Fish for salmon on the South Tyne on a private beat in one of the loveliest river valleys in England

Enjoy salmon fishing on a private estate on one of Britain’s finest salmon rivers. This is a great opportunity to enjoy double bank fishing on a private estate on the prolific South Tyne.

The upper South Tyne valley is one of the loveliest valleys in England to fish, and is certainly one of the most generous. Salmon and sea trout runs on the Tyne system are now superb—1,697 fish went through the Tyne fish counter by May this year, the best since records began. For the second year in living memory there are no commercial salmon nets off the North East coast.

When the colour is dropping out of a quick spate, expectations on this beat of the river can be simply spine-tingling. The summer salmon runs arrive from early June onwards and good runs of 4lb-plus sea trout can continue throughout the summer. A wet summer encourages large numbers of salmon and sea trout to run quickly into the upper-middle reaches, and into the nine named pools on our beat.

This beat is unusual on the Tyne system in that it is almost all double-bank and privately owned (rather than club water). The beat is about a mile long, double-bank with nine varied and exciting pools, with fine streamy runs between them.

The South Tyne is a spate river, and therefore conditions play a great part in success. Sport can be fast and furious during those magic hours while the spate drops and the water clears to a lovely sherry colour. Unlike its neighbour, the North Tyne, which can flow as dark as Guinness, the South Tyne is peaty when high but gradually loses its colour and will run crystal clear at normal summer level. In these low-water conditions flyfishing for sea trout in the dark is thrilling as Tyne sea trout run big. They average 4lb but double-figure fish are caught every year.

The river on our private beat is small to medium in normal conditions and can be covered perfectly with a 13ft or 14ft rod. When a spate arrives you may want to turn to the 15ft rod, sinking line and a big tube. Bring with you Willie Gunns, Cascades and Stoat’s Tails in various sizes, as well as any flies with red and copper in them—a winning combination on the Tyne.