interview
MIREN LOOPS Foto: Jagoba Garabieta 1. HOW DID YOUR PASSION FOR FLY FISHING START AND WHEN?: My passion started about six years ago thanks to my boyfriend, an experienced fly fishing angler. I began to love fly fishing through the fly casting taking it as a game on the grass. From the beginning, I got absolutely hypnotized by the loops unrolling in the air. When I was ready, he took me to the river. There, after watching how the trout were feeding on the surface and how we could cheat them with patterns we had made at home, I fell in love with fly fishing with dry flies. I have the privilege of living in Basque Country, a small region in Northern Spain with a strategic location. That means that, in just a few hour drive, you can reach many of the best trout fishing areas in Spain. That’s why we dedicate most of our spare time to fly fishing.
2. TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT FISHING IN SPAIN: Spain is a privileged country for fishing, especially for trout fly fishing using ultralight equipment and dry flies. While not yet comparable in size to the enormous trout in Northern Europe, the temperate weather, together with the lack of wind, thousands of kilometers of water and the no-kill policies make dry fly fishing enjoyable for seven months. But let’s not fool ourselves. In Spain trout fly fishing is not an easy task. We’re forced to use extra long leaders and small flies which turn it into an exciting challenge. That’s why Spanish fly fishermen have become the world’s best anglers and a favourite in international competitions. Carp and barbel fly fishing is also very popular, including other predator species that live in our countless lakes. Unluckily in the Northern regions, which don’t follow the catch and release philosophy, the population of salmon are in total decline.
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