You could hardly call the river Ebro unfished and it's busy too but there are moments when the whole river is yours. One such occasion was when i went out to land a carp in the early hours of the morning from the boat.
It was a bright moonlit night and visibility was good but it was still dark so while i was out i asked Martin our guide to keep his headtorch on. As soon as i was underway i wound down to the fish keeping up steady pressure until i was within 20 meters. Now i should say here that this wasn't my first time out in a boat. Previous experience has taught me how to maintain control of the boat as well as the fish at the same time and it's relatively simple.
You don’t use oars or an outboard motor just your body, the rod and the fish, here's what i do. I position myself seated with my feet pressed to each side of the boat and my legs kept rigid at all times. Now this gives you a very stable position to play the fish from but it also helps steer the boat. Using the rod as a rudder when the fish goes left you apply right hand side strain, what happens is the boat will swivel and pull left towards the fish. in other words is will follow it. The same of course applies to the fish going right. Once you are following the fish so to speak you need to point the rod straight up. You will also find that depending on how much side strain and how low to the water the rod is will also have an influence on how the boat steers, practice as they say makes perfect.
The one thing you must remember is your playing a fish from a boat not solid land so you won’t be able to stop them but hey you can't do that from the bank sometimes so let them run out into open water if you can and give yourself a chance. Obviously going out in the dark is no small undertaking but with knowledge, the right kit and support on nights where it was as bright as this one it's not a problem but i hasten to add all these things (especially the visibility) were taken into account before i made the decision.
Finally what was it like? Well i suppose it was one of the most incredibly satisfying as well as awesome experiences i have ever had. The place is big, everything is big. The sky so wide and full of stars and the moon so bright and full. The mountains surrounding me like a massive amphitheatre. The carp, so powerful the rod bent over and the line zipping through the water. Yes, i know it was a bit dangerous, but that’s why it made me feel so alive.