Fish of AT LEAST a Thousand Casts

There is a saying that the salmon is the fish of a thousand casts...well......one thousand and one, one thousand and two....

Salmon Fishing in Northumberland

Today I spent a lovely day on a syndicate run beat of the South Tyne, my fifth salmon outing over the past year. Beautiful scenery and good company but still, despite a good spate and ideal water conditions, no salmon. I enjoy spey casting very much and find it powerful yet eloquent at the same time. It is rhythmical, complex and still affords me the same escape that trout fishing offers with a whole host of other challenges. The contrast between the world of salmon fishing and the world of trout fishing or, for that matter, any other species you fish for with a single handed rod is astonishing.  When I go trout fishing I expect to catch a fish. Very few and far between are the days where I blank when Salmo trutta are the target. However, salmon have proved elusive, but that seems the norm in salmon fishing culture. "You should have a good chance of a salmon today". Chance!? At least this is the motto in England. Granted, at the Atlantic Salmon Reserve in Russia you can expect to catch at least 10 salmon a day. But a 7 day trip costs you around $ 25,000. The reasons for this discrepancy is the topic of much discussion but certainly isn't related to absolute numbers but more likely related to the percentage of salmon in the river actually willing to take a fly. One theory, which I think has good weight, but is difficult if not impossible to test, is that because in the past so many salmon from the Englsih rivers were killed after being caught the gene for "taking a fly when in the river" has all but been eliminated in English salmon. In Russia the salmon of years gone have never seen a fly much less been killed by one, thus that "take fly in river" gene is still around.  Estimates are that around two percent of English salmon will actually take a fly. Whether this is based on fact or on the word of disgruntled English salmon fishermen is anyone's guess. 


So, you may ask, what are the rest of the non-fly taking salmon doing? They are no doubt focused on their pre-programmed goal of reaching suitable spawning grounds and passing on their genes to the next generation. Evolution is a powerful force, one so powerful, that in my short experience, not even an expensive (borrowed of course) Sage spey rod and reel combo with an eloquently tied £3Willy Gunn can stop. How arrogant am I to think that a salmon would actually even consider taking one of my relatively poorly swung flies? 


 However, I think, I hope, the relative rarity of catching a salmon is where my salvation lies. You see, when it happens, and it will happen, it will no doubt be a surprise, an adrenaline rush and confirmation that it is actually possible to catch a salmon. But I think it will be something more than that. It will be a moment where I come close to an amazing beast that began its life in the river that I now fish, has beaten the odds and survived the harrowing trip back to the ocean. While in the ocean it has again beaten the odds and survived countless attacks from predators of all sorts, not least of all man. Only to return to where it was born some years later. A truly astonishing feat. Of course I will release it after a quick photo with a big toothy grin, so that it can go on to complete its amazing journey.