down (along with a bridge in the Haltwhistle area!)

By Monday morning however rods were out catching (and loosing) fish as levels dropped very quickly and the river started to clear. On a main river beat near Riding Mill Brian Hankin landed a fresh fish of 10lbs, Ben Thompson lost a very good fresh salmon and Phil Gordon landed a fresh sea trout all on spinners on a falling but still quite coloured water.

The following day saw levels rise again as the North Tyne came away but today (Wednesday) the river is falling or steady throughout and sport can be expected well up the system on all three major rivers as well as the Rede with Salmon and Sea Trout running on the extra water.

Before the rains came fish seemed to be running through the beats below the fish pass and over the pass as temperatures rose towards the middle of the day. The beats below the pass were having a hard time as fish weren’t stopping in them but around Hexham anglers were fishing over and hooking salmon on a fairly regular basis. Ross Middleton, Danny Holmes and W. Kluge all had salmon off the NERAC water at Widehaugh.

By the 16th May the EA had counted 438 fish for the month over the counter which is only 150 short of the the average for the whole month with only half the month gone - very encouraging!

Trout fishing has been excellent at times on rivers and stillwaters. Large hatches of olives have been bringing the better fish to the top of the water and feeding confidently. There has been the first of the mayfly appearing on the River Derwent in the last day or so - something anglers look forward to all year.

More news on the North East Casting Club - confirmed instructors for the launch day on the 22nd of June at Eltringham fishery near Prudhoe NEare Glyn Freeman (AAPGAI master) John Little (AAPGAI) and myself. There will be demonstrations, 1 to 1 tuition, the chance to try a range of Lop tackle, flytying, a kick sampling and river display by the Tyne Rivers Trust a barbecue as well as a chance to fish the beat on the day. The day is free with the chance to join the club for an annual subscription of £10 and enroll on a structured Speycasting course delivered by AAPGAI instructors of 10 hours for an additional £50 fee - all excellent value for local anglers.

river at Wylam this season when levels have been lower.

The river is at a good fishing height today for the middle beats and late mornings seem to be seeing most activity as temperatures rise.

More rain is forecast over the next couple of days so some sort of a lift is expected. The river has been dirty but not too high over the weekend as pulses of water from the South Tyne catchment have added colour and washed weed from the river bottom.

Runs of fish continue to build and are near the 5 year average for this time of year.The level of water in Kielder reservoir remains below the trigger level for a release so the system will be relying on rainfall for any lifts for the foreseeable future.

A date for your diary is June 22nd when the newly formed North East Fly Casting Club will be holding its launch day at Eltringham fishery on the main river near Prudhoe (NE43 7DN). More details will follow but the day will be free to all and feature AAPGAI instructors to include casting demonstrations, 1 to 1 instruction, the opportunity to try out some new tackle as well as refreshments and activities to entertain the rest of the family.

The club will be hoping to attract a number of new members who for an annual subscription of only £10 will be able to attend weekly drop in sessions to include casting coaching, tackle try outs, fishing on the beat and sharing experiences with other members. For an additional fee of £50 members will be able to attend on an additional evening 5 x 2 hour top quality structured speycasting instruction programs led by fully qualified instructors, followed by fishing on the beat. These courses will be filled on a first come first served basis. This will an opportunity not to be missed for local anglers in particular.

On the trouting scene the river fishing remains highly dependent on conditions - warm, overcast days without too much breeze resulting in some super top of the water sport to hatches of olives, sedges and stoneflies. We still await the first hawthorns however to be followed hopefully by the Mayfly hatch so treasured by river trout anglers. On cooler days nymphs or more deeply fished wets are still taking plenty of fish.

There have been some excellent quality trout included in catches on the Derwent.

Any angler successful in landing a Tyne salmon is encouraged to send scale samples to the EA - details and sample packets from Morton Heddell-Cowie :- call 0191203 4140 or email Morton.Heddell-Cowie@environmentagency.gov.uk

Rods looking for access to Tyne fishing or casting tuition can contact me direct.

Tight lines

Neil

introduction to the life of this fascinating mollusc. He asked me to write the Foreword to his book, which I quote below because the context of the Freshwater Mussel FWM (Margaritifera Margaritifera) is perhaps more relevant today than it was then, largely because of increasing public awareness of its ecological importance.

