WHAT THE LAKE IS LIKE

The Embalse de Chira is a reservoir built to provide water for irrigation in the south of the island, the dam was completed in about 1953. Shortly after the reservoir was filled Carp and Black Bass were introduced to maintain the water quality by controlling weed growth and insects. There are eye witness reports of 'big fish' being seen in the lake in the early 1960's but no one fished for the Carp until a few travelling anglers started coming in the mid to late 70's. By the mid 1990's Chira had become a popular Carp fishing destination for travelling anglers from all over Europe. Certainly between 1997 and 2000 there were articles about the lake in several fishing magazines.

The area and depth of the lake depends on rainfall, but even when the lake is only half full it is easy to find the depth in excess of 20 feet only a few rod lengths out. When the water is high at the dam end it could be anything up to 100 feet deep! In December of 2004 it rained for 4 days and the water level rose by at least 10 feet! This dramatic variability in the water level obviously changes the surface area of the lake, when full it is in the region of 200 acres and volume of over 4,000,000m3. At the moment the lake is nearly full so there are places to fish that haven't been fished for maybe 5 years, simply because there has been no water there! There are many bays, some of which are bowls of mud others are deep craggy affairs. The top of the lake shallows off to nothing and breaks off into arms when the water level is high enough, which at the moment is the case.

The bottom is very rocky with muddy patches and some light weed with thicker patches close in. In the summer a slimly thick type of silk weed appears all around the lake and lags your line that can be tricky to deal with. The higher the water the more chance you have of encountering submerged bushes that grow up during periods of low water. The lake features bays and very steep banks, very deep water towards the dam, shallower water at the top of the lake especially in the 'arms'. There are no visible plant features such as trees, lilies, reeds or weed beds around the lake to speak of apart from the submerged bushes.

Access to the swims around the lake varies from fairly easy to difficult enough to put off all but the most adventurous angler. There are swims that are reasonably easy to reach where you can park nearby to limit the distance you have to carry your kit. However many of the swims are quite hard work to reach due to the steep banks and rocky terrain. Walking around the lake is hard going even more so with a full load of fishing kit. Moving in the heat is exhausting and the altitude (about 1500m above sea level) compounds the problem as the thin air leaves you out of breath more quickly than usual, so do take it easy. Although it is possible to walk all the way around the lake, the far bank is only really accessible for an angler by boat, but the effort can be well worth it. In the summer the water is not cold so a small inflatable boat can be loaded with your kit and you can swim it across quite easily. I cannot emphasise enough how hard it is getting about this lake. To fish the most attractive swims you do need a car, and even then don't be surprised if even on an apparently short walk from the car to the lakeside, you are left puffing and blowing and sweating profusely, even more so on the way back up.

In the summer temperatures soar to 30oC+ from about 8.30 in the morning until the sun goes down with warm nights and almost no chance of rain although condensation at night is a problem you may have to deal with. In the winter mid teens to low 20s Celsius is the normal day temperature and will still burn you if you are not careful, but the wind can be cold so warm clothes are essential. As soon as the sun goes down it gets cold although rarely freezing. There is a chance of rain in winter, about 2 weeks is expected between December and the beginning of March, which isn't much but when it rains it really rains, it is wise to check the weather forecast before you come just in case. The summer sun is the most dangerous thing for anglers. I always advise that people take a brolly for shade, as there is no shade by the lake, keep the breeze moving over you and drink lots of water. I can easily drink 4 litres of water in a day while fishing Chira in the summer, and I'm used to the heat! Sunscreen is necessary all year round.

Are there any 'nasties' you should know about? Gran Canaria, being an island, has fortunately never been inhabited by poisonous snakes, spiders, insects or indeed any dangerous animals. The only pests by the lake are the mosquitoes against which repellents are effective, and tics that will try to crawl up your legs looking for a warm hairy fold of skin to latch onto and suck blood, not the most pleasant thing to have to deal with. Check yourself over for tics regularly and shake out your clothes and bedding before using them. If you are unfortunate enough to have a tic latch onto you, dabbing them with alcohol is supposed to make them 'let go' and fall off, pulling them off will leave the tics jaws embedded in your skin which you will then have to dig out with a needle.

Scenery around the lake is fantastic. The lake is set in a deep valley high in the mountains just south of the centre of Gran Canaria. The mountains are covered with pine forests and really are a quite spectacular place to spend a few days fishing.

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