THE Tees could see a big increase in salmon numbers, as the netting of fish at sea is set to be dramatically reduced.
However, efforts to improve the Tees as a salmon fishery will also impact on anglers, as from this season they will not be allowed to keep any salmon caught on the river.
All salmon landed must be carefully unhooked and returned, as the Tees has been classed by the Environment Agency as an “at risk” river.
The catch and release law will initially run for five years, after which the rules may be re-assessed.
The changes are part of an effort to increase the number of salmon migrating the North East rivers.
On other major rivers such as the Wear and the Tyne, salmon can be kept during part of the season, as those rivers currently have a greater run of fish.
Salmon netting along North Sea coastal waters is being all but ended with new bylaws which will be put to, and virtually certainly accepted, by government, in a major step in protecting vulnerable salmon numbers.
Some sea trout netting, though under greater restrictions, will be allowed and any salmon caught must be released.
Jon Shelley, of the Environment Agency, told an Angling Trust meeting at Piercebridge: “This is a significant change, as we are reducing salmon catch by 95 per cent.
“North East netting currently accounts for around 12,000 to 13,000 salmon a year.
“Low rod catches on the Tees suggest the river needs all the help it can get. We accept that predation of salmon is a problem, and we accept that there are fish passage problems, but the one thing we can control is the number killed by anglers.”
Tees anglers currently voluntarily release 80 to 90 per cent of the salmon they catch, but (among honest anglers) that will now increase to 100 per cent.
Further efforts are being made to ensure that more fish can safely negotiate the Tees barrage, and other weirs.
But the salmon, as well as the native trout, are also under increasing threat from predators, especially birds.
More cormorants, goosanders and mergansers are taking Tees fish, as well as those on other rivers, so the Angling Trust is trying to persuade the government to allow predation to be tackled on all rivers.
A lot of Tees salmon are still falling victim to seals in the estuary. There has been a huge increase in the number of seals in the North Sea. Numbers cannot be controlled, though efforts are being made to scare them from areas they are not wanted.
Helping boost salmon numbers at sea is a key part of efforts to get more fish up the rivers, and research in the Upper Tees and its tributaries is helping to develop a clearer picture of fish numbers, and identify other areas of concern.
The upper river and tributaries are full of salmon fry, which shows that the fish that are getting there are successfully spawning.
However, more gravel spawning areas are needed as reservoirs on the Lune and Balder have had an adverse affect on gravels beds.
Salmon parr turn into silvery smolts which then head for the sea to become adult salmon.
However, while the Tees and its tributaries hold a lot of parr there appears to be relatively few smolts reaching the sea, and further research is needed into that issue.
It all adds up to a complex picture, but it is reassuring to know that co-ordinated efforts are being made to improve salmon stocks.
In a separate measure to ensure that the Tees – and other rivers – are clean and healthy, the Angling Trust has launched an initiative to encourage anglers to take away and dispose of at least five items of litter (other than their own), on each fishing trip.
My view is that anglers will accept that, and willingly comply with the salmon release laws, as long as every effort is made to catch poachers and anyone who drops litter, and that prosecutions and sentences act as a strong warning and deterrent.
That’s the politics and science out of the way – at least for now – so what about the fishing itself.
After a cold winter – or as the older generation remind us – a normal one, what can we expect from the trout fishing in the days ahead?
It is likely to be a slower start than usual as the water is cold after more snow melt than for quite a few years.
Expect the native brown trout to stay in deeper water for much of the time and fish accordingly with weighted patterns such as the Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear and Pheasant Tail.
On warm days, when insect life appears, trout will rise freely at times, and spider patterns fished in the surface film, or the top few inches will take fish.
The end of April, and the whole of May and June tend to be the most productive time of the season, so make the most of it.
Andrew Wilkinson
