Front cover shot for the magazines: Voyages de Pêche, Mundo Pesca and Pesca&Barcos. Sb800 through Orbisflash

This image has already become the front cover for three different magazines: Pesca&Barcos in Spain, Mundo Pesca in Portugal and Voyages de Pêche in France. Is a shot that I love, perfect timing around sunset, great smile and amazing Sea Bass. I lit it with the SB800 through the Orbis Ring Flash, a wonderful combo for my fishing portraits

The Magic Strait

Truly magic, and I really mean it. How many times in your life the stars are aligned to the point that everything, and I really mean EVERYTHING goes well ? Such it was for us last week and if you care to listen, here's the real story.

Two entire days of fishing in the Strait of Gibraltar, a bit of jigging (almost nothing) and a lot of popping, so the Master Paquito decided for us. he knows his home turf (and surf). Two smal boats left the harbour Monday morning, 12 meters the pair, you don't need a yacht for this kind of fishing. 4 fishermen, Paquito and Nelson (well his name is Félix but we have re-baptized him Nelson, the Cuban skipper, but this is too hard to explain) at the helm and Vincenzo and myself, pretty much looking forward to see what the Strait of Gibraltar was going to deliver. Dani and Fran, the cameramen, with as much expectation as the rest of us.

The one who's writing this report has been the first to cast. the first to have a strike, right on cast one. And it never stopped! Two days in a row of non-stop fishing, cast after cast until the sun, too high in the sky called for the quits. Lunch break, a little siesta and back to the battlefield for more hours of amazing action. I have fished few and far remote seas all over this darn planet and believe me, very few times I have seen anything like that!

We landed four different kind of fish, Barracuda, Bonito, Amberjack and Sea Bass. Most of them on top water and few with swimming plugs and minnows. We used the magic Habano for the top water action and it killed the Sea Bass, the Brugas again for the Bass in the foam from as well as the T-jerk and Finder Jerk this time for Barracuda and Bonitos, Surface Cruiser and Roosta Poppers completed the arsenal and as wild card the Trairao, Imakatzu top water star, that landed the big Amberjack.

I used my Lamiglas travel rods, the 7025 up to 1 1/2oz, both for casting and spinning. They worked wonder, casted flawlessly, fought like Spartans and handled the roughest situation at the best. Three pieces, lightweight and just perfect, a lot of fun to fish with them. Two daiwa reels completed the tackle department, both rigged with 30lb Tuf Line, always MY line of choice. We rigged a good deal of lures with single hooks, and they worked wonder. In fact, Vincenzo landed the Amberjack only because he had a Decoy Sergean' in the rear, the belly treble just opened up like a banana skin...


Paquito told us it was probably going to be good but he didn't say it was going to be THAT GOOD1 Awesome. Amazing! Just one (or two) of those days. I will never forget it.

The Habano now available in three sizes

We finally have three different sizes of the Habano, one of the stickbaits that excited me the most during the last season. A superb design by Alle's lures

The 20cm came first, a lure designed for GT, Cuberas, Tunas and big animals in general. Now we have added a 16cm X 70g and a 13cm X 45g, more appropriate for smaller fish, like Bluefish, Leerfish, Snappers, Barracuda, Kingfish and also again for some big pelagic, like a Tuna that is more interested in smaller offerings.

As always the construction is very meticulous, the wood is deeply impregnated with protective resins to avoid water absorption when bitten by a toothed critter. Six layers of paint that stick chemically to prevent peeling, and three layers of epoxy especially developed for the tropical treatment complete the armour. All lures have a sturdy wire-thru construction and carry oversized swivels of the highest quality

So far available in two colours but later we will have more. Soon available the 11cm X 30g size, a beast for the Sea Bass.