Early Spring Salmon Fishing

If I were a returning Springer, I just could not think of a more beautiful place to head for than the Eden valley. A game river through and through the Eden begins life at a little over two thousand feet above sea level, with a watershed of some two thousand square kilometres from the west Pennines and the fells of the lake district, it takes a north westerly direction to the remarkable Solway estuary (A.O.N.B.). On the one hundred and forty kilometre journey through stunning scenery, it takes on board quite a few major and minor tributaries, the Eamont, Lowther, Irthing and Caldew being just some of them. Trout and Grayling dominate the upper reaches, but it is not until the middle river around the Lazonby area that the serious salmon fishing really starts given water and temperature.
Here there is still a steep gradient and so there are lots of different and interesting short pools to explore.
I am often asked "what is a pool"? A term that is frequently used in salmon fishing, most of them even have names, Long pool, Bridge pool, Willow pool and so on. A pool is one step down the gradient the river takes from its source at altitude to sea level, a series of pools is a series of steps; if they did not exist the river would soon empty. The steeper the gradient the shorter the pools, then at the lower end of the river where it spills out on to the flood plain and the gradient less, the pools can be significantly longer. Although each pool has its own characteristics, they more or less have the same make up, that is a neck, (the run in) the main belly and the tail, (the run out).

The image people have in general of the river Eden is a small babbling brook with overhanging trees, a lot of this probably comes from various articles written by trout fishers like Lawrence Catlow and Paul Proctor, who prefer to fish the upper sections. This is true around the Kirkby Stephen area where the river may only be ten to fifteen yards across, but as it flows north of Penrith it picks up the Eamont, Lowther and a few minor tributaries to become twenty to thirty yards across and very deep in places where the banks narrow.
At Warwick Hall and through Carlisle, the Irthing, Caldew and Petteril contribute and the Eden is then between thirty to forty five yards wide while still being intimate and manageable. A competent caster who can present a fly neatly at twenty five yards with a spey-cast will have no problems what so ever on this river.

Not for the faint hearted, the salmon season begins on January 15, earlier than most rivers. Spring fishing is a bit of a misnomer, at that time of year we are still in the throes of deep winter not seeing any sign of spring until mid-March. A very fascinating sight at that time of year is the return of the large sea lampreys in the system, its apparently part of the local history that a certain king, Edward I (a.k.a Longshanks) I think, ate a surfeit of Eden lamprey, and then died.

Temperature is everything; it will dictate what we wear, how deep and what speed we fish, what size fly to use and how far the salmon will travel upstream. Temperature also has a huge effect on the river conditions, for example; the river may have been running at three or four feet above summer level after heavy rain or snow melt, the ground already being saturated, the water runs straight off the land. There is then a sharp frost; this will literally lock up all the water into ice coming off the ground. The tributaries stop feeding the system and the levels can drop dramatically, the fish will then hold station in the pools, you would then think it should be relatively easy to pick one or two up. Yes, after three or four days of the same conditions but not before, fish are cold blooded and need time to adjust, we see this all the time while trout and grayling fishing.

The outfit
A double handed rod of around fifteen feet is the perfect tool for the occasion, coupled with a large arbour reel, one hundred and fifty yards of rot proof backing, a fast intermediate and a wet cell two type of fly-line fitted with braided loops. Fifteen to twenty pound breaking strain monofilament leaders are the norm, of no more than four to five feet long. To that the fly is tied with either a double turle, or my favourite a single grinner, which after the knot has been tightened the loop can be backed off to allow articulation of the chosen fly.

Tip
I prefer the large arbour type of reel for a couple of reasons, even with all the line out you can guarantee that where the original drag was set it wont be far off that because of the constant diameter of the arbour. I always set the drag on the reel so when I give the fly-line a sharp tug it does not over-run, any additional pressure can be enforced by palming the exposed rim of the rotating spool like a brake shoe and letting the fly-line run through a couple of fingers of the rod hand. This drag setting is absolutely vital when the fish is about to be landed, it sees the net or angler and makes a sudden lunge, this shock will part a tippet of fifteen pounds or more in the blink of an eye, a light drag setting eliminates this completely. Reel memory on quality fly-lines is all but a thing in the past, although the fly-line should be stretched at yard intervals before starting to reset the multifilament core. This concept of reel has been around for over a century, there are not a lot of new ideas in fishing, just the materials and techniques that have changed.

A new fish

A kelt

What to wear.
The most important piece of equipment you will need for fly- fishing is some form of eye protection, sun glasses (the wrap around type are ideal), you only have one set of eyes. Its not just through casting accidents that you can get a fly in the face, sometimes when the fish is about to be landed, with the leader under a lot of pressure, the hook hold releases and the fly comes back at you like a bullet. Also of course not to be forgotten, the obligatory hat in its various styles.
Five mm neoprene waders are the order of the day with the appropriate soles, felts are useless on wet clay, grass or snow, go for a cleated version with studs. A windproof fleece and a waterproof breathable jacket is advisable, even on a dry day if the jacket is not breathable you will end up with wet sleeves (very unpleasant). Neoprene gloves with exposed finger and thumb.
A wading staff connected by a lanyard to your downstream side, and a lifejacket with toggle exposed worn on outside of the wading jacket are essential.

