5 November 2017 News/Editorial
The Tweed rod catch for last week was 203 salmon and 17 sea trout, making the seasonal total, to 4th November 2017, 5,956 salmon and 1,661 sea trout.
Conditions could hardly have been better, with fresh fish very hard to come by, hence the comparatively low score.
For the coming week, bar some rain on Tuesday, forecasts indicate a continuation of the present cooler, dry northwesterlies, good for fishing…….. but then water heights and temperatures are not the problem.
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What is a “normal” rod catch for the Tweed, a benchmark by which a salmon angling year can be judged?
Here are the (rounded) decadal average recorded Tweed rod catches since 1950:
1950s 4,000
1960s 6,500 (UDN 1967)
1970s 5,000
1980s 8,000 (main in-river net reduction 1987)
1990s 9,000
2000s 12,500 (NE drift net reduction 2003)
2010-13 17,000
2014-17 7,500 (assuming 2017 less than 7,000)
The other most significant factor is that rod angling effort will have at least doubled since the 1950s. Whereas doubling effort does not mean doubling catches (because the fewer the rods, the more they will inhabit the best pools; the more the rods, the more some will have to go to the marginal pools, where they will catch less), nevertheless it must have a significant impact on the above figures.
By way of some counterbalance, pre the 1980s they routinely used golden sprats, prawns and worms, and spinning was the weapon of choice until 1st April. My uncle Billy Straker-Smith could not catch them on a fly one spring morning in the 1960s at Carham; he caught 20 on a prawn in the afternoon.
And of course there was netting, in the 1960s over 120 NE drift net licensees and 60 of our own in-river and coastal nets, often catching well over 100,000 salmon and grilse between them in a season.
Now we have just 1 of our own nets and 12 NE drift nets.
So, with all that to take into account, what is a “normal” salmon rod catch year for the Tweed?
I am inclined to think the following;
Under 8,000 Poor
8,000-10,000 Poor-ish
10,000-12,000 Average/normal
12,000-14,000 Good
14,000-16,000 Very good
Over 16,000 Exceptional
Some would argue there have been no benefits of the catch decline since 2013, but others would say it has brought realism and some sense of worth into our appreciation of Tweed salmon angling, no more will we take catches of over 12,000 (routine in the 2000s and early 2010s) for granted.
If salmon net catches are further curtailed off the NE coast, as they surely must be soon, only then will we have established a level playing field, with no netting to speak of and a consistent rod fishing effort.
And only then will we truly be able to categorise angling years into poor, average or good.
Few would contest that in 2017 we have been in the “poor” category.
But…….
…..it will be better next year.
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On a calm day on the river, you have to be careful what you say…..because sound travels so far over water.
I was reminded of this the other day when, even in my aurally enfeebled state, I could hear every word that ghillies and fishermen were exchanging on the other side of the river, over 60 yards away.
As you would expect (and I tried not to linger too long, to overhear too much) it was about the comparative lack of autumn fish.
There must have been thousands of similar discussions up and down the river over the past weeks and months.
When fisherman and ghillies meet at lunch, or after hours for a drink, and inevitably discuss why are there fewer salmon, what is the most common conclusion?
Could it be that seals, goosanders and cormorants are the cause, closely followed (or is this too paranoid?) by blaming the River Tweed Commission, the Tweed Foundation and the owners for not doing enough about them?
Which would be (almost) entirely the wrong answer, but does explain why so many …….
…...think it is that simple.
If only it were.