Dave W popped north again from Cambs and joined the resident pair of Brian and Leroy S. There was some rain that seemed centred on the East and some release from Kielder the weather was certainly more suited to the pursuit of our sea faring quarry.
Early and late some fish were seen predominately sea-trout and a couple of nice ones were landed by Leroy and Dave well done indeed.
Leroy’s Summer Treasure
Where are the salmon you may ask? It just so happened that on the final day Dave W had the shock of the trip when a substantial estimated twenties brute nearly took the rod from his hands. The fish thrashed around the pool then tore upstream within feet of Dave then headed for nearby rocks smashing the leader! It happens unfortunately but well done for a memorable trip and you never know that fish might have a larger friend lurking in the Hut Pool ?
As June ended surely July followed and at this intersection Graham, Barry and Leon arrived with reasonable expectations that the river might be kind. The radar was definitely promising with Western weather fronts!
Barry hard at it in the gloaming.
As luck would have it they had a feeling fish were running and this was confirmed as Graham and Leon had sea-trout in very good condition to 4lb. The weather was variable with some stunning views as the conditions changed almost hourly with some very persistent and annoying wind.
Mysterious Skies
The trip meant some very early and late ventures to the river Tyne and at times it seemed fruitless. On the last morning Leon had a tremendous pull and battle which ended in a sea-liced estimated 15lb stunning Farnley Tyne Salmon! So with a few sea-trout in the bag and just about the finest the Tyne can offer you could say they had a successful time. See you next time and well done.
June started with high hopes some salmon and impressive sea-trout. There have been decent runs but the water levels and weather have been tricky for our rods.
A new rod Andrew W sampled the beat for two days with his fishing friend and although one or two fish were about sadly nothing took interest. Hopefully when they come back up north the conditions will be more favourable.
Marney S and her friends are regulars and Barry Mitchell looked after them well as ever. Some fish took an interest and a salmon was on the line Monday but managed to get off sadly the run that had been seen petered out and nothing else was reported except everyone had a good time.
Chris B and his party followed up with conditions very much against them so good food and wine eased the pain and at the last knocking on Saturday evening a lovely 4 1/2lb sea-trout was bagged well done!
Local information came through via Barry Mitchell, Barry N and JT that fish were gathering in the river around Prudhoe. These shoals could have been salmon, grilse or sea-trout. Last week I dropped in at Wylam with my partner and she spotted some leaping around ready to run, fortunately the seal was not present.
That week Tim/Chay followed by Dave W were on. (more of Chay and Tim in another post!) Dave W gave it a good go and as luck would have it the trout, chub, dace, parr and smolt (gudgeon!).
Barry N last evening popped in to help Dave and provide some ideas as the holiday drew to a close then ‘BANG’
Tyne Specimen Sea Trout
Barry hit into a very large Sea-Trout estimated around 9lb. After a heck of a scrap it was gently revived and swam off to continue its journey and spawn in the Autumn. Dave was absolutely delighted and as ever its the luck of the draw.
This week three regulars headed by Danny J took the beat for three days and for the first time the Lodge! Eddie and Decca fought over room selection and were impressed by the new acquisition an additional Ice Box to quench any thirst.
Day 1 passed fairly uneventfully but later that night the guys were getting some interest and Eddie had a tremendous tussle with a 9lb estimated Sea Trout a fabulous fish. As I write another lovely one was landed earlier today!
Another 9lb Sea Trout ! Well Done Eddie.
Rest and recuperation currently awaiting some fresh water and Kielder water tomorrow…Good Luck!
Fish on after 8 casts ? (Clive counted 10!) Dominic struck in and it stuck on. Calls rang around “Get the net”. Clive jogged onto the scene net in hand and deftly lifted the fish. Congratulations to one and all, joy at last a lovely fish. Is it the last for May ? One day to go…. good luck lads.
March 27th Sunday and Barry N popped down to have a few hours. There are fish moving through and being caught up and down the river although not reported on FishPal being clubs or private syndicates. It was against this background that Barry a local expert felt he had every chance of at least a pull.
Working through the pools on a low river and with a warmish 48F he opted for top of the water fishing and small patterns. Suddenly something moved to his offering at the top of Willows and a decent fish was on. Spring Tyne fish are great scrappers and it fought well. Barry began walking backwards easing the fish into the shallows ready for release and a quick picture ….then ping !! the hook popped out and it was cheerio.
He was delighted to have had some sport and also saw another move further down. With very little pressure and rain forecast it might make sense to contact us and see whether we can offer you some Spring Days ?
There has been understandable disappointment up and down the river given the warm conditions and lack of water all season. The fish moved in but were just too stressed to be interested in anything. At Wylam fish were generally present and moving and rods witnessed decent fish movements at certain times but these were not willing to take.
September had a revisit from Barry Mitchells friends Jamie Murray , John and Hector.
Very Low
There was some optimism as a small amount of extra water was in and conditions were ok or at least an improvement!
Jamie had one of 6lb on day one but the river dropped sadly and the last day lost a significant one in the Willows.
Phil Adams team had a fairly decent visit on their September trips with a 12 1/2 and 7lb .
I’ll recheck my other visitors as I’m south without the catch returns book.
October has started in excellent form with rain and then a flood! In the days that they could get on George Will and James had some superb sport with I think 5 fish and everyone got lucky!
Not bad !
George bags a fresh one
A terrific battler !
This was followed up with a big flood which knocked Phil Adams team off the river. As it dropped things were extremely good with 7 salmon one sea trout and one bar of silver and another fresh one. A superb effort well done all considering the week looked at one point to be an absolute write off.
Without the fresh water we really need the odds were against our returning guests. Locally we had rain in the East and at times the estate was hit by serious deluges damaging our tracks and washing parts of the road to the railway away. The issue is the lack of rain from the West which can bring fresh fish in and oxygenate the water.
