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Outside Magazine September 2001
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To Catch or Catch Not (cont.)

A few days later, I fish outside of the holy city of León, about 200 miles west of Pamplona, this time with a prearranged license and a professional guide. The R‰o Luna is an indolent, slow-moving river bounded by the Montes de León to the west and the spectacular Picos de Europa to the north. Still, it is not wilderness. We fish near a modern housing project, a bridge, and an old power station. My guide, Javier Alvarez, turns out to be one of Spain's national fly-fishing champions.

"You like Robert Redford movies?" he asks. "I am like Brad Pitt." Well, not quite, but the man can tie flies. His favorite creation, which he calls a matadora, is a tidy job made from condor and rooster feathers.

With the April wind whipping down from the mountains, the fishing is less than stellar. "Huracán!" exclaims Javier's friend Alfredo, who walks up from fishing nearby. Later we come upon another friend, Romano. Javier, it seems, has a friend at every bend.

"Catch any?" calls Javier.

"Nada," yells Romano. "Huracán!"

Spain's national fishing champ catches one six-inch brown trout. I will go home empty-handed. But compared to all the churchgoing, it's a bang-up day. Javier gives me a bulging box of meticulously tied matadoras and nymphs, and I promise to send a sampling of Montana's finest in return. "In Spain," rhapsodizes Javier, sounding not unlike a drunken Se–or Hemingway, "we do not care about money. We care about friends and fishing."

ACCESS AND RESOURCES
The fishing in Spain is heavily regulated by national and local authorities. Unless you speak Spanish and enjoy pushing paper, it's easiest to go with a licensed guide. Javier Alvarez (011-34-98-780-5403) can show you the best rivers near León, in northwest Spain. For a guide near Pamplona, which is about 225 miles northwest of Barcelona, contact the Asociación Navarra de Pesca (011-34-94-814-8054). For more information on travel around Pamplona, contact the city's town council at 011-34-94-820-6540 or visit www.pamplona.net/engl/tourism. Hemingway stayed at the Hotel La Perla (double rooms from $42 per night; 011-34-94-822-7706).
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