Flies
As a general guide the size, pattern and colour of fly is dictated by a number of factors, the speed of the flow, the depth, the colour or clarity of the water, the light and of course the temperature.

Dealing first with the speed of the current, the fly has to be of the right size to look as if it could swim against the flow, faster flows require bigger flies.

Depth is probably the one that catches many out, the thinking being, put on a heavy fly like a brass tube and down it goes, and yes it does, but usually when it's down there it is totally inanimate. Okay in a fast flow it will work, but not in a deep, medium pace of water, so you have to retrieve line to kick the fly into life. By doing that the fly is now moving too fast, and in cold water salmon will rarely chase. I find it is a lot more effective to use a light fly like an aluminium tube on a faster sinking fly-line, thus the fly gets down and is very mobile.

Colour of the water can vary; it depends where in the catchment the rain has fallen and for how long. The sediment carried from each tributary into the main stem may come off clay or peaty land, a tinge of light sand colour to a very deep brown, or that greyish tinge from snowmelt and road washings. Sometimes after a prolonged hard frost it can be crystal clear.
Orange and yellow, green and yellow and black and yellow with gold/silver bodies work well, with yellow being dominate in the dressing when there is colour in the water. As the clarity improves, smaller flies with less impact are called for.

I like to take light into consideration all through the season, especially in clear water, in the spring the sun stays relatively low in the sky, but we can get some pretty bright days, short as they are even at this time of year. Fishing on these sort of days when the sun is shinning across or down a pool, depending on which bank you are on, or the angle the fly traverses across the current can mean the difference between success and failure. For me clear water and clear skies at any time of the year I like to go small and black.

Temperature being the last consideration for fly choice has got to be, the cooler the water temperature the slower the fly needs to work while still remaining attractive, and as near to the bottom as possible without snagging. A very fast sinking line with something like a Temple Dog with its very mobile wing dressed on a plastic tube would be fine for the slower flows, and the size and colour of the fly would be determined by the other factors, speed of flow, depth and colour.

The approach
Having arrived at the chosen pool on the lower river, the water is at a foot and a half above summer level, there has been no rain for a couple of days now. There is still a slight tinge of colour; the air temperature is eight degrees, mild for January and the water is at six, ideal. Making a start at around eleven we are going to fish into the warmest part of the day around two, it will be dark by four thirty.
First things first, put a stick at water level into the bank, from this we can see through the day if the river is dropping or rising, although the weather seems stable there might be some snow melt going on upstream.
The faster water at the neck of the pool doesn't seem to be productive at this time of year, so I like to concentrate my efforts on the main belly and the tail out; the belly is around seven to eight foot deep then shallows down toward the tail. There is a good pace to the water in the middle and a little slacker near the bank, a wet cell two type fly-line will do nicely.

Tip
After putting the rod together and taping the joints, leaving a little tag (by folding a corner of the tape over) so we can get the tape off easy when we finish, we attach the reel and screw it up tight, give the reel a wiggle and tighten the screw once more. Pull off enough fly-line to go through the rings and back down again, then folding the fly-line two feet from the end back double, you thread that doubled loop through the rings. This will save you a lot of frustration trying to thread the nylon through the eyes when your hands are freezing, getting near the top and dropping the line to watch it all slide back down onto the ground, with the doubled loop it will jamb on the next ring down.

The fly of choice is going to be a two inch aluminium tube, a yellow with a dash of orange, the hook is a double with the barbs flattened, (catch and release) to that a four foot leader with a surgeons loop to join it to the braided loop on the fly-line.
Fishing to the tide times is not as crucial this early in the season, the salmon are in no hurry at all, preferring to loiter in the lower river pools until the water warms slightly into March.

Tip
Wading stealthily not far from the bank into the water of the main belly, pull off around fifteen yards of fly-line and flick the first few yards out into the flow away from bank-side obstacles. As the current gets a grip on the line begin waving the rod tip back and forth letting line slip out through the rings, (we don't want to disturb the pool with unnecessary false casting) when the slack line is all out, bring the rod back into the roll-cast position slowly, facing downstream. Do a roll-cast directly in line with the bank to get the fly-line back onto the surface, the moment it touches down, face the intended target and go into either the single spey if there's an upstream wind, or double spey if the wind is coming from a downstream direction.

Immediately as the cast lands throw a big upstream mend, this action gives the line time to sink before the current takes hold, from now on there is little you can do mending wise. Holding the tip of the rod out towards the stream pick up the tension on the fly-line and follow it round very slowly, being very conscious about keeping the tension on the rod tip. Should the line go slack ay any point, the fly will not be swimming effectively, it is surprising just how many fish will follow a fly only to turn away at the last minute when the fly looses its action. If you do feel slack pick it up with a slow figure of eight to regain contact.