The early part of august we had some sporadic catches from Guy H guests but nothing like one would hope for given the numbers that were appearing lower in the tidal reaches.
Peter Stott brought his team and they certainly had an enjoyable time a few fish on but not landed and one grilse for Al in the hut pool which I think was his first!
John Mumsey took a letting that had become free and one of their team Tim F had a hectic first day with a decent catch and others lost best 14.5lb another 10lb with a whopper that took him right down the
John Does Battle
he last day they had a lovely fresh grilse.
Chay Hedger arrived with his friend Gareth with high hopes I genuinely thought they would do well. As it happened after quite a few years of trying on Day 1 Gareth got his first salmon and was absolutely on cloud nine!
Sadly nothing else but fish were seen but didn’t have the decency to take their offerings.
Keith Johnson and his friend Dave Bartlett took the beat next and stayed in the lodge for the first time. I am happy to report they appreciated the improvements and slept and lived very comfortably for their short stay. They fished very carefully and given the conditions used very fine and far off tactics. I can report that they managed two excellent salmon and an absolute beauty of a sea trout. Well done both.
A splendid Tyne Sea-Trout for Keith
Roger Naish brought his team of friends and they have been long term clients with many successful visits over the years. I know they had some serious connections but none sadly in the net! nevertheless they enjoyed a peaceful time on the Estate and relaxed in the Lodge.
The last team a group of regulars George Upex, Will Mullholland and James hit the river and had two excellent days of sport with four caught and all in excellent condition and a fair few others were on and off including another big fellow breaking free after a good battle.
Well done everyone and our advice is given the changing world we live in try and stay on the Estate then pick your times if necessary explore beautiful Northumberland on those hopeless dog days? Many years ago my father and i would head off into the highlands enjoying fabulous scenery architecture and a picnic when the daytime prospects were hopeless.
As we enjoy this heatwave at the end of July its always a challenge if not a question of whether to bother to fish. Last week Danny, Eddie and Decca put the hours in and despite a god run of fish didn’t get lucky with the salmon. Fortunately the sea trout were more receptive and they had a few and lost a few up to 5lb. A good three days were enjoyed they are back in a few weeks when hopefully we will be blessed with some rain.
Phil’s party had two trips the first culminating in some interesting catches including a 19lb salmon to be found on the main page. Their second trip in more difficult conditions promised sunshine but a poor chance of sport unfortunately. It was with great interest that communications came in were that they had some sport.
Partick G the leader of the group on had a fin perfect fish on day one early on using the smallest of offerings and on day 2 Jason W another using similar tactics and very early start!
Well done Patrick
Jason’s delight
With only Kielder releases on offer its not looking good although the current party had some late night sea trout action although none found the net sadly!
As ever lets hope we get a period of cooler wetter weather to freshen everything up and provide some action.
Well its been a crazy old spring hasn’t it? We had frosts of -7C which effectively did for my water pump and caused other problems unfortunately. The new water supply can’t come soon enough and is effectively moving forward after 6 months of Network Rail hoops and a winter where my contractors laid pipes in snow covered land. In March we had some hot days where some fish were about and one was connected with but got off and then the big freeze came. Cold NE winds no rain made the fishing exceptionally difficult and you really felt that what with Covid and all its challenges the weather could at least be more benign. In the middle of April at the start of the new easing of restrictions Hugh S and his friends were on the beat with Barry Mitchell on hand to assist. It was a completely new beat for this party and I was fairly hopeful that one or two were about having heard the odd splash whilst putting new steps in with Alan a week earlier.
The team split up on Day 1 with reports of something hitting Damien’s offering in the Hut otherwise it was a day for getting to know the beat and the conditions were pretty good river at a foot and certainly not as cold.
On Day 2 we sensed possibilities as the day was warmer , winds light and sunshine duller. Sure enough Damien had one on in the Hut Pool which gave a fair battle and was netted by Barry at a guess 10-12lb well done Damien.
Nearly there !
This was not the end of it as a few other pulls occurred then a big fish took in Dead Tree! With a group of us watching this one was a long strong Tyne springer in the twenties. Half an hour of battle followed I couldn’t get get it in the net , Barry arrived and this fish was too strong and eventually inches from his net slipped the hook! We were flabbergasted.
The friends of Dave W , Graeme N returned for a go and unfortunately the freeze began again. Deep frosts blue skies unrelenting cold. Any fish just dropped to the bottom and certainly very few were seen moving sadly.
As is the case with salmon fishing suddenly a bit of warmth a flick of a switch and one or two were seen including one that paused long enough and sure enough it took Dave’s fly almost immediately! A serious battle ensued but this one wasn’t going to win this particular fight. Safely returned it belted off.
A Real Thumper !
April continued its unrelenting passage no sign of rains, river low and damn cold. Tim and Chay took their chances and caught every type of smolt sea trout and salmon but no sign of any of their elders. Some brilliant bird life around including a travelling Osprey that fed along the river for a few days and caught some lovely fish.
Sea Trout ParrSalmon Parr
The morning of their departure Dom F and Elk were keen to get on and despite the conditions the Hut Pool gave an indication that the big tides had eventually moved some fish. After Elk kindly roused the fish Dom popped in after and did battle with a corking one estimated to be around 14lb terrific work! That was their lot for the trip but given the conditions all told they were happy and enjoyed their little holiday even enjoying and Elk barbecue of epic proportions and a stunning locally delivered curry!
A Lovely Spring Hen Fish
Mike S and Arthur hit the beat with similar conditions the odds were not good, some fish were indeed seen only very occasionally but probably in a hurry sadly. They enjoyed the trip but unfortunately luck was not on their side this time.
