The Catch: Carp & Coarse features 5 unique venues that will all be presenting you with their own set of challenges. You’ll be targeting specimen carp at Oxlease on the Linear Fisheries Complex, looking to hook into huge catfish on the River Ebro and chasing exotic monsters at Pearl Lake in Malaysia. The Rotterdam canals make for the perfect urban street fishing location to track down predators such as pike and zander, or you can go on the hunt for them in the openness of Loch Mickle.

A quintessentially English lake, surrounded by leafy woodlands and green fields with plenty of purpose built fishing pegs, 26 acre Oxlease is one of the jewels in the crown of the famed Linear complex. In summer, the main quarry are carp, huge dark backed fish including ‘Alice’ who can reach over 45lbs (20kg), and the bullish ‘Oxen’, a surly brute touching 40lbs (18kg). In winter, Oxlease is also a renowned pike venue, packed with toothy predators to over 20lbs (9kg)! Can you find ‘The Prime Pike’ or one of the amazing double figure tench during your visit?

Emerald waters and tumbling waterfalls are surrounded by high limestone cliffs and glossy palm trees which sway gently in the warm sea breeze as anglers shelter from the heat of the tropical sun. Massive Arapaima, Giant Wolf Fish and exotic Redtail Catfish will all pull your string here, so your tackle needs to be strong enough to cope with fish that run to over 450lbs (204kg)! After a tiring day by the water however, this resort comes alive at night with cocktails and partying amongst the bamboo chalets and restaurants as the mist settles over the lake… are you up for it?

At the foot of the Catalonian mountains near Fayon, the River Ebro clefts the Spanish countryside with a glittering blue scar of fish filled water. This big river is home to some seriously big fish, and you can expect to find catfish to almost 250lbs (113kg), hundreds of carp approaching 80lbs (36kg), with barbel, perch, roach, eels and more of sizes not found anywhere else on earth! It’s an angler’s dream venue! Will you fish from the rocky shoreline or opt for a boat, drifting over the azure surface under a hot Spanish sun? If you are stuck for divine inspiration, head for the sunken church, the spire of which pokes from the depths of the river.

With so many likely spots to choose from, where will you head for first? You could target the wandering shoals of big bream and carp which inhabit the open water wides of mid-river, or maybe seek out the cover and shelter of moored boats and the shadows beneath the bridges in search of predatory perch, pike and monster catfish which run to 150lbs (68kg)? How about grabbing the lure rod to indulge in some street fishing, or fish delicately presented natural baits for a huge variety of other species? Flowing through the heart of uber cool Rotterdam, the Nieuwe Maas has plenty of options!

Cold, deep and mysterious, Loch Mickle should be on your bucket list for the variety of rarely caught species within. Often battered by winds, slashing rain and snow, this forbidding inland sea can be fished from shore or boat, or even the dedicated fishing pier, but wrap up warm if you brave this venue! Char, salmon and trout provide the main sport, but carp, pike and eels can also be caught. Remember to keep watch for unexpected monsters… it can’t be the only Scottish loch with a legend attached can it?