THE ULTIMATE ANGLING BUCKET LIST

In a way it reminded me of a tarpon's mouth, and judging by the way they
The Danube at Russe
totally engulfed the lures we were using, it also appears to feed like a
tarpon too by coming up to its prey from below, then quickly sucking it
right in to the back of its throat.
In terms of distribution and life style, asp prefer the bigger, faster rivers of Eastern Europe, though I
understand that they can also be found as far west as northern Germany, particularly in the River Elbe.
The Danube is one of the biggest rivers in Europe, which from its origin in Germany's Black Forest,
flows through nine other European countries before eventually discharging into the Black Sea close to
the Romanian city of Sulina. And based on local information, it was that stretch where the river actually
marks the border between Romania and Bulgaria, around thirty miles to the east of the city of Ruse
(Pyce), that Andrey and Pavel had ear marked as the area to fish.
We knew that the further east we fished, the better our chances were, particularly if we chose a large,
deep, fast flowing stretch which was an almost tailor-made definition of much of the lower Danube.
But that still left a lot of potential water to be tried. So Andrey and Pavel sought advice from some of
the local angling talent in and around Ruse, who told of a potentially productive stretch way out of the
city where the river actually looks more like a rural river should.
We were to find a specific track leading down through the surrounding forest to a water pumping station,
downstream of which we should look for fast water glides within casting range where the bigger asp
are known to do some of their feeding, particularly early mornings and evenings, which in the dark and
with no prior knowledge of where to go, took some finding. But at around day break on the first
morning, bingo, we had found 'X' marks the spot.
So what exactly is a big asp. Well, there have been authenticated reports of specimens topping twenty
pounds, though we were told to expect a more typical good fish average of around two to four pounds,
by which stage they should have become lone hunters, usually out in the deeper water.
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