Rafael Pulido, a man from Cordoba who lives in Zaragoza, managed to catch this exclusive fish in the Ribarroja reservoir, in the municipality of Mequinenza.
They say there are very few royal carp in the Riba Roja reservoir, only about 10. So, as Rafael Pulido says, " I had caught the fish of my dreams ."
Pulido is 25 years old, from Villaviciosa de Córdoba, but lives in Zaragoza for work. He has been fishing since he was 12. Little by little, he became interested in carp fishing, and since then, he only practices this type of fishing.
It wasn't the first time Rafael had gone fishing at the Riba Roja reservoir , and every time he went, it was with the goal of catching one of the few royal carp there. This time, he headed to the Mequinenza area, eager and prepared, but without knowing that the day would bring him the catch of a lifetime.
He prepared for this session alone, fine-tuning his equipment, thinking about the type of bait, and above all, where he would position himself to cast his lines. Once he arrived at his planned spot, he wasn't convinced by the large number of people fishing in the area, so he decided to spend the night there and move to a different location the next day.
He set up his rods in a new spot, and after about 12 hours , one of them took off spectacularly , as Rafael himself recounts. He spent about 10 minutes trying to bring the fish to shore, but it got snagged, so he quickly got in the boat. Once he reached the fish, he couldn't believe his eyes . Pulido remembers how his heart felt like it was going to jump out of his chest with excitement when he saw the specimen he had caught. After a while, with a lot of patience and skill, he was able to net it.
When he reached the shore with the fish, he placed it on the mat so that it wouldn't get hurt; that was the moment he realized that he had caught the fish of his dreams.
This man from Cordoba could hardly believe it, " I know that something like this is very difficult to surpass in life, catching one of the biggest fish in Spain , a royal, with such unique genetics, and all by myself. A dream come true ."
After the obligatory photos, Rafael, as a true fan of this sport, returned the fish to the water, so that it could continue swimming and living in freedom.
Rafael showcases his passion for this discipline through his Instagram profile @Pulidocarp