Fred Woodward worked at the Kelvingrove Gallery in Glasgow in a team of distinguished natural historians and biologists. In that capacity he became a member of the European Invertebrates Survey and of the Bern Invertebrates Specialist Group, among other influential roles, including fellowship of the Linnaean Society. I remember Fred talking about the importance of the freshwater mussel and its relationship with juvenile salmonids, especially Atlantic salmon parr. At that time he was drafting the guidelines for the EU's Habitat Directorate, which ultimately led to EU legislation to protect the FWM.

Why are freshwater mussels (FWM) important?

My own interest in Margaritifera Margaritifera stemmed from living on the banks of the River South Esk in Angus, which was famous for the quality of its FWM pearls. In the 1980s it was still legal to collect pearls by opening up the shell of the living mollusc, invariably killing it in the process, and occasionally finding a pearl inside. South Esk FWM pearls were highly sought after, so much so that the late Queen Mother was given a necklace of a selection of the purest irridescent and graded pearls.

Quite often we would find heaps of opened shells beside the river, with dead mussels rotting and stinking in the summer warmth. It was obvious to me, even before I met Fred Woodward, that the plundering of the river's stocks of FWM could not continue if they were not going to become extinct.

Hence, when Fred asked me to write the foreword for his book, this is what I wrote:

"The freshwater mussel is a biological indicator of the health of our rivers. It is also the prized quarry of pearl fishermen, and in Scotland there is a common right to fish for them. There are few such privileges given to the ordinary person, above the rights of the riparian owner, and it is significant, as public access to Scotland's wilderness areas is now a major political issue, that we now know that this practice is no longer sustainable, if the Scottish pearl mussel is to survive.

Traditionally the pearl fisher killed every mussel in the search for the elusive and valuable pearl. It is this, in the context of the longevity and slow growth of Margaritifera Margaritifera, which made it obvious to Scotland's small group of professional pearl fishers that they needed to devise a method which did not involve killing the mussel. This they succeeded in doing by developing tongs which prise open the shell-halves sufficiently to allow inspection and removal of a pearl from the mussel's mantle without harming it. Unfortunately, it was impossible to communicate this method to the much larger number of amateur pearl fishermen, and it therefore became necessary to introduce legislation in 1989 to protect the animal by making it illegal to kill them, or interfere with them in any way.

Fred Woodward is the champion of Margaritifera Margaritifera. His interest in its natural history, its exploitation by man since pre-Roman times, its global context and the politics needed to ensure its survival, are the subject of this book. His main concern is for the mollusc's wellbeing, and yet he manages to introduce an elegaic sympathy for the Scottish group of professional pearl fishers, Bill Abernethy, Peter Goodwin and the McCormack family. It is well worth reading Peter Goodwin's book, 'The River and the Road - Journal of a Freshwater Pearl-Fisher' (Hale 1985 ISBN 0 7090 2341 3) which describes the lives of pearl fishers, an activity which sadly but understandably no longer exists.

The 1992 Rio conference on the global environment highlighted the issue of biodiversity, and it is therefore important that each threatened species has its champions. Fred Woodward's commitment is much more important than championing the cause of a single species however, because his holistic approach has much in common with the Scottish biologist and philosopher, Patrick Geddes, in the way he invites us to think globally and act locally. Margaritifera Margaritifera is more than yet another threatened species or biological indicator; ultimately it is a measure of our commitment to sustaining our environment."

Since 1993 the EU has introduced Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) to protect fragile species such as the FWM. Because of the mollusc's relationship with juvenile salmon, which are hosts to the FWM's larval parasite (Glochidia), it is the relationship between the two species which has become the target of EU conservation efforts. In salmon rivers where the freshwater mussel still exists, SAC status is predicated on the wellbeing of both species in that particular ecosystem - the freshwater catchment.

TA on 6/5/2013

Tyne, and the first fish of the season have been caught on the North Tyne at Chollerton and Chesters.

Rods in the Hexham area enjoyed a flurry of excellent fishing with one rod hooking 5 fresh salmon in a day and another landing 3 in a short 2 hour session.

Fish have been landed at Dilston and on NERAC waters where Stephen Hutchinson landed a fish on a gold tube and George Webster landed a fine fish at Widehaugh on a Snelda.

By the end of April 250 fish had gone through the counter at Riding Mill which may not seem a lot but these fish prove to be excellent takers. 244 of these went through in the month of April as temperatures rose.

