European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 15, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday August 15, 1989 the stars and stripes Page 9 Angler finally finds the stuff to Back up his Large Mouth Stoy Bevin Ccrawley staff writer Zaragoza a Spain after nine months air Force sgt. John Russell finally got the award winning Large Mouth Bass out of his refrigerator fryc or. Unable to Fin someone to stuff it he kept the fish wrapped inelastic and old newspapers so it would t get Freezer burned but his wife was kind of Happy that i was finally Able to get it out of there Sai Drussell a san Francisco native who works in the gym at Spain s Zarragoza a. The 6-Puufid,10-Ouncefish was the winning catch at Las september s european invitational Derby. But he did t find a taxidermist worthy of the Bass until Early july and expects to have it Back stuffed and mounted before this year s invitational which runs sept. 28-30. The european invitational is a military sponsored fishing Derby that lures anglers from As far away Auberlin and the United states. They go to Lake Casic a Reservoir about Halfway Between Barcelona and Zaragoza and those who be fished there say it s not Only the Best Bas slake in Europe but also one of the top 1 0 in the world. Staff sgt. Roy Wilson an Airframe Mechanic at Zaragoza and president of the Caspe Bas masters fishing club says the Spanish Reservoir is in the same league As Toledo Bend on the Louisiana Texas Border near fort Polk and Lake Eufaula on the Alabama Georgia Border just South of fort  to Small print on Spanish maps the place is actually called pm Balsa do Mequi Nenza but americans prefer the less ominous sound of Casic. The name of a Spanish Village nearby. Built by damming the Ebro River the Lake is 20 Miles Long As the Crow Flics but because the riverbed Snake Between ridges and curves Back on itself the actual length by Bass boat is nearly twice that not counting the scores of coves and inlets. Cliffs and Rocky hillsides line most of its 300-mile Shore. The Ebro meanders through Steep valleys Down from the pyrenees and Wilson says the Reservoir s water is so Clear that i can see Down through it 1 2 or 1 3  along with some of Europe s few Bass the Lake spawns some pretty big fish stories. Bas masters Are still talking about the giant Catfish someone pulled out of Casic in june. I probably would have called him a liar if i had t seen it myself Tom Mulcy manager of Zarago a s outdoor recreation Center said after describing the 80-Pound Cross Between a speckled and Channel  to satisfy scoffers he has a Spanish newspaper clipping of the Leviathan tacked to the Wall of his shop. The proud Spanish Fisher Man in the photograph is an Inch or two taller than the slender prehistoric faced creature hanging beside him. This monster was the biggest some Days i la go out and have to go through a whole tackle Box to catch one fish. You can t just throw anything at the fish and expect it to bite. You have to simulate live bait to attract  tech sgt. Taylor living thing yet pulled out of Pulle Ica pc and Mulcy has mentioned the possibility of a 150-Poundcatfish lurking Down by the dam where the water is close to 400feet deep. The 80-Poundcr was caught using half a Chicken As bait but More optimistic cat Fisher anglers arc using the whole Bird Mulkey said. When you re fishing with a whole Chicken you re talking some big fish. Divers he said have got to where they won t go Down to the Bottom  another american who says he s fished Casic so much that he s worn out All his camping equipment was out trolling the Lake one weekend when his boat ran up on something that looked like a log til its Tail started flapping it scared me. I be never seen a fish so big. Not in fresh  still most reservoirs even some big Rivers and natural lakes Are stocked with giant Catfish stories. Riv Croal folklore along the Mississippi occasionally tries to convince the Gullible about duels Between Stem wheelers and whale sized nightmares kicked up from the deep. None of this matters to Bass purists because they know the Best fish Are caught in the shallowest parts of the most secluded coves. In june a 7-Pound, 7-ounce Large Mouth was pulled out of just two feet of water said tech sgt. Charles e. Taylor an aircraft hydraulics technician who comes from Lexington Park my. On the Chesapeake Bay. Taylor prefers deep sea fishing but since he s stationed so far from the Ocean Bass is the next Best thing. Because it takes cunning. Some Days i la go out and have to go through a whole tackle Box to catch one fish Taylor said. Is l Conr Rotl Luwis or. Tech sri. Charlesf. Taulur Rin lit thinks this monster he caught is wort about. Looking on is Casic Bass Malm president staff set. Roy Wilson. You can t just throw anything at the fish and expect it to bite. You have to simulate live bait to attract it. And if the fish in t hungry you have to try to play on his aggressiveness or  Chicken stories notwithstanding live bail for Bass is strictly taboo on Lake Asp. Instead Bass masters rely on the Art of the handmade lure. Here you need to use a lot More finesse to use something that in t real and project it Over to the fish that it is something real said Russell whose wife no longer has to endure last year s Best Bass in her refrigerator. But those who can t outsmart a Bass can rely on some Luck at Caspe. Wilson said the Lake is one of those rare ones w Here everyone catches at least one fish. The Spanish prefer Carp leaving Bas mostly to the americans. And the Region is so primitive no electricity or running water at the campsites but there is a sort of a hotel 10 Miles from the military recreation Center s boat launch that Wilson says there s no danger of it being Over fished in the foreseeable future. The Lake s Best seasons Are in september and october and March through May. Wilson and the others try to spend two or three weekends a month out at Casic during Bass season. Even at this Rale Russell says it took him More than a year to learn the nuances of the Lake. Caspe s a big  said Wilson whose Hometown is Birmingham. Ala. I be seen 4-, 5-. 6-foot Waves out there. One Day the water was so bad i came off the Lake. I was raised on the water and i never thought i d Ever Sec it get so bad i had to come off the water. It was like being at  big Waves big Bass big cat. They All sound like so Many big fish stories if you be never been to Casic. Angler who went to try their hand at a. Euro Pean lnviutlon.1. Or who it want to Fiah Leko clip. Can get application and tournament  by writing Loroy Wilaon at . Boi in Apo . 096. Tin entry Llor in. Cornell la �75 per per .on,75 percent of which Goei to Price. Tom Mulley can be reached at the Zaragozo outdoor rec Center by Selling ets 724-258 j or civilian irom wet Ger Many 0034 76326?11, ail 2562, the air base Bee Campa ilae boat rental end  information. An Glera con Alao Reed about Trout lie Hing in the pyre need in this week Stripe Mega lne