Occasionally a much anticipated event does exceed expectations. In this case it was an accompanied, serviced fishing trip to Andalucia. My brother and I were seeking the wild lake carp in the reservoirs inland of the Costa del Sol.

We booked a package with Pesca Aventura (www.pesca-aventura.com). All we had to do was turn up at Malaga Airport. Our host, guide, mentor and die-hard Wigan supporter, David Abernathy, did the rest.

Having agreed the week's programme he took us to the venues, provided sandwiches, tackle and bait and left the rest to us and the carp.

The first day was at a large lowland reservoir reminiscent of Carsington called Arcos. The fishing was fairly slow, but we did experience the violent fighting qualities of the local common carp. The next day south-eastern Spain was hit by a cyclone. We fished a closer location in the mountains called Zahara. In torrential rain we caught the hardest fighting most belligerent carp we had ever encountered.

On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we visited and re-visited Guadalhorce. The fishing and setting were just magical. In perfect conditions in a most beautiful wild location we hit the jackpot. For three days in a row, we jointly averaged over 120, 2-3½ lbs common carp with the odd one 4-6 lbs. They were scale perfect, lean, fighting machines.

We had a memorable, successful holiday thanks to David Abernathy. The venues and the hotel at Ronda were spot on. Transportation, tackle, bait and packed lunches were excellent.

We are off to the Ebro this year: hope it matches last year.

Best wishes

Bob Allcard