Fishing in the Tyne – Annual Review 2023
Once again, rivers in the UK were challenged by extremes of weather, from long periods of low flows and high water temperatures to extended periods of high rainfall. The Tyne was not excluded from the impact of these extremes, which to varying degrees affected the catch rates.
We caught up with our Fisheries Manager Aidan Pollard for his ‘year in review’
While the Tyne has not suffered as much as many other rivers in England and Wales, the average salmon run of 9,000 to 11,000 per annum is very small when compared to some historical catches. For example, the Inspectors Report of Salmon Fisheries in 1878 recorded catches of 120,600 in 1871 and 129,100 in 1872. Whilst it is unlikely that there will be a recovery to this magnitude, it does impress us with the size of the challenge we are facing and how much more we have to do to save and protect this iconic species
The 2023 season had a slow start. However some 11,420 fish were recorded at the Riding Mill counter up to July 15th, unfortunately the recently upgraded fish counter was damaged in a spate and no further counting was possible. Up to that point July was again enjoying a very good run of fish with 7,511 recorded in the first two weeks of the month. The great majority of these counts were sea trout.
July and August are becoming the peak months for fresh run fish numbers. This was reflected in anglers catches. The pattern of good catches of sea trout, including good numbers of large fish into the teens of pounds, with lower salmon numbers than expected continued for the rest of the season. This is the perceived view of the majority of contributors to this report. A smaller number of beats managed to produce near average catches, however some beats were well below their average salmon number, often with much higher numbers of sea trout.
For further information, please contact Aidan Pollard here.
