Suppose you want to put two pals on an English salmon this coming autumn, where would you advise? The South West? The Royalty? The Lune or Eden?
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I guess the Tyne is still leading the pack? Anyway, that’s what I thought, and that’s why I was prospecting up there a few days back.
The Tyne it is then, but where do you go on that hallowed river? And so many considerations come into play?
The Main Tyne? The North Tyne or the South Tyne? And of course, what about water conditions? Some beats fish well at high water, others when it’s lower.
On my trip, I talked with some excellent folk, all of whom know and love the Tyne like a family member, and obviously have special passions for their own beats that have given them so much joy over the years.
Everyone was so generous, so positive, so welcoming. The welter of suggestions was almost overwhelming. Just where to start, where to choose?
I guess that in an ideal world, you’d wait and watch what the weather throws at the North East in the build-up to the trip. Then you could make an on-the-day decision on where would serve you best.
And naturally, you’d be glued to FishPal all the previous week too. But those last weeks of September might be hot for salmon, but they are for anglers too.
Tyne aficionados have booked their beats eons ago, and we might well be looking at what’s left?
But, whatever, I love the Tyne, catch or not. That big, open countryside with Hadrian’s Wall to the North of you and fast, straight Roman roads leading you to salmon heaven – you hope.
And all the anglers, too, were equally accessible. No airs or graces. Just down-to-earth advice based on experience, and some cracking reminiscences too.
These I felt were salmon fishers through and through, not just once-a-season chancers talking a good game.
So, any pointers even at this late stage, I’d be grateful in the extreme.
In the meanwhile, my deepest thanks go out to Anne, Willy, Andrew, Philip and Martin for everything you did to make my visit just such a grand occasion for me.