Spain continues to be one of our favorite destinations, especially for couples with lots of things to do for the non anglers — great food, great wine, beautiful fish, and the fantastic background of the Pyrenees. Our days fly by much too soon but we know that we will return next season for more fun in this mystical region.
We are having a beautiful day today, showers and then the sun breaks through, and then back to showers. Temperatures cool, in the 60's, no wind, and I know the Hendricksons and olives are hatching on the stream. Probably the grannom Caddis too. Water levels have been good this spring and anglers are enjoying the early season. Last night we had a beautiful Hendrickson spinner fall and there is no question that for most of us, this is a favorite hatch. We hope that you are getting out and enjoying the early season. Don't put it off, it doesn't last long.
It is with great pleasure that we bring you Nathaniel Eric Seals' photos and interview with our local legend, Stan Cooper, Jr., in our blog this week. A more talented fly tier, 
fisherman, and friend to all can not be found anywhere. We are delighted with the Catskill Museum's recognition and honor of this great man. Seals is a staff writer for the Citizens Voice in Wilkes-Barre. Read the interview in this local paper here.
We still have a couple rooms open on our Spain departure, October 13-20, to the eastern Pyrenees. We'll stay in the ancient mountain village (300 people) of Aren, in the Pyrenees foothills between Aragon and Catalonia. There is an 
amazing variety of small tail water streams, alpine lakes, spring creeks and freestone trout streams in the surrounding countryside. We'll fish for tiger, brown and rainbow trout. For the non-fishing partner, or for a day off from fishing, there is lots to do and see -- ancient watch towers, Romanesque villages, sightseeing and easy trekking trips to explore medieval villages and cathedrals, and so much more. Refer to the itinerary for more details.
I heard from Cathy and they've had a great week of fishing in the Pyrenees in Spain. As you can tell from the photos, fall has arrived and along with the fall foliage and frosty nights, the fish are starting to move up out of the lakes and into the rivers. They've enjoyed a lot of dry fly fishing to both rainbows and browns. The group took a day off fishing to visit a few cathedrals and local villages and had lunch at Rhoda de Isabena again this year, a favorite stop on their itinerary. Good fishing, wine, cheeses, cathedrals, weather - what could be better?
Barry and Cathy are in Orlando at the iCast/AFFTA (American Fly Fishing Trade Association) annual show. This is an 
industry show where all the manufacturers come together to show new products and product lines. Dealers, sales reps, distributors and manufacturers from all over the world are at the show for the next three days. Today was the second day of set-up and as you can see, the Sage booth went from chaos to stunning in 2 days time. While it took 2 days to put it up, at the end of the show it will all come down in about 5 hours time!
The new products from Sage for 2016 include the MOD, a moderate action rod in 2 thru 6 weights, all 9'. Retail $850. The Little ONE family is a handful of rods 0 thru 4 weight, all 8'2". Retail $850. The BOLT is an ultra-fast action rod in 4 thru 8 weight, all 9'. Retail $650. The PULSE is a fast action rod 3 thru 8 weight, various lengths. Retail $450. The popular METHOD, CIRCA, SALT, ONE, ACCEL, MOTIVE and APPROACH rods are not changed for 2016. The reel line continues to redefine itself and while there are new models and improvements within some of the families of reels, the families themselves have not changed.
A note from the Redington side, we're seeing lots of new rods and reels with amazing technology and design at even more amazing prices. Check out all of these new products at your local dealer in the coming months.
We'll have more from the show next week.
We still have rooms available October 12-20, 2015, on our Spain departure. Fall is a beautiful time of year to be in the mountains and the Spanish Pyrenees are no exception. Come with us and experience spring creeks, streams and small tailwater rivers. Lot of fishing and lots of scenery and a great price. $5950, 6 days fishing. (double occupancy/shared guide). Spain is a great trip for non-anglers too. See the itinerary.
That was the question we started to get as soon as we arrived home from fishing the Eastern Pyrenees a couple days ago. This was our second trip to Spain and the first one with a full group. We have to say that we couldn't have had nicer weather. Every day started with a cool, fresh, fall morning in a down vest or jacket, but by afternoon some of us were fishing in shirt sleeves. This part of Spain has had a cool, wet, season until recently and we found some of our favorite streams were chalky instead of clear and some of the tailwater streams were too high to fish, so we were limited in where we could fish. That said, there were several 7 - 9 lb. trout caught and lots of 5 lb. and better fish. Some of these were caught on dry flies and some on nymph droppers trailed behind dries. On the clear streams we could sight fish, which was everyone's preference, of course. Everyone commented on the medieval ruins scattered throughout the country, the old stone villages, cathedrals, watch towers. Some of us took time away from fishing for sightseeing. Hotel Domenec and the Domenec Restaurant were great and we loved the little village of Aren, our home for the week. Chef Juan Antonio spoiled us with amazing multi course meals and good wine and the Salvelinus guides were outstanding. We loved it all and look forward to a return trip. Here are some of our favorite photos from the trip.
Our trip to Spain in October was very different from most of our fly fishing departures. We flew into Barcelona, took the hi-speed rail to Lleida, was met by our outfitter and guide, Ivan Tarin, and drove to Aren. our headquarters for the week.
We still have a few spots left in our departure for the Pyrenees, Spain. Join us at Salvelinus La Ribagorza Lodge in Lleida, 1-1/2 hours from Barcelona as we explore the extensive trout fishing opportunities for brown, rainbow and brook trout. October 12-20, 2013. 7 nights/7 days, $4,950 pp. (A great buy in international travel). For complete details, itinerary, and photos look here. Call us soon. Time is running out.
Also don't forget our photo contest. We've gotten some great entries already but we'd love to hear from you! Details here
We have a few things that we wanted to let all our friends & followers know about and thought that a simple "informational" blog would be most effective.
First on our list, we have a very exciting announcement to make.
Are you looking for an adventure this fall? Do you need a break from the chaos of everyday life? Would you like to go somewhere even Barry & Cathy haven't been yet? If so, than our upcoming exploratory trip to Spain is for you. The Becks will be traveling to the Pyrenees, in northeastern Spain in search of big trout. We just firmed up our dates which will be October 12-20th and still have space available. You can check out our website for more information and details but please feel free to call us at the office (877-278-5638) if you have any questions. We hope you'll join Barry & Cathy on this unique opportunity.