A true Winter Story!

You will be pleased to know that I have started scanning some of my old fishing pictures (as Father Christmas brought me an 'all singing and dancing' Scanner/ Printer / tea maker etc) and intend to put them on my blog in due course!

This is one that I found in my album the other day! It brought back fond memories to me so I thought I might share them with you!

Proud of my catch 15th April 1994

A 14lb Torridge salmon, me stood outside the entrance of the Half Moon Inn at Sheepwash in Devon!

This is the salmon that I refer to in my Catch To Date report for 1994. It weighed 14lb and is my largest salmon to date. I caught it on the Holsdon Beat of the River Torridge, the Half Moon Inn used to rent it from the National Trust but as far as I know no fishing is allowed there any more! I remember the circumstances very well!

It was a lovely spring day, sunny and quite hot. Access to the river was down a very steep, long bank and through some woods! It was dead easy going down the bank, the thought of returning back up though was far from my thoughts. I was on a mission!

The beat was split into 2 sections and you had to fish one in the morning and the other in the afternoon, sharing the beat with the syndicate who fished the opposite bank. The change over had to be a 12.00 noon!. The bottom beat had a weir on it at the far end and I had just started fishing the weir pool at about 11.30 am so I had 1/2 hour before I had to pack up! The water conditions were good for spinning, as there had been rain earlier in the week and the water was at a good height but falling (this was before the Fly Only rule came into force at the HMI after April 1st or whenever it is!)

I was fishing a silver toby and had just started chucking right over to the far side into the fast water below the weir. It swung round quite quickly in the fast current. I did this 2 or 3 times and then felt a knock! Must have been a rock or something I thought! Just at this moment a Range Rover came down the field on the far side and an elderly guy got out with his rods and gear ready to start fishing at 12.00 noon! 'Morning' I shouted. 'Morning' he replied, 'had any luck'? 'Not a touch' I replied. 'I've been fishing all morning and haven't even seen a fish'!

I continued fishing as time was running out and this pool looked like my last chance of the morning! Another cast landed right in the white water just below the weir. It swung round again. 2 knocks this time! Weird, must be a snag in the river! I cast again, this time, to my complete surprise, the knock turned into a savage and solid pull, the line tightened and I was in to what seemed like a decent salmon!

The fish fought like hell! It must be double figures, I was thinking! All the time I was being watched by the guy on the far side who kept looking at his watch! It was a powerful fish and this combined with the fast current at this point made the job of playing the fish that much harder! Then I realised that I had left my landing net further upstream! Bollocks! Now what shall I do?

There was no choice but to dive in after the fish or even, dare I say, tail it? I had seen it done but had never tried it myself! The trouble was I had trees all around me so I couldn't raise the rod high in order to control the fish and the current seemed too fast to tail the fish very easily! I decided that there was only one thing for it! I must get in the river and try to get the fish between me and the bank, however, this wasn't easy as the flow was strong and the water deep (about up to my thighs). My plan was this! As soon as I could get the fish close in and holding position in the stream, between me and the bank, I would chuck my rod as far as I could up the bank and then lunge at the fish with both arms and heave it out of the water and up the bank as far as I could manage! This was a cracking fish and I had no intention of losing it, especially with the opposition guy over the other side watching every move I was making!

When the time was right I put my plan into action! It was all over in a few seconds but it seemed like a life time! My plan worked perfectly and the salmon landed safely half way up the bank with me safely lead on top of it! It was an absolute cracker of a salmon!

I had by now overrun my time on the beat so I had to walk back along the river for about a mile so that I could start fishing the next beat. This fish was hell of a weight and at some point I would have to carry it back up the hill to the car! Not a pleasant prospect I thought!

I fished for a couple of hours more to no avail and decided to call it a day and go back to the Half Moon for a pint! Now then, how am I going to carry this fish up that steep long bank back to the car with all my other gear I thought? It didn't look easy at all. Ah, I know! I took the sling from my landing net and threaded it through the gills of the salmon. I then heaved the fish on to my back and secured the sling over my shoulder! Job done! I would have to carry the net in my hand with my rod but so what! God was it hot! Spring? It was more like high summer! The bank got steeper and steeper and I was sweating like a pig! The climb was murder! Will I ever reach the top I wondered. I kept stopping and wiping my brow and looking back down into the beautiful valley with the river meandering through it. What a sight!

I was puffing, panting, sweating and other things when I came out of the trees at the very top of the hill (mountain more like). In front of me was the style and beyond that I could see my car. To my surprise though a young, quite attractive girl was standing on the step of the style with a camera admiring the 'breathtaking' view (literally). 'High' I said. 'High, have you been fishing' she asked. I was not looking my best after this epic journey and didn't have much breath left so I just turned around to show her the salmon hanging down my back. All I heard was a loud scream! Then another! And another! When I turned around she had run off! Christ I thought, has she never seen a fish before?

I lit a cigarette and looked back at the amazing view while I leant against the style. Then I looked down at the salmon lying on the grass. It was a magnificent prize! What a fantastic day? It was certainly one that I have never forgot!