It has been well reported that the river has enjoyed some of the biggest runs of migratory fish since 1996! What is very disappointing was the haste these fish headed west. The main cause appears to be the high water temperatures and fish looking to move into more oxygenated cooler waters up river.
Graeme N and his friends booked in for a week and it turned out to be extremely challenging. We had some fresh water and some releases but the hot conditions really killed off the chances although terrific numbers could be seen moving from time to time.
The good news if that Graeme caught a beautiful fresh one under 10lb Im not sure of the exact weight and there are no pics as its on his GoPro which maybe means we will get a little video ?
We had a few cancellations due to the hot conditions and wierdly it actually rained ! One of my good friends Barry N along with John T and Jim had a few hours here and there which meant a lot of cursing as there were fish showing occasional pull but nothing ….until! Barry had a nice 3lb sea trout and lovely grilse. The following evening a decent one Id guess 12-14lb as a result of changing tactics.
Barry N bags some Tyne Silver
Mike S and Arthur arrived for two days as a result of a no show with the river in decent order with water and reports of fish moving through again.
They stuck at it well and Arthur had one one which parted company dammit!
Mike hit the jackpot with a lovely grilse 6-7lb Pump Pool!!
Id like to share a picture here but in the excitement all that happened was a great shot of the Himalayan Balsam !!!!! At least nobody dropped the phone in the water as has happened (yes it was me).