Lets look back on 2016 and recall what type of a season we had on the Tyne and how the salmon fishing fared.

The season started badly following the worst floods we are told in 300 years. The damage caused is still being repaired while I write this article. The famous 'scar' on the Estate took the brunt of the hostile conditions in the winter of 2015-6, this local geological feature was stripped of many ancient trees and tens of thousands of tonnes of material. Sadly the river banks were ripped apart in places and also a huge whirlpool flood entered our lakes and wreaked havoc. No grants were forthcoming and in about March we set to work and as of early December we are still working and adding improvements where we can. The condition of the salmon beat was luckily ok and perhaps for the hut pool a bit better. Fine sand was piled up metres high and with JCB and manpower we got there and grass eventually reappeared.

As the season began the prevailing easterlies seemed to stop the runs of salmon the theory being that salmon don't like running in seas that are rough where the sand irritates their gills. Some lucky rods picked up fish in April but as a rule the beat was lightly fished in spring. In May salmon were seen as lot but difficult to tempt ! Then June came and our fishermen were somewhat taken unawares that a massive run of salmon passed through the beat a quite extraordinary run. The Tyne rods were a chatter with autumn like runs of fish heading throughout the system so fish began to be hooked and even some landed by lucky anglers. What was discussed seemed to be the ease at which fish unhooked themselves and I for one can vouch for this not just on the Tyne but rivers I fished in Scotland in 2016, The Lochy and the Esks.

The summer progressed and the most skilful rods with a taste for the night were reputed to have caught some superb sea-trout. The weather was not really the best  to  our rods but once again July was quite amazing with nearly 10,000 fish going though the system!!!