Pull off some more line so you now can cover at least half of the pool, and begin working your way down stream a cast a pace. As the line comes round into the slacker area near the bank, start to slowly retrieve keeping the movement of the fly going. Without a pause then slowly back into the roll-cast position and cast parallel to the bank, then the appropriate spey-cast out toward the stream.
Right out of the blue, the line suddenly tightens, you might think that you have caught the bottom, as the rod is lifted the tip begins to rapidly bounce with the weight of a fish. This is not a Springer, but a Kelt that has taken the fly; we know that straight away because that's what Kelts do, they shake their heads. The fish is played to a rapid conclusion; they haven't a lot of fight left in them after the rigors of being in the river so long, and then going through the spawning process.
To the newcomer of spring fishing for salmon, this is all very exiting stuff, and before the E.A brought catch and release until June 16 in five years ago, a few were knocked on the head mistaking them for a salmon. After a mild winter the Kelts seem to recover very well and have a lovely bright silver coat and well mended fins, looking closely at them you will see that the body is almost parallel, and the head looks too big for the body. Other signs are maggot like creatures in the gills, sometimes ragged fins and an extended vent, be careful returning these fish, many will come back for a second spawning, a lot bigger than the one you have here.

Another mistake I have seen at this time of the year, and I speak from personal experience, is the line tightens, (and I always lift straight away when using sinking lines), it goes solid, the fish then moves off very determinedly and you find yourself playing a salmon. The fight last as usual, about a minute a pound, and it is landed. Everything seems fine, there is a full looking fish, silver coat, a cobalt blue slash just around the lateral line with a touch of lilac, and the fish it seems firm enough. Take a look at the belly of the salmon and you will see that it is slightly rounded, a bit like the hull of a tanker as opposed to the hull of a speed boat which a Springer will have. This is a baggot or in Scotland it is called a rawner, it is a salmon that has not deposited her eggs for whatever reason, and that's why the belly is rounded, also classed as an unclean fish (the same as a Kelt), it to has to be returned carefully.

A baggot

A kelt

As progress is made down the pool, you notice that a few Kelts begin splashing about; it is now two in the afternoon and you have seen no sign of activity up to now, what is making them do this?. Look very carefully at the water, one of those "Kelts" has head and tailed, porpoised, no Kelt, it's a fresh fish that's just moved into the pool from below. In my experience salmon that do this are ready takers, these newcomers to the pool have upset the residents and that is why they are disturbed and splashing about.

Putting a cast upstream of mark the fish left, as the tension is picked up, almost immediately the fly-line slides irresistibly through your fingers and pulls line off the reel before you realise what's going on, the fish tears off across the width of the river. Who said salmon only move slowly in cold water? Now is not the time to think about "should I have changed that leader with the wind knot in it, or done a better join of the backing to the fly-line"? Get out of the water and on to the bank! We may need to follow.
The fish moves down stream at a rate of knots, its panic time, thankfully it slows, all the time you are following trying to regain line, the salmon has now stopped and you're not in the ideal place to bring things to an end with all the obstructions around. Lifting the rod tip high and gripping the line against the butt, start walking slowly back up to where you intend to land the fish, this must be under a very steady pressure, any jerkiness in this procedure and the fish will take off again downstream. Unbelievably the salmon starts to follow, as you approach the place you need to be stop, keeping the rod high, the fish will keep going straight past. As it does you can now deliver the pressure from below and with a bit of side, the fish now has to fight not only you, but the current also while being pulled off balance, walking a fish upstream really does take the steam out of them.

The fight is brought swiftly to an end; it has been carefully landed and left in the water, the double hook with the flattened barbs slide out easily. Look at the fish, a bonnier sight you will never see, its solid flanks, black back, pearly covering over a vibrant silver body, sea-lice near the massive and powerful tail and the streamlined fluorescent white belly. There is no mistaking this one, a different looking animal from the back- end fish the season before, holding the wrist of the tail and supporting the weight of the belly, hold it into the current until such time it kicks and swims off determinedly.

I know this salmon will make it to the place of spawning, probably the Eamont, because of the radio tracking program the Environmental Agency did over three years recently. The survival rate was tremendous, with some very interesting results of fish movements over the months the salmon were in the river.
I now sit back on the bank and have the "after sex" cigarette, (but don't tell the wife as I have supposed to have given up).

Talking to some of the more senior anglers on the river, it is fascinating to find out that up to the mid sixties before the arrival of UDN, and the discovery of the migratory paths that salmon take, the Eden was purely a spring run river. By the end of May the run had all but finished, but what a run there was. On opening day, to see numerous fish on the bank lying on the snow, some well over twenty pounds was nothing to write home about, it just happened every year. After the devastation, the Eden was then restocked with fish from different rivers, most of them back-end and summer run salmon. The Eden has experienced in 2004 the best spring run that I can remember for many years, (as have other rivers). Whether this is due to the catch and release program the EA instigated in 99, the work various bodies like the Eden Rivers Trust have done improving habitat or the net buy-outs remains to be seen over the next couple of seasons. I for one will be there to find out.