news/editorial

22 March 2020 News/Editorial

What with incessant flooding and now coronavirus, can there ever have been a more inauspicious start to any fishing season, with, of course, the most notable exceptions of the War Years 1914-1919 (I have deliberately gone for 1919 to include Spanish flu) and 1939-1945?

At least the weather is now settling, so that over the next week or so we will, for the first time in 2020, find out what stocks of spring salmon are in the river. Thus far nothing has been caught below Coldstream, unsurprisingly, and whether that changes or not will depend both on continued dry weather and on whether those fast swimming springers decide to stop. You would think that for another week or so the best chances will remain both above and below Kelso.

But with fishing, you never know. With roundabout 50 salmon caught last week, perhaps the season is finally underway.

But, and a never more important and vital “but”, all subject to coronavirus, and possible even more draconian future restrictions.

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There have been mixed reactions from fishery owners to the current crisis. Many, as I understand it, have both said and done nothing by way of advice to visiting anglers, whilst others appear to have closed their beats altogether.

Some anglers, mainly the more elderly and geographically distant ones, are cancelling, and you can fully understand why. For those who still want to come, it seems that most beats are still open.

The reason, I suppose, is that salmon fishing is not unlike golf, something you can do without taking risks if you follow all the advice to the letter. You must self distance, hand wash, and not even think of appearing on the river bank if either you have a cough/fever or if you have recently been in touch with someone who has; and, of course, part of the new functions of ghillies and boatmen should be to rigorously disinfect and clean the hut every morning before the anglers arrive. You may even want to have lunch sitting outside or in your car to avoid too close contact with others in the hut.

Nothing at present could be more serious than coronavirus and the very real dangers it poses, but treated with extreme caution and without taking even the smallest risk or short cut, it should still just be possible to go out there and enjoy some fishing.

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Did you see that a study in the magazine Global Change Biology has examined marine data from 1980 to 2018. “Indicator species” such as barnacles, limpets and snails have moved 250 km north in response to warming seas compared to 40 years ago.

Professor Burrows of the Scottish Association for Marine Science said “Our findings are consistent with what we suspected: throughout the UK we are seeing an increase in species with an affinity to warmer water, and a decrease in creatures that prefer colder water”.

He could well have added what we all know to be true, which is that our Atlantic salmon prefer colder water.