Salmon fishing has slowed recently in the low water and a good drop of rain would be very welcome at the moment to encourage some more fresh fish into the river.

Trout fishing on the local rivers including the Derwent has begun to take off however. I fished with another rod yesterday on the Axwell Park water and although a constant strong wind kept most fish feeding below the surface we caught some nice trout fishing an upstream nymph. On other days fish have been rising well to hatches of Olives but it shouldn’t be long before the Hawthorns appear and there are even reports of the first Mayfly having been spotted earlier this week!

Any angler successful in landing a Tyne salmon is encouraged to send scale samples to the EA - details and sample packets from Morton Heddell-Cowie :- call 0191203 4140 or email Morton.Heddell-Cowie@environmentagency.gov.uk

Rods looking for access to Tyne fishing or casting tuition can contact me direct.

Tight lines

Neil

have seen runs of fish heading upstream with some falling to the anglers’ flies or spinner on the way.

Over 70 fish negotiated the pass on one day last week when conditions were favourable.

I was out on Sunday morning with Chris Massom from Nottingham. We spent an hour or so brushing up his casting and then fished several pools on the Eltringham beat. Things were very quiet with lowish water and a cold upstream wind. I left him for lunch for an hour only to return to hear all about his battle with this beautiful Spring fish he had returned from the car park pool caught on a Cascdae variant. The fish bore sealice on its head and weighed about 9lbs. a very pleased angler!

Other recent successes include Brian Hankin with a fresh 8lb fish from a private beat above Riding Mill, Tim Pendered caught a 12lb fish at Eltringham, Brian Kirk a 9lb fish and Gilbert Fenwick a 12lb Salmon at Styford and at Bywell Peter Austin had 3 fish, Michael Pearson 2 fish and Alexander Muir 2 fish all on fly.

Early fresh sea trout in the 3 lb class have also been caught in the lower river and small shoals of these fish have been seen moving on several days and evenings.

Ross Middleton landed a fresh sea trout and lost 2 more on a black flying c at Eltringham.

I have caught several smolts over the last few days - please return these with the greatest of care!

A lift in water should spark some decent spring sport on the main river as levels drop and clear. In addition tides are building to peak at 5.30 m on Saturday which may well encourage more fish into the river.

The river Derwent is providing sporadic sport depending on conditions. Fish are to be found rising on warmer days with less wind but a cold breeze has been keeping fish down on many recent days. If this is the case a weighted nymph has still taken both wild and stocked fish.

Any angler successful in landing a Springer or kelt is encouraged to send scale samples to the EA - details and sample packets from Morton Heddell-Cowie :- call 0191203 4140 or email Morton.Heddell-Cowie@environmentagency.gov.uk

Rods looking for Tyne Spring fishing or some casting tuition can contact me direct.

Tight lines

Neil

and Riding Mill and the same beat recorded another fresh fish yesterday despite rising and coloured water.

This rise in temperatures and fresh water will hopefully encourage more fish to enter the system boosting sport in the lower and middle main river.

Tight lines,

Neil

fish over the last few weeks although numbers are not yet what might be expected at this time of year.The forecast is promising however, with milder weather and some fresh rain coming our way.

Small rises due to snow melt have boosted sport at times.

Reports of fish seen in the estuary persist and it is hoped that the rise in temperatures will encourage more fish to enter the river.

There are also big tides so the week ahead looks promising.

Fish have also been caught at Wylam at the top of the tidal section of the river.

Most fish have been caught on fly but some have fallen to small spinners in the lowish water. Many of the fish caught have been sea-liced. A floating line with sinking tip and dressed double or tube have been successful but at lest one fresh fish has been caught on a full floating line with long leader and small Park Shrimp.

There have been hatches of large dark Olives on most days and some trout have been rising sporadically. The rise in temperatures forecast should herald the start of some top quality dry fly fishing as hatches become more prolonged. Rising fish should be found between the hours of 11 and 4 o’clock on most days but spiders and nymph fishing will also be productive as trout feed on emerging insects.

Any angler successful in landing a Springer or kelt is encouraged to send scale samples to the EA - details and sample packets from Morton Heddell-Cowie :- call 0191203 4140 or email Morton.Heddell-Cowie@environmentagency.gov.uk

Rods looking for advice on Tyne Spring fishing or casting tuition can contact me direct.

Tight lines,

Neil