip to these areas in the Leon province can truly turn into a unique experience both for those who appreciate highly technical fishing and also for those who still love a genuine, true, traditional type of fly fishing. Fishing for wild trout, whether small or medium but with the expectation of coming across trophy fish, casting dry flies both searching the water or on selective fish in the middle of various hatches, among real insects, in very different environments, is something that still has great attraction for many fishermen. A fishing trip in the waters of Leon is also made up of pleasant stops in the shade of some trees on the river bank, especially if pampered by the perfect organization of Wild Trout with Yasmany and his team preparing bread, local cured meats and cheeses, empanadas, tortillas and beer and water always kept cool in a nice cooler.
Traditional Pic-Nic with Yasmani.
Luna River
The days, especially in June and July, are long and you can take a pleasant break, taking advantage of it to have the guys from Wild Trout tell you some interesting stories or to plan the afternoon and evening hatches.
If your idea of fishing is just number and size or if you love easy catches on stocked fish, this destination is probably not for you, but if you love the beautiful side of fly fishing, if you are excited by an old church with its Hispanic-style bell tower on the bank of the stream, if you travel with your imagination walking on the same pebbles of the river that once saw clerics and old fishermen casting flies tied with silk and with shiny rooster feathers or if you believe that enjoying the spectacle of nature in the form of a mayfly in flight adds value to your experience, then you will discover your little paradise in these lands where the trout look up.
If you wish to try yourself an amazing fly fishing experience in Spain please contact us to discover our travel proposals.
Alberto Calzolari.