19 May News/Editorial
“TWEED IS THE MOST PROLIFIC ATLANTIC SALMON RIVER IN THE WORLD”, say it over and over again and to anyone who will listen. “Tweed” of course includes all its wonderful tributaries, Till, Whiteadder, Teviot, Ettrick.
As Tweed’s only bespoke marketing site, we can say it. We have said it before in these pages, and we will go on saying it.
Can Fishpal (who run Fishtweed)? Of course they can, but do they? We can’t find it. If they did say it, what would the Dee and the Tay and all the other rivers they act for say?
They do say “After a record breaking year in 2010 and another good year in 2011, it also now ranks among the very top salmon rivers in the world.” This implies that it wasn’t among the “the very top” pre 2010; it was, it was the best pre 2010. Why not just say it is the best, instead of “among the very top”?
On BBC Scotland’s Landward two weeks ago a foreign visiting angler to the Dee said “the Dee is the best salmon river in the world”. No it isn’t. Tweed’s average annual rod catch (“AARC”) is over 15,000, the Dee’s is under 7,000.
Sixteen completely charming Shropshire farmers came to learn something about the Tweed last week. One of them countered the assertion that “Tweed is best” by saying, “what about the Tay and the Helmsdale?”
And again, an old school fishing club advertised a week on the Helmsdale as “a week on the best river in Scotland”.
No it isn’t, nor is the Tay.
The Tay’s AARC is under 10,000 salmon and the Helmsdale’s under 2,000.
Tweed’s is, yes say it again, over 15,000.
The Spey? Under 10,000.
The Naver? Under 2,000.
The Deveron? Under 4,000.
The Tyne? Under 4,000.
What is more, we could go through the entire list of Norwegian, Icelandic, Russian, UK and Irish rivers and you still won’t get any of them even close to 15,000.
These totals, like Tweed’s 15,000, include all their tributaries (eg the Tay has the prolific Isla, Tummel and Lyon tributaries), so in case you think we aren’t comparing like with like, you are wrong. We are.
In 2010 Tweed’s rod catch was 23,219. This is more than any Atlantic salmon river has ever caught anywhere, anytime, ever.
Fishpal do not seem willing to say it. Is it because they operate sites for almost all the other rivers? But we can and will go on saying it.
We at Tweedbeats only act for the Tweed. Instead of being coy about it, not so much of “after you, sir” to the other rivers, less of that British reserve, say it as it is, and be proud.
Did you ever catch Sir Alex Ferguson allowing anyone to believe Manchester United are second best?
As WC Fields said in 1941 and some Australian cricket captains have famously said since, when seeking to keep on top of opposing competitors, “Never give a sucker an even break”.
So here it is again, a bit snappier this time, “TWEED IS THE BEST ATLANTIC SALMON RIVER”.
By a street.
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